Why are the custom officers in Vancouver airport so mean and strict?

I'm afraid that they are not paid to be be "customer service"agents. They have a function which is actually very serious and important to ensure national security

I have also had my bags pulled out a couple of times for no apparent reason, but at the end of the day they are doing their job and if they stop someone who is genuinely bringing something illegal into the country (etc) then it's worth it

I do agree that they could be a little more 'friendly' but I have yet to meet one that is - that's includes in the US and also throughout Europe. Indeed I got my passport checked & stamped when returning to my own country last year. I asked him why and the answer was "because I want to!"

As they say, c'est la vie.............. that's life!

They are forced to be strict and "mean" because so many people try to bring things into the country which would endanger the health, safety or well-being of the Canadian people.

They are STUPID! I brought a violin from Iran (Pre 9-11 and i had dual citizenships with iran AND canada). And i was like 100$ under for claiming that dumb violin. It was retarded because there are actually two currencies in iran Rials (unofficial) and Tuman (official). So i ended up converting from rials.


OH NO AN OVERPRICED VIOLIN!!111oneone

I assure you Canadian customs are much nicer than the Americans. The customs officers at the border are one of the reasons I have told my boss I WILL NOT go back to Canada. We don't get paid anything extra for the hassle and the last American customs FEMALE was a you know what.