Putting Down Roots…?

Peter Lives in Connecticut now!

Not quite. But I did establish myself as a resident/car owner of the Constitution State, which has provoked this blog posting (not a rant) about the situation down at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Why does the DMV always have to been inefficient and frustrating? Is it because of our expectations? I know it’s going to suck, the employees who work there know it’s going to suck, so we all just have a suck-y time? I think that’s oversimplifying the situation. Let’s go inside…

First of all, there are too many lines. There are lines 1,2, and 3. There is also the “Jet Line,” which obviously got its name in order to clarify the term “irony.” These four lines lead to areas marked with names other than their number, which leads to much confusion in the line making process. Also, the grammar, syntax, and spelling of the various hand made (printed) signs, leads to further confusion. Example:

The Jet Line is only for Expired Registrations (sic) that have expired within the LAST 5 DAYS!

Now, does this mean that the Jet Line only deals with just-expired registrations? I surmised that no, what they meant to say was:

You may not use the Jet Line if your registration expired more than 5 days ago.

But of course, these signs (posted at every window) require every customer to fret, leave the line, and awkwardly ask a window attendant (who is dealing with another customer) whether they, too, may use the “Jet Line.”

Another inefficiency is the mixing of all the tests into the ill-fated “Line 3.” Are the driving test, the written test, and the vision test similar in any aspect other than that they share the same second word? There are only two stations and both contain vision test machines. When our capable technician occupies the station to deal with one of the other tests, a precious resource (the vision test machine) is removed from service but kept unoccupied. A travesty. May I suggest a new line to keep the administration of vision tests flowing?

I could go on, and I’m sure you could too, but I’ll close with one last observation, and then a prescription. Employee attitude towards the customer is abysmal. When it was finally my turn to get my picture taken (at this point hard to smile), I politely asked if I could keep my invalidated WA drivers license. “Nope,” I was told as my attendant in that tone of voice that implies the question really should never have been asked. Really? Is that a stupid question? You’ve never heard of that happening before in the history of DMVs country-wide? I suggest a mantra each DMV employee might recite to himself or herself every morning while looking in the mirror:

1. I recognize that not every one of the customers I deal with today has worked at the DMV for 25 years and is not intimately familiar with the line system and the various rules and regulations to which I have dedicated my life.

2. I know that there is no such thing as a stupid question, only stupid people. I will be kind to stupid people, and treat them as if they were smart, like me, which is how I ended up working at the DMV for 25 years.

3. I realize that time is important to my customers and I will do everything I can to help move the line along. I will not waste time flirting with the other DMV employees, using my cell phone in front of a customer, or treating my break as some God-given right rather than a flexible 15 minute period that I should take at appropriate times, not arbitrarily at exact 120 minute increments.

Could there be a better way? Why not create small, private offices that could provide basic services and would be free to pick and choose those services and market themselves however they see fit.  Keep them along side the overcrowded DMV system that currently exists. Much like driving schools have evolved to cater to their customers (Comedy driving school, Chocolate-lovers driving school), couldn’t DMVs have similar success? A comfortable full service concierge-like DMV. I’d pay more, wouldn’t you?

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On a side note, the state of CT sure knows how to squeeze you for every penny. Even though the website states you may present a bill of sale and a canceled check to prove the amount you paid for a vehicle, they still charged me 6% sales tax on the blue book value of a 2002 Taurus REGARDLESS of the miles it had on it. Injusticia! Total Bill:

Vision Test: $40 (It was a GREAT vision test)
License: $66 (Hasn’t the price of plastic gone down?)

Registration and Fees: $130
CT Sales Tax: $246

Total: $482

From our own correspondent – Honduras

This week, Kate Adie takes us to Honduras where correspondent Peter Schlosser reports on the recent political “disturbances.”

I left San Ignatio, Belize, at 6am on Friday and bused through Guatemala, arriving at the border with Honduras (Agua Caliente) at about 7pm where my friend Jorge Ventura was kind enough to come meet me. And a good thing, too, because there is a 9pm curfew in effect in Honduras and it would have been tough to make it all the way to San Marcos before the police started stopping people.

We stopped for a bite to eat in Ocotepeque (tortas mexicanas) and ate on the main street. There were lots of people out milling around and the evening was pleasantly cool. Lots of police and soldier as well. It was noticeable especially at the border where there are usually only a few soldiers there were probably about 10 or 15 and all the major highway junctions had police checkpoints, which is not unusual even in peaceful times but it was distinct because they were literally at EVERY major turnoff, inspecting vehicles.

We got into San Marcos right around curfew, nobody stopped us and I was exhausted from the trip so we watched the news (which heavily favors the new government) and went to bed. It was funny to listen to the rumors of the president’s return (some had him hiding out on the beach in the north coast), but nobody knows for sure when he might return. He has traveled to Panama, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and now appears to be in Guatemala, as if he is circling the country waiting to pounce.

Most people seem pretty indifferent to the situation, at least out here in the West. It hasn’t started to affect them yet. Wait until they close the borders or suspend aid…. The friends I’m staying with a staunchly pro new government and it seems that everyone generally agrees that the ex president was doing illegal things and generally a bad job. The main difference of opinion is what should have been done about his behavior. Those that support the new government claim it is simply a continuation of democracy and do not accept the coup d’etat classification.

What interests me the most is where Honduras goes from here. It seems some of the proposals on the table are to sweat it out for six months until the next elections, move the elections up, or try to reinstate the president. It seems to me that the latter option would cause massive protests. The size of the protests in favor of the new government are noticably larger than those opposed, although this could be due in part to the public knowledge that pro ex president demostrations have erupted in violence and looting. Also it’s notable that the catholic church supports the new government, which does represent a sizable portion of the population.

At the very least it’s going to be an interesting weekend with the potencial return of the President, possible sanctions, and mild saber rattling from Venezuela and Nicaragua. I’ll keep you posted…