The Dole office stories

Verbal_Kint

If your experiences were anything like mine you will have come across many situations in the dole office where you couldnt make any sense of anything the people behind the desk were saying, why couldnt they just give you all the forms you had to fill out in one go, why were they in such a bad mood after all they were getting paid for being there and seriously do most of the people you deal with at the dole office have the slightest clue on what the process is and how to deal with even the smallest problem so long as you dont believe that the whole system is set up to prolong the application process.... Anyway enough of this skepticism!!:)

We have all encountered funny or frustrating moments inside the doors of the dole office and it would be good to share some of the more interesting stories about what we each had to endure or what we seen other people have to deal with.

Share your tales of woe here!

IT Loser

Verbal_Kint wrote: »

If your experiences were anything like mine you will have come across many situations in the dole office where you couldnt make any sense of anything the people behind the desk were saying, why couldnt they just give you all the forms you had to fill out in one go, why were they in such a bad mood after all they were getting paid for being there and seriously do most of the people you deal with at the dole office have the slightest clue on what the process is and how to deal with even the smallest problem so long as you dont believe that the whole system is set up to prolong the application process.... Anyway enough of this skepticism!!:)

We have all encountered funny or frustrating moments inside the doors of the dole office and it would be good to share some of the more interesting stories about what we each had to endure or what we seen other people have to deal with.

Share your tales of woe here!

My major beef is the total failure of communication.

I understand the system is struggling. Just tell me where I am in the system. Thats all I want to know. Look at my name in the list and give me a rough outline.

The lady today asked for my RSI number.

Why?

Why did she bother her arse??

She didnt put my name into the computer, she didnt look for me in a list, she didnt check my account to see if there were any application hitches or anomalies.

She asked for my RSI, then told me they were very busy and that when they get to me, they will get to me. No investigation, no hammering on a keyboard, no analysis...nothing.

I mean.......what is this? Some sort of limbo?

Nolanger

Heard of one case in Dublin 8 where some guy walked in off the street, refused to give his name or PPS and started bad mouthing a member of staff. Some stupid woman working there told this guy where the staff member lived and the next morning the guy was seen standing outside the staff member's house.

IT Loser

Nolanger wrote: »

Heard of one case in Dublin 8 where some guy walked in off the street, refused to give his name or PPS and started bad mouthing a member of staff. Some stupid woman working there told this guy where the staff member lived and the next morning the guy was seen standing outside the staff member's house.

1. Stupid staff for giving out details.

2. Stupid idiot for bullying staff, traumatising them and slowing down my claim.

3. Why did he not volunteer his PPS- going to the dole and not giving our PPS is like going to a brothel and refusing to drop your britches. Its part of the deal, no??

sunnyside

Is that true? I have no problem with people moaning about incompetent staff but threatening them:eek:

When I went to the dole office in the past (not recently) there was always the odd person carrying shopping bags from clothes shop in town which always looks bad at the dole office.

amacachi

Basshunter ringtones in the queue for signing on.

lolli

urgh i have so many stories. I went in today to leave in my last bit of documentation only took them 11 weeks to ask for it!

Went up to the counter to the "lady" I said hello, how are you.... no response very mannerly. I explained to her that i had to drop this in and asked her was this the final info they needed because they have a habit of saying they have everything only to need more stuff. She grunted at me looked up on computer said yeah thats all. i asked her a few questions like how long more is thhis going to take.... response dunno. asked a few more questions all were dunno answers.

Few manners don't go astray.

ShooterSF

Had to deal with them awhile ago. They were meant to send out a card as I had lost it and repeatedly forgot too. Tried for an hour one day to get through and they never picked up the phone, crazy.

dresden8

I heard one guy threaten to rape the girl behind the counter and burn the place out.

Verbal_Kint

i was hoping for ideas of really annoying things that have happened to people in the office that stretched out over time. and the galway city office will never answer their phones. ever!

