How to speak to a person at Washington ESD unemployment office - tired of automated system

I tried that yesterday and still got hung up on after waiting for 20 minutes. Maybe I need to try again.

8am is when everyone else calls too though. Sometimes calling around 10am works better because the initial rush dies down a bit.

I haven't seen a callback option when I call. Which number are you using?

The main UI customer service line. Sometimes the callback option shows up and sometimes it doesn't, depends on call volume.

Wait is this some kind of paid service? How much does it cost?

Yeah it costs something but honestly it was worth it to finally talk to someone. Way less than what I was losing by not getting my claim resolved.

I used Claimyr too after seeing it mentioned here. It definitely works - they somehow know the right numbers to call and when to call them.

I'll try that next time. Do you press 0 right away or wait for the menu to start?

I usually wait for the first menu option then start hitting 0. But it doesn't always work.

I get the frustration but they're just understaffed. The call volume is still really high even though unemployment rates are lower now.

Being understaffed isn't an excuse for having a phone system that hangs up on people. Other states figured this out.

I didn't know they could help with unemployment claims. I thought WorkSource was just for job searching.

They can help with some things but not everything. Worth a try though if you're really stuck.

It just says 'pending' with no other details. I filed 4 weeks ago and haven't heard anything.

If it's been 4 weeks you definitely need to talk to someone in adjudication. That's way too long for a standard claim.

That's an interesting theory. I'll try calling at different times throughout the day.

I tried that and still couldn't get through. I think it's just random luck honestly.

How does it work exactly? Do you give them your personal info?

No you don't give them your claim info or anything like that. They just handle getting you connected to an actual person at Washington ESD.

Won't they just tell me I'm calling the wrong number?

Maybe but they might transfer you to the right department instead of hanging up like the automated system does.

It's frustrating but Washington ESD is actually better than some other states. At least our online system works most of the time.

That's a pretty low bar though don't you think?

I've checked my account multiple times and don't see any issues listed. What did the verification problem look like?

It was listed under 'correspondence' not under the main claim status. Really easy to miss honestly.

I didn't know there was a live chat. Where do you find that on the website?

I might be thinking of a different state actually. I don't think Washington has live chat for UI claims.

I thought the same thing but honestly it saved me so much time and stress. Sometimes you just have to work with the system as it is.

It shouldn't have to be this way though. The whole phone system needs to be redesigned.

That's a good point about documenting everything. I should have been doing that from the beginning.

Better late than never. Start now and keep detailed records going forward.

Can you file an appeal if your claim is just pending? I thought appeals were only for denials.

You're right, appeals are for decisions. But if they're not processing your claim in a reasonable time you might have other options.

That's encouraging to hear. I was starting to think the whole system was designed to avoid helping people.

The individual workers are trying their best, it's the system itself that's the problem.

Good tip about avoiding Mondays and Fridays. That makes sense actually.

I had the opposite experience - got through on a Friday afternoon when I least expected it. I think it's just random.

That's great to hear! I think I'm going to try Claimyr too if I can't get through by tomorrow.

Same here, the regular phone system just isn't working. At some point you have to try something different.

You're absolutely right. I was just calling the same number the same way every day. Time to change tactics.

Exactly. Whether it's different times, different numbers, or services like Claimyr, you have to adapt to the broken system.