Here are some numbers from Social Security on how long it's been taking them to answer calls on their 800 number. You can see that it's gone up dramatically over the years. It's currently around 20 minutes. I don't whether they factor in the calls where the system eventually hangs up on the caller. Click on each image to view full size.
8 comments:
Looks like it's down from 2018 average and I would guess many more calls this year than 2018.
Many people are calling SSA now rather than visiting the FO. Instead of waiting in the lobby, at least they are safe at home when they have to wait.
In related news, the in-lobby wait has dropped to 0. Lol. I wonder what the total aggregate wait is for visitors in 2020 vs 2019 ( fo time plus telephone time divided by all visitors and calls) I’m curious if it was above or below 20 mins. That’s sort of the only comparative point to determine if the 20 min phone time means anything significant.
I wait longer than that to talk to customer service for my credit card.
I had to call my local office, someone answered in about 10 minute! I told her, I have never ever had someone answer that fast. She said she was working from home. So...maybe that's the way to go? Still have an office of course, but by appointment only, or maybe do ENOUGH on the phone, one doesn't have to come in for the little things? Interesting....
Frankly, when I call at off-peak times, I'm on hold 10-20 minutes. Compared w/ pre-pandemic waits, this is manageable! I'm also finding that, for the most part, the people answering the phones are able to direct me to the person on that FOs staff that really can resolve the issue I've called in for! I'm dealing w/ FOs around the US; this experience has been fairly consistent....except when I get disconnected!
SSA has not provided me with the means to receive or make a call from home, even though I am teleworking.
I hace to listen to messages and then call the person back from my cell phone. We were told to use *67 to not give out our personal numbers. But sometimes I forget to use *67 and then the attorneys and claimants will call me back on my cell about their case, even during non-work hours!
You need to speak to your union rep about this. You should have a soft phone by now.
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