THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 18, 1997 TAG: 9702180296
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 112 lines
Quick. What do you think of when you hear ``Department of Motor Vehicles''?
Lines? Long waits? Jangled nerves?
Well, the Virginia DMV is trying to erase its bad reputation.
Several customer-friendly practices were rolled out in the past few months aimed at reducing waits and frustration. They include some new and renovated service centers locally.
The changes appear to be a hit.
``You don't have to take the whole day off to go the DMV anymore,'' said Kathy Dey, clutching a new driver's license at the newly renovated Military Circle office last week. ``Now, you can stop on your way home.''
On Dey's last visit to the DMV, she waited 1 1/2 hours and stood in line twice - once to get the necessary forms and again to have them processed. ``It was crazy,'' she said.
Last week, she picked up paperwork at an information desk, sat in the lobby and, before she could fill them out, she was called to a window.
``It's 100 percent better,'' Dey, of Virginia Beach, said.
Anthony Pezzella was impressed. ``There's a tremendous difference,'' he said. ``I got through faster and it was a lot more convenient.''
The new system is not perfect, though.
One morning last week, computers were down for more than an hour. And at peak hours, long waits are still commonplace.
And DMV stereotypes, reinforced by television sitcoms and comic strips, are hard to shatter.
``It's only an illusion,'' said Jack Aishman of Virginia Beach as he left the Military Circle branch. ``The wait isn't any shorter. But at least they have chairs now.''
The DMV's new strategy aims to reduce to a minimum the number of people who have to visit their service centers. And for those who have to make the trip, DMV officials want their experience to be as painless as possible.
``What we want to do is give everyone as many opportunities to be serviced as conveniently as possible,'' said DMV Commissioner Richard D. Holcomb.
The need for speedier service is punctuated by the rising number of registered vehicles in South Hampton Roads. There are 117,400, almost 20 percent, more cars on the road today than 10 years ago.
Perhaps the most radical change is a computerized queueing management system that moves customers through DMV offices quicker and allows customers to sit in a lobby while waiting their turn instead of standing in line.
``It's a little more relaxing than standing there and looking at somebody's neck,'' said Thelma A. Hardy, the Military Circle branch manager.
Offices with the greatest volume are now equipped with the system, including both Virginia Beach locations and Military Circle in Norfolk. The Chesapeake and Portsmouth offices will come online sometime this year.
By the end of the year, 54 of the state's 72 offices will have the computers.
Under the system, customers go directly to an information desk where they are given a number and handed paperwork. They can then sit in the lobby until their number flashes on an electronic message board, which also displays an assigned teller window number.
With the computerized system, managers know how many are waiting and what services they require. They can use the information to evenly distribute the work load.
The system also provides more privacy, particularly for embarrassing transactions like license suspensions.
Other new services include:
Car owners, since the first of the year, can renew license plates over the telephone, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with a credit card. Mail-in renewals continue to be offered as well.
A mobile DMV office, housed in a large recreational vehicle, began making the rounds at the region's large employers, as well as colleges, last month. Employers and institutions are working with the DMV to promote the use of the mobile service.
Machines now grade drivers tests in eight minutes as opposed to the typical 30 minutes by hand.
Information about DMV services can be pulled from the Internet. On-line transactions - including license and plate renewals, fine payments and driver record transcripts - are coming later this year.
Many local offices are being replaced, renovated or enlarged.
Last year, a office opened in the Hilltop area of Virginia Beach. Military Circle was renovated in December. A new office in the Churchland section of Portsmouth is under construction. Ground will be broken on a Chesapeake office soon. All are replacing older, outmoded offices.
``Most of these facilities were built in the '70s,'' Holcomb said. ``There's been a tremendous population growth in the Tidewater area in the last 20 years. We've gotten a little behind where we should be. . .
``So we're doing some hurry-up, catch-up work on some of the facilities.''
Despite all the changes, the department's budget is shrinking: 1995's budget was $109.5 million; '96, $107 million; '97's, $105 million.
``We're spending our money more wisely,'' Holcomb said. Other factors include privatization of some services and moving some others out of the department.
The DMV gets no money from the state's general fund. Instead, it retains about 10 percent of the $1.2 billion in revenue it generates each year.
Jeanne Chenault, DMV spokeswoman, urges customers to keep an open mind.
``People come in with certain expectations, but that's part of the past,'' she said. ``Things are not the same.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Motoya Nakamura/The Virginian-Pilot
Systems like this one at the DMV's military circle branch assign
each customer a number that is displayed on a screen when it is the
customer's turn.
Graphic
DMV's Strategies
Reduce Office Visits
Services are available through other means: Registration and other
information by Phone: 1-888-337-4782
Web site for complete information: //http:www.state.va.us/dmv/
Manage flow of customers
A new computer system assigns each customer a number. Customers
don't have to stand in line, and managers know many are waiting.
KEYWORDS: DIVISION OF MOTOR VEHICLES DMV