who do i complain to?

artyeva

... about the unbelievable way i was spoken to on the phone today by a member of staff in my local social welfare office?

i can understand they're overworked and understaffed - and everyone is entitled to an off day every now and again.... but i had to sit there in silence for nearly 3 mins as yer wan ranted and raved and shouted down the phone at me cause i missed my signing day. i said nothing i was so shocked and when she stopped for breath she said ''nothing to say, huh?'' and then hung up.

does anyone know the title of the person i complain to? ''manager''? ''officer''?

am still a bit upset tbh - as i said i can understand everyone has an off day but seriously - go for a cigarette if you smoke - or get a stressball

fishinggirl

hi,
saw your message,

You need to get the name of the person that you were talking to and the time at which you rang, ring and ask to speak to the manager and tell them what was said to you.

If you didn't get a name, give the date and time and say that this person was working then....
Hopefully they will do something, if not go further... talk to your local councillor about what happened.

Finally, go to citizen advice about this.

hope this is of help to you...

snubbleste

Although I don't agree with how you were treated OP, i think the SWO staff do a terrific job and have a pretty low morale considering all the hassle & stress they get & you were lucky that the phone got answered! so imo shake it off your back

As regards missing your signing-on, go to the office tomorrow and explain why you missed it and sign-on.

jd83

Hi op,

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. Ring up and ask to speak to a manager . If you dont know the name of the person give the time and details of the call. No matter how stressed out they are there is no reason for that. I worked in a public office with revenue for a while and i know if i was rude to someone i would be pulled on it straight away. Keep at them until you get an apology. A few of the guys I used to work with spent some time working in social welfare. Said there were people working there for years who had nothing better in their life to do than to make an already depressing situation for someone a lot worse.

Nolanger

Fu*k them - go to your solicitor and sue the c*nts. Contrary, menopausal old wagon who can't do anything wrong because she's been working there too long. If you don't want to do this then complete the form here: https://www.welfare.ie/EN/Secure/Pages/WelfareServicesOfficeCommentCardForm.aspx

IT Loser

Nolanger wrote: »

Fu*k them - go to your solicitor and sue the c*nts. Contrary, menopausal old wagon who can't do anything wrong because she's been working there too long. If you don't want to do this then complete the form here: https://www.welfare.ie/EN/Secure/Pages/WelfareServicesOfficeCommentCardForm.aspx

:cool:

Yes. Sue them for being rude.:eek:

Xiney

Nolanger wrote: »

Fu*k them - go to your solicitor and sue the c*nts. Contrary, menopausal old wagon who can't do anything wrong because she's been working there too long. If you don't want to do this then complete the form here: https://www.welfare.ie/EN/Secure/Pages/WelfareServicesOfficeCommentCardForm.aspx

No more posts like this one, please.

trailerparkboy

Id be in there like a shot if i was treated like this and id make sure id be speaking to the manager about it, in fairness all the social welfare staff ive ever encountered have been very nice and understanding even if i missed a signing on day, maybe the person you encourted was just recently transfered from another state department and so doesnt know what work is.

artyeva

thanks all for replies! went in this morning and signed, no problem there. asked to speak to a manager - none available - but was offered a supervisor instead who listened politely and took notes. she said she'd look into it and send me out a letter[?] hopefully that'll be an apology.

as for the poster who said shake it off? why should i? i dealt with the public for years in previous jobs and if i had spoken to a customer like that i would have been given a written warning. why should civil servants be excused? being overworked is no excuse for not doing one's job properly and treating people with manners and respect.

anyway - thanks again to all who took the time to reply.

Lollipops23

OP i'm appalled that you were treated like this.

when i first went into my local office i was amazed to be treated so well(my local is in dublin cc,i can only assume that they have to deal with junkies and knacks on a daily base). on both occasions i was quite nervous, i always do in those kind of situations, but staff were really lovely.

no matter what the situation is i would never stand for being spoken like that by anyone. if you don't get a letter back i'd be on to councillors asap, don't let them away with it.