At around 11 a.m. on Monday, Doreen Haworth arrived at the local Social Security office to help her brother regarding a claim for benefits.
She did not emerge for two hours. “It’s packed in there,” she said as she left the one-story building on Pleasant Street. “You’re lucky to get a seat.” It is the same whenever she visits the office: “Long waits,” said Haworth, of East Providence.
At many Social Security offices across the country, people are encountering an increase in wait times, busy signals and delays, according to a report last week by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the audit arm of Congress.
This undermines trust in Social Security and undermines trust in the government's ability to do anything right.
4 comments:
How are things at the DMV or the doctor's office? Be nice if people could walkin and be out in 10 minutes, but waiting time at SSA offices is no worse than other places you go.
Why are people surprised that they have to wait when they walk in without an appointment? Scheduled appointments are always served first, and walk-in traffic has to wait until someone is available to serve them.
Having worked 5 years in an SSA field office many years ago, I know that Monday morning is the worst time to show up there. People would line up and wait hours (in those days there were no scheduled appointments); those who resisted the urge and waited at least until after noon on Mondays would get in and out typically with minimal wait times. Best times for service were typically in the middle of the month, middle of the day. I've found this works at most government offices and banks.
I agree with Anon1. Unfortunately, new automation tools have enabled Big Brother to monitor wait times for in-office and phone queues. And managers continue to get crapped on for having too long of a wait in their offices. SSA has micro-managed to the point of inanity.
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