LookingFor

Verbal_Kint wrote: »

why were they in such a bad mood after all they were getting paid for being there

Most of them aren't getting paid very much. A lot of them feel they'd probably be better off on the other side of the counter. A CO with the service for a few years now is back to what he or she was earning when they started - i.e. barely €400/week. Some folks walk away with more than that in benefit.

Bear in mind they've a **** load of work and a lot of places are understaffed too.

Verbal_Kint wrote: »

and seriously do most of the people you deal
with at the dole office have the slightest clue on what the process is and how to deal with even the smallest problem so long as you dont believe that the whole system is set up to prolong the application process.... Anyway enough of this skepticism!!:)

There are many parts of the process that are less than efficient, I'm sure, but it's not the fault of the majority of the staff at the offices. Different offices often have different procedures. Bear in mind also that some of the staff are new and because things are so busy they're not getting the proper training..they're being required to learn as they go. Made even more difficult by the fact that some offices, at least, don't even have procedure manuals..so if one person moves away who was doing a particular job, their knowledge etc. is lost.

But because everyone is so busy just treading water, there isn't time to write up procedural manuals and to train people up.

Yes it's a mess, but try to be patient..it's not the fault of most of the counter staff you'll be dealing with, and they're at least as frustrated as you when things go wrong. Some of them, at least, are used to being conscientious about their work (shocking, I know!), but the requirements of the times means a lot of stuff is just going tits up, which is frustrating for them.

(This is all from the point of view of someone whose sister is a newbie CO in a social welfare office..trust me, I hear ALL about it ).

Verbal_Kint wrote: »

i was hoping for ideas of really annoying things that have happened to people in the office that stretched out over time. and the galway city office will never answer their phones. ever!

Some places they're being told by their managers not to answer the phones because there's too much work just from those coming in face-to-face, and from the literally massive stacks of paperwork to get through.

IT Loser

Strongly agree with the last posters sentiments- as a general rule, people everywhere regard the grass as being greener on the other side, and the Dole Office is probably the one place which would bear that out. Another thing I have noticed about people in the Dole is that the "customers" are often very disrespectful.

One half of them regard welfare as their God-Given right, and act accordingly.

The other half act as if they are too good to be there, and can't-you-just-hurry-up, Like?

A For Instance: When I was in doing my means test this guy just walked in, and proceded to engage in a very loud, "cant you hear me talking" mobile phone conversation. All the while the manager was trying to ask him his business. He paused briefly to roar "GREEN" at the manager. I assume his name was Green. If he did that in a full dole office he might as well go and change it to "Black-and-Blue".

What an ignoramus.

Lollipops23

so far i've been quite lucky(i say that,i'm due in today to drop stuff off) but my cousin, who's in the exact same circumstances as me has had an awful time of it; we both recently finished college, we both work at the same place where our hrs have been cut, and she's being told she's not getting anything! the woman's exact words were "it's not my fault you were in college for 4 years and not out working". :eek:

IT Loser

Lollipops23 wrote: »

so far i've been quite lucky(i say that,i'm due in today to drop stuff off) but my cousin, who's in the exact same circumstances as me has had an awful time of it; we both recently finished college, we both work at the same place where our hrs have been cut, and she's being told she's not getting anything! the woman's exact words were "it's not my fault you were in college for 4 years and not out working". :eek:

I would take that upstairs.

The entire process of applying is supposed to be totally objective and fair.

Subjective interjections and subjective interpretations of a persons background are capricious and unwarranted.

Your friend may be restricted from getting welfare for any number of reasons {duration out of college, etc} but as I say it all supposed to be kept very formal and objective. The subjective utterances of Dept. employees have no place in proceedings.

Verbal_Kint

i would report that for 2 reasons.

1. The miserable cow deserves to be reported to take that line with people who may not have enough money to live on.

2. You make a complaint against an employee you can be sure you claim will be put to the top of the queue to be processed.

