I had to go to Food stamps office yesterday. Somebody asked me for help and so I went with them to help them with speaking and understanding what was going on. They don’t speak English very well. Food stamp office is very organized. First when you come in you think you are in airport. They look through your bag and you have to go through metal machine ( or whatever its called). Next you stand in line, which is very long but moves really quickly. I called that line “everything line”. Just because everybody goes stand there and after person see the “receptionist ” (lady in the window), then everybody gets a number on colored sheet of paper. That’s how they know where you are going. There is a lot of security down there. You would think there are VIP’s in the offices. I like it, because they also were making sure nobody cuts the line.
After you get that beautiful color page with number, you go to assign office. There you wait to be called, and then when you go to speak with the representative about your case.
What I liked about the offices , was how efficient they were, and organized. I still think it was too long for dropping of some paper, not application. Considering everything the wait is not so long. I like the organization of the whole operation, and efficiency.
What i did not like, was people in the offices. I understand you see a lot of people everyday but Hello, Hi, How are you etc. goes a long way, and it might make somebody’s day.
Overall it was a learning experience, not to go to such a offices. No kidding. It was good experience. Structure they had in handling people and moving masses forward was amazing. Time it took, it was long, so if going to any of public offices, prepare to loose a day.
Joanna