Had a great experience with staff at SSA office, Waltham to get my disability check rerouted to new…read morebank. However, it is June 3, 2025 and bank never received the check. Please resolve this issue now so that I can have money to live on in June. Thanks. You don't want me to starve, do you?

Wow the government has really upped its game. They have become so much more efficient both on line…read moreand in person. I used to dread anything that involved state or federal government. It was not painful at all and no interminable waiting. Only kink was the security guard who took his job a little too seriously. He could have been a lot more polite.

I never knew there was a social security office here, silly me I always went to the boston location…read morebecause it was Boston and that sounded more official. The ssa.gov website is very useful, all the information is there. Parking was the only pain, there are two hour parking spots in front of the office but its limited. We couldn't find any meters around; lots of off street parking with no signs other than tow zone area but people still parked there which was confusing, 9:07 check in ( there's a touch screen machine to get your number and check in). 9:20 called my number 9:28 done!!! I thought it went by pretty quickly and it was very efficient. Offices are opened at 9am so I would suggest just arriving exactly at 9 so you don't have to wait too long. In case you didn't know: there is no fee for changing your name here.

At the Cambridge, MA office the telephone is answered by an annoying bot that doesn't understand a…read moreword you say. The wait on the phone is endless. But you HAVE to call to make an appointment if you need to go there.

Its the RMV. You know before you even go to one, you're gonna get soaked 9/10 times. Its going to…read morebe a real raw Colonoscopy. And it didn't disappoint me. If I ever feel like I'm not getting financially hosed at an RMV, I always feel like somethings not quite right. ( i.e. I forgot to fill out a certain form, didn't enter whatever I'm supposed to on my phone, etc. and I am doing something illegal.) My love of the RMV aside, this location is bright and clean and more spacious than their old spot in the mall. After waiting 45 minutes in line, I finally got to see someone. His name was Ben and he was actually such a nice, patient, helpful guy. I really appreciated his kindness while I was trying not to have a total Tuna Melt down while trying to get what I needed done. Long story short, I got what I needed done. I just appreciated Ben. And I feel I am 100% in the right to be angry, confused and annoyed whenever I go there. Long lines and you have to overpay whatever the heck you need. But every once in a while, you get a really nice guy who has a tough job yet was nice to me and I really appreciated that. Everyone that worked there seemed nice for whatever that's worth.

Alright, we had some ups and downs here. Context: I just moved to Mass from Florida and needed a…read morenew DL and to register my car. When you walk in, there are two lines: one for people with an appointment and one for people without. There's two stations for two workers to help with those lines. First time I went, I just asked a couple questions (what do I need to bring for my appointment in a couple days, etc.). Was about 45 minutes until close so I waiting maybe 10 minutes in a short line to speak with someone (very nice and knowledgeable) Second time I went, my husband and I both had appointments. We got there about 30 minutes early to our appointment and waited those 30 minutes in the "ready to go" line. The customer service line was already to the door (it was about 11 in the morning) and there was only 1 worker at the counter and they only pulled from the customer service line. Once we finally got processed by the customer service counter and got our numbers, we waited for about 30 minutes each to be called to a counter. The worker I had was FANTASTIC. We chatted and laughed and she was so sweet. Turned out a form from my insurance agency for my car was incorrect so she let me step away to the computers and get it fixed so I didn't have to make another appointment and said to come back to her once I had it right. MEANWHILE, my husband was getting yelled at by a different worker on the other side of the counters. She told him he couldn't get anything done that day and he had all the wrong stuff. THANKFULLY the manager heard her yelling at him and started helping him. Not sure if I have advice for anyone who needs to go to this RMV, except bring a book or something to do while you wait around. Advice for the Watertown RMV: Maybe don't let people who yell at others to work there? Didn't seem like that person got reprimanded at all for going at it towards my husband. (Side note: the manager did see him getting yelled at by this worker, so maybe there were consequences later on? But I did continue to see her walking around after he was done.)