Adventure Pout

I dont care how much the staff are getting paid. They are here to do the job and that's it!
They have nothing to loose to be at least friendly to you - at least a Hello or even a smile does not hurt anybody!
I had to go to the social welfare office a while back (and might go again soon I guess!!!). They just threw the papers to you, told you to fill them up and give it back the same day. No explanations, no thank you NOTHING!! They dont even look at you, and just treat you worse than dirt.
It is already difficult not to have a job and go to all the hassle to claim for your benefits (which they never gave to me at that time, although I have been working and paying taxes for 5 years!!!) but to put up with their behaviour make you going balistic..
So honestly, staff deserve what they give to people - although I agree that some customer can be rude..

Xiney

I've had nothing but pleasant experiences at the Dole office.

Then again, I'm a pleasant person and it's rare for me to have an unpleasant experience anywhere. As in all things in life, a smile on your part goes a long way.

(Obviously a giant sh!t eating grin is not the way to go here... but a friendly "hello" type smile)

meglome

I was in the one on the corner of Parnell Street and King Street the other day with a friend and it was near chaos as far as I could see. No one seem to know what was going on.

Kintarō Hattori

meglome wrote: »

I was in the one on the corner of Parnell Street and King Street the other day with a friend and it was near chaos as far as I could see. No one seem to know what was going on.

In fairness that office has only just opened so I can imagine it'll be chaos until they find their feet.

My GF has thankfully managed to find a job but while she was claiming job seekers benefit she had nothing but good things to say about the people from our local office (Navan Rd).

Raskolnikov

When I lived in Tallaght, it was interesting to se the amount of people that would cross the road from the dole office, straight into the bookies :pac:

MaryFeeney80

dresden8 wrote: »

I heard one guy threaten to rape the girl behind the counter and burn the place out.

??? really!! did he not get arrested? what dole office was that?

Xiney

Raskolnikov wrote: »

When I lived in Tallaght, it was interesting to se the amount of people that would cross the road from the dole office, straight into the bookies :pac:

Let's not go down this route people, if you think comments like these are acceptable please take a look at the forum charter to revisit why they are not.

Raskolnikov, you've been warned.

Ta.

Xiney

Fromvert

Have only had good experiences, did a little research before I went in so I knew what I had to bring and where to go. The man behind the counter was grateful that I had all my forms filled in and had all the relevant info with me. Its the least you can do.

The people there where nothing but nice to me. It was in Blanchardstown.

Verbal_Kint

i am on jsa and come from a major gambling town. it is true that the percentage of people on the jsa is far higher than the general population so if its true its not wrong to say!:) I cant see how that previous comment is discriminatory, they have more free time and the bookies for some is a quick and easy pasttime. thankfully i learned my lesson long ago and to be fair i dont think anybody on JSA whether they go to a bookies or not will be in the least bit offended by that comment.

Anyway the whole point of this thread is to pick out funny moments in a variety of situations in and around the dole office so its only fair people can speak their mind.

Nolanger

There's no 'funny moments' in a dole office. Working your arse off for years , then losing the job and having to visit one of the worst departments in the Civil Service. A place where staff are either too new to help you properly or working there too long because they're so bad they can't get promoted.

ttm

Nolanger wrote: »

There's no 'funny moments' in a dole office. Working your arse off for years , then losing the job and having to visit one of the worst departments in the Civil Service. A place where staff are either too new to help you properly or working there too long because they're so bad they can't get promoted.

Are all these offices run by the "Civil Service"? I thought most of the smaller ones were run by private businesses that tendered for the work. I seem to remember I saw an advert selling the operation of the Dungarvan Office a couple of years ago.

IT Loser

Verbal_Kint wrote: »

i am on jsa and come from a major gambling town. it is true that the percentage of people on the jsa is far higher than the general population so if its true its not wrong to say!:) I cant see how that previous comment is discriminatory, they have more free time and the bookies for some is a quick and easy pasttime. thankfully i learned my lesson long ago and to be fair i dont think anybody on JSA whether they go to a bookies or not will be in the least bit offended by that comment.

