Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Saede Riordan]

The unemployment/social services office is possibly the most horrible place on earth. First off, my girlfriend went down there yesterday, and she was made to wait in line all day long just for them to tell her that the 5 slots they have each day are already filled for helping people, and she should come back tomorrow with the pile of papers they hand her filled out, most of this stuff, is by the way, completely weird and inane. So She fills it out.

Anyway, they also tell her that although it is first come first serve, the slots are normally filled within 15 minutes of them opening, and in order to get one, she should be there by 7 am.
The doors to the building don't even open until 8 am and the office doesn't open until 8:30. When the doors opened at 8 she and a bunch of other people had to run upstairs to the office to try and get a better spot in line. She then stood in line there for another hour with people trying to cut ahead of her, just for them to tell her that they couldn't help her unless the form was completely filled out, which she couldn't do because she didn't know what half of it was, and that the stuff she had filled out needed to be redone because they apparently needed it in pen. >_>

They're reducing people to fighting in line like 2nd graders. My girlfriend came home crying after that. I don't know what we can do, cause they're completely unhelpful. Its like they're trying to demean people to discourage them from going there, but we don't have any other choice. Its so incredibly horrible and I don't know what to do.

[hellgremlin]

And to think, it's only going to get worse. We're not creating more jobs as a society, we're trying to get the most work done with the least amount of people in the name of efficiency.

Where is this?

[Alain Colcer]

Give thanks you are in a developed country, i hope you never need to file for government welfare in Latin America.

[Invelious]

I nailed to 2 well paying jobs with a high school eduction in Canada, in one day. We aren't that far, come on up.

[Akrasjel Lanate]

The unemployment/social services office...

all day long just for them to tell her that the 5 slots they have each day

Are you serius, so they aren't to efficient

...in the name of efficiency.

[Invelious]

The unemployment/social services office...

all day long just for them to tell her that the 5 slots they have each day

Are you serius, so they aren't to efficient

...in the name of efficiency.

Maybe im confused, but I dont think thats what Hellgremlin meant.

[Saede Riordan]

And to think, it's only going to get worse. We're not creating more jobs as a society, we're trying to get the most work done with the least amount of people in the name of efficiency.

Where is this?

Western New York State

[Myyona]

Some times I wonder if they purposely make these systems so bothersome to use as an encouragement to find a job (of any kind) on your own.

[Wanoah]

Unemployment offices are universally awful, I think. My experiences with such places here in the UK seem pretty similar to those described in the OP, although we do at least have a more comprehensive benefits system than in the US.

Why are they so bad, though? I think there are a few factors at play:

Often, the staff are the sort of people that would struggle to find a job at a for-profit company.

Often, the sort of people the staff have to deal with are ignorant, rude, violent, abusive, devious, liars, or some unholy combination of those things. This may lead to a lowest common denominator approach that results in treating everyone like they are a lying scumbag. Genuine, ordinary folk that have hit hard times and are unfamiliar with the bureaucracy having never needed it before are treated like shit because of all those people that spend their free time gaming the system for everything they can get.

There is a culture of being a barrier to assistance - guardians of the public funds - rather than the helpful gateway to assistance and advocates for the needy that you might expect.

[lallara zhuul]

My experiences with the social services have always been positive.

Partly because the student allowances from the government are under the same arm of the government the people working there have to be humane to be able to work with the students of the nation. Also in the last economic downturn in the 90s the whole thing changed a bit, mainly because everyone knew someone who had lost their job, so it was pretty obvious why acting like an asshat does not help at all.

But of course, Finland is a socialist hellhole if you ask some people, I just consider it civilized.

[Casiella]

[mod]Remember, under the guidelines for this site we encourage friendly and respectful discussion. So far, this thread has stayed well within the bounds and the staff appreciates it. We'll continue to keep a close eye on things in case things go pear-shaped, though. [/mod]

[Louella Dougans]

There are usually free advisory services that help people to fill out forms, and to obtain the appropriate government assistance.

The UK's ones are called Citizen's Advice Bureaus.

[Saxon Hawke]

They couldn't help her unless the form was completely filled out, which she couldn't do because she didn't know what half of it was, and that the stuff she had filled out needed to be redone because they apparently needed it in pen. >_>

Not to pick on Nikita and her girlfriend, but this line jumped out at me. This is something students should be taught in high school and for some reason they aren't. I saw the same thing when I was a college professor. A basic rule is fill out everything. They wouldn't ask the question if they didn't want an answer. Not having seen the form, I can't judge if the questions were "weird and inane" but that's the hoop you have to jump through for the service. For future reference: http://www.ehow.com/how_2140104_fill-out-unemployment-forms.html

And ALWAYS use a pen for anything official. Writing a check? Use a pen. Applying for a credit card? Use a pen. Signing a contract? Use a pen.

[Myrhial Arkenath]

For this kinda thing, there need to be a lot of rules and paperwork and what not, because sadly they need to make it hard for all the people who try to abuse the system.

Listen to Saxon, he makes some very good points. It's easy to throw your arms up and go woe is me, but it will not get you any further. Be proactive and make sure you have done everything you can. They are not going to hold your hand through this. And do everything you can to get out of this situation asap. Look for a job further from home than your normally would (a good hook to get them to pay your travel expenses) or take one with worse hours, worse pay or that doesn't interest you in the slightest. And then use that as a stepping stone to get back up. If you do get unemployment stuff sorted, then look into doing volunteer work. Preferably the kind where you can pick up some new skills that might help you in a paid job. It also looks really good on your CV.

[Saede Riordan]

They couldn't help her unless the form was completely filled out, which she couldn't do because she didn't know what half of it was, and that the stuff she had filled out needed to be redone because they apparently needed it in pen. >_>

Not to pick on Nikita and her girlfriend, but this line jumped out at me. This is something students should be taught in high school and for some reason they aren't. I saw the same thing when I was a college professor. A basic rule is fill out everything. They wouldn't ask the question if they didn't want an answer. Not having seen the form, I can't judge if the questions were "weird and inane" but that's the hoop you have to jump through for the service. For future reference: http://www.ehow.com/how_2140104_fill-out-unemployment-forms.html

And ALWAYS use a pen for anything official. Writing a check? Use a pen. Applying for a credit card? Use a pen. Signing a contract? Use a pen.

but its things like
"okay, this form isn't filled out, we don't know what this is asking for."
"Well sorry, I can't help you fill out the form, and I can't help you until the form is filled out."

its just irritating.