When I first started taking Social Security, I had some unexpected complications that were my fault. I wanted to go to one of their offices and speak to a person face-to-face to try to set it all straight, but it was impossible to get through to our local office via phone to make an appointment. So I went there in person as soon as they opened, resigned to sitting for hours to see someone. To my surprise, our local small office has an efficient ticketing system for walk-ins, and I only had to wait ten minutes or so. I had a few follow-up visits after this, and it was always this easy. And the people were pleasant and polite.
Speaking of Social Security….
I waited until I was at full retirement age (70) to apply for my benefits. I had previously been receiving death benefits from my late wife’s account, and applying for those benefits was a long and arduous process.
This time, I set up a phone interview about two weeks in advance, dreading what might be involved. Instead, I got something like this:
“Mr. ZonexandScout, you will be 70 years old on this date. You are applying for full benefits? OK, you will receive $XX each month on the second Wednesday of the month. Your first payment will be made on [date]. We will use the same bank account information as for the death benefits, which will stop at the time of the first payment. Any questions?”
To top it off, about 18 months later I got a notice that they had incorrectly applied the COLA for several months and that I would get an additional one-time payment of more than $3K to make up for it.
A few weeks ago, my parents needed to change the direct-deposit for their Social Security checks to a new bank and new account, as their old bank account had been compromised by a scammer.
We decided to try to go to the local SSA office, despite the government shutdown; I was certain that we were going to be sitting there waiting for hours.
The security guy at the entrance very patiently showed my father how to register for an “appointment” on the electronic kiosk once we got there, and we only had to wait for five minutes to talk to a clerk. She, too, was patient and kind, and got it all taken care of in less than 15 minutes.
Both Mrs. J. and I have called up Medicare customer service to clarify/complain about screwed up charges by providers. Got through to agents quickly, and they were pleasant and helpful.
Glad to hear it. My experiences with AT&T have been the opposite, including a promise that they wouldn’t charge me for an extra month of phone service after I switched to another carrier. Long story short, they lied, and it was hellish getting the charge dropped.
Last week I ordered a vanity top from Menards, with estimated ship day of November 21. A couple days ago I found one I liked better. I said to myself, “I need to cancel the first order. This is probably going to be a nightmare.” So I looked at the email, and saw a link to a page called “Help Center.” I clicked on it, and then clicked on a link for “Cancel Order.” I filled out the short form and submitted it. A few hours later I got an email saying my order had been canceled. I was impressed on how easy it was; no hassles, no run-around.
Quick update - passports arrived in the mail today! Even in normal times I would have expected it to take much longer. Between DOGE and the shutdown, I’m absolutely stunned that we got them this quick.
I have found that, since the Covid lockdown made Online Ordering and Delivery a necessity, every retailer stepped up their game considerably, and maintained that reliable service quality ever since. I am happy to take advantage of that.