Who Said Customer Service is Dead?
I loathe the DMV so much that when I moved to Los Angeles, I joined AAA so I wouldn’t have to go to the DMV and register my car. I think someone else taking care of that for me is one of the greatest benefits ever. Sadly, Virginia doesn’t have the same agreement so after gathering all my paperwork and getting my car inspected, I found the nearest DMV.
Good: it’s located inside a high-end mall
Bad: I got there more than an hour early and wasn’t the first person in line
I was already a bit flustered because I didn’t have a clue what the gross weight of my vehicle was. I’m thinking ‘less than an elephant but more than me’ isn’t the response they want and since the DMV is notorious for not exactly having the world’s friendliest or most competent employees, I was prepared for battle with someone like this beauty… Roz, the HR Director from Monsters, Inc.
I was ready to ask “What?” a lot since most DMV folks tend to either mumble or English isn’t their first language. I’m pretty sure I came close to failing the eye test (remember, my eye doctor told me in March that I really didn’t need glasses but I think I do) but just sort of made some noises and extended the ‘eeee’ sound because ‘d’ can sound like ‘e’, ‘v’ or ‘p’ if you don’t say it too loudly.
And are you ready for this? For security purposes, the state of Virginia does not allow you to smile in your license photo. But I’ve got beautiful teeth and smiling is my best feature!!! So of course my photo closely resembles a mug shot, but think Nicole Ritchie
not Nick Nolte
I do have some pride in my appearance. Excellent.
But let’s look at the positive: The woman who helped me couldn’t be nicer. She even asked me about life in LA and how the cross country drive was… and she really wanted to know! I’m thrilled to tell you that I got everything taken care of in about 20 minutes and it only cost a little over $100 (probably because my car is an old piece of junk). Except I couldn’t find my title (all my life’s belongings are stuffed in boxes) and I’ll have to go back to the DMV in the next 30 days. One pain in the butt down, one to go. Yeah!
It is almost as bad as going to the dentist. But at least with the Internet, it is much easier to read up on things ahead of time.
If I hadn’t downloaded all the forms before I went, I guarantee I’d still be there right now.
After my time in the DMV lines, smiling wasn’t even a consideration. Actually, the DMVs down here have a nice number system that has been instituted in the last couple of years that has made it “better”…
I’m now a HUGE fan of DMVs located in malls. Check out one of those and maybe you’ll smile then.
I felt your pain throughout that post.
I’d almost rather have all of my beautiful teeth (thank-you braces), pulled out one by one rather than go through my yearly visit to the DMV here. Almost.
ps. great pics!
Ah. Thank you. The DMV, much like a trip to the OBGYN, is a necessary evil.
Well that’s good to hear that it ended up not being too horribly bad at the DMV. I liked the pics but you should have posted your picture so we could see it.
Due to security regulations, I won’t get my new license for a few weeks. Same thing happened in CA last year.
yeah- what nanadango said…you should have posted your picture!
I’ll get my license in the mail in a few weeks. Then MAYBE I’ll post it. MAYBE
errrr…I mean blue suit…her and her bazillion identities! lol
Ha, I actually went to AAA while back in the US in December, all so that I would NOT have to deal with a Spanish version of the DMV. You’re able to ‘buy’ an international drivers license for 60 bucks, good for a full year! I am a lifetime AAA fan!!
At least you found a good DMV though! I think the ones in the malls require a social skills minimum requirement test for their employees!
I got an international license from AAA before I went to Europe a few years ago. Kills me that all I had to do was fork over $30 and was deemed competent enough to navigate the cities in Italy. Got in an accident outside Venice. So much for that theory.
I count my blessings!
Once you’ve got your license in Britain, it’s good for anywhere in the EU until you’re 70, after which you have to produce a doctor’s certificate every 3 years, (I think).
Are you serious? We have to renew every 4 to 8 years (depends on the issuing state).
But, that can be done by post; I think you have to renew your photo every 10 years, too; I’d have to check on that, because they only recently made photo driving licenses compulsory. But that, again, can be done by post.
We can do ours via the Internet.
A DMV in a mall almost sounds too good to be true. I think in Illinois they want you to be and look as miserable as possible while in a DMV, probably to match the moods of the people working there.
I don’t think postal workers will actually go ‘postal’. I’m pretty sure if any federal employee has a complete psychotic meltdown, it will be someone from the DMV. They’re the best.