What I have learned about people working at the Driver's License office

by moshe 17 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  moshe

  I have winter job working at the local BMV and it has been an eye opener. I man the reception desk and direct people to the correct desk for help.

  Don't ever leave your purse in a car- it can get stolen (broken windows)- so take it with you or lock it in the trunk.

  Don't ever keep your Social Security card in your wallet or purse. If it gets stolen, you are a prime candidate for identity theft.

  Over 25% of the people coming in to get identity cards , I see driving their car out of the parking lot. (suspended license- who cares!)

  Don't plan on owning a car, if you aren't financially responsible enough to keep the insurance paid up. You will lose your license within a month when the insurance is cancelled.

  Why do stupid people who have had a lifetime full do doing stupid stuff feel like the world owes them a drivers license?

  Why do stupid people seem to come in together in pairs?

  How do stupid men always find a stupid woman to enable them? "Can you tell me how to get my boyfriend's drivers license back?- he lost if for not paying child support in Pittsburg", asks the girl wearing a Daytona bike week teeshirt." ( gee whiz, try paying the child support and get rid of the loser boyfriend lady)

  Telling me you are a convicted felon will not get you any sympathy here- you still need that birth certificate - We don't care if you lost it 15 years ago.

  Don't wait until the night before you have to go to the airport to look for your ID, and then expect the Driver's License office to make an exception and give you an ID without the documents Homeland security says we need to issue you an ID or DL license to replace the one you lost.

  I have seen you come in two times in three weeks- "my purse got stolen- I need a new ID"- please find new friends and a new bar to hang out in.

  Don't expect the drivers license office employees to speak Spanish or provide a free interpreter for your test.

  99% of the people I meet are wonderful and I really enjoy this customer service work. So many honest people find the drivers licenses, cell phones and wallets that stupid people have lost in the parking lot and they turn them in to us.

  We really try to help honest people. One man's birth certificate could not be found at the court house- maybe it had been misfiled, who knows. All he had for old proof of identity was a grade school report card. The main DL office investigated the school's records 300 miles away and found his school records at the grade school and parents on the file matched up. He got his driver's license.
• 

  Gregor

  Moshe, very interesting that you have posted this.

  It has not been a week since I was in a conversation with a couple of other people and we all agreed on the following observation about the BMV, or DMV, whatever.

  I handle 90% of my DMV by mail but on the occasions I have to go into an office I cannot help but notice that the class of people there (the customers, not the staff) look like extras from the Grapes of Wrath. The porticos outside are lined up with smokers. Scruffy, unshaven, raggedy clothes, etc.

  Why are there no 'regular' looking people? They drive cars too. If this was the county welfare department it would be logical. But the Motor Vehicle department?

  Any thoughts?
• 

  moshe

  They probably don't have drivers licenses, but they need an ID now to get government services, get utilities turned on and cash a check.

  The state I live in ( Florida) implemented the latest Homeland Security rules for secure ID's this past Jan 1st. As ID's are lost, stolen, expire and people move, they have to be replaced- BUT now they have to bring their birth certificate or passport, SS card-or-1099 and two proofs of their residential address or a signed affidavit from the owner of the home/shelter, etc for a new one. I surmise that homeless people and the indigent are more likely to have lost their records and they need extra directions from us in how to obtain replacements." Lady, try real hard to remember where you got married ( 5 times) and we can help you order those marriage licenses" ( needed to show legal name changes).

  You are right, that intelligent people seem to do their business online and have little reason to come to the BMV/DMV in person, plus they pay their tickets and don't get their license suspended for non-payment.

  added/ a convicted sex offender has to report his new address and update his ID within a few days of moving. Many people move, but wait until they renew their license to update their address- not usually legal, but they get by.
• 

  moshe

  I might add, that the Federal Government has created a Catch-22 for those caught up in the document chase. They need a SS card (US citizens) to replace or renew that exipred DL or ID card. No SS card? Well, we direct them to the local SS office. The application to replace a SS card requires documents to prove your identity and what is the primary document they want to see? Your Drivers License! It brings grown adults to tears trying to get the documents they need- 3, 4, 5, 6 even 7 trips back and forth, round and round they go in a week or two before they get it all done.

  --the documents are now scanned and stored on the BMV/DMV computer, so the next time they lose their license/ID or renew, they shouldn't need to bring them back in- just current proofs of residential address.
• 

  sabastious

  BUT now they have to bring their birth certificate or passport, SS card-or-1099 and two proofs of their residential address or a signed affidavit from the owner of the home/shelter, etc for a new one.

  That is a mound!

  -Sab
• 

  Bystander39

  Sab - Don't forget married women also have to show their marriage license! How many would expect to need that when they go to the DMV office.
• 

  moshe

  Yes, a marriage license is needed to document a name change so the married name can be tied back to their birth certificate- and not just for women. In three weeks time I have seen two men coming in with new wives and they change their name to their wife's name. People born before 1935 seem to have an easier time being granted exceptions for failure to locate documents.
• 

  BurnTheShips

  Had to renew mine earlier this year. Yeah, it is a headache, now. Ended up making 2 trips. Overall though, I can appreciate how it prevents false IDs. The gentleman behind the counter was very helpful. Overall, the quality of the people in the local government here where I live (Collier county, Fl) seems to be very high, judging by my experiences. I think they do a fine job. Now, on the east coast of FL...that is a different story, or at least it was 10 years ago.

  BTS
• 

  milola

  Who knew?!!? Moshe and burn the ships live in the same state as me!!
• 

  LongHairGal

  MOSHE,

  Good post and good observations. It never ceases to amaze me how stupid and lacking in common sense many people are. We have apparently become a nation of idiots who have to be told to put one foot in front of the other.

  GREGOR,

  I know what you mean about how unkempt many people look nowadays. I can understand if somebody is working on their car or in the garden, but for going into town or the store they should take a little pride in their appearance. My god, some people must think it has to be a special occasion to even put on clean clothes! Welcome to the slacker generation.

  I think the reasons for all this are the dumbing down of education for Americans in the last several decades. Also basic decency, modesty and propriety have gone out the window. These must be dirty words to some people and it sure as hell shows.