Time for Another Survey of SSA Services

People are more inclined to file a complaint than to praise good service.

Give praise more often than criticism. SewCreamStudio/Shutterstock

Sadly, there has been more than a little bit of “government bashing” going on lately. In addition to general rants about alleged government inefficiency, government employees come in for more than their share of criticism. All I really know is Social Security and the services provided by the Social Security Administration. So that’s what I am going to write about today.

I hear about the issue all the time from readers. I’ve learned over the years that people are much more likely to complain to me about poor service than they are to send me an email praising good service.

That’s why I was a little surprised when I got about a half-dozen unsolicited emails this week from readers in various parts of the country telling me how pleased they were with the people they encountered at the Social Security Administration and with the services they got. Several told me that they filed for Social Security benefits online, found the process very simple and got their “award letter” notifying them of benefits they would be due in about a week. Several others told me that they called the agency’s national toll-free number (800-772-1213), and that even though they waited on hold for a long time (which they correctly blamed on staffing cuts), they praised the help and efficient service they got once their call was answered.

Despite this recent spate of positive comments, as I said, I’ve learned over the years that more people tend to complain about poor service. I’ve always been intrigued by this. So, occasionally, I survey my readers’ opinions of the SSA’s services. The last one I did was about a year ago. Maybe it’s time for another one.

What I learned from past surveys is that when given the chance to voice their opinion, the folks who were very satisfied with the SSA’s services and employees come out of the woodwork and let me know what they think. In the last survey I did, I asked my readers to rate the service they got from the Social Security Administration in the form of stars: 5 stars for excellent service, down to 1 star for poor service. I got 254 responses from readers. The ratings broke down like this:

• 5 stars: 191 ratings
• 4.5 stars: 7 ratings
• 4 stars: 31 ratings
• 3 stars: 13 ratings
• 2 stars: 4 ratings
• 1 star: 8 ratings

If I’m doing my math right, that comes out to a 4.5-star average rating. I understand this is an unscientific survey. But I still think it’s a pretty good representation of what most people think about the service they get from the SSA.

And I did glean some points from the responses I got to that last survey. As I’ve reported on before, the SSA does routine work extremely well. And the good news is that when it comes to our involvement with the Social Security Administration, almost all of us have routine issues. We file for retirement benefits, or we want to change our address in the SSA’s records. These jobs are handled quickly and efficiently—usually by the SSA’s website: www.socialsecurity.gov. Many readers who gave 5-star reviews specifically mentioned the ease of using the website.

Conversely, many people who gave lower ratings had messy situations. One guy had been trying for years to get disability benefits. And even though he eventually got those benefits, he gave the agency a 1-star review.

Two other readers gave a low rating because they said they got wrong answers from SSA reps. But when they described their situation to me, they actually got the correct information. I don’t think people should give a low rating based on what they think an answer is supposed to be. But still, they did.

Some people who gave lower ratings cited the long wait times when calling the agency’s toll-free number. One guy gave a 1-star rating for that reason. But interestingly, another person who said he waited for about an hour gave a 4-star rating because once his call was answered, he said he talked to a knowledgeable rep who gave him good advice.

And this leads me to another observation I gleaned from readers’ responses to my last survey. I think happy and optimistic people tend to give good ratings, and grumpy and pessimistic people give low ratings. Here is a perfect example of that. Two people, one kind of grumpy and one kind of happy (I could just feel those vibes in the emails they sent), reported almost identical issues with the SSA’s in-office service they experienced. They each ended up sitting for about an hour in the waiting room of their respective local SSA office before being served. Mr. Grumpy gave the SSA a 1-star because of that. Mr. Happy still gave a 5-star review because he said he understood there had been staffing cutbacks, and once he was served, he got his issues taken care of in a professional way. By the way, I am not saying that all those who give low reviews are grumpy people. But I am saying that all grumpy people give low reviews.

Anyway, with the latest round of staffing cuts we’ve all heard about, I think it’s time to do another survey. If you’ve had to deal with the Social Security Administration lately, tell me what you think. Use the same star system I mentioned earlier: 5 stars for excellent service, down to 1 star for poor service. Send those ratings to my email address: [email protected]. All I need is the rating. But if you feel inclined to comment on your rating, go ahead. But please don’t make it a long, drawn-out critique. Due to the high volume of emails I get from my readers around the country, I simply don’t have time to digest them all.