The current realities of SSA...

Staff shortages: For example, Ed's office was the third busiest in the country. At its highest staffing level the office had 90 employees. When he retired, they had 71.

Personnel issues: It takes many months to discharge a federal employee. In the meantime, substandard employees can do a lot of damage to those waiting for action on their disability case.

Employee is on leave!: Federal employees can take paid leave for up to 5 weeks a year. If you have an issue that needs to be addressed and the employee takes leave the next day, you could wait for months for completion.

Contacting SSA: If you have an issue or questions, getting in touch with someone is...difficult.

Result: Degradation of customer service.