The VA phoned me to set up an appointment for a telephone call

[Beetlegeuse]

Seriously. The first person called me to set a date and time for a second person to call me so the second person could schedule me for an appointment at the VA hospital.

How is this kind of incompetence not criminal?

[Obs]

I will give my opinion at a time convinient for you but before that I will have to pre schedule you for a preliminary hearing so that we can pick a time.

When is convenient?

[HoldMyBeer]

Yeah. The VAs are notorious for how poorly they are run. That's is definitely criminal. These people served our country and should be getting better treatment/service.
Although, I am concerned about when people call me. Phone numbers can be spoofed and whatnot, and that sounds sketchy as hell. So I hope you were expecting a phone call from the VA and it wasn't someone trying to scam you

Sent from my LG-LS993 using Tapatalk

[Beetlegeuse]

Wait, it gets better.

The time came and went for the phone call appointment and there was no call.

Another hour, ...no call. Three hours, ...still no call.

Four hours later I get a text message from the VA offering me an appointment time. Except I already had another VA appointment scheduled at that same time. So I had to call the VA and wait on hold for 45 minutes so I could speak with an artificially intelligent human to point out that they had screwed up. Again.

[Capebuffalo]

Wait, it gets better.

The time came and went for the phone call appointment and there was no call.

Another hour, ...no call. Three hours, ...still no call.

Four hours later I get a text message from the VA offering me an appointment time. Except I already had another VA appointment scheduled at that same time. So I had to call the VA and wait on hold for 45 minutes so I could speak with an artificially intelligent human to point out that they had screwed up. Again.

I’m sorry. That sucks. Y’all should be being treated better than this. It’s shameful.

[Couchlockd]

Seriously. The first person called me to set a date and time for a second person to call me so the second person could schedule me for an appointment at the VA hospital.

How is this kind of incompetence not criminal?

Haha

I just got done bitching unemployment out about this.

Spent 90 minutes on hold to get a person who told me they will have a person call me next week to set up a phone interview for the following week.

Attachment 175178

Before I hung up after it was all set, I told them "fuck y'all mother fuckers and suck my dick "

[Obs]

Haha

I just got done bitching unemployment out about this.

Spent 90 minutes on hold to get a person who told me they will have a person call me next week to set up a phone interview for the following week.

Attachment 175178

Before I hung up after it was all set, I told them "fuck y'all mother fuckers and suck my dick "

Try calling the IRS.
I had one bitch pick up after an hour on hold and say hello.
I was in another room and went running. I said hello I am here... She cut me off and was literally yelling to speak over me and say "PLEASE CALL AGAIN WHEN YOU (I cut her off again).... PLEASE CALL AGAIN OR VISIT US AT IRS.GOV!

Almost broke my phone...

[Beetlegeuse]

I just got a synthetic voice phone call from the VA to confirm the appointment. And I've already responded in the affirmative to two different text messages soliciting a response (the text messaging is a new [to them] function). Plus a snail mail form letter reminding me of the appointment.

Before they got all automated 'n shit, they had a human call to confirm, and they would send a form letter reminder. Back then it wasn't uncommon to receive a letter cancelling an appointment I didn't know I was scheduled for, then a day or two letter I'd receive the letter informing me I was scheduled for a new appointment. So the cancellation was being mailed before the letter informing me was.


I'm not looking to elicit sympathy, just pointing out how "efficient" the federal gummint is at its best. And frankly, I find it hilarious.

Try calling the IRS...

The infernal revenue service is far worse because they have infinite capacity to fuck you over. The Congress passes open-ended tax laws, which the IRS is free to interpret as they see fit. Plus they have their own cops and their own courts to enforce their interpretation. So they can't lose any more than you can win.

A few years back I got a pretty large (5-figure) bill from the IRS because I had underpaid my federal taxes six years earlier (when I was living in another state). The unpaid tax was pretty small but the interest and penalties were YUGE. I called them and explained that I shouldn't be liable for interest and penalties because it was an honest math error, and it had taken their "past due" notice five years to catch up with me despite the fact that I'd continued to pay federal income tax for the intervening years. So they always had had my current address, therefore it wasn't my fault they were sending the past due bill to the wrong address.

They answered that it was all my fault because if I had paid the proper tax to begin with, it wouldn't have fallen to them to track me down.

[Beetlegeuse]

I can't bitch at the VA for being idiots and not praise them when they do something good.

