Complaints about long lines and poor customer service at the local Internal Revenue Service office prompted U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville, to recently visit for a firsthand look at the problems. The IRS acknowledges that the tax assistance center is understaffed and that’s its caseloads have been exacerbated by the closing of a separate office in Athens, leaving the Gainesville branch, located on Oak Street, as the only location to serve more than 700,000 residents throughout Northeast Georgia's 9th Congressional District. And the agency plans to soon implement appointment scheduling for customers rather than the first-come, first-served approach.