Social Security Administration

One hour and eight minutes on hold, and still waiting… trying to get an appointment. Message has been saying they’ll answer shortly … for more than an hour. Very frustrating.

Why do they issue appointment when you still have to wait an hr to and hr in a half!!! No wonder no one likes this SSA place! It’s so annoying. You sit here and waste a third of your day because the employees are slow as hell or just don’t care…
Don’t come here.

Not the best and brightest. SSA employees in this office cannot deal with exceptions. Additionally, a young man with his smart phone perched on a table RIGHT behind me in a deserted waiting room eavesdropping as I gave my address, phone, etc., and other personal info. I reported to security guard from Paragon Security who told me he could sit wherever he wanted, and that this was not his (the guard) purview.

I called the local number in response to the letter sent to me. I talked directly to an agent. She explained my options clearly, was polite and pleasant and totally satisfied my needs. I found it a pleasant and helpful interaction

No wonder we hate dealing with government employees… and I was one for 35 years!
My wife retired February 2014. She began collecting social security (SSA) benefits the following month. She returned to work for the same employer part time in November 2014. We recently received a bill from SSA stating she was overpaid $ 4,000 because she earned more than the permitted amount during 2014.
Earnings prior to your SSA retirement date and in the same year falls within the SSA «special month rule». Meaning my wife’s only earnings for 2014 to be applied to the benefit offset was for her employment in November and December of 2014. That amounted to approximately $ 4,000. A far cry from the $ 15,000 threshold.
We provided the SSA Rep. with all the documentation to substantiate our claim. She insisted on getting more documentation and an additional SSA form completed pertaining to income PRIOR to my wife’s retirement date. This income had NOTHING to do with offsetting SSA payments! The SSA Rep. is either incompetent or just enjoys harassing senior citizens that work a lifetime for a meager benefit.
If the next visit doesn’t resolve the matter, next stop is Congressman Peters office.

Didn’t even get inside before I was turned away. There is a sign out front saying they do not re-​new/​give/​create social security cards at this office. Super long line before the office even opened so I decided to get back in car and go to the social security building in downtown. I don’t know how a social security building can’t issue a card. That is one of the most primary reasons for someone to go there.

I made an appointment ahead of time using the toll-​free number, though the waiting time on the phone was nearly an hour. But having an appointment made a huge difference. When I got to the Aero Drive office, I was seen right on time by a very polite young lady who handled the interview courteously and professionally. The one bad mark I’d give is the parking, which is awful! And there’s no place nearby to park, either. Signs everywhere say «tow away.» Try to get someone to drive you there and pick you up, if that’s possible. Or maybe try public transportation? Otherwise you might be stuck.

HORRIBLE. If I could give this location zero stars I would. Rude staff. Their website says that they offer new social security cards here BUT THEY DO NOT. They will direct you to the El Cajon location or the downtown location. Big waste of time.

The parking lot simply isn’t adequate for the amount of people using this location. It’s seriously around the size of a 7 Eleven lot. There aren’t any seats outside which is ridiculous being that most people who are waiting are old and/​or disabled. If you need a new SS card you HAVE to go either downtown or to El Cajon.

Don’t be fooled small room still equals long wait.. get there first leave there last.
ALWAYS double check the input information; the lady completely. Forgot the street number on or address and onky had to input what was in front of her already on paper.
P. s. location is on the very corner when using gps it doesn’t clearly specify location.

There are two telephone numbers for this office. One gets you to some mean woman who will not let you make appointments. That number is 866−331−6397. It’s almost her every time. The other number is (866) 964‑0995 which gets you to a possible nicer person to redirect your call. First one is general. Second one is for retirement and disability.

this office wasnt so bad! it didnt take too long and the lady that helped us was super nice!

Being a government run office, I expected to run into rude people (customers and staff). Yet, that wasn’t the case. I didn’t make an appointment (I’m not sure if you can anyways), but I didn’t have to wait long. There were customers who were stressed out and placing their anger on the ladies behind the windows, which I think is absurd because they are there to help you out. I’ve learned that individuals have an expectation of others, whether it be good or bad, and we behave a certain way because of how we assume another will respond or act. Anyways, sorry to give a short lesson, but that’s what I observed at this office.
The lady that called me up was very helpful, patient, and kind. I think she was expecting me to give an attitude as I walked up, but I was friendly and her tone eased up and she smiled and we joked around a few times. My appointment was short and pleasant.
As long as you have the right documents with you (you can look online to see what you need before you go to the office), and have the right mindset, your visit here won’t be a lousy one.

«Wow» is usually a word reserved for something spectacular. «Wow,» I said to myself, «that lady was spectacularly RUDE… or BIPOLAR!!»
My dad had a massive stroke last October leaving half his body paralyzed and unable to work. Between becoming caregivers, making life adjustments, medical bills and paperwork, and medical appointments, my family has pretty much been turned on our heads. We’re filing to get SSI (Supplemental Security Income) even though we know we’re probably going to get denied, but somehow it increases our chances of being approved for it in the future, yada yada yada. I bring all this up because people applying for SSI usually don’t need to deal with more crap than what’s been dealt to them.
The case worker handling our application informed us via phone conversation that we could bring our documents to ANY office and that they would know what to do with it. On a Thursday morning, I arrived at this office to provide the required documentation and materials for our completed online application. The lady at the first window helping those in line before me smiled at them and I thought, «GREAT! Yay for kind government workers!» …
About fifteen minutes later, I’m next! Same lady.
«What can I do for you?»
«Hi. I’m here to drop off some documents for our SSI application completed online.»
«Drop things off??? Uh. We don’t do things that way here.»
wtfrick. Oh I’m sorry, what I meant to say was, I brought this half-​inch thick packet here because I just happened to be in the area and thought you could use a friend and I’m just using this whole application thing as an excuse to talk to your sad mean face.
«We don’t do things that way here…» Really? Because after I left, still with all my papers, I called the Downtown SSA Office and the kind gentleman over the phone told me that ANY office would take them and that you should have been able to take the whole damn thing! In fact, the very next day when I arrived at the Downtown SSA office, THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED. ALL MY DOCUMENTS WERE TAKEN! NO! QUESTIONS! ASKED! My whole downtown office visit was ten minutes tops (nine of which I was just waiting)!
You’re better off going to the Downtown SD office because there are much more helpful people in general. You enter the office and there’s a security guard who asks you what you’re there to do and directs you accordingly. The woman who took my papers answered all my questions without any problem. I called this office a few times before I made the trip down there to be assured my documents would be taken without any complications and that guy was happy… seriously he was HAAAAAAPPY! to answer all my questions.
I’m sure the other staff members at the Aero office are nicer and not as wretched, but seeing as how you have to speak with this lady first before you speak with anyone else, I’d say it’s not worth the gamble. She continued to be very terse. She wouldn’t even look at my forms and documents. And in the end, she just repeated that they don’t take documents for SSI applications which is not supposed to be the case.
Bask in the kindness you’re more likely to receive at another SSA office.

The people who work here are pleasant enough, but it’s a govt office, so it’s slow and some people come here with their entire extended family. It’s loud, and very annoying. I am currently listening to a child’s video game/​song. So unfortunate.
Edit: When I finally got seen by someone, it was very fast and efficient. The only problem was waiting to be seen (which took over 1 hour and 20 min). They don’t take appointments for name changes, so that was lame. At least the employees are nice and helpful.