Rude awakening in early 2007: Government services were often very poor. Hit numerous immigration problems. ID issuance was slow. DMV had huge queues. Post office had shorter lines but inadequate hotlines.

Government Hotlines are overloaded…

Many government services are self-service, either online or by write-in [still common as of 2007]. Many complicated procedures with pages of instructions to read. Often you must ask friends + self-teach. Still you can hit roadblocks that require commercial, professional assistance. Sometimes there was a visible effort to simplify (or explain) the process for new users. I would say far from effective. In contrast, Singapore goverment services come with plenty of hotline staff (occasionally community centers too) .. adequate staffing !

Semi-government, non-profit services are similar. Hospitals, utilities, schools, credit bureaus, airports, transport authorities, police, legal systems, IRS,,,

Some big private [i.e. for-profit] service providers have adequate customer support, often tiered based on your account tier! I noticed it in GS, Verizon, … So if you don’t have enough in-house expertise, then you need to pay a premium.

In 2007, I couldn’t afford to pay the premium 🙁

Alternatively, smaller service providers offer better customer support.