Bureaucracy ain't all that a Bitch

Its super fashionable and acceptable to crib about the pathetic state of our bureaucracy. All of us have our share of horror stories about our brush with passport/ income tax/ provident fund/ voter id office, gas agencies, police station, judiciary, marriage bureau,  etc.

I have a penchant for being bull headed when it comes to dealing with bureaucratic institutions (both public and private !) and toiling on till I get my work done. Here, I share some pearls of wisdom I have gathered from some rich and painful brushes with bureaucracy. 

• Lesson 1 - Do no evil - Nothing pisses off bureaucracy more that you trying to cut short the system. Some personal examples include deliberately giving incorrect address info. on my passport renewal application to avoid address verification in two different cities, using an agent in a bid to hasten procedure, not being diligent in filing tax returns properly (and being served a notice 4 years down the line for it). We are often guilty of making some vital error(s) but conveniently shift all the blame on the inefficiency of the system. 

• Lesson 2 - Patience wins the race - Lot of our angst stems from the speed of the system. However, we tend to overlook the sheer burden on the system. Its no mean feat that IRCTC's online booking performs way better than the rail reservation system for Europe despite catering to 3x population. Besides, not every task of ours is that urgent in nature. Barring real emergencies, the experience of dealing with the system becomes much better if we learn to accept its pace. 

• Lesson 3 -  Plan & Prepare - This cant be emphasized enough. Planning ahead and thoroughness in preparation are the key in dealing with systems. We don't crib about the copious (and ridiculous !) documentation that a US visa or education application demands. But you would often see customers at govt. offices being irked when they are turned back for incomplete paperwork. Part of this ire stems from bureaucracies not doing a good job of informing about these checklists. But if we realize in advance that systems operate on paperwork and ensure that we are well armed with all that is needed, its makes the system much easier to navigate.

• Lesson 4 - The Meek shall not inherit the Earth - If you have followed Lesson 1,2 and 3 and are still facing hurdles from just outright corrupt or arrogant officials, then its time for Lesson 4. Most systems have strong - though often hidden - grievance addressal mechanisms. We have to be brave and persistent enough to use them. After 9 months of harassment at the Mumbai passport office, I finally got angry enough to meet the RPO personally and get my file cleared without any contacts. When served with an income tax notice, I avoided using agents/experienced CA cousin/ IT office clerks to intervene on my behalf. Instead, I directly met the officer in charge - allegedly notorious for being corrupt - and sat down one-on-one with him to resolve my case in 0.5 hrs (but with 15 hrs of advance preparation) in a very pleasant and professional manner.     

There will be exceptions aplenty but I have found that putting the above lessons to use has served me well in dealing with bureaucracies.

Give it a shot and let me know how it goes !