[hkuo]

In my experience, I would tend to agree that customer service from the government is generally better than corporations, from the DMV (though states my vary), County Clerk Recorders, Passport offices and even the IRS, and they generally seem happier than customer service folk at corporations who read verbatim from support guide trees and are incentivized to do what's in the best interests of the company rather than you.

[talmand]

In my experience of living in four different US states that the quality of customer service in government departments varies from locale to locale and even department to department, just like in corporations. My visit to the DMV here in Texas was quick and easy but the visit to the DMV in Las Vegas was such a maddening experience I'm surprised anyway bothers to get a drivers license in the first place. In the office if someone announced they were going to the DMV we would assume their inability to escape and start looking for a replacement. I heard stories of a guy that got in line as the foundation was being poured for the DMV and he's still there to this day, fifth in line.

I think you probably get the point.

[Retric]

Yea, I find the DMV surprisingly helpful. The old saying 'Good enough for government work' used to mean over engineered and built to last, now it's a euphemism for how much you can get away with when outsourcing government work.