But this isn't about the "administration" (who overwhelmingly are idiots), this is about the worker bees.

I had two appointments on the same day, two hours apart, 2 pm and 4. This in itself is very rare because their scheduling system is so ponderous they usually can't be bothered to try to even try to consolidate visits, so I'm ahead of the game already.

And there were renovations going on in the wing of the hospital that both these appointments were in, so some/many of the signs directing patients were missing. I got there almost an hour early, and when I couldn't find the clinic for the first appointment, I ducked into an unmarked clinic to ask directions. As is customary, they asked for my last name and the last four digits of my SSAN so they could look me up.

The clerk looked me up in the computer and told me I wasn't due there until 4 o'clock. So I knew immediately that I had chanced on the clinic for my second appointment. When I said I was looking for the clinic for my 2 o'clock, the clerk looked again and said, "Oh yeah, they're right down the hall." About that time the technician who was going to do the testing came out and said, 'I'm vacant right now so why don't we go ahead and do your 4 o'clock tests. Won't take 10 minutes and you'll still be on time for your 2 o'clock.'

Great, I've already saved two hours, because the technician was being pro-active.

Ten minutes later, they're done with me so they telephone down the hall to get the next technician to come out and meet me in the hall so I can locate the clinic.

Arriving early for an appointment at the VA rarely if ever gets you in to see the doctor any earlier. But miracle of miracles, it's barely 1:30 when I get to the clinic for my first appointment (which now is my second appointment, on account of I got my second appointment done two and a half hours early), and they get started on me right away.

In the end it's not yet 2:10 when I'm done for the day and heading for the parking lot. I started the day with appointments at 2 and 4, but because of staffers who were willing to go the extra mile, I was on the highway home at 2:20.

So it's not every encounter with the VA that makes you want to pull your hair out. Just the most of them.

[< <Samson> >]

Dealing with damn near every government agency in the US is nothing but a sad joke


The VA is #1 in the saddest joke dept - these people are the glue that holds this country together - and, get treated like freeloading scum



Sad

To say the least

[Couchlockd]

After starting my phone interview journey on December 10th, I got my phone interview set for 28th. I don't get it.

[< <Samson> >]

After starting my phone interview journey on December 10th, I got my phone interview set for 28th. I don't get it.

Nonsense

[Obs]

I just got a synthetic voice phone call from the VA to confirm the appointment. And I've already responded in the affirmative to two different text messages soliciting a response (the text messaging is a new [to them] function). Plus a snail mail form letter reminding me of the appointment.

Before they got all automated 'n shit, they had a human call to confirm, and they would send a form letter reminder. Back then it wasn't uncommon to receive a letter cancelling an appointment I didn't know I was scheduled for, then a day or two letter I'd receive the letter informing me I was scheduled for a new appointment. So the cancellation was being mailed before the letter informing me was.


I'm not looking to elicit sympathy, just pointing out how "efficient" the federal gummint is at its best. And frankly, I find it hilarious.



The infernal revenue service is far worse because they have infinite capacity to fuck you over. The Congress passes open-ended tax laws, which the IRS is free to interpret as they see fit. Plus they have their own cops and their own courts to enforce their interpretation. So they can't lose any more than you can win.

A few years back I got a pretty large (5-figure) bill from the IRS because I had underpaid my federal taxes six years earlier (when I was living in another state). The unpaid tax was pretty small but the interest and penalties were YUGE. I called them and explained that I shouldn't be liable for interest and penalties because it was an honest math error, and it had taken their "past due" notice five years to catch up with me despite the fact that I'd continued to pay federal income tax for the intervening years. So they always had had my current address, therefore it wasn't my fault they were sending the past due bill to the wrong address.

They answered that it was all my fault because if I had paid the proper tax to begin with, it wouldn't have fallen to them to track me down.

They charge interest and own everything.
"Tax code" is just like every other burea and agency set up to make us slaves. We have no say.
All great overreaches of power evolved via tax collection. Such as the alcohol and tobbacco tax burea which is now th BATFE who has their own "code".

[KennyJ]

Wait, it gets better.

The time came and went for the phone call appointment and there was no call.

Another hour, ...no call. Three hours, ...still no call.

Four hours later I get a text message from the VA offering me an appointment time. Except I already had another VA appointment scheduled at that same time. So I had to call the VA and wait on hold for 45 minutes so I could speak with an artificially intelligent human to point out that they had screwed up. Again.

WTH is going on over there?