In the past I’ve raved about Mobile Passport. In fact, it’s one of the travel apps that I value most on my phone today. Since I first started using Mobile Passport I’ve saved countless hours waiting in line at customs when arriving home from international trips.
Given all of the wonderful things I’ve said about Mobile Passport I think it’s only fair to also report back on experiences that have not gone so well. In fact, if I didn’t point out potential flaws with the service I think I would be doing you, the reader, a disservice. So, with that, I think it’s only fair that I share with you about a recently experience I had when using Mobile Passport at Chicago O’Hare.
I Couldn’t Reach The Mobile Passport Window
The other day I arrived in Chicago from London at about 8PM on a Monday evening. For one reason or another the arrivals hall was very busy that evening. When I saw the massive lines forming at the customs counter I immediacy felt thankful that I had Mobile Passport.
When I finally made it to the Mobile Passport Control “MPC” sign I couldn’t see anywhere to enter the line to reach the customs agent. It was at that moment when I asked one of the arrivals hall employees where I should go.
It was clear that when I asked the arrivals hall agent where to go that she had no idea. She looked around for a few seconds before telling me to pass under a rope to join a line. Although I didn’t mind the instruction I must say that passing under a rope with a backpack is much harder than it sounds.
Once under the first rope I proceeded down a clear path toward the MPC ready customs counter. However, before I could reach the counter there were 4 more ropes which formed a snaked line. In those lines were several hundred passengers who had clearly been waiting for a while. These rows of people made accessing the MPC counter quite difficult and I had no intention of passing under the ropes again to “cut” them in line.
Thankfully, at that point a few other Mobile Passport customers had lined up behind me. It was at that point where a few of us started calling out for assistance. Eventually another arrivals hall employee saw us and instructed other passengers in line to let us through.
The Mobile Passport Customs Agent Left Their Post
Yep, after the 10 minutes or so that it took to reach the line for the Mobile Passport counter the agent decided to leave. The agent left without offering us any warning or explanation. He just, without warning, got up and left. When he abandoned his post we were not told how long he would be gone for and we were not given other options. Instead we just had to stand there and wait.
At this point the line of Mobile Passport customers had grown quite frustrated. In total there were about 15 to 20 of us lined up waiting for the single Mobile Passport friendly customs counter. After waiting a few minutes the customs hall employee directed a few passengers to the next counter over. Apparently there are just two counters in O’Hare that currently accept Mobile Passport.
As I was 3rd in line for the original counter I decided to maintain my current position and wait. Keep in mind it could be seconds or hours until this customs agent decided to come back. Finally, after watching no less than 10 people pass through the second counter with ease I decided to switch lines. When I finally reached the counter Mobile Passport worked as advertised and the other agent still had not returned.
Final Thoughts
I’m actually a bit torn by this situation. On the one had the technology behind Mobile Passport worked flawlessly. On the other, the execution at Chicago O’Hare was a complete disaster. However, I don’t actually think this is Mobile Passport’s fault. Instead, I think it’s the hourly employees who setup the roped lines in the arrivals hall.
Typically these roped lines are split in half by the Mobile Passport line which takes MPC customers directly to the two windows that handle Mobile Passport. Unfortunately on this particular day someone in the arrivals hall decided to rearrange these roped lines. The result was that there was no direct path to the MPC customs counters. Instead, MPC passengers would have had to pass under various ropes and explain to other lined up passengers why they were allowed to pass under the ropes and “skip” the line.
Likewise, this is partially the fault of the customs agent who left for no reason and with no backup. To this day I have no idea why he left his post or why no one filled in for him. As far as I know there are only two counters at ORD that can accept Mobile Passport. With this guy leaving his post that dropped to just one.
Overall I love Mobile Passport and will absolutely continue using the service. However, there are still a few flaws with the program that need to be worked out. With time as more people adopt the service and the border patrol outfits more counters with MPC readers the process should be incredibly smooth. I honestly do believe that when implemented correctly, waiting in line at customs will be a thing of the past.
