I only spent about two minutes on the phone with the IRS today. That’s a first.
I was on and off just like that, and then I went on with my day. The reason why it was so quick is because THEY DIDN’T TAKE MY CALL. You know things are bad when they won’t even allow you to wait on hold. Last week we were experiencing two hour hold times. Actually, it could have been longer, but the longest I waited (and still didn’t get help) was two hours. But this week they don’t even want you to bother holding. After selecting my topic (“discuss a client’s tax account”) the recording on the Practitioner Priority Line states something like “We’re sorry, but due to extremely high call volumes and the topic you requested, we are unable to take your call at this time. Please try again later, or on the following business day.”
It has always bothered me when I am in a store asking for help or waiting to make a purchase (almost any type of store; they’re all basically the same) and then the phone rings, and the worker immediately picks up the phone and helps the caller despite the fact that I am present in the store. I have noticed that they will normally give preference to the caller over the person who is there in person. Not so with the IRS.
Well, to be fair, I don’t think they get foot traffic at the IRS call centers. I’m pretty sure that the call centers are just for calls and the walk-in centers are just for walk-ins and appointments. But realizing this only makes me madder that they can’t answer my call. They don’t have to divide their attention between callers and walk-ins. There’s no excuse! HOWEVER, as much as I love to complain about the IRS and the pathetic state of their call centers, I like my chances on the phone even better than at our local office.
If anyone near Modesto wants to take their chances at the IRS local office, be my guest. They are at 1700 Standiford Ave. and they are open Monday through Friday from 8:30 to 4:30. And the Sacramento office is still at 4330 Watt Ave. Same hours of operation.