Anyway the whole point of this thread is to pick out funny moments in a variety of situations in and around the dole office so its only fair people can speak their mind.

I was not offended. I mean, is there any difference if I sign on, and go down the street and buy a sandwich, lucozade, a scratch card and a quick-pick. We all love to have a punt, the entire country gambles. The entire country is on the dole. I wont tolerate comments that are mean-spirited, but I wont take offence at the facts either. We all lay down a few quid and hope for the big one on Friday nights.

IT Loser

ttm wrote: »

Are all these offices run by the "Civil Service"? I thought most of the smaller ones were run by private businesses that tendered for the work. I seem to remember I saw an advert selling the operation of the Dungarvan Office a couple of years ago.

Good question. I dont know the answer but you have started me thinking.

Nolanger

ttm wrote: »

Are all these offices run by the "Civil Service"? I thought most of the smaller ones were run by private businesses that tendered for the work. I seem to remember I saw an advert selling the operation of the Dungarvan Office a couple of years ago.

Those would be the smaller 'branch offices' down the country and are indeed run by non-departmental people. Anyone here got any experience dealing with them?

IT Loser

Nolanger wrote: »

Those would be the smaller 'branch offices' down the country and are indeed run by non-departmental people. Anyone here got any experience dealing with them?

So the office is run by non-departmental people........and the appeals are run by non-departmental people. Its enough to drive you mental, people.

jayteecork

Xiney wrote: »

Let's not go down this route people, if you think comments like these are acceptable please take a look at the forum charter to revisit why they are not.

Raskolnikov, you've been warned.

Ta.

Xiney

What on earth was that warning about?

IT Loser

jayteecork wrote: »

What on earth was that warning about?

Xiney felt that Raskolnikov was being mean by referring to dole heads {recipients of State Assistance} who went straight into the bookies {Turf Accountants} after signing on.

I can see Xineys point.

Then again, I know I will be spending a small portion of my welfare receipts on a game of indoor football here, a scratcher there, a quick pick, etc.

obladee

I have found the people at the dole office to be nothing but helpful and friendly.

But when you collect your payment at the post office i meet the most miserable people behind the counter. Plus, I could be just paranoid, but i feel they hold me in contempt as they are forking out the loot.

jayteecork

obladee wrote: »

I have found the people at the dole office to be nothing but helpful and friendly.

But when you collect your payment at the post office i meet the most miserable people behind the counter. Plus, I could be just paranoid, but i feel they hold me in contempt as they are forking out the loot.

wouldn't you feel slightly annoyed working all day in the PO handing out free money to (a lot of)lazy bums?

IT Loser

jayteecork wrote: »

wouldn't you feel slightly annoyed working all day in the PO handing out free money to (a lot of)lazy bums?

OK, another timewaster WUM it seems. I hope Xiney red cards you, period. Go back to your Xbox.

billy the squid

jayteecork wrote: »

wouldn't you feel slightly annoyed working all day in the PO handing out free money to (a lot of)lazy bums?

jayteecork please refer to the charter in relation to comments of this nature. You have received one infraction for this post.

As the thread title says, this is "dole office stories." It is not a discussion on whether dole recipients are lazy or a discussion on what people spend their money on.

jayteecork

billy the squid wrote: »

jayteecork please refer to the charter in relation to comments of this nature. You have received one infraction for this post.

As the thread title says, this is "dole office stories." It is not a discussion on whether dole recipients are lazy or a discussion on what people spend their money on.

as usual my point came across wrong, I meant it totally in jest.

I sign on myself right now FFS.

Sorry for offense caused and all that.

thefeatheredcat

ShooterSF wrote: »

Had to deal with them awhile ago. They were meant to send out a card as I had lost it and repeatedly forgot too. Tried for an hour one day to get through and they never picked up the phone, crazy.

ShooterSF - hope you got the situation resolved ok?

