March 6, 2015
Dear Everyone:
Sometime around the end of January I got an envelope from the
Department
of Motor Vehicles (DMV). My
first assumption was that it was the renewal on the registration on my
car. But then I remembered
that the registration renewal always comes in the summer.
When I opened the envelope the reason became glaringly obvious:
I have a birthday coming up.
And my driver’s license expires this year.
On my birthday. Time
to renew the license.
Usually this just means fill out a form, pay the fee by writing a check
and drop it all in the mail.
Or go online, fill out an electronic form, and pay the fee using a
credit card.
But this year I was informed that I would need to go into the DMV, fill
out a form, get a new picture taken, get a new thumb print taken, and,
of course, pay a fee; cash, check or debit card.
I was also advised to make
an appointment. In fact,
the advice was repeated regularly with the phone number and website
address to use.
So I went online in early February.
It turned out I could go to any branch of the DMV in California
that I cared to use. I tried
the one in
Pleasanton, that being the closest to where I live.
I filled out the required form.
The system informed me that the first appointment available was
at 10:50 AM on the 20th.
I figured, no problem.
So I clicked “OK”.
And then noticed that the date was, not
February 20th, but
March 20th.
Much too late for me.
By that time my license would be well and truly expired.
I tried again and found that the
Walnut Creek branch of the DMV
was also “booked up” until late March.
Then I tried the
Concord branch.
They would be happy to see me at 3:20 PM on March 4th.
So I made the appointment and drove up to the DMV yesterday
afternoon. Once I found the
place, there was a line of people going out the door.
But that was the line for people who had not made appointments.
When I found the line for people
with appointments, it consisted of two people, plus me.
In no time I had “checked in” and received a “number”.
Actually, it was a combination of a letter and a number,
specifically “F74”.
It was time to “take a seat and wait for your number to be called”.
There were screens, many screens, mounted near the ceiling, which
frequently displayed the called “numbers” and their corresponding window
designations, along with news reports and various commercials, notably
from the Government Employees Insurance Company (GEICO).
There were at least three dozen people sitting around, waiting for their
number to be called, but there were still plenty of seats.
I made myself comfortable and pulled out my
Kindle.
(I’m currently on
Book Three of the
Outlander series by
Diana
Gabaldon.) Granted, I use a
large font on the Kindle, but still, I had only read through about two
screens (less than one full page) when my number was called.
Only one or two of those three dozen people waiting for their
numbers had gotten up. I
have a sneaking suspicion that “numbers” assigned to “people with
appointments” get jumped to the head of the line.
And as for the reputation that DMV workers have of being cross and
annoyed with customers, the woman who helped me was as cheerful as a
spring day. She even noted
in the computer that I am now three inches shorter than my current
license says I am, and “a few pounds heavier”.
I briefly considered asking her to correct the mistake on my middle
name, which was misspelled when I first got a license in 1973, but
decided not to push my luck.
I paid the fee ($33) in cash and was done.
To recap: I got there
about 3:20 and was back in my car, legal as church on Sunday, by 3:45.
Lesson learned: When dealing
with the DMV, make an appointment.
It just makes things go so much easier.
Love, as always,
Pete
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