Sent to back of the queue for phone call

“A very stupid letter indeed. One, you do not approoach any counter talking on the phone. It's rude, and in this case, very stupid. Two, you do not have the same right of use as the immigration officer. Are you aware of their internal policies regarding use of mobile phone? Three, Immigration officers world wide are not renowned for their courtesy, and you want to do all effort to be on their good side. These guys make minimu wage, and you put them in a position of authority. Behave for the few minutes it takes you to get through.That is the smart thing to do.”

“@Oolab: in this case, there were signs and the writer did not see them or chose to ignore them”

“Yes, he shouldn't have been on his mobile in passport control but it was his elderly Aunt, how was he supposed to knowit wasn't an emergency? He got off his mobile and apologized twice. Why make him go to the end of the line? What purpose does that serve? Trying to "put him in his place?" What's the point of that? Whatever happened to "turn the other cheek?". Since when is vengeance a good thing?

I arrived in this country 10 months ago. I had never left my home country before and had no idea what to do or where to go. I had my 4 daughters, all under the age of 12, in tow and didn't speak the language. My passport control officer was on his hands free device the whole time and not once talked to me or helped me find where I needed to go next despite being confused and trying to ask him where to go next. Where was the courtesy my daughters and I were due? Did I demand to speak to his manager? Did I demand an apology from him or file a complaint? No, it wasn't worth it!

This guy at least got off his mobile and apologized twice. In my book, he's worth 10 of the officer who "helped" me.”

“Common courtesy dictates that you don't approach anybody that you need assistance from while jabbering away on your mobile phone. It's beyond rude and he was exactly right to chastise you for it. Learn some manners and stop acting like the world revolves around you and owes you a favour.”

“Yeah, phones anywhere near an airport don't seem to be allowed, I totally avoid doing anything on my phone until I am past passport control and certainly wouldn't be on the phone as I approached even a post office worker of supermarket check out let alone passport control”

“On a recent trip to the UK, I made a call in response to an urgent sms I received whilst at Border Control at LHR T3.

Admittedly I had passed through passport control & was heading out, but I was rudely approached by surly staff who advised me that the use of mobile phones was prohibited & asked why I didn't comply with the notices..??

Firstly I apologised for my oversight & then went on to say - "no I didn't know it was prohibited & asked where are the warning notices located that advise passengers of this..??"

Suffice to say - no warning notices were apparent & no, I did not get an apology for the rudeness of immigration staff.

To assume that passengers are aware of such policies is dangerous & foolhardy. To then penalise passengers is needless & punative for this assumption.”

“Get a E-Gate card........then you can waffle all day long without interruption!

BTW, I am sure they seemed arrogant, but then, you fueled it by being rude!

Exclude the Middle East, exclude going to or through any counter.........have some respect!
Even if you did that in the UK and I was behind a counter, you'd get the wrath of a Northerner!!!”

“I'm sorry, say what you will about immigration processes here, but there isn't a country in the world that allows you to talk on a cell phone while going through passport control. Since there are signs everywhere to this effect, I think your aggrivation at the immigration officer is misplaced.
On a recent arrival in Dubai at midnight, the lines for passport control were backed up from the desks nearly to the escalators. Do you know how long I waited? 25 minutes. I would suspect that Dubai has some of the shortest wait-times at peak hours of any airport terminal its size.
The immigration officials I have encountered here run the gamut from brusque to extremely friendly, but no more or less than in any other place I've been to. What I do notice is that they tend to take an awful lot of attitude from passengers who do not think the rules apply to them. Perhaps because they are not in bullet-proof cubicles as at passport control in so many other countries?
Give passport control a break. Have your documents, shut off your phone and treat them with respect. You'll find getting in and out a whole lot easier if you do.”

“Well done that man. Although I'm not convinced this isn't a wind up.”

“Are we expected to feel sympathy for you Anon? You came and broke the rules and now you're moaning because you got told off? FYI at NO airport in the world are you allowed to use mobiles / cameras at immigration. Perhaps you should make yourself aware of the rules and regulations before you travel and stop blaming others for your faults.”