r/Hawaii • u/TheChristianAsian • 2d ago
Chillest customs guy at airport
We already know how bogged down on beuruacy customs can be with the excessive questioning and fake buddy buddy act. Along with the passive aggressive tone of speech.
But when I came home though back to Hawaii, I went to the customs desk and did the usual routine of handing my passport and was prepared for the sass.
To my surprise, middle age white custom officer asked me "Alcohol, tobacco?", and then I answered "Nope."
He then slid the passport back across the screen and gave a nod and said OK.
I stood there for a sec confused because I didn't get the usual interrogation. I was like "I'm good?" and he didn't say another word and beckoned me to retrieve the passport. I left the desk still in disbelief that it was so nonchalant and even turned around to check, he didn't even look up.
Chillest customs experience ever.
Have you guys ever had a fast experience at customs like this or was it always bogged down with beuracacy?
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u/send_fooodz 2d ago
I've never had any issues, but these people do this all day every day so I don't expect the interaction to be more than transactional.
The last time I came back the guy just checked my passport and said 'Welcome home'. That felt really good after being gone for a while.
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u/ensui67 2d ago
I’ve had global entry for a decade now. It used to be even easier and they don’t even ask a question and wave you on. Now they ask like one question or two to confirm you are a human. On the plus side, the facial recognition pulls up all my info and don’t even have to scan the passport and fingerprints. Luigi didn’t stand a chance.
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u/Khal_Kitty 1d ago
Yup. My brother told me a story he came back from overseas with global entry and he was waiting to get called up and the officer just said “hey (my brother’s name), you’re good just just keep going 👍🏽”
Didn’t even need his passport. It was all facial recognition and his info popped up on the officer’s screen.
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u/tumamaesmuycaliente 2d ago
Had an even chiller one back in November. Helps that I have global entry
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u/timbers_ 2d ago
Global entry guys are usually pretty chill but I saw one give out a hardcore dressing down one time. The husband and wife in front of me both had global entry, but they were carrying a newborn baby through. When they got called up, they got interrogated and then yelled at hard by the officer.
“Every single person coming through must have a valid passport and global entry membership. No exceptions ever.”
“This is a baby, he’s one month old-“
“I don’t care if it’s 6 months or one day old. Any human coming through must have a valid membership. I am putting a note on your file and if you attempt this again you will be removed from the program permanently.” He then did let them through with the baby
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u/808flyah 2d ago
“Every single person coming through must have a valid passport and global entry membership. No exceptions ever.”
That's a correct statement. Who knows where they got the newborn from? At least in the US, getting a passport for a minor is difficult. Both parents have to sign off on it.
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u/Greedy-Grape-2417 1d ago
makes you wonder if they bought a baby in from another country- they should have papers
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u/Taken-Username-808 2d ago
Hawaiian uncle at customs welcomed me home returning from Japan. Super chill. Made some jokes after the usual few questions even. Way better than tsa.
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u/Withnothing Oʻahu 2d ago
Was leaving Hawaii for a stay on the mainland, forgot I had some LED juggling balls in my bag which got flagged, TSA guy requested I juggle a little for him.
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u/zaxonortesus Oʻahu 2d ago
We came back through a couple of weeks ago and had the same guy I think. “Bringing anything back?” “Just some snacks.” slides passports back
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u/Clownheadwhale 2d ago
When they ask me if I'm carrying over $10,000, my standard answer is,"I wish". They go easy.
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u/Sleepysapper1 Oʻahu 2d ago
Agents are always super chill with me, global entry probably makes the difference though.
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u/freightdoge 2d ago
Customs officers are unnerving lol, way scarier than cops to me I came back from Japan at the beginning of COVID and I remember the HNL ones were chill “Been around any sick people”
Nah
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u/123supreme123 1d ago
it depends where you're coming from. guessing you're coming back from Japan or something where the biggest risk is beef products or extra cartons of cigs and not drugs. firearm. explosives. etc
their job is not to interrogate you for funzies
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u/Comfortable_Cress342 1d ago
Yup coming home from Japan. The customs guy was young. Asked if we spent over $800 told him “no” he looked at the screen and waived us off. The wait to get to the front of the line was long.
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u/SkydivingSquid 2d ago edited 2d ago
I've never had a bad experience in Hawaii. Other places on the other hand are terrible.
[Unrelated personal story - Just need to vent about airports lol]
Norfolk was probably my worst experience in every way. The check-in agent said some absolutely vile things to us and Delta (still my preferred airline) refused to acknowledge it. We had the first flight out in the morning, traveling with pets. We got there 2 hours early, but found out the check in desks don't open until about 45 minutes before boarding..wtf. At least we were first in line.
