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by tester88 4336 days ago
I completely agree with your DMV comment. I'd love it for someone to take a good look at DMVs across the country, and see what works and what doesn't. Can things be digitized that haven't? Can processes be split based on time (efficient, quick tasks vs. longer discussions)?

I fear going to the DMV, but why should this be?
2 comments
tdaltonc 4336 days ago
I haven't been to a DMV since I took my driving test (a decade ago). I just go to the AAA. They can do almost anything a DMV can.

I think that the relationship between the DMV and AAA is a great example of what can happen when government "services" are treated more like a platform and less like a service. The government specifies what government/citizen interaction needs to take place, private businesses can compete to fulfill that interaction as a service to citizens/customers.

The biggest downside to government-as-a-platform is that the service providers my lobby to make that interaction more cumbersome than it needs to be in order to make themselves richer: http://techcrunch.com/2013/03/27/turbotax-maker-funnels-mill...

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sejje 4336 days ago
I mostly fear the resentful attitude and poor treatment I receive from employees there.

I'm rarely treated like a person, and I'm not sure I've ever seen a DMV employee smile.

The DMV where I currently live, however, has eliminated wait times to basically nil, and that's the complaint I hear most often.

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freehunter 4336 days ago
I recently moved to a new state for the first time, and I have a complaint about the DMV here: they move too quick. Well, actually the real complaint is the amount of paperwork. It was about five minutes from the time I got the paperwork to get a new driver's license to the time I was called up. I just didn't have the paperwork done. So I was standing at the counter filling it out, slowing down those behind me.

The biggest thing that would help, in my experience, is designing a DMV website that accurately points you to the right paperwork and lets you at least fill it out online or print it out at home to fill out on your own time. Having to go there and do paperwork just takes too much time.

The wait is bad. But even if there's no wait, the paperwork makes sure there will be some delay.

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