Am I crazy or are the general workers at most US airports of dubious quality at best?

Airport jobs are some of the worst possible jobs - poor pay, bad hours, very long effective commutes (when you consider that they don't clock in until after get to the terminal, get through security), and angry customers screaming at you for something that's not your fault.

Lazy/incompetent/annoyed employees is the inevitable outcome of such an environment

You get what you pay for. And they're being paid barely above minimum wage.

In addition to the minimum wage they get paid, it's also the minimum (negative) value they add. There's zero reason to do better at a job that already is a waste of almost everyone's time.

The TSA and some immigration ones are even malicious

> general workers at most airports

Yes, exactly. But actually, given what they must be paid they do an admirable job. I can’t truly blame someone for not giving a shit, it’s just frustrating for me when getting on my flight depends on them doing so.

Look, our culture does not reward excellence, so those people are doing the least possible to not get fired. That's kind of the whole American thing in general at this point. Nobody is doing great outside of technology workers, and even then, only some of them. You're not going to have a great experience in general from people here. There are always outliers, but those are individuals who have found some internal motivation to go above and beyond, and it's not a systemic thing.

Everyone you interact with from the moment you enter the airport has that Brooklyn-diner-employee “whaddayawaaaant?” attitude. Like your very presence as a customer annoys them. Everyone is in dire need of customer service training. The DMV is more pleasant.

This is not a US-only airport staff issue. I am on the road most of the last three decades and it is international. It is one, binding "quality" in every country. Most the airport staff's core competency rests elsewhere in almost all airports.

I am hedging because i have had nuggets of exceptional service and support here and there, even in nightmarish hellscapes like Heathrow. Flight attendants are a whole different area of joy and fears...

You're not crazy at all. They seem to be selected for having a low IQ and no common sense.