Having to approach the SSA is nearly as dreaded as having to go to the DMV…read more Here's how I managed to have a 5-star experience at the Berkeley SSA office today:   1 - I did not have an appointment so I made the effort to arrive at the office front door 15 minutes before opening (8:45 am); 2- While you're waiting for the office to open, you'll see a flyer posted on the front door.  The flyer has a QR code for checking in.  Even without an appointment, I scanned the QR code, after which I was prompted with some questions (such as purpose of visit and etc). Once done, their system sent a new QR code to my phone (to be used once the doors open). 3- Once the doors opened, I approached the "check-in kiosk" inside (once you walk in, turn to your left and you'll see the kiosk).  The kiosk will prompt you to scan the QR code given to your phone (see #2 above). 4- Once the system scans your QR code, it will issue you a paper ticket with an appt number. 5- I took my ticket and found a seat.  By this time, the waiting room was about 1/3 full. 6- In less than 5 minutes later when my number was called, I approached the Window I was told to go to, sat down and received outstanding service, guidance, etc.  All my questions were answered very clearly and concisely .  In another 10 minutes I had everything I needed and left the building. I noticed that by this time (9:15), the waiting room was full.  It definitely pays to get there early! 7- remember to bring your gov't-issued ID, and some method for taking notes in case there are some followup steps you'll need to take.

Well, I had to return. A claim of mine was denied with a form letter that did not explain why…read more I wanted to know how to appeal. An hour later, I was seen my the guy that actually sent me the letter. Oh, now I get why. Okay.

Words can't possibly describe the hatred I have for these people and the government job they…read morerepresent. I parked in a red by accident, got out of my car, started walking down the street and looked back and noticed my car was partway in the red. Turned around and before I could say "worthless meter maid" there he was in all his glory. I tried to explain the matter and got a ticket anyways much to my dismay. I tried to fight the ticket because you can by law but I live 100 miles from Berktown so it has to be done through the mail. I sent 3 letters into this place with a copy of my ticket, drivers license, and my reason for fighting the ticket. They claimed not to receive any of these letters and I would have gotten a delivery confirmation number from the USPS but your package needs to be at least 3/4 of an inch thick. So they start tacking on additional fees and the total came to 131 instead of 51. So I finally talked with some supervisor named Kitty and she referred me to some other lady that I had to send faxes to and to make a long story short they denied my right to fight my ticket due to lack of evidence and told me I had 3 days to pay. This is only one of many issues I have with this county, Santa Clara county, and San Benito county regarding parking violations and traffic tickets. I hate these people. I hate the brainless idiots that work there. I hate that our tax dollars pay for these folks to take insubordinate amounts of money from tax paying citizens. I hate that this organization (as Ian S. said) is a government-sanctioned criminal enterprise. Terrorist threats? I got em. Plenty of em. I personally would like to commit horrendous acts of torture to the people that make there living off of this bullshit. I am refusing to return to Berkeley for any reason and you will not see reviews for any other businesses in this area because I refuse to go here ever again. Fuck off Berkeley, I hate you all.

I came back to my car with one minute to spare. Yet a meter expired ticket…read more Who are these assholes? Will they even believe me? Fuck them for making me prove they fucked up. Parking cops are really the worst human beings ever.

So much paperwork, with no sense of scale. Super important flaws, illegal construction, bad work…read moreall go through. But those of us that follow the rules are held to a picky senseless level of bureaucratic process.

Scum of the Earth. Every time you go there, they tell you something different. They cost my client…read moreover $10k to get a retrofit job permitted. The job was supposed to be done at the beginning of December 2013. It's the end of January 2014 and we're just barely finishing. Really wish we had a choice in the matter.

I was trying to make some payments online and the computer asked me to identify some objects. I had…read moreto click the squares containing crosswalks, which I am capable of. But then the squares refresh, so there are multiple rounds of crosswalk identification. After identifying roughly 200 sidewalks we moved onto bicycles, and then traffic lights. This process took over 10 minutes to make one payment. The images start appearing with a deep fried filter, maybe to add some sort of a challenge? I really can't fathom the purpose of this. I have nearly 50 separate payments to make to the city today. Altogether, this will take me a full days work, primarily identifying objects in little squares. The website times out after a few minutes, so I can't even take little focus breaks and watch youtube on my phone in between sets of identifying objects. The pictures aren't even taken in Berkeley / from Berkeley. When I go to the store, they let me pay without identifying any objects for the cashier. I don't get quizzed to pay for things normally. Likewise with any other online shopping or payment. Is there a problem with robots logging into the city of Berkeley websites and paying people's bills for them? I don't think this is functioning like a security feature, I think there is something nefarious behind this picture identifying ruse. Do they want us to make the payments? I am told these little tasks train the computers to take over for humanity and do these jobs. Well then let's do it already. I'd be happy for computers to run the city of Berkeley, they basically are already robots anyway. Going forward, I am going to pay each bill with hundreds of $1 checks, because my time is evidently worthless to them. When cities adopt inconvenient systems and place the burden of public service back onto the public, people feel frustrated - I am frustrated. It is radicalizing and I wish the admin wings of the city gave a damn about something besides adding more admin tasks.

