In my last blog entry I wrote about the Connecticut Department of Revenue Service. They sent me a letter about taxes, but weren’t prepared to handle the onslaught. I blogged about it, then sent a link to my blog to their Twitter account.
A few minutes ago I got an email from Kevin Sullivan, DRS Commissioner. For those who think government is totally uncaring this email will change your mind. Here are some excerpts.
Geoff: First, my apologies for your wholly unsatisfactory experience trying to connect with DRS. We actually do a pretty good job of handling thousands of taxpayer contacts but sure blew it with this one and several more this week. If you will excuse the metaphor, we had a perfect storm of some 60,000 taxpayer notifications – including 2210 notices like the one you received – go out all at once with no one adequately controlling the flow or preparing to handle the response. That, on top of all the usual post-filing calls about refund status, overwhelmed Taxpayer Services.
I finished a not too pleasant “discussion” with my top managers to get this sorted out and get our call times back under control – let alone the call drops that you experienced. You are right that we can and must do better.
Did my celebrity help in getting this response? Maybe, but I take him at his word that the straw that broke the camel’s back came before he heard from me.
I told Commissioner Sullivan I would continue to call and try to reach someone. My 2011 situation is complex and probably not what was anticipated when the rules were drawn up.
In other words, oy!
