I noticed several letters recently written to the editor concerning the problems with the DMV. Specifically, being told that they did not have auto insurance when the customer actually did have coverage.
This should be no surprise to anyone. Over my lifetime, I can think of no department of bureaucrats in state government that is more difficult than the DMV to deal with or that people dislike more (not counting the IRS). I am sure there are people who have walked into the DMV at the right time with no special problem and lucked out and got taken care of in less than an hour.
It would be nice if no one had to work for a living and take time off from work to register their vehicle or solve other problems. The problem appears to be that common sense does not always seem to be used by its employees. Only policy is used, and sometimes its different depending on which office you go to.
Unfortunately, some of its employees are not customer-oriented. It's probably because some offices have so many customers, the employees become hardened and cynical and in some cases might appear to enjoy the fact that a customer does not have the proper documents or information.
I don't think most of their employees feel that way, but sometimes they appear that way. Several years ago I received the same threatening letters over and over from the DMV telling me I did not have insurance when I did have it.
It got so bad, I called the governors office in order to get some action. There seems to be a lack of follow-up on the part of the DMV, when you give them the facts. After I originally I registered my car, I made another trip to the DMV and told a supervisor that the serial number was incorrect on my registration and she failed to change it, so I had months and months of letters saying I did not have insurance coverage.
The serial number on the insurance policy agreed with the vehicle, but the serial number on the registration was different and DMV did not change it until I asked the governor for help. It still took another visit to the DMV for them to check the number in my car. They seem to operate on the logic that every customer is guilty, until proven innocent.
Another example of their attitude is the special plates. Four years ago I wrote the governor a letter suggesting that residents should be able to order special plates online, and then drop off the old plates when they put on the new plates, thereby not having to make a trip to the DMV and wait in line.
After all, the last time the state changed the plates, they mailed them to me. I got an email back saying they were working on a program to do that. Four years have gone by and the last time I checked, there is no such program. Because of this the DMV is losing revenue it could get from a lot of people who do not want to take off their old plates and go to the DMV and wait to get the new special plates.
A trip to the DMV is like a trip to have your teeth pulled only you have to wait for many hours while the pain kills you and in some cases the dentist makes you leave and get some other type of paper work before he will relieve your pain.
I remember in 1999 when the DMV put in a new computer system that would solve all their problems and it was so bad people in Reno hired other people to stand in line outside the DMV for hours before it opened because it was taking four to eight hours to register a car.
Lets face it folks, the DMV will probably never work like a well oiled clock because we don't want to pay more taxes for more employees and you will probably have problems if you have anything different to resolve with them. I recommend you call the governors office every time you feel you are either ignored, mistreated, or handled incompetently by the DMV. The DMV does pay attention to the governor's office.
Jim Joseph is a Gardnerville resident.
