Posted on 09/22/2010 2:24:43 PM PDT by hecht
Today I spent the morning in an NJ DMV. My license will expire this year and I received the information to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles for renewal. I am on staycation this week because of the Sukkot holiday, so I figured it would be a good time to go. Obviously if the DMV were run like a private company like Disney , it shouldn't take much longer than to check into a Disney Hotel and get their ID card. Of course I knew the DMV would be no Disney, but I didn't think it would be as bad as it was. I first entered the building at 9:15 and had to go on line to "get a number". Mine was 106. I was told to go to the middle of the office and wait for my number. The woman calling out the numbers was sitting at a long table alone. There was no lighted display of the numbers for the hearing impaired( like you may see in a Verizon store or an Apple store. There were two chairs at her table and I and the people near me were all mumbling why is there only one woman there. Eventually another woman showed up and we all breathed a collective sigh of relief. Unfortunately we were fooled. Instead of it becoming a two person job, the first woman got up and disappeared. I joked to the person next to me " maybe they're like lifeguards and can only work 30 minute sessions". She responded that she was going to miss her 11 AM appointment. Finally I was called. I had to show my old license, "proof of address" ( which couldn't be the letter that DMV sent to me at my address???????) and a debit card (credit cards are no good. I went into a panic , but I did find a Bennie Card that she accepted. Alas, I was not home free, because I now had to go on another line. We used the same number, but earlier this line was only 10 digits behind the previous line and now it was 30 digits behind. I was talking with some seniors and we lamented how this was so " 1940's retro" and how this felt like we were in the old Soviet Union waiting on line for shoes. I realized why we were slowing down. The person calling out the numbers alternated with being the cashier/photographer. ? shades of Petticoat Junction? After our number was called (again no LED screen with your name or number if your hearing impaired) you weren't done , but had to now sit on this row of five adjacent chairs, and each time someone was called you had to slide down to the next chair. The only thing missing was the Mariachi band to play musical chairs. Finally after three hours I received my new license. I had the choice of new or old picture. I chose to keep the old because I knew it would be another wait if I wanted a new picture. If you ever wonder how the Rats maintain power its because of bureaucracies like this. The more unnecessary workers , the more they are single issue voters to keep their jobs. I wonder if with Obamacare we will go 1940's retro and have long lines and low technology to have unionized voters.I suppose we will have people do manual urine tests and blood tests that take much more time and are less accurate but will keep the unemployable employed. Its just like the tollworkers on the NJ Turnpike. They were supposed to be temporary , but when pols saw unionized workers they saw voters, and we still have tolls. I was lucky because I had nothing planned. Many people have to give up a vacation day or a personal day for this crap. I suppose the same will be true for a simple blood test with Obamcare.
I’ll never complain about the checkin line at the Disney hotel again
In Maryland, I always “enjoyed” standing in a line to be told that it was the wrong line and I had to stand in another longer line all over again. I always took leave to visit the DMV.
Dang. The DMV took away your ability to use paragraphs?
Sounds horrible. Yet another reason to not live in a big city. At the nearest DMV office there is no waiting, there are generally 3 people at the counter and they alternate administering the driving tests to the youth. They DO have the “take a number” system however which is funny because last time I was there, I was the only customer and the lady still had the gall to ask me if I’d taken a number, made me take one and then proceeded to call it prior to helping me.
Can’t wait for these automatons to be in control of health care.
The paragraphs disappeared after it was posted. I gues i dont know how to post and keep them
Any hints?
That happened to a few people while I was there.
Calling number 7 - number 7 . . .
Old cheech & chong skit.
Any hints?
__________________
Yep. See my FReep page.
Ah.. posting an article requires hand html formatting.
So you still have to use < br > and < p > breaks to sction it up.
*sigh*
Read about British healthcare and you will be too scared to ever get sick.
Had a similar day at the Houston Metro office when my pre-paid “Q” Bus card stopped working. Went to offices in Downtown and was told I needed to got to the OTHER “Main Street office”
Had to take the train (Had to pay with cash since my transit card quit working)
Lucky for me they told me what line to be in before I got there. 55 minute wait in line for a 2 minute operation Since I had Money that needed to be transferred. But the whole place was full of “Government Employees” and the “non-working class” or the “lower class” getting their “free bus rides”.
If I could easily commute to the central part of downtown I would. The only sane option here is the bus from as far out as I live. Otherwise I would avoid the bus routes. Lucky for me almost everyone on my route is a office worker.
In downtown on other routes, you get the nasty unwashed freebie riders. UGG!!! and ICK!
I went to the Kansas DMV for the same purpose last Friday. The office opened at 8 and my wife and I got there about 8:20. We were out the door and on our way to breakfast at 8:35. I wish my doctor’s office was that efficient.
Paragraph #1< BR >< BR > Paragraph #2< BR >< BR >
How is that different than:
Paragraph #1< p > Paragraph #2< p >
Yes, that's fine too, and probably makes more sense, since you're dividing the copy into paragraphs ...
Ohio used to have every license plate expire at once (count on wasting a whole day in line), but then they changed it to expiring on your birthday and later added letting you renew by mail, so now the only people going in are those who need new plates instead of just a new renewal sticker. If you're in line behind three people it's a busy day.
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