Wednesday, Jul. 07, 2004
Fun at the DMV

I just had to go to the Dept. of Motor Vehicles for the second time in 2 months - nobody should have to do that.

Pete and I both I renewed our licenses on May 18 - because we moved. They said it would take 5-7 days. Pete got his in, like 2. About 3 weeks ago I called the number on the back of my receipt to inquire as to the hold up on mine. The recorded message said in one sentence, that they can take up to 20 days - mine had been that long. And then in the next sentence it said that if you applied for your licence on or before May 4, stay on the line. Well, I had applied on the 18th - so I hung up, figuring I would give it a little more time.

Still no license. So, I called again today. Same message. This time I waited to talk to a 'real live person'. She said that there was no proof that I had paid for my new license and that I had to go back to the DMV and have them photocopy my receipt for them to see. She was very appologetic, and even cracked a joke about 'didn't I know that they just take your money and don't give you anything in return?'. Come to think of it, when I renewed the license the first time, they guy was also very friendly. Pete thinks he was flirting with me, and that's why he screwed up my order.

When I went in today, it was SWAMPED. I went at 3:00 on a Wednesday - and it was still busy. I don't think that place ever has a lull. Anyway, the girl at the counter was super friendly too. She appologized, took care of it, and said it will be 5-7 days - then she called me "kiddo" - and there is no way that she was older than me, in fact, I think she may have been up to 5 years my junior! I thought it was sweet.

This is my thing... never in the past have I delt with so many delightful, friendly, polite people at the DMV. But, they've never screwed up my license before either.

So - do I prefer nice, incompetent people - or do I prefer rude, competent people.

Tough call... I think I prefer nice.

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