Where one checks in at an airport.

One can find airport check-in desks with relative ease in any airport in the world. They are the ones with a good half-mile queues of increasingly bored/irritated people in front of them, and out of roughly forty counters, only two will be open. And the attendant at one of those will be on a break.

If you're particularly lucky you'll get some sort of intelligent lifeform behind the desk. However, infinitely more likely is that you'll get someone who will say something inane like, "Going on holiday are we?". Never ever reply with something sarcastic or you'll be kept waiting for hours, perhaps even days. The same goes for when you're asked the phrase, "Did you pack these bags yourself?" Always answer, "Yes Sir / Madam". On no account say, "No I didn't. In fact, I asked a small Arab gentleman in a balaclava to pack them for me, and he told me to be especially careful not to jolt them in case all the high explosives go off" or you'll be whisked away to have all your body cavities searched before you can say "Please don't poke that up there!".