We have caller ID you know. We recognize out of state/district area codes.

Except it’s in one of the most expensive cities in America, idiot.

While I like most of this, definitely do not go the the local media if you visit the DC office, ask to meet with someone, get lucky enough someone drops what they’re currently working on to listen to you speak, and then you don’t get a follow up letter. We don’t even have a protocol for that — a follow up letter after…

They apply to the office. That office and many other offices. There are like, 500 applications per opening so a person who’s trying to get their foot in the door on the Hill will take a job in whatever office they can get. I mean, they prob won’t apply for a far-left member’s office if they’re far-right themselves,…

I think the point was more that we’re all either underpaid or unpaid plus have student loan debt weighing us down so have mercy on us. You’re right about the govt customer service thing and that every customer service person should receive politeness.

God no that’s the absolute worst way to reach an office! We don’t receive physical faxes anyway, it’s all electronic. They go to this email address that the interns/Staff Assistants are supposed to sort through but they never do bc they’re too busy getting yelled at on the phone and those faxes all pile up and NEVER…

As long as they’re original letters and not just your name at the bottom of a form letter that we got 100s of the exact same copy of. Form letters are annoying and not helpful. Individual constituent letters will receive attention from a staffer who’s actually at a higher level than the interns/staffers answering the…

Right?! People are complaining about busy signals and I’m like, we have about a 1,000,000:1 ratio of constituents vs people who answer the phones in this office. And that’s being generous. Expect busy signals. We’d love more staffers to handle phones, but until then it’s just the unpaid intern(s) and underpaid Staff…

They’re not the same people as the campaign staff cheerleaders. They’re future policy experts. They’re there to work on legislation (after doing their time on the phones as an intern and then Staff Assistant). They take a job with whichever member they can, even if they disagree with that person. Hill jobs and even…

Eh, it gives us a break from all the yelling. Being like “Just wanted to say thanks and keep up the good work! Hang in there!” or something would be refreshing. Doesn’t have to take long.

You’re not thinking logically. $30,000 doesn’t go as far in DC as apparently wherever you’re from. Look up the cost of living in DC, around the Hill and safe areas within commuting distance. $30,000 is extremely hard to live off of here. Rent is at least $1,000 for a bedroom in a shared apartment. Metro is expensive.…

Yes, we know. We have caller ID and recognize out-of-district area codes. A good portion of people who call are non-constituents, even if they fake knowing a zip code, we usually know when they’re not a constituent. And we do not count their call. Nor should we. Representatives are called that because they are there…

That kind of thing is different than what this article is about. If a constituent had a valid concern on a nuanced policy detail for a bill that is largely non-partisan, that’s one (rare) thing. But I’m sure you know as well as I do how partisan the Hill is. The boss is one party or the other (unless it’s one of the…

You’re right. I suspect the public views campaign staff and policy staff as the same. In the legislative branch, they’re actually two different sets of people. The campaign staff is more likely to be a supporter of his/hers and agree with the politician. The DC legislative staffers are really policy specialists who…

Spoken like somebody who’s never worked on the Hill and doesn’t know how things run. I admire your optimism, but don’t be disappointed if a representative you’re calling is a different party than you and despite a “legion” of calls doesn’t vote your way. Party allegiance is king. Just look at science issues, there’s…

Lol you’re definitely right about not getting an in-person meeting with Paul Ryan! The more senior a member is, the busier they are. Their days are literally scheduled down to the minute. Reps in leadership simply do not have time to meet with constituents because they’re busy meeting with the president, groups of…

You will never be recorded when you call. We don’t have that kind of technological capabilities. Our phones are regular office phones. We count all constituent calls and “record” their stance, but I don’t mean like record their voice or anything, we have a list of issues people have been calling about that day and we…