Social Security Administration

First, three stars for security officers who were kind, helping, and entertaining and Ms Brown at window2.
I can’t give 5 stars since two visits to this office were UNpleasant.
On my first visit, i was called by the lady at the window 1 (who is in the attached picture) and she was very impolite and seemed like she didn’t really like her job (I just thought she might be having a bad day or something). She said I’ll receive my SSC in 2 weeks and i was good to go. But 2 weeks after I didn’t received my SSC so i had to visit the office again.
On my second visit (as the first visit i went there exactly when they opened), I saw and heard the next numbers of my number were called but my number. After 3 hours of waiting i asked the security guard and he said there must be miscommunication or something and told me to go to the window 1 (I swear I paid attention to the screen and the number calling). The lady at window 1 said that the security guard is not her boss and i shouldn’t miss my number. The lady at Window 2 Ms Brown, who was close enough to listen our conversation, called me and asked me to stand behind her customer. She helped me nicely and found out that the one who helped me for my SSC last time was the lady at Window 1 and she made a mistake causing the delay of my SS card processing. So the lady at Window2 asked the lady at Window1 to help me and finish my case, but the lady at Window1 refused to do so (it was so obvious that she does not want to work). Ultimately the lady at window 2 handled it best she could and told me that i would have to wait 3−5days.
When i was about to leave, i saw a man at window 1 telling the lady that his number was on the screen but no one called and said which window he should go to. it seemed like the lady just passed lots of numbers without calling. I was bit frustrated for coming to SS office again and wasting 3 hours solely for the lady’s mistake.
If you are coming to this SS office and unfortunately called by this lady, you might need much patience.

Like most social security offices, youre not going to expect anything better. I was recommended to come to the torrance office because its «better» than most. Im not too sure how true that may be. I came here at 8:50am right before it was going to open, but there was already a gigantic amount of people. Ive waited so far for 3 hours. During my experience i have seen a lot of upset people, people shouting and arguing about the lack of service. When its my turn, i realized how unorganized the employees are here. The lady had to scramble through a gigantic pile that was not organized according to different applications. I realized that the people here have no tolerance if you are not quick on your feet but they cant provide the same kind of service.
EMPLOYEES ARE LIKE SLUGS!!!

Given the amount of customers, they are very efficient. The staff is decent, however, it is guards that are awesome. They were very entertaining and provided excellent customer service while we were waiting for our numbers to be called

My mom and dad had to get a replacement medicare card and their direct deposit information changed. Staff were very helpful and checked in for my parents when we got to the kiosk. In and out in 25 minutes! AWESOME!

[Review #137]
I needed my newborn’s SSI in order to add him to my medical insurance. I called Social Security Administration last week & the rep said I needed to physically bring my CA D/​L & his official birth certificate to the local office. I was put on hold for 1−½ hours to get this simple answer.
I figured it would be less crowded going some time after lunch, & arrived just after 2:00 PM. The parking lot was partially filled, which I took as a good sign. I was hoping for the same experience that I had at the L.A. RR/​CC in Norwalk. There was about 2 dozen people in the waiting area, so I quickly registered on the kiosk, got my ticket, & saw that I was 2^nd in queue. =)
However, the good feeling didn’t last when I was called. The window I was called to still had people asking questions; the male attendant was abrupt & rude to the 2 senior citizens. When I saw this, I had a bad feeling. :-(
As I explained my issue, he kept interrupting me multiple times & said to wait for my LO’s SSI in the mail. I didn’t receive it, you idiot, that’s why I’m here & was directed to physically appear in this office by the Social Security Administration. Stop interrupting & listen. After arguing with him to find out if my LI’s info/​card was received & if it’s in process, he said it was in the system early November. Well, it’s mid-​December, so there’s obviously a problem. He also said my LO’s birth certificate is not a valid form of ID. I countered that their Administration said it was. He said I need his immunization record, or daycare info, or school record. HELLO!?! He’s a newborn, why would he be enrolled in school, & he’s with me so he’s obviously not in daycare. It’s absurd to suggest these options. Duh! After another 10-​minutes arguing my options, with continuous interruptions by him stating to wait for my LO’s SSI in the mail, I told him I need to speak with someone who is «helpful & knowledgeable.» I probably shouldn’t antagonize him, but he obviously doesn’t care & just stated robotically to wait for the card in the mail. I need my LO’s SSI to add him as a dependent or he’ll be dropped from my insurance. So how can I book his medical appointments if he’s sick, or needs his immunization? I heard my LO waking & getting frustrated so I just left, fuming about the situation.
On my way home, I tried to call the Social Security Administration again to see if they can provide an alternative so I don’t have to deal with this incompetence… I was on hold for 45-​minutes before the call was dropped; tried to redial & was on hold for 15-​minutes before the call dropped again. At this point, I need to contact my work’s HR & medical insurance to extend the timeline & pray I can still get medical assistance if needed while I try to resolve this.