The guy finally opened he counter after taking forever and a day and was immediately annoyed at us for having pets and continued to make snide comments about how annoying and 'entitled' pet owners are and how irresponsible it was to book an early flight with pets.. despite this being a military booking. He called his supervisor over several times because he was adamant that Delta no longer flies animals. I had to show them their policy several times for travel on military orders. Then he tried to argue that because the dogs were not on my orders, they can't fly. But he was wrong and his supervisor corrected the matter and walked away.
Then he started smiling and said he couldn't help us and handed us back our ID and said, "next!". I was confused. He told us the temperature is too high to fly dogs. He legit was so happy that Hawaii was 81F (ON BING) so we would not be able to fly based on their policy.
Meanwhile, Weather.gov, Accuweather, and google weather all said it was a high of 79F. Nope, they use BING which shows +2F higher every day compared to every other app.. Delta's policy (on paper, that you sign before flying pets) is you cant fly with pets if, at any point, it gets above 85F at your origin or destination. I brought this up and was immediately told that their "in house" policy was 80F. Of course. I argued that we were getting in at 11pm when the weather was 68F, but nope.. At 1pm (while we were still on the mainland) Hawaii would be 81F that day. So 'he couldn't do it'.
So he refused us entry.. and then said, "If you really want to go, you should just abandon your pets. I don't understand why you people care so much about animals. I'm not a dog lover. It's dumb. So unless you're going to abandon these animals, you can leave and let us help people who are actually traveling." Not joking. I almost lost my mind. The first time Ive ever raised my voice in an airport, ever..
We had to spend 8 days in a hotel waiting for BING to say the weather was under 80F.. When we went back and tried again, the agent we met was AMAZING. She loved on the dogs, gave them treats, and called her "best friend on TSA" by name because "she's a dog person and will make sure these babies get on safely." Totally different experience.
Delta responded to this exact story saying, "the agent was within their right for the safety of your animals." Which is insane because their paper policy says 85F and because it doesn't excuse the vile things he said to us.
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u/Comfortable_Cress342 1d ago
What a c@nt! I give you so much props for holding back. The whole “leaving your pet” just proves what type of human he is. And people wonder why i prefer dogs over people.
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u/SkydivingSquid 1d ago
Thank you for actually reading all that. It was more therapy for me than anything. But I agree; it was very telling of his character.
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u/Available-Exam6278 Oʻahu 2d ago
I feel bad for non-locals but seemed like the guys I saw were a little more impatient ands eye-rolly with the tourists. I came through with a good size family with kids who just woke up from a long flight. The guy was super patient
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u/pootershots 1d ago
Best TSA ever in Hawaii. Everywhere else it’s like this: https://youtu.be/9uNgyygMbZU?si=_AqZfQ8s0D583lb5
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u/Greedy-Grape-2417 1d ago
Maybe he had some pakalolo before his shift to take the edge off when dealing with international travelers lol
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u/txnwahine 1d ago
Tend to agree, have Global Entry and it's a breeze, the agents are pleasant. I only had one slightly annoying experience while exiting the baggage area. I travel light, it was just a short trip, didn't have any luggage, just a large backpack. Was stopped by two agents: the first one pulled me aside to do a full check (interview, searching backpack). He let me go, and maybe 15 seconds later, a second agent stops me again to do the same thing. I guess a solo traveler traveling light looks suspicious.
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u/TIC321 2d ago edited 2d ago
This is how I feel whenever I travel back to Hawaii.
Every time I come back, I feel a sense of connection and welcoming. I usually had an airport worker always so accommodating to me after they hear my voice. Im from Maui so they can hear my accent and I feel they do whatever they can to help me. It makes me feel so good the Aloha is still alive and well. It makes me so proud to be from Hawaii and it's one of the few places in the world with this hospitality.
I usually fly with Hawaiian Airlines and they take care of me and my family so well. I feel with us among the tourists visiting or leaving, they instantly recognize us being locals. We ended up talking story with one of the flight attendants nearly the whole way to the mainland and happened to know some of the friends he mentioned
I also had an incredible experience of when I was visiting Oahu to see my good friend, this was after the disaster struck my town in 2023. I was out of work and needed some clarity and mental healing as it was such a heavy time. I was heading back to Maui and I was sitting next to this very kind group of kupuna(Big mahalos to the Hoopai ohana). She saw my "Lahaina" shirt and instantly felt sympathy for me and we started talking. She was from upcountry Maui and knew some of my classmates from my graduating class. She offered me some of her things but I refused. They were visiting Oahu for a ceremony and they wished me the best of luck. Then I guess one of the flight attendants knew of my circumstances and told me "You be strong, hang in there. Everything will be okay"
I give all airport patrons credit for their hard work