A lesson in bureaucracy

Colleagues,

MVP: We make processes more complicated than they need to be.

I recently received a letter from a bank notifying me that my SC Tax refund debit card from 2023 would be expiring on February 1, 2024.

I vaguely remembered using the card and not being able to figure out how much money was on it, so I dug it out of my pile of debit/gift/refund cards.

The card expired in October.

I took the card to my bank, but since my bank did not issue the card, they couldn’t tell me how much money was on it.

I called the hotline number on the back of the card.

After several minutes straining to communicate on a bad connection, the bank told me they could not issue a new card. They were no longer handling the funds for South Carolina and the only thing they could do was write me a check. Please!

I was transferred to someone else to verify something (I don’t know what), and then sent back to the original person.

This took about 15 minutes of my time and the service provider’s time.

Now my $36 check is in the email! Or it will be in 10-14 business days.

Imagine an alternate universe where South Carolina had directly deposited my tax refund to my bank account.

What’s the point of all this?

I am willing to bet most of us work in organizations that have some convoluted processes that are counterproductive.

Today’s intention: Be mindful of the processes you work with. Does it all make sense?

Cheers!

Frederick