With all the badmouthing about government these days, I am moved to note that on everybody’s least favorite day to deal with the government, April 15, I had very good experiences with the IRS and the U.S. Postal Service.
I was trying to file my 1040 tax form electronically, but my commercial program (“TaxCut”) said there was a problem (it turned out to be a glitch that required downloading an update of their software). When I tried to call their two listed help lines–both long-distance toll calls–one was reported as disconnected and the other was interminably busy.
So I gritted my teeth and called the IRS–a toll-free 800 call–which led very quickly to someone who understood my question, knew she didn’t know the answer and sent me to another person, who immediately gave me useful information.
Then at 10 p.m. when I walked into the Evanston post office to mail my tax forms, it was like a party atmosphere–the postal workers were friendly, helpful–and serving cookies and coffee!
Credit where credit is due–I got much better service from the government than the private sector.
