Why doesn't Social Security's phone systems have these features? I'll give you my best guesses on the answers. They don't want to tell you how long you may be on hold because they don't want to admit just how bad their telephone service is. They can't include a call back feature because they lack the personnel to do it. Their system depends on callers getting fed up with the wait and hanging up. If that's not enough, Social Security's system just hangs up on persistent callers. They lack the personnel to handle the calls they're getting. Not now, not later in the day, not tomorrow, not ever. They have no choice but to deprive telephone service to many members of the public one way or another.
Social Security management could just publicly admit to how bad their telephone service is and plead for more budgetary help but they feel ashamed of the situation and do everything they can to hide the problem or downplay it. They act like it's a management problem that they ought to be able to fix instead of a problem inherent in the lack of funding the agency has received. They're aided in their pathetic pretense by the House Social Security Subcommittee. In years past, that Subcommittee would have held hearings that would have exposed the problem and forced the agency to admit how bad things are. Now, it's mostly crickets. The Chairman of that Subcommittee, John Larson, seems largely uninterested in holding hearing on agency operations. I don't understand why he even wants to be the Subcommittee Chair.
By the way, can Social Security say "Your call is important to us. Please hold" with a straight face? It seems to me that the unstated message in Social Security's telephone system is "Your call is unimportant to us. Please hang up and quit bothering us."
20 comments:
Don't think anyone has ever gotten a bonus by begging for more staff
My favorite message is "your call is important to us, goodbye."
It's not just Social Security. A lot of automated answering systems are terrible. The call-back feature is nice, but I don't think it's that important to me. But give me some way to know if my wait is going to be 2 more minutes or 2 more hours. Since time might be hard to predict, some systems simply tell you how many callers are ahead of you, and every few minutes they update this. So you can get an idea of the time by what the number is and how fast it's decreasing. Every system should at least do that. Otherwise, you can wait an hour and the decide to hang up, not knowing that you're next.
Dropped calls should be very rare.
I really hate systems that give you numbered choices, none of which seem to lead to a real human being.
If our systems are good enough for 1985 it's good enough for 2022!!!
Are you really asking why the government is cheaping out on public services? The people that set the budget don't think that's a priority.
To be honest I don't have time to deal with phone calls. I have too many cases the manager wants worked immediately, and I can only do so much.
Also the calls and messages are often from attorneys or claimants who want me to do their case immediately (even though it's not next in my queue, we work cases according to age).
Or they disagree with the way I worked their case. So they keep calling and leaving rude messages because I won't rework it the way they want it to be worked.
So as a technician I don't have time to deal with that and I've learned not to give out my phone number if I can avoid it. They should call the 800 number instead.
Oh this one hits close to home as I am on attempt #4 to call a field office this morning. First three times I've been disconnected. 3rd time I was on hold for 30 minutes before being disconnected.
Slashing taxes and not taxing the 1% have consequences
Unfortunately it seems the Agency's public service motto is "We are not happy until your not happy." Shameful.
10:26 is making a point that I am not sure they really intended to make. These are not people, they are "cases" or "files" to be worked. Somehow they are disconnected from people. They are just widgets that need to be moved off of the desk to wherever they go. doesnt matter to them what happens, if someone is suffering, its just another widget done to get the count to keep the job.
That is the sad part.
When we got a new phone system installed in the field office I naively thought it was going to be a custom system designed to meet our needs. Nope. It was a system designed for corporate business. Had bells n whistles we didn't need or want and didn't use. It didn't have any features designed for us. If I answered the general inquiry line, the caller had the impression I was the designated phone answerer for the office, when I was actually a TE trying to get my work done while still answering the general inquiry line. Apparently they did a bid process for a massive buy and the bidders just hyped the existing systems they had.
The managers in the Social Security administration wont even acknowledge the problem. The agency sorely needs more $$$
You get what you pay for, low funding= horrible service.
12:42 - you are correct. The FO is a numbers farm. There is no room for anything else. In fact, the agency doesn't really seem to care if the work is done correctly or not as long as it's moved by a certain date. This has become a reality with the staff shortage. Fix it later...or sometimes not at all.
12:42 : When SSA moves to immediately work a case just because an attorney or claimant calls, that disadvantages all the claimants who did not call about their case, and who have been waiting longer.
Unless there is dire need involved, the fairest way to work cases is based upon age and type of case (unadjudicated awards for example are higher priority than post-adjudicative actions.)
Case processing priority at SSA should not be based upon the squeaky wheel getting the grease.
Except 3:32 when....let me give you just a couple of recent examples - 1. a request for hearing is not processed for 10 months and then only because a writ of mandamus was filed, 2. an application is not processed for 11 months because someone forgot to upload the SSI app and, even though it has been already pointed out, no one saw fit to take care of it sooner. Apparently, everything is not processed in order.
@401--I think 332PM is talking from the point of view of the payment center, not the FO. That's not to excuse poor FO work.
@1242 I can't answer for the PC but I don't think the person is not taking their job seriously. PC and FO actions are divided into what kind of action is needed (say A101) but it doesn't mean we forget that A101 is going to get a widow paid quickly.
As an FO employee, it's to the point I can only return calls on claims I have pending or that are PC and have not been adjudicated. I used to return calls from recent filers that had questions or needed simple things done but had to stop as the same nice people, and they were nice, kept calling and calling as if I was their representative. I had a ton of claims and couldn't keep up with return calls for SR functions
I like the meme I saw recently. "Your call is important to us. Please hang on until it is no longer important to you."
I personally have not experienced this out here in Cali and Arizona. But as a hearing attorney, my staff mainly handles the OHO level.
On 2 occassions, I had to wait with my client on some bogus SSI cessation cases due to too much income. It was not that long like 5-10 minutes. But I have heard otherwise at many SSA offices in California and Arizona.
About 10 years ago, I remember the SSA wasting like 200-300 million dollars on some plan to upgrade their computer system. They have the money somewhere to improve phone service. They just won't.
Charles, you are right. They are hoping claimants hang up. And B. hope they use the SSA.gov website over ever calling.
But with the SSA being on lockdown, they could have used this time and money saved from not having offices to upgrade the phone system.
How are they saving money with offices closed? Management has been there the entire time so lights have been on, rent paid, etc. Water bill may be lower.
Definitely needs a major overhaul. Should say what number your call is in que, allowing you to decide how long you wait before YOU hang up and not the system hanging up on you.
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