When Bureaucracy Fails: What Social Security could learn from a Vet Hospital (#349)

Let’s imagine something absurd.

Your dog is not well. Not just a little off. Something’s wrong. You try to book an appointment at your local veterinary hospital. You go online, enter all the details, click submit - and get an error message.

You try again. Then again. The site crashes. No confirmation. No clue if anything worked.

So, you call. After nearly an hour on hold, someone picks up, only to transfer you to another number. That line sends you back to the original one. Finally, a staff member tells you that appointments can’t be made by phone anymore, and the website isn’t working properly either.

“You’ll have to come in person,” they say.

You ask, “Can I schedule a time?”

“No,” they say. “We don’t do appointments anymore. Just show up and wait.”

So, you do.

You arrive early. The lobby is already full. There are no chairs left. No water. No staff updates. Elderly pet owners shift in their seats or lean against the wall. People wait for hours. Some leave without being seen.

If this really happened to you, you’d walk out and never return. That clinic would be toast.

And yet, this is exactly how the Social Security Administration (SSA) functions for millions of Americans.

My Ordeal: Trying to Change a Direct Deposit

Recently, my bank account was compromised. A criminal siphoned $20,000 before I could stop it. Fortunately, the bank reimbursed me in full, but it took weeks, and I had to open a new account and change every direct deposit and withdrawal. Most institutions responded immediately, either online or via telephone. Utilities, insurance companies, credit card providers. All fast and professional.

Except one.

The Social Security Administration.

Their website changed in 2025. After ten failed attempts to do things online over two days - multiple crashes, login loops, and error screens - I gave up and tried calling.

Over several hours, I was transferred from one number to another, kept on hold, and eventually told that:

• The SSA website isn’t working properly (I had already gathered that ….).

• The SSA is unable to change bank details over the phone for security reasons (OK – that sounds reasonable ….).

• I should go to my bank - they could do it for me (I did – they can’t ….).

• Then, I should make an online appointment to visit the local office (I did. After waiting for hours on hold just to try booking an appointment, I was told no appointments were available before three months from now, and they don’t make appointments that far out ….).

• Then, I should show up in person at my local SSA office and use the express line. (I did. The security personnel at the SSA office were less than welcoming. When I asked where the express line was located, I was greeted with laughter. There was not an express line. I was given a slip of paper with a number on it. I waited and waited and waited in the crowded waiting room, until finally I was summoned to Window #2. A pleasant young woman apologized for the wait time and took care of everything in less than three minutes).

A Broken System for Those Who Need It Most

What happens if you’re elderly, sick, or disabled?

What if you live far from one of the few remaining SSA offices?

What if you depend on your monthly SSA check not just to pay rent, but to eat?

We wouldn’t tolerate any of this from a veterinary clinic.

In veterinary medicine, we strive to serve our clients with compassion, clarity, and care. We know that behind every patient is someone worried, someone who deserves our best.

If a veterinary hospital treated people the way the SSA now does, providing no appointments, no working website, no clear process, and no guarantee of service, the vet hospital would be out of business in a week.

So why is such behavior acceptable from a federal agency that holds the purse strings to a retiree’s life?

Rick’s Commentary

This is not just about inconvenience.

It's about access, dignity, and respect.

Bureaucratic failure on this scale erodes trust in public institutions. It punishes the people who’ve worked, paid into the system, and done everything right.

Social Security isn’t a gift.

It’s an earned benefit.

And public service should mean service.

If you're facing similar problems, contact your congressional representative. I did! Many have constituent liaisons who can help navigate SSA issues.

But that’s a band-aid, not a solution.

We need a modern, functioning, and humane SSA system. One that meets the standards we’d demand in any profession, veterinary medicine included.

Because if veterinary clinics can do it, so can the government.

Addendum.

I should add one more detail: while driving to the SSA office, a sheet of metal flew off a passing truck and landed on the highway inches in front of my car. It was a close call. Far too close. And I couldn’t help but think:

How tragically ironic it would have been if I had been seriously injured - or worse - just trying to update a bank account number so my Social Security check could be deposited.

A twelve digit number.

One routine task.

Days out of my life.

And yet it nearly ended in disaster.

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