All my mail is being forwarded for the summer, and it’s always shocking how long it takes something to wind up at its desired location. After more than a month in the system a stern letter from the IRS finally wound its way to my disciplined staff of Dutiful Mail Handlers in Minnesota. I’m summarizing the finer points of the memo, but apparently a stained cocktail napkin with some numbers scrawled on it is not a proper format for one’s own federal tax return. Which is funny, because I swear I scanned in that napkin and sent it to them electronically.
I called the IRS, and after assuring their automated phone system that I wasn’t looking for money, that I didn’t think the government owed me anything, that I didn’t care about the stimulus package or tax rebates or “gettin’ mine when the gettin’s good”, I was finally able to connect to a real person.
And he was the kindest, most helpful person in the world. Truly. The IRS employs some classy people, and if you can navigate the labyrinthine phone system and trick it into connecting you to them, you’re going to find yourself in a good place. We talked it through, resolved the issue, and that was it. Done. Consider, too, that it was 8:30 at night, Pacific, which is, like, already tomorrow for you suckers on the east coast. No matter where that dude was, he was workin’ late.
And I appreciated it.
Today was Day Two at the ‘Path. We got to hang with one of the founders for awhile and attend some company meetings, and I started getting oriented within my project. It’s pretty big and complex, but it’s currently moving into a new phase where I’ll be able to flex my elite interaction design skills. Sadly I cannot talk in detail about my work, so instead I will talk about my co-workers. Such as Andrew, who says he maintains a fire under his desk so he can burn all his trash, rather than learn which receptacle in the kitchen corresponds to recycling, trash and compost.
Yes. San Francisco offers curbside composting.
Besides the people who relieve themselves on your front steps.
One Comment
I had an equally wonderful experience with calling the IRS (once I finally got to someone) about a month ago. I asked them a question regarding my filing, the kind lady put me on hold for a minute and came back on with the answer. The end.
I wanted to reiterate your positive experience, because while dialing, I remember my expectations of simply reaching a human were low.