"The people who work for SS have been rigorously trained to know what is the best benefit you can receive"
Would that this was true. There was a time when SS employees were well trained and there are remnants of those people still around, but the time of consistent, competent, service obtained from SS staff has long passed. Many reasons, too many to go into here, but in ten years the likelihood of encountering one of those people, in person, would be be very slim.
Its not that I think on-line service is the answer. Its not. But good quality service from SS on a consistent basis is already history. In ten years, it will barely be a memory.
I can only agree with 8:15AM. I was a T-2 CR for 30 yrs and am now at a law firm that represents SSD/SSI claimants. When I'm lucky enough to discuss a case with an "old-timer" @ SSA, I'm happy. If I discuss a case with a "newbie" & have to direct that person to a POMS reference, I'm not so happy. I feel so badly for those claimants who really need help, but don't seem to be able to get it from the SSA.
When it became policy to not help people with month of election, the era of "you are on your own" was firmly established. I contrast my field days as a CR with my experiences now as a customer of CRs in a field office and it's dismaying. So many of the front line staff seemingly don't like the public anymore and should be doing something else. Heck, read some of the ideascale comments field personnel post and you'll not be surprised that the level of service is trending downward. The vitriol towards the public has to mean lousy service. I guess SSA can no longer try to be a Nordstroms customer service type organization and is aiming at KMart instead.
Let's talk about how the overall quality of the populace has fallen tremendously. I hate to sound like an old fuddy-duddy, but back in the day (not that long ago, however) men wore suits and hats whenever outside their home (a polo and slacks was slubbing it like when doing yard work or playing a sport). Even poorly educated illiterate people spoke decently. People weren't completely uninformed and rude. The American people as a whole are so much more angry, scared, uneducated (even with higher high school completion rates, kids are leaving school with less knowledge completing high school than kids a few decades ago had after completing middle school), and rude these days compared to decades past.
Try dealing with the people front line SSA people deal with in the oftentimes emotionally-heightened situations they do and see how well you handle it. SSA front line folks are more like employees in a prison or psych ward than "nordstrom" (haha, are you joking?!) customer service agents.
I'm guessing you are educated and work a white-collar job, surrounded by and working with mostly other reasonable, educated, middle class folks to not have the most remote idea of what front line SSA folks actually encounter and deal with regularly in their jobs.
5 comments:
"The people who work for SS have been rigorously trained to know what is the best benefit you can receive"
Would that this was true. There was a time when SS employees were well trained and there are remnants of those people still around, but the time of consistent, competent, service obtained from SS staff has long passed. Many reasons, too many to go into here, but in ten years the likelihood of encountering one of those people, in person, would be be very slim.
Its not that I think on-line service is the answer. Its not. But good quality service from SS on a consistent basis is already history. In ten years, it will barely be a memory.
Afraid that is true.
I can only agree with 8:15AM.
I was a T-2 CR for 30 yrs and am now at a law firm that represents SSD/SSI claimants.
When I'm lucky enough to discuss a case with an "old-timer" @ SSA, I'm happy. If I discuss a case with a "newbie" & have to direct that person to a POMS reference, I'm not so happy.
I feel so badly for those claimants who really need help, but don't seem to be able to get it from the SSA.
When it became policy to not help people with month of election, the era of "you are on your own" was firmly established. I contrast my field days as a CR with my experiences now as a customer of CRs in a field office and it's dismaying. So many of the front line staff seemingly don't like the public anymore and should be doing something else. Heck, read some of the ideascale comments field personnel post and you'll not be surprised that the level of service is trending downward. The vitriol towards the public has to mean lousy service. I guess SSA can no longer try to be a Nordstroms customer service type organization and is aiming at KMart instead.
Let's talk about how the overall quality of the populace has fallen tremendously. I hate to sound like an old fuddy-duddy, but back in the day (not that long ago, however) men wore suits and hats whenever outside their home (a polo and slacks was slubbing it like when doing yard work or playing a sport). Even poorly educated illiterate people spoke decently. People weren't completely uninformed and rude. The American people as a whole are so much more angry, scared, uneducated (even with higher high school completion rates, kids are leaving school with less knowledge completing high school than kids a few decades ago had after completing middle school), and rude these days compared to decades past.
Try dealing with the people front line SSA people deal with in the oftentimes emotionally-heightened situations they do and see how well you handle it. SSA front line folks are more like employees in a prison or psych ward than "nordstrom" (haha, are you joking?!) customer service agents.
I'm guessing you are educated and work a white-collar job, surrounded by and working with mostly other reasonable, educated, middle class folks to not have the most remote idea of what front line SSA folks actually encounter and deal with regularly in their jobs.
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