​​​​​​​People resent change and how much time it takes to adopt it wholeheartedly. The same happened with the Thrift Savings Plan’s (TSP) new online system. Soon after the TSP board launched its new system, it received many complaints in its mailbox. However, the TSP sensibly dealt with them and responded to all complaints in their “Fact Checking” document. Though the tone was defensive and the replies were crisp, the response shut down a lot of noise. Let’s look at complaints in the TSP mailbox about the new system and the officials’ take on them in the September board meeting.
TSP Response to Complaints
1. Call Waiting
TSP gets a lot of complaints regarding its call waiting duration that people need help getting through. However, the TSP denied that many people had to wait hours, saying the fact sheet says the average call answer time is at most 30 seconds. They also added that they had increased the number of customer care agents to improve the quality.
2. Inaccurate Account Balance after Blackout
They also defended the query that the client’s accounts were inaccurate after the blackout. According to the officials, they have received more than a dozen complaints about the wrong balance calculator that still needs to be found upon checking the system.
3. Lost Beneficiaries Due to Blackout
Many customers complain about losing their beneficiaries after facing a system blackout. However, TSP board officials coolly brushed it off by saying only 1.4 million of the 6.6 million customer accounts ever submitted beneficiary information, and they still need to be erased. According to the report, 157,000 were left on file and were not transferred into the newly upgraded program, and the TSP had earlier blamed data difficulties.
4. Difficulty in Account Setup
In addition to data and document difficulty in transfer, customers also had issues with the application submission process. Many customers claimed the system failure was in the account setup. The TSP also denied this complaint defensively. They said, “There have reportedly been 2.5 million tries, with 92% of all efforts finished online. Hence, this fact check indicates that most policyholders still need to complete the activation process for the new system.”
5. Mutual Fund Window is a failure
It was the most frequent complaint of the customers about the new system. They claimed that the mutual window feature in the new system was a complete failure because many people don’t use it. However, the TSP responded to it carefully, saying that they anticipated that 1-2% of TSP members would utilize the mutual fund window in the coming years. However, not all participants will find it beneficial. Though this statement is reassuring, it’s contrary to the TSP statement at launch time.
Final Words
All these answers and claims suggest that the TSP takes care of its customers’ choices. However, they responded to them quite defensively to maintain the image that their new system was flawless.