As I sat there—hour after hour—I was flabbergasted by the way that the receptionist treated the various people who arrived at the front of the line. Her standard greeting was a stern “why are you here?” (not, “good morning, how can I help you?”) and she would berate people for not knowing what and where their “A Number” was. She also did not speak Spanish; I ended up spending part of the day translating for Spanish-speaking immigrants whom she began to yell at after they did not understand her instructions. Continue Reading →