Not to be confused with the Orifice of Parking, which is where clients and co-stars usually park…read morethemselves in both Barbie and myself. Let's be honest here - parking in Boston is nothing short of a nightmare and is one of my least favourite things about the city. It gets expensive with all the meters and the people running around giving tickets, which seem to be even more prevalent than NYC. Yes I said it. Boston seems more ticket happy than New York City which is saying a lot because what could be worse than New York City. Well, Boston. I guess the worst part is that it's not New York and yet you have to worry about tickets to the same degree as you do in Manhattan, if not more. And that's even in some of the suburbs like Somerville and Cambridge.

Woman on the phone was extremely rude when I called to ask a question. Sorry I interrupted your…read morecigarettes and coffee, this honestly seems like where they put all the rejects from other public roles because this has to be the most miserable group of individuals I've ever had to deal with. I would recommend just going straight to a hearing because these people are useless, will give you the run around, and are just genuinely terrible people.

Not so much a review but some feedback on the new trash streaming system just recently instituted…read morein the Town of Watertown, MA -- love that it saves us money but it has meant that I recycle 1/3 as much as I used to. Was that the point? We get one regular trash barrel and one barrels for all recyclables. I called to ask for another recycle barrel and was told we can only have one per household. But I recycle more than that, I responded. "Use your neighbor's barrels if you have too much, " I was told. WHAT? So, I just recycle less -- much less. Was that what was supposed to happen with the new system? Doesn't make sense to discourage recycling.

Walking into a government office these days, you expect tension. It's everywhere...people holding a…read morelot. At the Social Security Administration Office, I walked in just as the doors opened and saw a manager handling a difficult situation with an elderly couple. It wasn't easy, but she stayed calm, clear, and respectful. She held the room together. When I got to the window, the woman who helped me was gracious, efficient, and genuinely pleasant. No friction, no confusion, just clear help, quickly. You never count on easy, but this was. If you need to replace a Social Security card or get a hard copy, this is the office to go to. And as a bonus, New England Coffee is right around the corner.

My husband and I found this office to be very helpful. We accomplished what we needed in about an…read morehour. It was good over all. Thank you to the staff for our success.

Was there only once and was surprised about service, despite a ton of complains. Starting from the…read moreguard and finishing with the court gentleman - everybody was kind and polite. I did not use an attorney, and it was a challenge for me to get through entire process, but with those people there it was so easy, I am so satisfied!