Not sure if anyway relevant but here goes:
Lost my card recently and tried calling local SW office and surprise, no answer. So I searched their site for info on reporting the card lost (I was thinking I didn't want someone making a fraudulant claim under my name) and for replacement and no joy there. So I rang the Dept direct who popped a note on file on RSI number and that one would be issued when next making a claim.
To cover my own ass, I sent a letter to local SW office informing of card lost and conversation with Dept.

Hope you got a new one anyway!

Nolanger

All you had to do was fill in this form http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Forms/Documents/sws1.pdf and drop it into your local dole office.

Verbal_Kint

bit more information on the outsourcing of the dole office would be good.... and bear in mind if the government was running the show it would usually be worse if thats possible.

Verbal_Kint

.........what the hell are you doing buying scratch cards???:) Awful things

thefeatheredcat

Nolanger wrote: »

All you had to do was fill in this form http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Forms/Documents/sws1.pdf and drop it into your local dole office.

Thanks for this! I admit it was an oversight but I was in a lot of panic with sorting out my atm and credit cards as I was due to be away and needed that done first. Any point in doing it now?

tatabubbly

The dole office in letterkenny was lovely... or maybe i just got the right person on the right day

IT Loser

Verbal_Kint wrote: »

.........what the hell are you doing buying scratch cards???:) Awful things

Ah, just the occassional flutter!

swapple

I live out in the countryside and my nearest welfare office is roughly 16km away. I was sent a letter saying if you live 16km or more away, they would send the form/sign in card to your house that you can send back, seen as I can't drive and both my parents work I thought 'great I'll just enquire about this!'

Ha, silly me! I asked a young girl at the office and she seemed astounded by my question and asked another member of staff, but she said it was almost rude to be asking this, which I don't understand at all, I just wanted some info. The young girl went on to say that I should just arrange a lift with someone... but I'm 19 so most of my friends don't drive yet and the ones that do have jobs!

The_Conductor

A friend of mine who works in the Social Welfare Office in Lucan- was threatened by one dissatisfied customer- who found their personal phone number and proceeded to harass them, threatened to post all sorts of defamatory things about them on the internet, and then proceeded to correctly give her home address, her car registration no., and her ESB and mobile phone account numbers. They were reported both by DSFA and also via the mobile phone company to the Gardai.

She was particularly unlucky. She related how most of her colleagues receive personal threats almost on a daily basis, and its not unusual to be spat at, or threatened with serious bodily harm. The Gardai have removed people from the office on occasion- and have also escorted some staff members home in the evening- when they were terrified by some of the threats made during the day.

Many of the staff in local offices feel terrorised by their jobs- and the fear that the constant threats will one day be followed through on. Stalking of staff, is not frequent, but everyone hears about the cases where it happens- and even if its not a common occurence- it becomes very real for people.

There is something seriously wrong.

IT Loser

I do not condone any of this violent behaviour, but I will admit to having a minor sh!t fit this morning when there was no letter in the post for me. By the end of this month, which is now 10-11 days away, I will be over 13 weeks waiting and will be 3 weeks removed from my "means test". Its a joke at this stage. How long to determine how little money/means a guy has.???

Nolanger

If it's that bad then go to your local TD and he/she will sort it out.

IT Loser

Nolanger wrote: »

If it's that bad then go to your local TD and he/she will sort it out.

I dont know, as Xiney will tell you, I am an odd chap. I would consider setting my TD on them to be, well, I dont know, ....... rude or something. I usually espouse the TD route to people who have children and are absolutely desperate for housing or something, or who have been on the waiting list for 8 months.

I wont go the TD route, just yet. I will give them their two weeks.......and then I will ring Aras an Uachtarain:pac::pac:

Nolanger

In a dole office no-one likes doing those stupid JA means. Usually there's one or two people who can do this stuff quite well and the others do the JB and nil means. Reckon your claim must be in a box that no-one wants to bother with.

Zatoichi

For the Means Test how far back to they want your bank statements?