UPDATE: Sunday, Aug 13, 2023 · 2:52:58 PM +00:00
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Merlin196360
NOTE: I have been reminded by another Census Bureau employee that not all surveys have a $5,000 dollar fine for non-compliance. This is true. I was imprecise because the surveys I work with in my section of the Census Bureau have been so far. I apologize for any confusing.
Also, not all Census Bureau surveys are done online. Once again, the ones in my section are ending paper surveys and going toward online surveys because of a cost-benefit analysis. However, there are other surveys that are still done over the phone or in person by other sections in the Census Bureau.
I got to play Deep State for a Trump fanatic today. I work the phones for the U.S. Census Bureau, and my primary function is to assist business owners fill out the mandatory economic surveys the government sends them. Generally, I am empathetic to the people who call in because the Census Bureau has established one of the most user UNFRIENDLY COMPUTER SYSTEMS for submitting the surveys. It takes far too much time and effort to gain access to the surveys (all online now) and fill them out. Every now and then, I get a really unhappy camper who calls in. But today’s contestant was one of the worst. And I know he is a Fox Viewer and Trump Republican, and he was screaming at me from the get go. What was the outrage for? The government had one word in his business name wrong.
I’m not kidding.
When I answered the phone, I always provide my name. His voice volume was already at a high level when he asked, “What’s your name?” I repeated it for him, and he demanded that I provide him with my badge number (I looked, but I my badge number was not entirely visible. In fact, my card was in a slot for my Census Bureau laptop).
I asked him how could I help? And the screaming started. I was trying to take in what he was screaming at me, but it appears that we have been “harassing” him for 15 years now with these surveys. It appears that the government has had the wrong name for his business on the survey.
I tried to figure out if he had received another business’s survey, so I asked him about that. We have sent surveys to the wrong business or had the wrong address. And it is a big deal, and there is a process for addressing this issue. It could be a violation of Title 13 data, and the Census Bureau takes that very seriously.
He snarled, “Have you been to college?”
I didn’t answer that question. The snarl was a clear indication of his attitude of, “Are you a fucking idiot?” Then he repeated that it was NOT the name of his business.
I asked him to provide me with the Business Identification Number (BID) in the notification letter that was sent to him. It’s how I look up and open the case for any business. He quickly gave it to me, while he berated me about how HE should fine the Census Bureau $50,000 for what we have put him through. The DOJ fines people $5000 for non-compliance with Census Bureau surveys.
I’m looking over his case, and I repeat the business name we have on file. And he tells me it is wrong. I ask if the address was correct, and he says, “YES!” So I am confused, and I ask what is your business name? He repeats the correct name for his company, AND ONLY ONE WORD WAS INCORRECT IN THE BUSINESS NAME!
And the word? I cannot tell you because of Title 13 data, but it was analogous to the word “SHIP” being in the name instead of the correct word, “BOAT.”
I am not fucking kidding.
I look up on the call reasons what to do, but the caller is still screaming at me. I tell him that I have to put him on hold while I discuss this with a supervisor. I get one of my supes on the phone, and I try to figure out what that was all about. And while talking to the supervisor, it dawns on me, “He is pissed off that his company name is “SHIP” and NOT “BOAT!” We didn’t send a survey to the wrong business. It’s the correct address and BID, which is what is on HIS TAX FORMS!
My supervisor tells me that I do NOT have to take his abuse, and I can simply hang up on him. But I decide to try and help this fucking fool. The fix would be him going into the online survey, and in the REMARKS SECTION of the survey he can state, “This is not the correct name for my business.”
I take him off hold, and I tell him the solution. He screams that I am making him provide FALSE INFORMATION! If he thinks that the survey is to another busines (which it WAS NOT), then he could enter zeroes and explain this in the REMARKS section. He screams that it is his business, but I WAS TRYING TO MAKE HIM PROVIDE FALSE INFORMATION!
It gets worse.
He is now in full flower and screaming, “YOU ONLY DO THIS TO REPUBLICANS! YOU DO NOT DO THIS TO DEMOCRATS! JUST LIKE YOU DO NOT DO THIS TO BLACKS!” I asked him to please calm down, and he said he was calm. I told him that he was not calm and had been yelling, and he claimed that I was being “abusive.” He then stated in a school yard bullies voice, “Did I hurt your feelings? Do you need a time out to go to the crying room?”
I told him that I was hanging up, and he sarcastically said, “You have been helpful!”
Click to you asshole.
I reported all this to my supervisors. I did this because assholes like him call their congressmen and complain that a guy at the Census Bureau threatened them. It has happened, but not too me.
I’ve had other kooks call in before, but this was like having your phone covered in shit.
So besides blowing off steam, why write about this bullshit? I haven’t seen it much lately, but there used to be refrain from some on Daily Kos that progressives live in a fantasy land and do not how know things are in a red state. We do not interact with conservative Republicans, so our ideas are falling like seeds on pavement. If we only were more moderate or conservative, Democrats would be better off politically. Therefore, we need to listen more often to those who are not progressive.
Progressives and their thinking were the real problem when it comes to politics.
Bull fucking shit.
The above assumed that Republicans are actually “thinkers,” and they could be approached with logic and reason. The asshole I was trying to help didn’t want my help. He wanted to rage and abuse someone who represented the government. His comments were right out of the Tucker Carlson Show. And his grievance was that the government had one word in his company’s name wrong.
By the way, I live in a damn red state, and I have Trump loving relatives who no longer speak to me or my Mom. I grew up with their conservative politics, so I am more than familiar with how conservative Republicans “think.”
As I said, I’ve seen a lot less of this blame progressives BS in the last several years on Daily Kos. I think that most who have beefs with progressivism see that the immediate problem is Republicans are crazy. Their racism and white grievance is shouted with a bullhorn.