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mind if I add my rant? I went on medicare, they took their part B payment, and now bills are late, property tax was late, food has been a problem and I have work needed to I'll do but have to buy the stuff. .
LOL That last line just struck me as funny considering the OP's topic.
At our SS office, the call specifies that I select someone to talk to. I always select my rep and when I do, she's always unavailable. When I finally did get to talk to her - once - she said never to come down to the office because there was no place to park.
I had another question and after days of not being able to get hold of my rep, I finally did go down to the office. There were plenty of places to park and I was able to get a spot right outside the door. Waited about half an hour and talked to a perfectly nice gentleman who answered all my questions.
Compare that to the IRS. I called the number they had on their website and the woman who answered told me no one there could answer any of my questions. I asked for a supervisor then, and her response, in a very irritated tone of voice, was "There's no one here who can answer your questions due to budget cuts!"
I was going to ask her if she was getting paid for doing nothing then, but decided to drop it and hang up.
I found taking time off to visit the SS center in person was the best bet. The rep cleared up multiple problems that I couldn't get cleared up on the phone. The in peson reps were better than the phone reps for me.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SierraCountyMtnBiker
Just an FYI
And this is after they've had you go thru many prompts, hitting this or that button which doesn't apply
Then even asking for your SS upfront though the question is just a general question
No call back feature to keep your place in line like ebay has. Hmmm....
So...though I am home today purposefully so we can place a bid on a house, I need to keep the phone open. So waiting 1 hr 15 min isn't ok. But a call back to answer two quick questions would take up maybe 5 min time keeping the phone open.
I've also noticed when I take PTO and schedule it for medical needs, I need to keep the phone open. I cannot be gone long because it usually involves staying by the phone keeping it open. So cannot sit for 1 hr 15 minutes to wait.
They really do not want to hear from us.
In 2017...really, no call back feature?? and no way to just email questions?? And the "Chat lady" cannot answer it either? Simple questions that I do not need to give personal info for??
So many changes with SS. Who knows what to believe.... End of Rant thx for listening~
I've been in Social Security offices a number of times over the last 2+ years doing things for my mother and dealing with a mis-reported earnings issue from one of my employers. The phone simply didn't work. My personal experience is that urban Social Security offices are stuffed full of people in their waiting room. The vast majority of them are nowhere near age 62. They appear to be there scamming SSDI. In rural offices, you walk in and nobody is there. There is no way in the world I'd deal with them on the telephone and there's no way in the world I'd ever again go to an urban Social Security office.
I went to an urban one that was full of people. I got there right when the doors opened. There was a line. That place, being urban and used to dealing with a lot of people, had the system down pat. People were sent to this area or that area, and we were summarily called to small booths at different times, depending on what we were there for. The workers were professional and courteous, but busy. I got out w/in an hour.
I was there to get a replacement SS card, with a name correction. I was not there to scam SSDI, nor was anyone else, that I was aware of. Since you went to an urban SS office, I assume you were there to scam SSDI, so you assumed others were, too?
With the news laws regarding citizenship and voting, everyone has to have a valid SS card with a precise name matching a driver's license, etc., so there are tons of people going to SS offices, driver's license offices, birth certificate offices, etc.
If you want large govt offices to answer your call right away, you'll have to vote for more taxes to hire people to do that. None of the govt agencies are like your cable co., a rich fat corporation with lots of employees who are hired precisely to handle far fewer customers than govt agencies. But even so...I called the SS office once for something and had no problem getting through. I did have to wait on hold, but not that long. I suppose it's hit or miss on how busy they are.
Many posts not understanding though it was spelled out
There was NO call back option
It's 2017
I called the 800# today. I was given a call back option. I declined.
Instead, I waited about 40 minutes to speak with a rep and ended up yelling because the entire conversation was stupid, the rep was wrong, I was right and I was over it.
After all of these years dealing with SSA I finally lost it. Fortunately, I no longer work for the agency nor do I represent clients before the agency.
I have had horrible experiences trying to reach the SS offices. The national line kept me on hold for 40 minutes, then the guy that finally answered asked me a question or two before he sent me to another line where I was on hold again for 30 minutes. While I'm talking to the woman that was trying to help me, she put me on hold and 10 minutes later I found that we were disconnected.
At the local office I have been on hold for 45 minutes before I gave up. 3 times I broke down and went directly to the office in the next town where the wait was one hour each time.
I did try to schedule an appointment about a month ago, and after a 40 minute wait on hold I was told that they were booked up until October!
Baby Boomers are NOT done retiring! There is a whole lot more of us coming to apply for benefits, and this institution is not prepared for it!
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thx for listening~ 
