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With incredible relief I can announce that me unemployment application ordeal is finished. It was arduous but easy. Persistence is the only tool. Patience is the only obstacle. /THREAD
For those of you stuck in the purgatory that is the NYS Department of Labor website & phone tree, there is hope. Donāt give up. /2
It looks eight days of nearly 200 phone calls to complete the process. You might want to look into this @NYGovCuomo. #NYSunemployment /3
I havenāt worked for three weeks. Itās been eight days since I completed the online portion of the application for NYS Unemployment. I was able to login about 1/20 times. Keep clicking refresh; it takes me 30 minutes to log in every time.. https://labor.ny.gov/unemploymentassistance.shtm /4
That was the easy part. After completing the online portion of the application I was informed that I had to call in. /5
āThis is an important message about the Unemployment Insurance claim that you just filed. We have received the claim you recently filed on our site. However, you need to speak to an agent to complete it as soon as possible. To do this, please call our Telephone Claims Center. /6
I called NYS Unemployment telephone claims center 193 times before talking to a person. You must listen to ~3 minutes of un-skippable information (which is all available on the website) before you find out whether you get to wait on hold. /7
In all but one instance, I was told operators are busy; the call was cut off before I made it āholdā. The 3-minute automated phone message tells you to go to website which tells you to call the number which tells you to go to the website. /8
But usually you donāt get to hear that annoying conundrum. I only connected with the recorded message 15-20 times out of my first 192 calls. The other 175 calls were disconnected in a few annoying ways. /9
On my 193rd call, I *finally* got put on āholdā for nearly an hour. Every 30 seconds I was reminded, āall the operators are busy pleaseļæ¼ stay on the lineā. After 52 stressful minutes I was connected to a very nice real person. Easy questions. Couldāve been completed online. /10
I now have to submit more documents (2019 tax return) and then Iāll receive unemployment benefits, but the end is in sight. To my fellow New Yorkers, donāt give up. /11
The system is understandably overwhelmed, but could be more efficient. The phone call was unnecessary. Nevertheless, thank you to the remarkably pleasant person who took my call and completed my application. #NYSunemployment
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