"Bruce Greef" wrote in message
...


You have my sympathy. Having met some of the bureaucracy the USA seems to
specialise in I try to avoid the place completely. But I must agree that ,
when dealing with bureaucrats there is a lot more to be gained from a
little courtesy and and a lot of preparation. Frequently the person you
are dealing with falls into one of two categories.
1] He/she is completely clueless and will only do what is in their
procedures and guidelines. Heaven help you if you meet one of ours who is
functionally illiterate, and so only knows a small fraction of the rules,
but applies those with vigour.
2] Alternatively it might be someone who is knowledgeable about your
sport, and probably does not agree with many of the painful regulations
they are paid to enforce.

The problems I've run into fall into three categories.

One is the bureaucrat who is hellbent on controlling people's lives in some
way and finds whatever excuse he thinks he can justify to exercise that
control, in this case over someone's interest in aviation. This type of
person relies on the fact that the system makes it hard (read espen$ive) for
individuals to push back.

The second one I've run into is the kind who thinks they are doing you a
favor by doing their job, for which our taxes pay their salaries. After
exhausting all possible avenues and exercising patience over a period as
long as two years, in some cases I've been forced to notify the FAA my next
stop will be a federal district attorney to file charges and start throwing
people in jail (it was that bad). In one case, a documented I needed to have
reviewed and approved was sat on for 2 years. When I did this, it was
approved within a week.

The third is the schmuck who will throw obstacles in your way unless you pay
homage to him in some fashion.

All three are examples of what happens when there is little or no oversight
over the activities of these federal employees.

Whatever, in general the person you are dealing with has limited ability
to accommodate you. It can take some time , and requires willing on their
part to find ways around 'problems'. If you retain your manners and make
it easy for them to help you, it is amazing how much better the experience
gets. (Again a generalisation, you are always going to get some jerks in
any population.)

Of course, but there is a limit in which retaining manners just doesn't
work, and you have to forcefully remind them that you are not asking for
favors. For example, responses to request for services that state that what
I am asking for is "not a priority of this office" are unacceptable, period.
If it's part of their job, they have to take care of the issue within a
reasonable amount of time. If I have to do legwork and paperwork in order to
accelerate things, fine, but telling me "No." will not be tolerated.

On the subject of the "Charter Quest Team" - this sounds like another of
the little holy wars American officialdom seems to specialise in. Some
genius somewhere formed a plan to raise their profile... Eventually after
the damage they are doing becomes apparent, someone works out it was a
lousy idea.

And in the meanwhile, people lose their jobs, entrepeneurs who worked their
asses off to build a business see it crumble because of some dip****
bureaucrat, and nothing truly positive is accomplished.



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