As a citizen, I wish to register a complaint. If the U.S. government can police the world by keeping troops all over it, it should be able to have more than one window in the local Social Security office.
I received two letters from the Social Security Administration concerning a reduction of my 2008 benefits. I wanted an explanation because these letters were very unclear, like most bureaucratic letters tend to be.
So, I went down to the Vero Beach office and was shocked to find out there was only one worker and one window to service everyone in town. I was asked to take a ball with a number on it from some uninformed worker at the entrance and to wait my turn. The room was full of people and I was not willing to wait that long for a few simple questions. I even went down a second time and had the exact same experience as before.
I heard that Vero Beach had more Social Security checks sent to it per capita than any other place in the United States. So exactly why would there be only one person to service such an area that would have a high demand for help from the local Social Security office?
As a person I have better things to do with my time than sit around a Social Security office waiting to be served. It is a shame that we waste so much money on things that aren’t important in this country instead of spending money on really helping out our taxpaying citizens.
Edward R. McHenry Jr.
Vero Beach
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Jan 26, 2008
Customer Service In Vero Beach
A letter to the editor of the Treasure Coast and Palm Beaches newspapers of Florida:
The Vero Beach metropolitan area has a population of 130,100 according to Wikipedia.
Social Security maintains a dedicated staff just to answer calls at their toll free number (800-771-1213). Perhaps you should try this before "expecting" a face to face session with a person just to explain a letter to you.
ReplyDeleteSorry, that should be 800 772-1213!
ReplyDeleteFrom the tone of this letter, I'd also hazard a guess that the letter-writer will be one of the most vocal complainers about Federal budget deficits and unnecessary Federal spending when the subject of taxes comes up.
ReplyDelete"As a person I have better things to do with my time than sit around a Social Security office waiting to be served."
ReplyDeletePerson is probably retired or not working if it's DIB, so I would think getting the benefit record corrected would #1 on his or her list of things to do.
Like someone said could have given the 800# a try or even sent an e-mail with a his or her phone number
http://www.ssa.gov/feedback/
before marching into the local office. Plus could have gone to any SSA office if the closest one was crowded.
http://www.ssa.gov/locator
That letter sounds like he saw all the people there and simply walked out. Half the people in the room could have been checked in already, waiting for their claim to be taken. He might have only waited twenty minutes.
ReplyDeleteA lot of times in my office, we call numvers directly into the interview area, not just the reception windows. One window doesn't mean one employee.
In short: this letter a good point about the understaffing of SSA offices in favor of other dubious expenditures, but still comes off as snotty.
SSA is understaffed because the current administration and the Congress consider a war in Iraq and tax cuts for the wealthy to be a higher priority than funding an acceptable level of service at SSA and other agencies. Those who complain about having to wait at their "local office" also need to realize that it is much more efficient to do things in larger, centrally located locations. Except for those who live in large cities, most Americans don't have "local offices." Consider the safety repercussions as this happens to the FAA!
ReplyDelete