Customer service at the Social Security Administration continues to get better, according to a new survey of the agency's clients. But some of the survey results and a recent General Accounting Office report show SSA can further improve the way it treats its customers.
The percentage of respondents to SSA's annual customer satisfaction survey who rated the agency's overall service as good or very good rose from 79 percent in 1996 to 85 percent this year.
SSA's much-touted 800 customer service number also received better marks this year. Sixty-five percent of callers reported reaching the 800 number in under five minutes, up from 55 percent last year. (The agency says its analysis shows that actually 83 percent of customers reached the service in under five minutes.)
Demand for the 800 service has increased substantially--from 41 million calls in 1989 to 94.2 million in 1996.
In a recent report, the General Accounting Office recommended ways SSA could make the service more cost effective while providing better service to customers. GAO said the agency should use a more advanced automated response system to handle calls, develop a way to verify callers' identities to allow for more automated services, and consider consolidating its call centers to make them more efficient and reduce operating and equipment costs.
GAO recommended that Social Security learn from the IRS's automation of key transactions, like checking on the status of a refund and filing income tax returns.
Social Security employees were given high marks for courtesy in the annual survey, but the agency fell just short of its goal of 90 percent satisfaction. Field office employees earned an 84 percent approval rating for courtesy and 800 number staff earned an 87 percent approval rating.
SSA's Office of Program and Integrity Reviews conducted the survey. The office mailed a questionnaire to two random samples of 1,500 customers each. A total of 2,333 completed questionnaires were returned.
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