Social Security Administration

I’ve been to the social security office a couple times with my mom and once with my friend. My experience at this location has always been the worst to be honest. Always a long wait time, even with appointment, rude representatives, the parking, etc.
The people here are like blood sucking vampires, I’m not talking about the people that work behind the windows at the front, they’re nice. I’m talking about the reps that work in the office. I know they’re only doing their jobs, but I can’t help but feel contempt whenever I come here. My friend lost her benefits, because she was making too much money, long story short, her rep was the absolute worst, a real piece of work. Instead of sympthazing with my friend as best as she could, she laughed at her. Saying, if you knew what was going on, why didn’t you inform us blah blah. Have a little compassion, my goodness.
I really dread coming here and will continue to do so only to help my mom.

Pretty quick. Was out in 30 – 40 mins

I waited only 30 min without appointment and representatives were very nice. I never knew that could be possible.
Next day, they called and kindly let me know that they need another document so I returned the office. When I get there, I straight asked the representative who called me as I was told, then took care of me right away. That was literally 5 mini visit!
That was the one of best experiences dealing with government! Hopefully one day DMV will provide the services like them…

Not bad for a SSN department. They are usually slow and have rude representatives. Their service sucks and lines are huge. In this one, i actually had a much better experience. There was almost no line or maybe i just got lucky and lady i spoke to was very sweet.

Just like everyone said. I walked in at 9:20am and was out by 10:15m no appointment. This is amazing. I’ve been to one in Van Nuys, that one has horrible waiting time.
Anyways parking is free and is pretty big. The waiting area is small but whatever you will not be sitting for long.

I may only be giving this SS Administration 5 stars because my expectations were so low to begin with that they exceeded them ten fold, but I was very pleased to walk-​in and be helped within the hour. I hadn’t brought my paperwork, just my marriage license and IDs but they easily changed my name within minutes and I was told I don’t have to wait for the new card in the mail to get my CA ID/​Drivers License updated. I haven’t yet, because I have low expectations for the DMV too. Also the guy that helped me was very friendly, bright and quick. It was a pleasant experience. I’ve put it off for over a year because I dreaded it that much, and they made it wonderful.

best government location. i waited 45 minutes.
fourty five minutes! without an appointment!

Friends this office is off the chain. Its updated since 2010 the last time I was there. New home is on 225 Broadway. Bigger and faster. The staff is polite and courteous and very helpful. We entered at 9:15a.m.and exited at 9:25 a.m. I thank the staff and appreciate their help.

Went in to change my name; got in and out within 30 mins. Staff is nice and professional.

My dad got here at 8:25 (Thursday). There were 3 people before him. They opened at 9. I arrived with my mom at 8:50. They called our # at 9:10. They were very nice & helpful. However they couldn’t help us with all our needs because they were understaffed & they had people waiting with appointments. But they did help as much as possible. There are no appointments available for 2 months. We went back on Monday, they helped us with everything. Very efficient considering we were walk-​ins.

I had to change my name here when I got married. I had an appointment, so I didn’t wait to long and was able to complete everything I needed on my hr long lunch break.

Small office, hardly any seats. There’s a parking lot and lots of streets parking. Social Security Offices do not take appointments. They call your number out so you gotta listen carefully. You show up and take a number at the kiosk they have available. I arrived about 2:30pm on a Thursday. Waited an hour and half, which was closing time at 4pm. And it only took 5 mins for the employee to do a name change. SMH. My new card was issued via mail in 5 days!
You should check office hours on SS website. I think there’s an old Unilocal pic with hours closing at 3pm, which has been changed.
Anyway, I noticed more staff started calling numbers at closing time and everyone person called was in and out quick. So I suggest you come extra early when they open (as others state they only took 10 mins) or come 30 mins before closing time.

I’ve discovered that when dealing with any government office, one must suffer the obligatory fumigation. Just one of the rules. Stinky people just happen. And they just happen to always sit next to me.
Aside from the above, I found this office to offer one of the best experiences I’ve had with a government agency. Granted, my situation was simple. I was changing my name due to marriage. The woman I dealt with (window 3 at 11:45 ¹²⁄₂₂) was very nice. Pleasant in an authentic way. I’ve worked lots of retail, and I can tell when people are faking it.
The visit was also fairly quick. I came in at 11:15 and am now reviewing my visit at 12:19. Not bad for lunchtime on a weekday.

