Social Security Administration

I brought a coat with me just in case there’s a need to q outside. To my surprise there’s no need. I think I did the right thing drive further down to Durham rather than going to the Raleigh one. The wait was about 25mins. The officer is not too bad. No smile but have my stuff done. So no complains here.

Ok, it seems a bit ridiculous of me to consider giving a place like the Social Security Administration more than 3 stars, but I was pleasantly surprised by my visit to the SSA in Durham. It’s most likely because my expectations were incredibly low.
After reading scathing reviews about the Raleigh location, and hearing from others to avoid it like the plague, I decided to try my luck in Durham instead. It was going to be an extra 7 minutes driving from Cary, but for potentially faster and friendlier service, I thought it would be worth it.
I came on a Monday at 8:55 AM (they open at 9). There was already a pretty long line, and they were slowly letting people in when I got there. I got a ticket around 9:05 AM and had to wait a little less than an hour to be served. I was out of the door by 10 AM.
I had to return again that day because I had forgotten a document. I was dreading having to wait again, because the waiting area was getting packed during my first visit. I arrived back at around 11 AM, and got out at 12:15 PM — so a little over an hour total time for that visit. Not bad, in my opinion.
Considering that I heard stories about people waiting 3+ hours at the Raleigh location, I consider my visits to this SSA pretty successful.
The people that helped me were nice and informative — not rude at all.
The waiting space is pretty small, so it might give someone with claustrophobia a little anxiety if it’s packed with people, but I spent some of my waiting time outside, which worked well on a nice day.
It’s not a place I would ever choose to be without reason, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

I had to change my name and get a replacement SS card for my daughter. I barely had enough time to fill out the two SS card applications before they were calling me back! I arrived 15 mins before 9am, and they were already letting people in the door to check in so they could start calling people back right at 9. They were efficient and very friendly. It was well worth the drive from Cary! Thank you again for all your help!

There are four stations and two separate rooms where they call people in to. Depending on your reason, you’ll be called into the appropriate room or booth. So just because you came early doesn’t mean you’ll be served earlier. They were calling people by categories A, U, E and R and by names for those that did not have SS numbers yet.
I was just getting my name changed so I was in the A group because I already had a SS number.
I came at 9:07 and left at 10:05. About an hour wait and bc my procedure was so quick I saw the clerk for about 5 – 10 minutes.
The man helping me said that the best time to come is after 1pm. He said that people mistakenly come early thinking that’s the best time, but that’s actually the busiest.
So… Go after 1PM!

I was very anxious about coming to the social security office because of the stories I had heard from my married friends about 3 hour long waits. I set aside half a day to get it done. I did not have an appointment beforehand (I’m not quite sure how you make one). I arrived 8 minutes before 9 am on a Wednesday. I’m not sure why they close at noon just on Wednesday. Parking was a breeze. I specially chose this one rather than the one in Raleigh because of what I’d read about parking. The line was out the door for checking in, but it moved fairly quickly. Apparently, the doors open before 9 am, but they don’t begin service until 9 am. I checked in, had all of my paperwork ready, got called to the desk after a 10 minute wait and was out of there by 9:21 am. The man who helped me was very friendly and professional, as well as the security officer who helped to direct people. Overall, it was a great experience, as good as it could have gone.

Well, consider me impressed. I mailed my passport and all forms for a replacement social security card and received the passport back on Saturday (4 days after sending it off) and my new social sec card arrived today (total of 6 days from start to finish). I thought it was going to take much longer. When I mailed my forms I did certified mail so maybe that helped, but otherwise I received my replacement card in a very timely fashion. I would highly recommend mailing rather than going into the office. See my review below for why…
Yikes. Arrived at 9 am and the place was packed. Took me 20 minutes to just find a parking spot. There were no forms or instructions inside telling me how to obtain a replacement social security card (read: there were no forms LEFT at 9:30 am… I don’t think they were ever even restocked). The place looked very disorganized. I left because I was not planning on waiting 2 hours to speak with someone. I plan on mailing my information and form in to hopefully receive a new card that way, however I am really worried they are going to lose my passport.

Reading the previous review, I was really dreading going here to change my name after getting married. HOWEVER, I was pleasantly surprised. I went on a Monday around 1pm and was surprised to find there was NO LINE — with only one person ahead of me in the waiting room. I had all my documentation filled out ahead of time and was 5 minutes in the waiting room and 5 minutes talking to the lady once my number was called.
The woman I spoke with was pleasant and efficient. I was out of there in no time. I would have given this more than 3 stars but the little Unilocal description for 4 stars was «Yay! I’m a fan.» which is going a little bit too far when describing time spent at a government office.

Fact: There are a couple of places universally one should avoid like the plague. These include the DMV, the post office, and Burger King.
Fact: You will have a long wait. You will have disgruntled service. And you will be seated next to a guy that smells like urine.
I recently discovered that the Durham Social Security office is another such avoid-​at-​all-​costs place. I arrived at 2:30, hoping to avoid any lunch rush, but it was still crowded, and — an added bonus! — full of crying infants. I took a ticket from the automated machine and had a seat. Shockingly, my number was called only a few minutes later. At least I think it was. The intercom voice was straight out of Charlie Brown.
You know… milllllions of women get married. And milllllions of women change their last names. And if we can come up with the money and technology to film a state-​of-​the-​art movie like Avatar, can’t we freaking create a secure, streamlined, comprehensive name-​change service for newlyweds? Just sayin’. I started pulling the pre-​filled forms from my handbag for the customer service rep when I realized (dunh, dunnh, dunnnnh) I’d accidentally brought the wrong papers. Crap. I was now marked as one of ‘those’ people — attributing to a SS CS rep’s many miseries. (Nobody knows the trouble they’ve seen, nobody knows their sorrows.)
After much huffing and eye-​rolling I was directed to the blank forms. I did eventually leave the office with a name-​change receipt and only one mortal enemy made — all within 60 minutes. Could have been a lot worse. :Reads new last name: Oh, I forgot. It is…