I had jury duty at Waltham District Court. Jurors arrive earlier than everyone else and are the…read moreonly ones allowed in past security from 8-8:30am. If you arrive earlier than 8am the door is closed and you must wait outside. The parking lot was fairly empty this early in the morning. When you enter the building, there are signs prohibiting cell phone use, food, and drinks, but the security guard told us that these rules don't pertain to the jury pool room (although you must silence your phone). After bag scan, the jury must take the elevator (not the stairs) up to the jury pool room. The door to the jury pool room closes at 8:55am at which point John the bailiff shows an introductory video - if you aren't in the room at this time, you have to come back a different day. Of 21 potential jurors called, only 15 reported. One of my fellow potential jurors was 80 years old and didn't realize jury duty is optional for senior citizens. The jury pool room is fairly small for 22 people and consists of about 25 chairs which are passably comfortable (for the first hour or so). In the jury pool room there is a bathroom with two toilets and two sinks, but only one potential juror is allowed to use the bathroom at a time. The bathroom was not particularly clean, but not ridiculously filthy. For amenities, the room has a water cooler, a microwave, a refrigerator, and a toaster, but power outlets are rare. There is a table which fits about 4 people. There are many different magazines you can read while you wait. John the bailiff helped pass some of the time by telling courtroom anecdotes, his point being that things don't always go as scheduled in the courtroom so potential jurors need to be flexible. I tried to nap during my wait, but couldn't find a relaxed position in the chairs and kept getting distracted by the bathroom door opening and closing. In the Waltham courthouse there is only one courtroom. Although the jurors arrived at 8am, the judge didn't show up until noon, at which point we had already all been waiting there for 4 hours. They told us this was unusual - on normal days the jury's role starts at 11:30am. They didn't explain why we have to be there 3.5 hours before we are potentially needed. There were 6 cases on the docket, but only one went to trial. We were told that only 1% of the court's cases end up with a jury trial. We were also told that jury pools are called only 50 times a year (one day a week), and that a trial only occurs 60% of those times. That means that out of the 50*21=1050 potential jurors which are called to the court in a given year, approximately 30*7=210 (20%) actually find themselves impaneled on a jury. On our day there was a trial but I was not impaneled. At about 12:45, all potential jurors were brought into court with the judge, clerk, defendant, attorneys, witnesses and another bailiff, Joe. There was no bathroom availability in the courtroom but I didn't ask what happens if someone has to use the bathroom once they are in the courtroom. At this point, the judge and attorneys go through each juror's survey and ask relevant questions to establish impartiality. Potential jurors are questioned in private (away from other jurors) at the judge's sidebar. At this point, I was briefly placed on the jury, but then immediately removed, perhaps as one of the two juror vetoes allowed by each side's attorneys. I was not told why I was removed or by whom. After the jury was chosen, the courtroom broke for lunch, after which the trial proceeds with 5-7 jurors. On my day, only 6 potential jurors out of the 15 who reported were needed for jury duty. Everyone else (including me) was dismissed at this point because our services were unneeded. When I was able to go home it was 1:15pm, which means I was sitting at the courthouse for 5-1/4 hours. Other than a parking lot, there was not much in the area of the court house. Across the street is a Dunkin Donuts, a CVS, a Petco, and a gasoline station. If you don't have a car, and don't want lunch from Dunkin Donuts, then you should bring your own lunch.

It may seem irrelevant to write a Yelp review for a post office--but I saw this location had a…read morepretty mediocre rating and I thought I would put my two cents in. Forget everything you know about your typical grumpy Post Office workers! The staff at this location are friendly and extremely fast. They are all knowledgeable and are able to have a fun time at their job. The energy in this post office is pretty different. The parking situation sucks however! The street parking can build up pretty fast because it's Belmont. The lot on the side is extremely small. I typically tend to park at various businesses and walk. The only benefit is people typically don't spend a lot of time at the post office.

I was directed to the main USPS branch at 405 Concord Ave in Belmont from the smaller Trapelo Road…read morebranch to have a supervisor assist me with a specific legal form. Unfortunately, the supervisor on duty, Mark, was incredibly rude, aggressive, and entirely ignorant of federal postal regulations. I submitted a standard USPS Exhibit 5-2b form to request a forwarding address for the service of legal process, which is explicitly protected and permitted under federal law via 39 CFR 265.14. Mark repeatedly yelled at me, claiming "you cannot have someone else's address." When I asked him to stop shouting and requested his supervisor's information, he claimed he was the "final authority," refused to give his name, and called the Belmont Police. When two police officers arrived, Mark lied to them, claiming I was trying to illegally obtain private data. The supervisor was mean, completely unprofessional, and escalated a routine legal request into a police matter for absolutely no reason. If you need a legal process form handled, avoid this branch at all costs.

I have lived in Watertown for 80 years and I have never seen services as they are now. The worst…read moredepartment is the DPW. I have been waiting a whole month to get my yard waste picked. They only allowed one pickup in June. and they screw that up. Phillip Dragone

Don't try to appeal your all-night parking tickets here unless you have proof better than video…read more(i.e. from Ring security cameras). Attempted to show video proof that I was not parked for more than an hour because I was not home until 10 minutes before I was ticketed, but the hearing officer's 42 years of experience meant the evidence just wasn't good enough.