Zug Compensation Office: Waiting in line for authorities ‘sheer madness’

A waiting time of about 39 minutes is displayed on Besnik Baftija’s mobile phone when he called the Zug Compensation Office’s main office phone number on Thursday. But it gets worse: «After waiting 41 minutes, I hung up. Before that, I had waited another 28 minutes for my call to be answered,” says Baftiga in 20 minutes. In general, listened to the queue for more than an hour, which periodically interrupted the music to let the caller know that they would be there soon. The caller endlessly hears “please be patient for a moment”.

This upset his employer with eight people: “It’s crazy and I have absolutely no understanding that this is happening in Switzerland.” As Baftiga explains, he wanted to ask a question related to wage announcements, which would have taken about two minutes. According to Baftiga, this wasn’t the first time he didn’t catch up with his calls either. It considers that the contributions to be paid are high enough and that the Compensation Fund is sufficiently staffed so that calls can be answered within an acceptable time. Baftega was so furious that after failed attempts to contact him, he immediately emailed the compensation office and the city, cantonal and government.

“We are currently receiving about 200 calls a day.”

Romana Zimmermann, director of the Zug Compensation Fund

He received a call from the city a short time later. “The compensation office called me and the man apologized for the inconvenience,” Baftiga continued. When the central number of the Compensation Office was called for 20 minutes to obtain a statement, the call was quickly answered. Director Romana Zimmerman commented on the current issue: “We understand that we are a service company, otherwise it wouldn’t happen that someone would have to wait that long for the call to be answered.” Although “long waiting times shouldn’t happen,” Zimmerman asks for your understanding, since it’s peak season in her position. This relates to the fact that many inquiries have been received, for example about premium reductions or wage declarations. Zimmerman: “We’re currently recording about 200 calls a day.”

Employees who take calls also know they need to respond quickly. That’s why Zimmermann wants to examine it to see if there’s a technical defect. Her advice if the switchboard is busy: “If there is written correspondence, the contact person can be seen on the email or in the message with the direct number.” When customers call direct numbers, the switchboard is recessed and other callers can be connected more quickly to the relevant departments.

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