I really wanted to play nice. Even though payments are required by check, I managed it. Even though…read moreall communication is through postal mail, I dealt with it. When I moved, all my mail managed to find its way to my new address. Except for City of Berkeley Finance. And for that reason, I was charged $700 in late fees when *one* payment was late. I appealed the fee, explained the situation, accessed for a one time late fee waiver. No dice. Because as forgiving as the City of Berkeley Finance asks everyone to be of it, it is not willing to reciprocate. It's just another financial institution, no better than Chase or Citi.

This rating is for Redia W at Building and Safety. She has saved me on several permits where my…read morecontractor was struggling to figure out the rules and/or when I needed to update info since the system was still catching up. She is quick to respond and makes pulling a permit so much more enjoyable!

The staff is always very helpful and very thorough. They system to meet the officials is very well…read moreorganised and the waiting area is bright and welcoming. The staff is also responsive on email and I always like working with them.

This place has a few beautiful structures. There is hardly any parking. Can be troubling to walk…read moreuphill at this age.

Ok so the houses you see are cool but that's the thing...it's literally just like 2 pretty houses??…read moreDon't believe all the tiktoks/reels calling this one of the most beautiful/magical places because all it is is a house that looks really cool and unique so we def felt v awkward taking pics in front of it because people literally live in there?? Like if you wanna go for a quick Instagram pic go for it I guess?? But def don't expect to make a whole trip of it

I love Berkeley transfer station the prices are reasonable and the staff very friendly and helpful…read moreI highly recommend

My first time at the Transfer Station. It's the only place who would accept my broken…read moreunder-counter fridge/freezer due to the freon. The fee was $48 (cash or credit card) which is paid at the drive-up ramp where an attendant greets you. Then you drive over to the Blue Dumpster where you must unload your item just in front of that Dumpster. Unfortunately, there is no one to assist with unloading. Luckily I brought someone to do the lifting. Also, the line was not long so only waited approx 15-20 minutes to be allowed into the Transfer Station drop-off area. Tuesday-Thursdays are listed as less busy.

The Office of Vital Statistics is not where anyone wants to spend her free time. But if your baby…read moreis born in Berkeley and you want a birth certificate, this is where you come to get it. I am happy to report that my trip here was painless. I encountered no line just after 09:00 on a Thursday morning. I was pleased to discover that they take credit cards (in addition to cash and check). I am also happy to report that the staff here are knowledgeable and nice. After submitting my paperwork in the morning, I had my daughter's birth certificate later that afternoon. (If you arrive before 11:00, you can pick up your birth certificate that same afternoon between 14:00 and 16:00.)

For an office that issues government documents, it could be a whole lot worse. I had lamented that…read moreI had forgotten to bring my things to do while waiting, but turns out that they weren't necessary. I walked in around 10am on a Monday morning to put in a request for Jenbert Jr.'s birth certificate and walked out around 10:15. Then, had to go back in the afternoon to pick it up, but there's no wait for that. The hardest part is finding the parking.

So the women and men of Station 5 are who you want to see when your neighbor decides to make BBQ…read moreinside with her propane stove. Now, I may be biased because my uncle is a retired fireman, but I am impressed by Station 5's no nonsense approach and teamwork.

My one star review is solely based upon two separate incidents that occurred when I was working…read morewith a student housing office. Short version: horrible experience with receptionist over prolonged period; horrible experience with a specific firefighter who "shamed" me for not knowing better and calling 9-1-1. The receptionist was unorganized; misplaced faxed documents and claimed I never faxed them; LIED to students that they weren't supposed to submit the paperwork to the office but rather directly to the department. [per policy they were to submit it to the housing office and I would fax it to the department and retain the original for our records]. Another incident occurred that same school year, in which I made the decision to call 9-1-1 because of the state my friend was in. I was definitely hesitant about calling because he told me not to call but I said "better safe than sorry." Basically when I did call, operator somehow "diagnoses" what's going on with my friend and so while the firefighters thought it was "alcohol withdrawal" all I described was: uncontrollable shaking or shivering, couldn't tell which one, labored breathing, inability to hold himself up and the inability to focus his eyes. One firefighter said "this was a fucking waste of time" proceeded to ask who called and tried to shame me for calling and telling me that I "should have known better than to think it was alcohol withdrawal." Looking back, I wished I cursed him out (not ignorantly) but in a way that got him to see his own ignorance. Obviously I'm not a firefighter, not a paramedic or anything related to a professional in the medical field. Just because I am a college student, it doesn't mean I know what all sorts of alcohol related emergencies look like. It also doesn't mean I drink, he heavily implied that, and I'm actually sober. He needs to learn to be professional and understand that there are going to be unintentional "bad" 9-1-1 calls that are out of genuine concern and lack of knowledge in the actual level of seriousness in situations.