On BMV

[Slar]

Now that the requirements for emissions testing in the greater Cincinnati area are set to expire (at the end of the year), this should make your next trip through the Bureau of Motor Vehicles a little less painful. Still, there is not a time that I go in there that I don't come out completely pissed off.

Last time I went to renew my driver's license, the person behind the counter appeared annoyed that I did not have my social security number listed on my old license. I had to leave, go retrieve my old battered social card before they would issue a new one.

My other complaint was having to take the driver's test just because I moved to Ohio from another state. What a waste of time.

Those places are never terribly clean (the grossest is having to share the eye tester with who knows who), the staff is never friendly and I generally have a completely miserable time. Ugh.

[greg the keg]

i used to work at a deputy registrar in cols. it was fun at times, other times it was awfull. it is hard to take the abuse from certain people and keep a good attitude toward everyone. the repetition is also a killer. how many times can a person answer 'what is today's date?' (when it's right in front of them) w/o snapping? people act like the employee's made up certain laws & procedures and give the emp.s shit for it. i understand it is not fun for anyone, but i also think everyone should work at one at some point in their life and there would be more understanding on both sides of the desk.
(i'm not defending bmv's, just trying to give my opinion).

i can help whoever is next, please.

[justa bill]

you said it. the BMV sucks. but it's better than the f*cking E-Check... during my last visit, the insane manager actually CALLED THE POLICE ON ME. what the fuck?

all because they gave me an E-check print out for the wrong car, and i wanted the print out for MY car. she tells me, "no! and you're booted! i'm booting you! get out!" me and everybody else are looking at her like, "what the FUCK?!"

so she goes into the next room, and i can hear her calling the police. i grab my cellphone and call the 'how are we doing?' number on the wall. i tell the lady who answers in Columbus what is going on, she puts me on hold and two seconds later the phone rings, someone says "it's for you", the manager tells the cops to 'hold on a second'. . .

then, "yeah. yeah. ok." click. she walks back out and tells one of the shell shocked employees to go get me the E-check print out for my car (as opposed to the E-check print out for some car I had never seen).

THEN i had to go to the BMV... what a weird day that ways. :rolleyes:

[jneale]

Loveland has a little office – the staff has always been great – it is the public who drives me nuts. Inevitably I get behind some moron who purchased a car in a back alley & doesn’t have legitimate documentation or a 105 yr old who can’t hear or comprehend anything that is said.

I think the area of town & volume has everything do to with the staff’s attitude.

(and not to pick a fight – but they told me when I took my SS # off my card I’d have to produce my SS card when I needed to renew)

[MorningTheft]

My mother-in-law owns the Lakewood License Bureau, so I hear some good stories. Man, do people get pissed when they don't have the right documentation for their transaction. But everything you need to have is written on the signs, so its hard to have sympathy when they flip out. And yeah, most of the employees are not very nice, but they only make like $8 an hour and have to deal with pissed off customers. Its not always a fun job.

Its hard for me to understand why people have bad experiences there...of course I get to cut to the front of the line and don't have to pay for shit, so maybe I'm not one to talk :D

(Actually, I refuse to cut to the front of the line, despite my mother-in-law's insistance. But I do take her up on free license renewal.)

[Emperor Wog]

you said it. the BMV sucks. but it's better than the f*cking E-Check... during my last visit, the insane manager actually CALLED THE POLICE ON ME. what the fuck?

all because they gave me an E-check print out for the wrong car, and i wanted the print out for MY car. she tells me, "no! and you're booted! i'm booting you! get out!" me and everybody else are looking at her like, "what the FUCK?!"

so she goes into the next room, and i can hear her calling the police. i grab my cellphone and call the 'how are we doing?' number on the wall. i tell the lady who answers in Columbus what is going on, she puts me on hold and two seconds later the phone rings, someone says "it's for you", the manager tells the cops to 'hold on a second'. . .

then, "yeah. yeah. ok." click. she walks back out and tells one of the shell shocked employees to go get me the E-check print out for my car (as opposed to the E-check print out for some car I had never seen).

THEN i had to go to the BMV... what a weird day that ways. :rolleyes:

Whatta crazy beee-otch!

[miami2112]

michigan: mail in registration, online registration.

and i take advantage of this.

