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Dealing with bureaucracy

post #1 of 12
4/6/10 at 6:34pm
Thread Starter 
For the last two months I've been dealing with two branches of the government in these parts, and by now im ready to hang myself. Naturally I wont ofcourse, as my family would then be subjected to the same type of paper mill and annoyances.

Has anybody found a way to deal with these bureaucracies in a more succesful way? So far ive tried working with them, being a dick to answer to, pressuring them (think calling every hour, this was actually the only method that gave me a little bit of satisfaction since they became seriously annoyed), threatening to sue and having my lawyer do all communications. So far they all have had the same effect, namely that nothing happens and a procedure that is supposed to take 3 workdays is stretched out to two weeks minimum. By now this has happened three times in a row.

So, share your solutions to succesfully deal with this shit, or how to avoid the feeling of wanting to blow the entire building up.

Other stories about crazy bureaucracies are welcome too
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post #2 of 12
4/6/10 at 6:47pm
the real simple solution i found that always works is bribes. gov offiices are filled with slow ad stupid people until they are motivated by fear losing the position or tey have some personal gain out the sit. the former being a rare casem the latter can occur as result of your own action.
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post #3 of 12
4/6/10 at 6:55pm
Thread Starter 
thought about bribes, sadly I live in a country where its not commonplace and the attempt alone would land me in jail

Netherlands is 6th on the list..
http://www.transparency.org/policy_r...cpi_2009_table

Incompetence would be bearable by now, its the complete and utter unwillingness to do any work whatsoever that is killing me.
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post #4 of 12
4/6/10 at 7:02pm
Do some research and find out who the ultimate person in charge is. Contact them directly and ask for help, in my experience the people in charge actually care, its the underlings who don't give a shit. Alternatively, threaten them. I don't know what your situation is, but a simple "I'm sure the press would love to hear the way your staff have treated this serious issue..." normally sorts out most officials. The third way if its local government, simply frequent the local golf club and casually introduce yourself.
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post #5 of 12
4/6/10 at 7:21pm
+1 on finding who the person in charge is and communicate directly with him. You'd be surprise how far you'll get getting just a simple referral from the bossman. Threatening to sue, etc., is never a good idea because the people you're dealing with won't give a rat's ass since it then becomes the legal department's problem.
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post #6 of 12
4/6/10 at 7:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nootje View Post
For the last two months I've been dealing with two branches of the government in these parts, and by now im ready to hang myself. Naturally I wont ofcourse, as my family would then be subjected to the same type of paper mill and annoyances.

Has anybody found a way to deal with these bureaucracies in a more succesful way? So far ive tried working with them, being a dick to answer to, pressuring them (think calling every hour, this was actually the only method that gave me a little bit of satisfaction since they became seriously annoyed), threatening to sue and having my lawyer do all communications. So far they all have had the same effect, namely that nothing happens and a procedure that is supposed to take 3 workdays is stretched out to two weeks minimum. By now this has happened three times in a row.

So, share your solutions to succesfully deal with this shit, or how to avoid the feeling of wanting to blow the entire building up.

Other stories about crazy bureaucracies are welcome too

Sadly, when dealing with bureaucracies, sometimes this is your only option:
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post #7 of 12
4/6/10 at 9:42pm
Fortunately, we dont have that problem here in the US. If you dont know the boss, the only thing that works is to keep calling until you get the right answer. Also, showing up in person can help, particularly if youre dressed in camo.
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post #8 of 12
4/7/10 at 12:17am
A town here in SoFLA which is located just north of Miami has installed cameras which record if people make driving infractions. They sent me a bill for $125 saying that I made a right hand turn at a red light without stopping, which is utter BS since I always stop... and the video shows that I clearly stopped. My options are as follows: 1) Pay the ticket 2) Don't pay the ticket (the only ramification they have is that they can put a collection charge on my record, they can't do anything to my license, but my credit score is screwed) 3) Hire a traffic lawyer (at least $100), win and pay 'court costs' which are at least $200 4) Suicide 5) Blow up city hall Really, there are no legal recourses which don't end up with the city using me as a revenue stream even though I didn't do anything wrong.
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post #9 of 12
4/7/10 at 1:27am
My girlfriend got in her car this morning and had five parking tickets (she hadnt moved the car since Thursday.) The stated infraction is that she parked in the wrong direction, against the flow of traffic. What makes this frustrating is that it is a one way street which the city has closed at the end. She parked at the closed end in the direction posted on the one way sign. On another occasion, my friend returned to his car to find a meter maid placing a parking ticket on his car. He pointed out that there was clearly still time in the meter. She looked, agreed, shrugged, and said, "Oh well, it's good for the city" and walked off. He was unable to get the ticket thrown out of court.
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post #10 of 12
4/7/10 at 4:21am
Thread Starter 
new one...

today I recieved a letter stating that I had 21 days to deliver some papers AFTER they signed the letter. No problem right? Wrong, somehow they managed to fuck this up as well, as it was signed more than TWO WEEKS AGO. Meaning ive got 3 working days to deliver those papers..
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post #11 of 12
4/7/10 at 10:39am
Another +1 on finding the person in charge. Treat it like you would the private sector. The person who is dropping the ball has a boss, and that boss is unlikely to be very happy to hear that their subordinates aren't doing a good job.

If nothing else, the next time you talk to an underling, ask for their supervisor. Even if you don't get the supervisor, it may light a fire under the person with whom you're dealing.
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post #12 of 12
4/7/10 at 10:40am
IB4 health care jokes!
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