If you have become disabled and you believe you may qualify for Social Security disability insurance (SSDI) benefits, you may think it would be a good idea to visit their office and obtain some help and advice on filing out the application.

You may have heard or read that the SSDI application is somewhat long and involved, and that it would be helpful to sit down with a live person, so you can ask questions and seek clarification when you are unsure about a topic.

According to one woman, that may not work out so well. She relates her experience of visiting a local Social Security Administration office and what she thought of their customer service. Turns out, not a great deal. She explains that the SSA violated “at least four cardinal rules of customer service.”

She found the local SSA office “depressing.” Her experience deteriorated after she entered the building, noting that the “metal chairs” were not designed to be sat in for 30 minutes, let alone the multiple hour waits that seem standard.

Customer service should put the customer first in an attractive setting. Does this fail to occur at SSA offices because no one in the office one cares? Probably not, remember, the employees of the SSA have to be there 40 hours or more a week.

The offices and the customer service offered often are lacking because the system has seen substantial growth, without a commensurate increase in funding for facilities and staff.

This means it is more important than ever when you apply for SSDI benefits to see to it that your application is complete and is not missing any important medical records or other documentation.

The process can already be uncomfortably slow, so the fewer mistakes and missing documents, the more likely your application is to receive faster treatment.

Source: The Huffington Post, “Social Security Administration’s Cautionary Tale of Customer Service,” Liz Wainger, February 5, 2014