Still Waiting for the DDS to Get Their Act Together?

I visited the this morning. I was one of the lucky ones - I had an appointment for my daughter to take her road test. We were in and out of there, new license in hand, in less than two hours. Several hundred people in front of us weren't quite so lucky. I spoke to several folks waiting in line and most of them had been there several hours, one lady I spoke to had been at the DDS for four hours and was still not at the front of the line.

As soon as you walk through the front door it is evident that there is a big problem here. People were everywhere: all the chairs were filled, customers were on the floor leaning against the walls, many waited outside. There were no staff on hand to tell you where to start this odyssey. I noticed a line, I joined it. Luckily it was the right one. Apparently you have to get in line to pick up a ticket which then puts you in the BIG line. They had one employee staffing this first line so of course the line snaked around and over those folks spread out on the floor.

Once you get your ticket you then wait for one of the booths to open up. This is a brand new location. They have 12 booths, unfortunately when I walked in they were only staffing four of them. I am guessing that if they built the place with this many booths that they had the intention/manpower to staff each one if needed. Note to DDS: This would be the time to man all the booths.

What has your experience been like at the DDS? Tell us in the comments below.

I read an article today in which a spokesman for the DDS stated that they are holding meetings daily to figure out where the "choke points" are. I have a good idea where they should start. They need to forget the meetings, head down to the DDS locations and look for themselves, it won't take them long to figure out where the choke points are. There are hundreds of people looking to renew licenses, etc., and simply not enough staff to handle the demand. The DDS knew these changes were coming, they should have been prepared. Someone dropped the ball.

In the meantime, I am more than a little grateful that my own license still has a few good years left on it - let's hope they get this mess sorted out by then.