I finally figured out how to get a straight answer from a city permit office

For years, I'd call about a fence permit and get vague 'maybe 2-4 weeks' timelines that were useless. Last month, I started asking 'What's the very next step in the process, and who specifically is doing it?' The inspector in Phoenix actually paused, looked it up, and said 'It's on Dave's desk for final review, and he's out until Tuesday.' That one question cut my wait time guess from a month to 3 days. Anyone else have a magic phrase that actually gets you real info from government offices?

3 comments

3 Comments

martin.paige1mo ago

Honestly, you're probably right about getting lucky. My usual approach is just calling back so many times they finally answer just to make me go away. It's like a weird game of customer service chicken. That specific question would either get me actual info or get me put on a permanent hold. No in between.

gracet221mo ago

Honestly, that "magic phrase" just sounds like you got lucky with one nice inspector... most of the time they just get annoyed and give you less info.

taylor_hayes251mo ago

Reminds me of the DMV clerk who told me to just come back after lunch when her coworker was gone. Some of them are low-key trying to help you beat the system.