I'd previously applied and received by pre-TSA approval several years ago, at the office located at LAX. Although I did have to schedule the appointment well in advance, my experience in having the documentation processed there was very positive. The staff was very knowledgable, and also quite friendly, They conveyed that they clearly wanted my business.
This time, I had only a short time in town to get my renewal, so Ilocated the pre-TSA office closest to where I live in Santa Clarita, which happened to be the IdentiGo office in Burkank. Unfortunately, my experience this time around was far less than positive. Although I was able to schedule the appointment for the next day, which was the sole plus point, I found the staff member who processed my application to be very curt and rather rude. For example, I asked a couple of questions about how we were to be notified once approval was received, to which I received a response "As I already told you..." which actually was not quite the case. She'd explained that I'd receive an official approval letter in about 30 days, however my question was in regard to an email communication about approval status.
My takeaway is that, with an increasing number of these "TSA-approval in a box" locations now available, this facility will start seeing their business drop off possibly to zero, if others have similar experiences, which I highly suspect may be the case. High efficiency doesn't make up for poor customer service attitude. This locale will not see me back when I need to get my pre-TSA status renewed next time around. read more