WARNING: as of this writing, there aren't enough people writing reviews on Yelp for the overall rating of this Social Security office to be an accurate representation of its service quality. Who would think that Yelp, a site better known for restaurant reviews, actually gives people the ability to write reviews for Social Security offices? There will always be people who are very upset at Social Security about something. Every business will have such clients because, let's face it, there will ALWAYS be some folks who simply will get very angry if they don't get their way, even if it's not the fault of the people at the business location. Those clients will be motivated to search and seek out a review site where their 1-star reviews can have the greatest impact to the overall rating and it seems that it's mostly them who are leaving reviews for this Social Security office on Yelp. If they are angry and vindictive enough, they won't leave their 1-star reviews at sites like Google where, currently, this Social Security office has 3.5 stars and 46 reviews and where one more 1-star review will not change the overall rating that much. And people who are very happy and satisfied will probably be too busy or most likely won't think that they can actually write reviews for Social Security offices, to actually write one. So you won't see many reviews from them, especially at Yelp, a site much better known for restaurant reviews. Only those (except for rare people like me) who are so angry and have such a need to vent their anger will be motivated to seek out review sites and actually write reviews.
I wrote the above because, prior to visiting this Mount Laurel, NJ, Social Security office this morning, when I searched for location and hours information, I happened to come across this Yelp review page. At that time, there were only 5 reviews and only one was 5-star. The rest were all 1-stars, except for one 2-star. I knew that, statistically, this was not enough for an accurate overall rating, but it still left me a bit worried about what my experience will be like, especially after reading some of the angry reviews.
Well, I'm happy to report that my visit to the Mount Laurel Social Security office this morning was NOTHING like the 1-star and 2-star reviews. It wasn't even close. I had the completely opposite experience. When I arrived at the office 15 minutes before their scheduled opening time, to try to beat the crowd and a long line, I discovered that they were already open. Apparently, because it was windy and raining this morning, they decided to open early and let people in so that they won't have to wait outside. That's when I knew that those bad reviews were way off. When I went inside, I found a very modern and clean lobby with a kiosk where I got my ticket number. The front guard announced to the people who were sitting and waiting in the lobby that they needed to fill out the form that was available in the lobby if they were there to get a social security card. So after I got my ticket number, I spent about 5 minutes filling out the form since I was there to get a replacement card. After that, I walked to an empty seat and about 2 minutes after I sat down, they called my number. I guess, if there is anything I can be angry about, I can be angry about that, that their customer service is too quick. I mean, they didn't even give me that much time to sit and relax.
I went to the designated counter and the lady very nicely took my form and my passport (yes, I was prepared and brought the required documents after reading instructions at the SSA website) and asked some questions as she entered data into her computer terminal. She then walked away and returned with some hardcopy printouts and gave them to me. One of the printouts had information about how I will receive my replacement card in the mail. Since I was there to also get my online SSA account set up (due to an online security breach that occurred at a business several years ago, the SSA website would not let me set up the account at home), she kindly turned her computer terminal towards me and showed me what to do at the site, when I was ready to set up my account later in the privacy of my home, using the code in one of the printouts. That was it. The entire process, from the moment when I walked into the office, took less than 20 minutes. I was in and out just like that. And I had a very pleasant experience at every step of the way.
Granted, not everyone's experience will be like the one I had. If they are going through hard times or having a bad day, their emotional attitudes will be different and their perspectives probably will not be like mine. But, still, the overall rating for this Social Security office at Yelp is very skewed and is a very distorted representation of what you may experience at this location. That was what motivated me to write this review. The office was very comfortable and the staff were very professional and courteous. read more