Social Security Administration

I stood in check-​in line for about an hour. After I finally got my number I waited another 3 hrs for my service

I arrived 15 minutes after they opened to get a replacement card. I stood in line for maybe 20 minutes and then sat for THREE HOURS waiting for my name to be called and left out of frustration without my card.
Every 10 minutes or so someone would walk out from the government gray door and yell a name into the sea off people in the crowded waiting area. As the morning wore on it became more common for the person being called to have left, as I eventually did, but that didn’t seem to make things go any faster.
Absolute waste of a morning.

Wait time-​1 star.
Actual service-​5 stars.
I recently married and need to change my name, and the Social Security Administration is the first step. I’m friends with Stephanie M, so when I saw her glowing review pop up in my feed, I thought this would be a breeze. I got there about 11:20, thinking this would be late enough to miss the people who show up when the doors open, but early enough to miss the lunchtime crowd. Wrong. I stood in line for an hour and eleven minutes for check-​in (which is essentially just to get a number). I then waited another 55 minutes to be called back up. Both representatives that I dealt with were friendly and pretty quick, so it was hard to understand where the huge delays were coming from. As for Rob P’s message about printing out SSN’s, I noted a poster on the wall stating that they no longer do that as of August 2014.
I guess it’s what I would expect from a government-​run office with much friendlier and competent-​seeming agents than you deal with at the DC DMV, but I was really taken aback that it took 2 hours and 13 minutes to file for a name change.

Went to the SSA office the other day to request a new SSN card. The office timing is displayed as 9:00 AM — 4:00 PM but they draw the curtains in the main waiting area at Noon and also lock the main door at that time. Essentially, if you want to be served, you must be in line by Noon! There is no mention of this rule anywhere except by first hand experience.
Next, the waiting in line to get a number process — you have to stand in line to await your turn to get signed in to see an agent. This process can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 90 minutes (generally the case). How long does it take for the person at counter 1 to add you to the list??? Thankfully the next wait to see an agent was shorter — 20 minutes!
Also, the smell in the room matches any general ward in a city hospital so you have been warned!
The first star is for the experience above.
The second star is for the actual customer service, which was not bad — not efficient but acceptable considering it is a government employee!
All in all, this is one of those services that you have to endure coz there is no option B.

Be ready to stay for more than four hours and depending on the crowd, it may be louder than usual. Anyhow, the actual SSA employees are courteous and do an excellent job making sure your application is in order before processing. I am happy with the service.