Well, we've learned that there are three certain things in life today: death, taxes and that you will wait on hold when you call the CRA. It's another damning report that Canadians continue to pay more and get less.
The average wait time is 31 minutes. The service standard of 15 minutes is met only 18% of the time, despite a 2017 effort by CRA to block calls: 8.6 million calls were deflected and individuals did not have an opportunity to speak to an agent. As far as accuracy is concerned, accurate information was given only 54% of the time, and 17% of the time relative to tax-specific questions. The priority for the CRA is taking breaks, in that it was shown that the CRA placed greater importance on how closely they adhered to their schedule, for their shifts and breaks, than the “accuracy and completeness” of the calls that were provided. In one call recording, after nine minutes the agent remarked that the personal information authentication was taking too long for a 90-year-old caller, who was having difficulty finding and recalling the correct answers.
Why should Canadians tolerate this unacceptable service?