Because, you know, we don't wait in line enough already.

Today's Las Cruces Sun-News announced that the DMV will be closing its office for training for two hours, on the third Wed. of every month (article here).

Training is good; the powers that be at the DMV have learned that much. However, taking time away from your customers, who already wait in nearly interminable lines, is bad. I'll give you an example from my own life.

Four years ago, I renewed my driver's license for eight years. Nearly three years ago, I bought my condo (anniversary is Sept. 1) and went to the DMV to change my address. Naif that I am, I thought that all they had to do was change my address and issue me a new plastic card. Nope, that would be the simple, quick thing to do. I stood in line for half an hour, just waiting to draw a number. Then, I waited another hour and a half, watching the numbers called on the north half of the room increase regularly, while the numbers on my half of the room repeatedly flatlined, were jolted by defibrillation, and flatlined again. When my number finally was called, the sourpuss behind the counter told me that I would have to pay for another full eight years to reissue a license. (No, wait; I'm not done.)

About six months later, I noticed that my car registration (in New Mexico, it's indicated by a sticker on the corner of the license plate) had expired. This is something I do not generally think about, as the DMV had, up to that point, been good about mailing me my renewal forms every two years. Apparently, this somewhat vital piece of mail was not forwarded along with the rest of my mail, might or might not have been returned to the DMV, and definitely was not remailed with my new address. Well, I'd be darned if I were going to stand in line again just to find out they couldn't (or wouldn't) help me, so I looked the DMV up online. Lo and behold, they offered both the registration process and a change of address form via the web page. (There was an added fee for online transactions, but I figured that my hourly rate for standing in line was worth at least that much.)

Now, why couldn't the drudge at DMV have mentioned -- just in passing of course, since it's not as if I actually wanted to do this -- that they have a change of address form? Could it be they don't want to serve their customers?