How do you like the help our government is providing?

I don’t know about you, but I’ve discovered that the SBA loans designed to help small businesses weather this Covid19 storm, are not only difficult to apply for, but have been more frustrating than anything I’ve ever dealt with. It might just be my experience but if others are feeling half the frustration I’ve felt, then there must be millions of very frustrated and angry people out there. Having to face the monumental down fall of our economy, the plummeting revenues of our little company was hard enough, but then to be given hope only to have that hope get swallowed up by application systems that no one understands. Who do we turn to when the experts have no answer, only platitudes?

I was told by numerous people who’ve been in business much longer than I, “don’t count on the government to really help, They’ll find a way to foul it up!” Foul is the derogatory term I used in place of the term my long time friends in business used when they told me don’t count on seeing any of that 350 billion in the CARES act that were set aside for small businesses. After 3 days of trying to navigate the PPP application process and being no closer to a submission of our application, I’m beginning to believe my friends. Only having our business in operation for 10 years and never having asked the government for anything, I might have been a little naive.

What I would hope for is a system that works. I am sad that the old joke of “I’m from the government and I’m here to help” is as alive as ever. In this situation, the applications are so simple, I am amazed. After nearly 40 years in public education, I can say there was never a simple federal application or report. The amount of paperwork and documentation required for everything was so voluminous that everyone cringed when grant season rolled around. And annual reports were a nightmare.

So filling out 3 or 4 pages of information for a loan that could be forgiven if you just follow the rules! I found that to be incredible. But then there was the hours and hours of trying to electronically submit the applications. And the continuous rejection because the system believes you didn’t fill the form out correctly. It believes I didn’t electronically initial all the right spots and/or sign my form. So you make a phone call and are on hold for 90 minutes because thousands of others are having the same problem. You talk to a nice man who suggests you do a couple things, you thank him, hang up, and implement his suggestions. Then you try to upload your forms again but realize you have to recreate them because while you were on the phone, your account was inactive and you were signed out and there is no way to save what you’ve done. Ok, so the information was not that hard to put into the system, so you redo everything and try what was suggested that you do. Now, thank goodness, 3 of the 4 items I needed to upload, uploaded without a hitch. Unfortunately, the big kahuna, the application form, continues to be a problem. No matter what I do, I get the same messages. Please ensure that all the required initials and signature are on your documents.

So, 4 hours into the process, I’m back on the phone, on hold seeking help. Another hour of waiting and I’m told to clear the cookies, cache, history, and other such things from my computer and I’m reminded to use the Chrome Browser, which I was. Now clearing all that history from my computer sends me back to the beginning of the process, once again. Time to fill in all the information for the third time, which I do. After re-entering all the required information, I try to upload everything again. Once again, 3 out 4 documents upload without difficulty. The application however, will still not go. So back to the phone and another hour of being on hold. That’s 3 and a half hours of listening to fuzzy, garbled, mind-numbing Muzak!

My third expert, a very nice young lady has obviously been talking to a number of fairly angry, impatient, frustrated business people. She’s on the verge of tears, as am I. Her advice to me is just keep trying. The system is overloaded and just can’t handle the demand. I tell her that I understand that thousands of small businesses are fighting for their lives and I know this because we are one of those businesses that are wrestling a grizzly bear and just don’t see how we can win. We thought the EIDL and PPP might be the answer but when the only help we get is keep trying! Well, forgive me if I just don’t have any faith in the system. I want to believe but history is not very good at building a case for trust. So, I get back to entering all the info for a fourth, then a fifth, then a sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth time. With continuous attempts to upload the application. Now after almost 20 hours of trying, I’m about to give up. I may try again another time. I don’t know. I’m depressed, disgusted, disappointed, and just don’t know if I can continue down this path.

I don’t expect that anyone in a position of authority will read what I’ve written tonight but I had to vent. I’m not sure what will happen over the next 6 months. I don’t know if Culture By Choice, or any of the thousands of other very small businesses, will still exist. If we’re still in business, it will be because of the will of the four of us, the continued support of our clients, and by the grace of God. I would hope that the people from the banks and the SBA, who are trying to help, will figure out how to make it work. I’m not counting on it. I will put my faith in God and my colleagues, and thousands of little giants that are the true backbone of this country.