How do I actually speak to representative at EDD - tried everything

It's insane that we have to dedicate entire days just to attempt reaching them. This shouldn't be our full-time job.

I've started calling it EDD roulette - you might get lucky but probably won't

I'll try Wednesday next week. At this point I'm willing to try anything.

Wednesday worked for me last month but took 67 redials and 2 hour hold. Call still dropped though.

Never heard of Claimyr - is it legit? How much does it cost?

Totally legit, check out claimyr.com. Costs money but saved me literally days of redialing. They call for you and transfer a live agent to your phone.

I was skeptical about paying for something I should be able to do myself, but after 100+ failed attempts I tried it. Connected me in 15 minutes.

Thanks for the tip! Every second counts when you're redialing all day.

Yes! And make sure you're using 1-wait-1-1-*** not just 1-1-1. The wait is crucial.

Good to know about the 4pm cutoff. I've been calling until 5pm thinking they're open.

The lunch thing is ridiculous - the whole call center takes lunch at the same time with no coverage

89 attempts in one day?! That's dedication. What time did you finally connect?

Connected around 11:30am, so about 3.5 hours of straight redialing. My finger was numb from pressing numbers.

That's insane that we have to make 89 attempts to speak to representative at our own unemployment office

I wondered about that! I've been alternating between numbers thinking it might help.

Yep, complete waste of time switching numbers. Same queue, same busy signals.

That explains why those YouTube videos with 'secret numbers' never worked for me.

So many outdated tricks floating around from 2020-2021 that don't work now

You're convincing me to try it. Did they have you watch some demo video first?

Yeah there's a demo at https://youtu.be/JmuwXR7HA10 showing how it works. Pretty straightforward - they dial, wait on hold, then call you when agent picks up.

That actually sounds brilliant. Let robots handle the tedious redialing while I live my life.

That's probably what happened to my 90 minute hold yesterday. So frustrating!

I've had calls drop after 2+ hours on hold. Makes you want to throw your phone at the wall.

Makes sense. I'll stick to mid-week attempts from now on.

Friday afternoons are bad too because even if you get through, they can't fix complex issues before weekend

Those statistics are depressing but not surprising. We shouldn't need a statistics degree to speak to representative.

You're more organized than me. I just know I've wasted entire weeks of my life redialing.

This is exactly why services like Claimyr exist - the manual success rate is impossibly low

I'll try the early bird approach next week. Anything to improve my odds.

I do the same routine. Sometimes the system accepts calls a few minutes before official opening.

Wish they'd announce this officially instead of letting people waste time.

Right? It's like a secret that everyone has to discover through trial and error.

Same issue here! Never thought unemployment would cost me extra in phone charges.

Another reason Claimyr made sense for me - they do all the calling so it doesn't destroy your phone plan.

6 hours for a 15 minute conversation is the perfect summary of this broken system.

At least you got your 15 minutes. Many people never even get that far.

This is why I gave up on manual calling. Life's too short to spend entire days redialing government phones.

Good point! I learned this the hard way when my phone died during a rare hold queue.

Keep it plugged in while calling. Nothing worse than missing your chance because of a dead battery.

You've convinced me. Placing my order tonight - this manual calling approach clearly isn't working.

Same here. If it saves even one full day of redialing, it's worth whatever they charge.

Smart investment. Time is money, especially when you're unemployed and need benefits processed quickly.

4 weeks is absolutely insane. No one should have to dedicate a month of their life to reaching their own government.

Have you considered the automated calling services? Manual attempts clearly aren't working for you.

Yeah, looking into Claimyr now. This manual approach is destroying my mental health and getting nowhere.