[justa bill]

to be fair, I truly believe that it's the BMV-experience that sucks the most. i do all of my renewal online, but i bought a car off of a friend lately, and when the new title was ready i had to pick it up at a BMV that's 20 minutes away instead of the one I can WALK to...

of course there are 20 people in line, and all i need is for someone to hand me an envelope.

then i had to go back to the downtown BMV to get the plates, and i had to listen to dime-bag playaas tried to pick up on the ladies in line, some guy getting vanity plates for his mobile home (and trying to hit on the BMV-lady behind the bullet-proof glass that has tiny little holes drilled in it). and then the lady in front of me paid for her $49.50 fee with a fifty, and the BMV-lady gave her 50 cents back... AND the $50 bill... ?

i look at the guy behind me... 'did you see that?' he's like, 'yeah'. :confused:

it was a wierd day... :rolleyes: :D

[wileE]

Loveland has a little office – the staff has always been great
I second that. I went there when I had to renew my license. Otherwise, I have been doing my registration by mail or online.

[Tripod 3]

The nice thing about Ohio though is no yearly property tax on your vehicle. Here in Colorado, we have to pay personal property tax every year to get our registration. If you have a newer car, it's like $300-$400 a year. I'd gladly pay that $50 again!

[Slar]

(and not to pick a fight – but they told me when I took my SS # off my card I’d have to produce my SS card when I needed to renew)Putting your SSN # on your driver's license makes to sense to me due to the identity theft problems out there. I don't carry these things around ON PURPOSE, so that if I lose my wallet I have at least some semblance of protection from rampant identity theft.

Also, every wall of every BMV is covered with a brazillion signs. I know from working in retail that 90% of people walk in, ignore every sign and get their information from asking questions.

I do like re-registering cars by mail or internet, but if there is a problem with anything, then you don't find out about it until after your tags are already expired.

[artfag]

Visiting the BMV just yesterday I am fueled and ready for this thread. I am certain that the only people that apply for a job like this are the people that love to power trip and yet not have to do any work. I was at the BMV for over an hour with the Milford Courts even calling on my behalf and the BMV was as uncooperative and bitchy as could be. When finally they could do nothing but admit that I was right on all acounts I never saw such an attitude for having to sit down on the computer and amend my record w/o me giving them any money. I admitt the sense of victory did fill me with joy.

[DaHood]

i can help whoever is next, please.
Consider yourself sigged. :D

michigan: mail in registration, online registration.

and i take advantage of this.
You got that right. A nice side effect is that when you do have to go to the Secretary of State branch office (we don't have a BMV or DMV in Michigan) the lines are relatively short and the tension is a lot less than it used to be.

[Docta]

what drives me crazy is the fact that the people that work there do not tell you everything you need to return with. they just say "you need your echeck form." then you go get that, return and they say "you need your SS card." j's crist why didn't you tell me that in the first place!!!

and why doesn't the dmv have access to the echeck database???? i did echeck 6 months ago and you gave me plates. why do i have to prove again that i did it then???

[Shlep]

Note to fans of letting government take over health care: consider the previous scenarios, only now imagine instead of license plates, you're coughing up blood.

[purple_octopus]

and why doesn't the dmv have access to the echeck database???? i did echeck 6 months ago and you gave me plates. why do i have to prove again that i did it then???
You don't honestly expect government to be efficient, do you? :p

[gwar469]

In the DMV I go to near work, I would be willing to bet that at any given time, <25% of the customers there speak English as a first language. You want a way to slow down the DMV? Most of the time seems to be spent finding another employee who can communicate with the customer.

Virginia is nice enough to at least offer online renewal for most things. Safety and e-checks are pretty painless, too.

[Shlep]

Virginia is nice enough to at least offer online renewal for most things. Safety and e-checks are pretty painless, too.

I do have to give props to the Virginia DMV for getting their act together. My last couple of dealings with them before moving went quite well, better then I'd come to expect. And I think I did my last tag renewal (or was it my county sticker?) entirely online.

[gwar469]

And I think I did my last tag renewal (or was it my county sticker?) entirely online.

possibly both. I both renewed my tags and paid my county taxes online. moved three times since I've been in the area, and each time I went online to get a new address card. haven't been to DMV in over 3 years.