Made an appointment for 3 pm (probably a month ago or maybe a bit less). I checked in at 2:45ish. They have a check-​in kiosk at the front. If you have an appointment, check in as just that. Because even guards tell you something else. In my case, one of them corrected himself after telling me to check in as something else.
I got called to one of the windows at 3 pm sharp. As long as you make appointments prior, I got the impression that you won’t wait much, unless you get there early. If your objective is to update your social security status, whatever it is, like marital status, or name change, you need to fill out a form. There’s only one form that applies to pretty much every change (according to the lady at the window), and at this location, the forms are located at the back. If you don’t fill it out before being called to the window, you will have to wait till the next person is helped, which happened to me. Even though it took me less than 2 minutes to fill out the form, I had to wait for a good 15 minutes till the lady with two babies was completely helped out.
And one of the office guards is a comedian (no pun intended), which helps keep the mood up in general. Overall, the process was quick and painless. And the agents at the windows call people fast. They don’t wait or waste time taking time (for themselves) in between, which is great.

I went there today to change my status now that I am a citizen.
I arrived at 3.45 on a Tuesday (closing time at 4 pm), registered and was called 7 minutes late. I left the office at 4.14 pm.
The room was full but they were really helping people fast. The security guards were very helpful and funny.

Needed to change info, ended up waiting 4 hrs! There was no way to make an appointment for my request.
Shutting down offices and no way to make appointments for all requests sucks.
Be prepared to waitill

It was a Friday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. when I went to the check in computer to register and get my ticket number. D 398. They had just called D 369.
Ok, So I knew that Mondays and Fridays were bad… I talked to the security people at the front of the room, who were, according to the reviews above, very nice. And they were. Polite and friendly, really. They were evasive as to the wait time for some reason. The room was full of people, with less than 10 empty chairs.
Good thing I brought my cell phone (and headset, since they don’t want to hear any music playing) and some reading material. I was called at exactly 2:34 p.m. It was a 2 hour wait.
The clerk who handled my case was patient and nice. You know, nice gets you nice.
I didn’t see that long of a wait time mentioned in the reviews above so I’m chiming in. 2 hours. Be ready.
Good luck on your wait on a Friday afternoon.

Expect a DMV like waiting process. It’s a government system so I knew it would be awful going into this. I went to change my last name.
I heard some tips after I went-​best time to go is right when it opens, though there are a lot of people waiting to go in. Also, you can’t make an appointment for name changes, but book an appointment if you can for any other type of service.
I went mid December on a rainy day, which definitely kept the crowd down. There were plenty of weirdos and the facility seemed dirty, just like the DMV.
The stars are really for how helpful the workers were. They really tried to help as much as they could, and make the best of the situation for the crowd of people waiting for 2 hours. The woman that I worked with let me come right back without waiting when I brought the wrong marriage document. I still had to wait a bit because she had gone on her lunch break upon my return, but she tried to be accommodating. The security guards were also very polite and helpful when you walk in or have a question.

Customer service is great! The security guards are so helpful and friendly. Wait time is inevitable but the employees are wonderful.