EDD service hours - been calling wrong times for weeks apparently

A whole month of Saturdays? I feel better about my two weeks of evening calls now.

The weekend thing got me too. You'd think they'd have some coverage but nope.

WHAT? The entire call center takes lunch at the same time? That's insane!

Yep, found this out after 40 attempts during lunch hour one day. Total waste of time.

This should be posted everywhere. I've probably made 200 calls during lunch thinking I was just unlucky.

Is that legit? I'm so tired of planning my whole day around these service hours.

Totally legit. Check out claimyr.com - they call for you and patch you through when an agent picks up. Worth every penny when you're dealing with these crazy hours.

I was skeptical about paying for this but honestly it saved me so much time I could actually work my job instead of calling EDD all day.

Good to know! I was planning to call first thing Monday morning thinking I'd beat the rush.

Monday mornings are brutal. Also avoid anything after 4pm - they seem to stop taking new calls even though they're technically open until 5.

Friday afternoons are pointless too. Even if you get through, they can't resolve much before the weekend.

You track this in a spreadsheet? That's dedication. What's your success rate?

About 15% chance of getting on hold if I call right at 8am. Drops to maybe 5% by 10am on a good day.

These numbers are depressing but probably accurate. I've had days where I called 100+ times and never even got on hold.

There's a difference between the busy signal and 'too busy' message?

Yeah, busy signal means the lines are full but you might get through if you keep trying. 'Too busy' message means they're not even letting people into the queue.

And even if you get on hold, there's like a 40% chance your call gets dropped after waiting 2 hours.

67 times in one day? How do you even keep track? And congrats on finally getting through!

Thanks! I use tally marks on paper. Sounds crazy but when you're desperate you do whatever works. The agent was super helpful once I finally reached them.

Wednesday afternoons seem to be the sweet spot. I've had my best luck then too.

Good point! I didn't even think about minute overages. This whole process is expensive in ways you don't expect.

Skype credit works too if you're calling from a computer. Way cheaper than cell minutes.

Or just use an auto dialer service. I use Claimyr now and it doesn't count against my phone plan at all since they call me back.

Why don't they put this information more prominently? Would save everyone so much confusion.

Because then people might actually know when to call and make their lives easier. Can't have that apparently.

The lunch break info definitely isn't prominent. I had to dig for that too.

That's exactly my problem! I can't just sit at work calling EDD all day. How did Claimyr work for you?

Really well actually. I placed the order Tuesday morning, got a callback Wednesday around lunch with an agent already on the line. Solved my issue in 10 minutes.

Same experience here. The callback came during a meeting but I stepped out and handled everything quickly. Way better than burning PTO to call all day.

That's heartbreaking. 90 minutes on hold just to get disconnected? I would have thrown my phone.

I definitely yelled at my phone. The dropped call thing is apparently super common - maybe 30-50% of calls that get through to hold end up dropping.

This is why I finally broke down and used an auto dialer. At least when they get dropped, I'm not the one sitting there for hours.

Interesting! Like they're not paying attention to the clock at the very end of the day?

Maybe? Or they're processing the last few calls in queue. Either way, it's worked better than calling at peak times.

I've heard this but never tried it. Seems risky - what if you get on hold at 4:59 and they close at 5?

If you're already connected they seem to honor the call. But yeah, it's a gamble.

Right? Every other call center manages to stay open during lunch. Why can't EDD figure this out?

Probably union contract stuff. Still doesn't make it less annoying for us.

At least once you know about it you can plan around it. I use lunch to eat and prep for my afternoon calling session.

You cut off the last 30 minutes? I thought they were open until 5pm.

Technically yes, but they stop taking new calls around 4:30. I've never gotten through after that time in 2 months of trying.

This matches my experience. After 4:30 you're just wasting your time.

30 minutes? That's incredible compared to what I've been dealing with. Is it expensive?

Way less than the cost of taking time off work to call all day. Plus there's a demo video at https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10 that shows exactly how it works.

The ROI is obvious when you factor in lost wages from calling during work hours. Wish I'd found this service months ago.

Good point! Where do you find the state holiday calendar?

California state website has the official list. Things like Lincoln's Birthday that aren't federal holidays but California observes them.

Columbus Day got me too. Such a random holiday to close for.

Three alarms! I thought I was obsessive with my coffee prep the night before.

Whatever it takes! I have my phone number shortcuts ready, coffee made, and I'm literally finger on the dial button at 7:59:50.

I do the same thing. The competition for those first few minutes is insane.

How long do you wait before pressing the first 1? I've been waiting for the full prompt.

About 70 seconds total wait, then 1, then another 1, then three stars. You can press the buttons before the prompts finish to save time.

Pressing early definitely helps when you're redialing 50+ times. Every second saved adds up.

Six weeks?! I'm only two weeks in and already losing my mind. Maybe I should look into that service too.

Seriously, don't wait like I did. The stress of calling every day during those narrow windows isn't worth it. Let the robots handle it.

Same boat - wish I'd discovered automated calling services way earlier. Would have saved my sanity and probably my job performance.