ArcaMax

Well, the votes are in. (Actually, they are still coming in, but I had to cut them off at some point and compile results.) Anyway, I'm shocked! Several weeks ago, I asked my readers to rate the service they got from the Social Security Administration in the form of stars: 5 stars for good service, down to 1 star for poor service. 148 of you responded. And the overall rating averaged out to a solid 4.5 stars.

I must admit, these results surprised me. Long-time readers may recall that I did a similar survey about a year ago. And the overall rating back then also came out to 4.5 stars. But given all the negative press reports in the past three or four months about cutbacks in Social Security Administration staffing and services, I was convinced that the rating would drop and that people would be telling me horror stories about their interactions with the SSA. And a few of you did. But most readers told me they got great service and were satisfied with their dealings with the beleaguered agency.

I was also surprised by the high overall rating because of the day-to-day emails I get from folks -- many of whom usually write to me to complain about some problems they had with the agency's services and its employees. So, this survey reinforces what I speculated about in that prior column. On a routine basis, people are much more likely to complain to me about poor service than they are inclined to send me an email praising good service. But as I learned in this and the past survey, when given the chance to voice their opinion, the folks who were very satisfied with the SSA's services and employees came out of the woodwork and let me know what they think. I'm going to expound on your ratings and your responses in a bit. But first, here are some general thoughts about ratings.

As we all know, ratings for businesses and services are now extremely common. Whether you're buying some underwear at Target or a burrito at Taco Bell, the clerk you deal with is likely to say something like this to you: "And we would appreciate it if you could take a minute and complete a survey about our service." And if they are especially bold (and honest), they might add: "And we sure would love it if you gave us 5 stars!" (5 stars being the top grade in most rating systems.)

I think most people accept the fact that these rating systems can be a bit suspect. And so often, they depend on the mood and temperament of the reviewer. For example, I was recently checking out vacation homes on the VRBO website. One place I liked got almost all 10-star reviews. (VRBO uses a 1-10 rating system.) But one grumpy guy gave the place 1 star because he found an ant in a cupboard!

So anyway, that's just my way of saying that these rating systems can be important and can be an indication of the value or quality of the product or service being rated. But at the same time, sometimes the rating must be taken with a grain of salt. I totally acknowledge the fact that this little survey I did is entirely unscientific. Still, it's the best I've got. Here are the results.

I got 148 responses from readers. (That's about 100 fewer responses than I got in my last survey. Not sure why. Anyway, the ratings broke down like this:

-- 5 stars: 118 ratings

-- 4.5 stars: 2 ratings

-- 4 stars: 11 ratings

-- 3 stars: 6 ratings

-- 2 stars: 7 ratings

-- 1 star: 3 ratings

-- 0 star: 1 rating (more about this rating in a minute)

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

And I did glean some points from the responses I got. As I suspected, 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. In fact, 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. And sadly, when a case gets messy, the service sometimes gets messy, too. Although one reviewer said he had what he considered a complicated case, he explained that his situation was handled "efficiently and professionally." Another 5-star reviewer with what he described as "thorny circumstances" said both his case and his wife's case were handled "smoothly and expertly."

Frankly, I'm not all that familiar with the SSA's current phone policies (I retired from the agency almost 20 years ago), but apparently, they have some deal where you can leave your number and get a callback. A 1-star reviewer said the callback never happened. But three other people who gave 4- and 5-star reviews said they got a callback exactly when it was scheduled.

I didn't get too many comments about the in-office service at the SSA. Although one reviewer, who admitted to me that he had somewhat of an anti-government bias, said that he walked into his local Social Security office without an appointment (something I wouldn't recommend) and was treated kindly, waited about 15 minutes, and then talked to "a helpful and courteous clerk." Another in-office visitor said, "The waiting room was busy, but clean and well-managed. And the lady I talked to sure knew her stuff."

But then there was this from the 0-star reviewer. "I had the most unbelievable experience with a group of human beings I've ever had in my life. I could not believe that many grossly, malignantly incompetent people could remotely be housed in one place named the SSA office. It truly was a life-altering experience. My rating is a BIG FAT ZERO!!!"

Oh well, I guess there is one in every crowd! Anyway, I thank all of you (including Mr. Big Fat Zero) for your ratings and comments. Sorry, but I just didn't have the space to include all of them.

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If you have a Social Security question, Tom Margenau has two books with all the answers. One is called "Social Security -- Simple and Smart: 10 Easy-to-Understand Fact Sheets That Will Answer All Your Questions About Social Security." The other is "Social Security: 100 Myths and 100 Facts." You can find the books at Amazon.com or other book outlets. Or you can send him an email at thomas.margenau@comcast.net. To find out more about Tom Margenau and to read past columns and see features from other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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