dmv experience
it’s been years since the last time i’ve had to deal with the dmv, and like everyone else, i have bad memories of total chaos, angry unhelpful employees, and really long lines.
i went in today to replace my CA license with a NY one. walking in, i got in line for the ‘information nazi’ who was quickly calling people forward, figuring out what they wanted, and then dispatching them…mostly sending them home. “got your passport and social security card? no? come back when you do!” you could tell that slightly fumbling or misunderstanding of what she said would lead to scolding. i felt sorry for the non-native english speakers.
anyways, because i spent a good amount of time beforehand on the dmv website deciphering what needed to be done, i was in and out within an hour! i gotta hand it to them, the ticketing system was really easy to understand and efficient. some smart engineer out there did a good job designing the workflow. =)
in contrast, having to get my replacement social security card was a really bad experience. i mailed in my request, which required sending in my passport for id. i waited nervously about 2 months for it to arrive, without any sort of status update and worried the whole time that i’d lost my passport. before it came, i tried going to the local social security office to check the status…but it was so crowded i just ran away.