You know what frosts my flakes?
Government offices that refuse to do government office things.
A friend of mine named Becky relayed an experience she and her elderly father had this week with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. It left me scratching my head so hard I nearly filed a workers’ compensation claim.
The man bought a new car and wanted to register it with a collector plate. Seems simple enough, right?
You go to the DMV office, stand in line and wait your turn to talk to the nice person behind the counter. They process your paperwork and you leave.
Apparently, that’s an outdated concept from a simpler time.
He went to the DMV office the moment it opened and waited in the line that had already formed. When he finally reached the counter, he explained he needed to register the vehicle for a collector plate and that’s when the fun began.
The employee told him they couldn’t do that at the DMV office. What? A Department of Motor Vehicles office can’t handle motor vehicle paperwork?
That’s like going to a restaurant and being told they don’t serve food or visiting a barber who only sells shampoo.
Instead, the seasoned citizen was told he had to go online, find the proper form, download it, print it, fill it out by hand and mail it in an envelope with a stamp.
He could NOT submit it online, email it or hand it to the person standing three feet away behind the counter. I am surprised they didn’t tell him to send it by Pony Express.
In fact, the office that handles motor vehicles paperwork could not provide the required paperwork. The government employee couldn’t even print out a blank form and hand it to him. When the roundabout explanation left the man confused, the DMV worker only said, “That’s the way it is.”
We were promised technology would make life easier. Instead, we’ve created a system where a computer is required, but the paperwork is still required and so is a mailbox.
Instead, the system managed to make it harder for everyone involved. His daughter had to go online, find the form, download it, print it, fill it out and mail it in on his behalf.
So, two citizens had to waste time, multiple DMV employees had to waste time, the government wastes money and, somewhere, a consultant probably got a bonus for “streamlining operations.”
If a DMV office can’t accept DMV paperwork, maybe it’s time to rename the place.
Call it the Department of Explaining Why You Need To Go Somewhere Else. At least that would be honest.
I am Grandpa Grumpy and if I have to download a form, print the form, fill it out and mail a form, don’t tell me we’re living in the future. We are just reliving 1975, but with Wi-Fi.