Depressing McCarran Survey Team

Beeeeeeeeeeep.  Doesn’t this guy know you have to remove metal to walk through the security lines at airports?  Does he ever fly?

That was, in part, my reaction to the man in the bright purple shirt behind me in the security checkpoint at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas about ten minutes ago.  I then noticed his credentials:

Las Vegas Visitor and Convention Authority
Survey Team

Ahh, a regular.  I continued on to get breakfast at Cinnabon, a place I really don’t like, purely because it’s that bad for you; at McCarran, however, there is little else available.  I see the man in the purple shirt in Cinnabon, but this time rather than hearing the beep of the metal detector I hear the responses of the couple he is surveying.

Cleanliness of the terminal?  Four.

Ease of getting through security checkpoint?  Five.

Ease of getting from check-in to main terminal?  Four.

So obviously he was soliciting responses from these two travelers in the form of scored responses.  Disappointing. Ever since the first time I came to Vegas years ago, I’ve been vocal about the poor quality of the airport.  But all of those prolific comments about why I’m not happy when I’m in this airport fizz away when I’m told, “No no, just tell us numbers, not words.”

McCarran is just terrible.  There are virtually no food selections beyond Taco Bell and Cinnabon.  The entire interior looks like I’m sure it did in 1989.  The two terminals are completed separated and require you to leave the secured area and go through security again.  The areas where there are slot machines are just dingy.  Half of the people-movers are out of order.  It is as smoky as casinos.  And it feels perpetually under construction with seemingly no change.  I’ve spent long layovers in Las Vegas and really was bothered by the lack of options.  Perhaps the only shining star is the free WiFi , which I’m using.

Vegas is growing and growing, consistently being named the fastest growing city in the United States.  I just heard that McCarran is quickly becoming one of the busiest airports in the country.  In town this weekend I saw the beginnings of the Palazzo, a new hotel being built by the Venetian; when it is completed it will be one of the largest hotels in the world, housing over seven thousand rooms.  That is seven thousand people additional people who will likely use McCarran Airport in the future.  So, imagine what the city of Las Vegas could learn if it just listened to the millions of travelers using the airporting and didn’t distill our opinions into five point scales?