The Motor Vehicles Administration is a relatively constant source of jokes about grouchy, inefficient, unhelpful, mopey people. For most of my life, that’s been born out by experience. Going to the MVA was like getting a tooth pulled.
Today I had to make a quick trip to renew my registration, and I was shocked at how cheerful, helpful and professional everyone was.
Somebody clearly took those jokes / jabs to heart and made an effort to reform the culture at the MVA.
In Oklahoma, you rarely have to go to the DMV…and then you want to poke your eyes out. You really have to get in line two hours before they open.
However, for most stuff they have “Tag Agencies” which are subcontractors. They do stuff like renewing licenses, issuing plates and tags. DMV is necessary for taking written and driving tests.
I was at the tag agency 2-3 weeks ago to give my step-daughter the Escape she has been driving. She got married and it needed to be out of my name and into hers. Was mostly uneventful except for the AA guy going on and on about “right is right, and wrong is wrong.” Because of COVID, you have to have an appointment to renew DLs. He was ranting about how it was unfair because people with appointments were being let in line before him–he didn’t have an appointment. So he’s causing this huge scene, not wearing a mask, and telling us it’s not a virus–it’s 5G. “Right is right, and wrong is wrong.” …. and stupid is stupid.
I have found our DMVs to be courteous and helpful the majority of the time. Other than a few crochety employees (usually of the retired state trooper annoyed that he can’t live on his pension at age 50 type) who treat customers as an irritant, any negative thoughts are usually associate with the inefficiency of the system, rather than that of the employees. And even the systemic inefficiency isn’t that bad.
In Pennsylvania, any notary public can handle a sale or title transfer, so that keeps the most complicated, time-consuming transactions out of the hands of the DMV. Renewals can be done online so that leaves mostly new licensing, out of state licensing, and problems with licenses or registrations for in-person at the DMV. Photos are done there (although in time of COVID they’re just mailing you a new license with your old photo) but they have separate lines for that which are efficient and fast-moving.