Shout Outs in G4S Aviation

In March, a proud moment of service excellence was displayed recently from the team at South checkpoint, in Vancouver International Airport. A family travelling from Kamloops to YVR and then YVR to Calgary had just experienced a massive loss in their immediate family. They had been travelling with three urns which contained ashes of the deceased.

The South team handled and transferred the family professionally and with care, expediting them through the screening process in a swift, polite and professional way. The 3 urns had to be swabbed by the Explosives Trace Detectors and were handled with the utmost care.

We thank you for your care and sensitivity with these passengers and we value your hard work.

Jodi not only delivers exceptional customer service to every single individual traveling through the airport, but she also inspires those on her team to follow her example. She has become a customer service role model for all screening officers at her base. On the operational side, she makes sure that her team is updated on the latest changes to standard operating procedures and arranges more training sessions with her team than we have ever seen at any regional airport.

Last night as I was leaving PBS International line 6 following the C+ Stand Alone exercise when I witnessed a Screening Officer (who wishes to not to be named) prevent a breach on the end of line 5. A passenger had pulled her bin from a cart on the reject side over to the clear side to pick up her belongings and leave while the attention of the Physical Search of Bag officer on that line was on another passenger. The repack officer moved in quickly and stopped the passenger before the situation got out of control. This Screening Officer’s situational awareness and focus saved us there, especially with a Manager of Service Delivery, Performance Officer, two Operations Managers and a Duty Manager right there on the next line over. She was very clear that she did not want any kind of public attention for this, but I still feel that it should be rewarded.

To assist physical distancing in the workplace we have been sending Screening Officers home early with pay where possible. We were relieving Screening officers from the International border and two of our Shop Stewards Rick Singh and Niel Chia both opted to give up their spots and give it to two of their fellow officers Pamela Rego and Smita Dave. They said both Screening Officers deserve to go ahead of them because they are hard workers, they show up for work and never complain. They are good people and they get along with everyone.

Both Rick and Niel stayed for the remainder of their shift.

Another kind act was carried out by Screening Officer John Bautista who gave up his seniority spot to Cesar Caceres who had child care issues that day. It is small acts of kindness like this that shine bright in challenging times like today.