The audit was done in response to complaints the IG received about interactions during the 2024 filing season. Image: Anton27/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffIRS phone service representatives are largely “courteous and professional” but that is not always the case and callers in addition experience other problems including dropped calls, an inspector general audit has found.
The audit, the latest of many examining various aspects of the differing forms of customer service at the agency, was done in response to complaints the IG received about interactions during the 2024 filing season. Those complaints “included IRS representatives being unprofessional, disconnecting telephone calls rather than addressing callers’ questions, and not providing callers the opportunity to speak to a supervisor when requested.”
In a sample of more than 800 recordings of calls, the IG concluded that 51 taxpayers “were not provided courteous service.” That included reps who “rushed taxpayers to end the telephone call, interrupted or spoke over taxpayers when they were talking, and treated taxpayers unprofessionally or with an unprofessional tone.”
Other issues included that 24 had excessively long wait times—up to 80 minutes—when callers were placed on hold for the rep to research an issue or question, and 15 had “potentially disruptive background noise” that included “electronics powering on or off, and conversations involving other individuals yelling and screaming.”
Further, 128 of the calls, about 15 percent, were dropped or disconnected, The agency does not have a system for tracking the reason for dropped calls, it added, and management is aware of them only when employees report them.
IRS management agreed with a recommendation to “conduct annual refresher training for all representatives to emphasize the importance of always providing professional and courteous customer service.” The IG made no recommendation regarding the dropped call issue because the agency has ongoing work on its phone systems.
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