It's understandable that the EDD Office will always be busy, but it's frustrating when you can…read morenever get through by phone; no matter if you call very first thing in the morning, throughout the day or towards the end of the day. You will always hear, "we reached our max number of callers." After striking out every single time, I decided to head down to the nearest office-located at Oakland. When I got there around 11am, a sign was up that they gave out the max number of tickets and no more tickets would be given to ensure they could see everyone. Okay, I probably should've gone first thing in the morning or earlier than opening because a man told me he showed up at 8am and still had not been seen. The security guard also stated try showing up around 7-730am because lines form every day. I was told show up early, the office will start numbers at 8am, but the office isn't open until 9am. I don't know about the hours information I was told, but I appreciated the helpful guidance as this is the first time really going through this whole experience. It would be nice if EDD had a better notification system they could publish so people traveling a ways away would know whether to visit or come a different day. What would also be helpful or something to consider, would be expanding telephone hours. I understand this is a State job, but the public demands are big so finding ways to maximize customer service would be nice; thinking outside the box would be good. It would/could also open up telework opportunities and provide employees with different work shifts that may be a better fit for them-which can boost job satisfaction.
With that said, Oakland Office was a bust for me. However, I recalled another review I read about someone's not so good experience and how they left Oakland's Office and went to San Francisco's Office. The people in SF were very nice. You have to sign in when you first get there with security and then take the elevator up to the 3rd Floor. You get your ticket and wait. The office was slightly bigger, no need for security on that floor, the employees all had good customer service (you can hear them when they speak with people) and the average wait time was reasonable-definitely no more than an hour considering the type of service offered. My time there was less than an hour; in & out. I have to mention, I showed up there closer to 2pm and numbers were still being given out-no "we can't service anyone else today." The only downside is parking can be a challenge, but that's SF for you. Pay attention to the street signs to make sure you can park. Other than that, I believe you will have better luck and experience at the SF Office if you can't make it to the Oakland Office pretty early!
Also, last tip; remember the email you used from your very first claim-even if it was 10 years ago. Any claims after that and your identity verification will be tied to that email. You will need to go into an office to change it or try your luck to get through Online Support to have it changed. However, once the change request is submitted, switching your email is an easy process, with them doing it on the back end. Once converted they will email you with a link and you may need to reset your password.
I must note, I didn't get the opportunity to truly see the customer service from the Oakland Office; I'm sure it would've been fine-they're here to help. I just know it's already challenging to be on unemployment or disability, and I wish you all luck-you will need to stay committed to getting through if you need assistance.
Last thought: It would be nice to get an overhaul of the EDD system, just like DMV did many years ago. Learning the needs of the many and how to streamline the system & process would be beneficial. Please note, I'm not knocking it or the Oakland Office, but just sharing my experience with you! If the Oakland location doesn't work out for you, try the SF Office.
