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Oklahoma DOT

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PAUL161

PAUL161

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Just bragging about the efficiency of the Oklahoma department of transportation.:rolleyes: Last April I ordered a special plate for the TF, sent in the proper form along with the proper fee. 3 months later I received a receipt from them stating they received my money and I would have to wait another 4 months to receive my plate, that's 6 months gone by. In July I had the local tag agency check on it for me, DOT told them it was in the works. In December The tag agency called DOT again for me and they were told I would get my plate in January 2016! :sleeping:Guess what, I don't have it yet! So, I just thought I'd brag about how efficient our dollars are being used to pay these highly efficient people who run our transportation department. Aren't they super! :encouragement: PJ
 
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I think we've all been there!

You mention "In July I had the local tag agency check on it for me."

What is a local tag agency?


 
Might be delayed by earthquakes! :glee:
 
NutmegCT said:
I think we've all been there!

You mention "In July I had the local tag agency check on it for me."

What is a local tag agency?
Click to expand...

Usually, in Ok, each town has a tag agency, any contact with Oklahoma City Dot has to go through them, it's near impossible to contact them by a personal call. Some other states call them License bureaus where drivers licenses and tags are applied for. PJ
 
Thanks Paul. Here in Connecticut it's just a "regional DMV office", with limited services. Due to major budget cuts over the years, we've reduced the number of offices by 50%, so they're always overloaded with customers, understaffed, and behind in work.

Here's the one for northeast Connecticut:

PutnamWEB.jpg


Usually the line is all the way down the ramp and into the parking lot.

And just to make things more fun, two years ago the legislature mandated DMV upgrade its computer system. After a year of hardware and software "work", and an entire month off-line, the system went live about two months ago. Then crashed within 24 hours. They got it up and running again, updated the files ... and the system automatically sent random letters saying "your car insurance has expired; penalty assessed for driving without insurance" to Connecticut drivers. Troopers were given orders to ticket drivers reported by the system. Now even more folks are flooding the regional DMV offices.

Here's a blow by blow description of the disaster:

https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/trou...False-Registration-Suspensions-364534841.html


oy
 
Is that new system called MERLIN? It took a few years to get it straightened out in Montana, seems to work now. Just like Microsoft, experiment on the public.
 
Not MERLIN - that was designed for Montana (the M in the acronym).

I think ours is the Connecticut Regional Administration Program, or CRAP.

:angel:
 
Govt efficiency at its finest.
 
I always wondered where to find those jobs where results don't matter. I see them in private and public, but every job I've ever had seemed to have this undue fascination with timeliness and results. Obviously I don't know how to pick them...
 
MikeP said:
I always wondered where to find those jobs where results don't matter. I see them in private and public, but every job I've ever had seemed to have this undue fascination with timeliness and results. Obviously I don't know how to pick them...
Click to expand...

I hear you there. I've just had an "interesting" three day experience trying to buy machines for our museum, from a major desktop/laptop manufacturer. I'm sure the stock holders are happy, but I doubt the customers are.
 
I have to say, my local DMV office is fantastic. Never a wait of more than a person or two, and the folks are friendly and knowledgable. Even when I brought in the MGB from Canada, they had no problem sorting out the paperwork and getting everything set up. I've run a bunch of cars through there in the 10 years I've been living up here, and never had a complaint.
 
Hi Drew. From various sources, I get the impression that public service staff does the best it can do in most all circumstances. When you say "never a wait of more than a person or two - that sounds like you've actually got adequate staffing numbers.

So I did a little math -

Looks like (https://dmv.utah.gov/contact/offices) there are 37 Utah DMV offices. Population 3 million.

We have 13 DMV offices, and population of about 3.5 million.

Wow. Utah is much larger in size than Connecticut - but the "DMV to People" ratio difference is huge comparing UT and CT.

Thanks.
Tom M.
 
NutmegCT said:
Utah is much larger in size than Connecticut - but the "DMV to People" ratio difference is huge comparing UT and CT.
Click to expand...

Utah covers a lot of area without a lot of people. The only really dense area for population is the Salt Lake Valley, everywhere else (including where I live) is small fairly isolated towns. I grew up in the Northeast (RI, college in CT) so I remember the population density up there.

This means that my local DMV office only needs a couple people to provide a good level of service. The ones down in Salt Lake are far busier. It's a complexity here -- from a cost standpoint it would be more efficient to have fewer offices, but then some folks would need to drive for hours to get to one -- so they spread them out.
 
Bayless said:
Govt efficiency at its finest.
Click to expand...

In as much as you want to blame the person behind the counter, it's not their fault. I can assure you they are just as, if not more, frustrated at the situation as you are. On more than one occasion they have been told not to think about it, just do their job. That look they give you is from repeatedly banging their heads against the wall.:wall: Ask one of them and they can tell you the number of years, days, and hours until retirement. Been there! Doing that! Got the uniform to prove it!!!
 
When I go to the local DMV,I take a magazine,or newspaper with me,
assuming it will take a while.
WHY do people go to the DMV with a chip on their shoulder,just waiting
for something to set them off?
In California,they'll read you the DMV test in Spanish - last time I re-
called,NONE of our road signs were in Spanish.

- Doug
 
"In as much as you want to blame the person behind the counter, it's not their fault."

Amen to that. As I said in my earlier post, employees have to follow the procedures they're given by the "higher ups". And when the legislature cuts the budget, resources and staff are reduced - but the legislature doesn't reduce the number of customers!

Always bugs me when folks pile up on public employees.

Tom M.

 
I just contacted Ok DMV yesterday, 7 months after sending in my money for my special plate and was told I should get it this month, January! I bought a special plate in South Carolina and it took 4 weeks. Our local tag agency told me that they get disgusted when they have to deal with Oklahoma City DMV, the main office as they tend to push everything aside. Say what you will, their just inefficient at their job and there is no reason for it other than laziness. PJ
 
I've never had any problems with our local tag agency, the longest I've ever waited in line was just a few minutes and the service is good. Of course I live in a town of a little over a thousand people and Cindy (who owns the tag agency) knows all of us. Now Lawton is a different matter...
 
Walter, it's not the local tag agency, it's DOT in Oklahoma City, antique and special tags has to come from them, the tag agency only has the forms to send. Our local tag agency is quite efficient and has been very helpful, nice people. PJ
 
Oh no I agree with you there PJ. I have two driving age sons and within the entire southwest part of the state there are only three places where you can take the driving test now, Ardmore, Lawton, and Chickasha. So when we took my oldest driver we had to wait in a line with people who had, in some cases, driven close to a hundred miles. The DOT is pretty ridiculous and it just seems like it is getting worse.
 
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