Those of you who have written ugly negative reviews should remember that this is a government office, NOT a high end retail store. Sometimes people go to work not feeling well or when they have a personal tragedy in their lives. A little kindness goes a long way.
That being said, my experience at this office has been positive. Last time I was there, it was very busy, but my daughter and I were out of there in about an hour. That’s less time than I usually spend at my orthopedist’s office. You just plan your day accordingly. Gratitude… it helps. :)

The only SSA office I’d ever been to was the old Glendale one, which I hated. When it came time to change my name, I decided to try the Burbank location instead. All I have to say is that this was a really great experience. I went there yesterday (Friday) and I ended up getting there around 9:20 and was able to find a parking spot right away. Just remember that as soon as you walk in to check in at the kiosk so that you can get a number.
Thankfully it wasn’t terribly crowded when I got there and my number was called fairy quickly. I was done in about 30 minutes or so. The lady that was helping me in window 1 was really sweet and friendly (didn’t catch her name though). The actual process of changing my name went by smoothly and she said I would get my new SS card in 5 – 7 business days. I’m just not looking forward to changing my name at the DMV, I know that one will be a LONG wait!

Got here at 915am. Waited about an hr. Not too bad considering i didnt have an appt and it was kind of packed
I was just there to change my name and that was fairly easy.

I’ve heard horror stories about getting your name changed after you get married.
When I started the process, I looked online and saw everyone’s horror stories, so I expected this to be a total disaster.
SURPRISE! It really wasn’t a big deal.
1. Yes, you do want to get here 15 minutes or so before they open. There will be a huge line.
2. Yes, you will need to bring your paperwork. The lady asked to see my driver’s license, old social security card and my marriage license. (I also brought my birth certificate and multiple copies of the marriage license, just in case)
3. Yes, you will wait in a weird room full of people, many of whom are old, and some of whom are smelly.
I didn’t bother to try to get an appointment… but I did show up early. I stood in line. There were a TON of people here with business more serious than mine, as they are old enough to collect benefits and are trying to survive and stuff.
I stood in the corner, listened to music on my headphones and waited it out. I didn’t use the bathroom, for fear that my number would be called.
I was out before 9:15. The new card came in the mail five days later! Sweeeet. Too bad
won’t let me change my name from Rachel B to Rachel H without stripping me of my Elite badge! whaaaaa?

We had to get a replacement card recently and I looked into social security offices in the area. Some have closed in the Valley and this one in Burbank is closer and has good ratings on Unilocal.
I did try to call their 2 numbers to get an appointment and that was mission impossible, the numbers don’t work. That’s a problem because you’ll wait longer once you get to the place.
So, we decided to go over one day during their working hours. There’s a free parking lot, pretty big. You go inside, to the left there’s a machine where you get your number and then wait till your number is called. You can’t bring food and drinks (except water) inside or talk on the phone while you wait (you can text, etc). There’s a security guy who keeps his eyes on everyone. The place is clean, there’s a big seating area and a few windows open, but for various issues they call people inside, behind the closed doors. It’s pretty well organized.
We were in and out in about an hour. Customer service was good, the girl who helped us was nice and fast. We should have brought some magazines to read. For a government agency, it’s OK. And we got the card in the mail within a week, so it was efficient.

So, you get your number from a large machine.
Then you sit around waiting for one of the teller windows to call your name.
I had the misfortune of being in the bathroom when my number was called.
Once your number passes, they don’t know what to do with you. They’re like robots that weren’t programmed to deal with that situation.
They first try to ignore you if you approach their window, then they get nervous and try to pass you to someone else’s window, then they tell you that my number hadn’t been called (it had).
I gave them two stars (instead of one), because after 45 minutes, someone did hear my bathroom story and finally helped me.
So, treat going to the Social Security Administration like you would going to surgery… no food or water for at least 8 hours before.

When I found myself in the predicament of needing a replacement social security card recently, I groaned… already knowing that I’d be in for a giant black hole of my time. All SSA offices are only open during the weekday mornings + early afternoons, + unfortunately, the service I needed couldn’t be done by appointment so I would have to park my butt on a hard plastic chair for the long wait.
My first attempt at the DTLA SSA office was exactly that… 1.5 hrs went by at snail pace on the uncomfortable chair in a packed waiting room + I had to leave before they got even close to calling my number. Having to walk through a metal detector/​bag check, sit next to someone smelly in the waiting room, + pay a parking meter for the whole wait didn’t make the experience any better.
So this time I looked up a different SSA location using the office locator:
+ came across this Burbank location. Such a world of difference! The Burbank location is a stand-​alone building
between Olive + Verdugo with its own free parking lot. It was quite apparent that this location was much newer, + the fellow customers around me were more of the suburban, non-​smelly variety. No metal detector or extra security guys needed. While the seats were still hard + plastic in the waiting room
, my butt only had to wait 20 mins after initial check-​in before my number was called to the window. I was in + out of there in 30 mins tops.
Sure I had to drive all the way out to Burbank, but the comparatively stress-​free experience for getting this over with was worth it.
Hours:
Monday — Friday: 9am — 3pm
Except Wednesday: 9am — 12pm