EDITOR:
I recently had the “opportunity” to renew my driver’s license at the Platte City license renewal office. During my two visits there, I experienced the frustration of waiting for several hours along with numerous other residents, all trying to complete this simple task. (I gave up after waiting for three hours on the first go ’round)
What struck me most was that despite the 10+ citizens waiting, there were between three to five employees in front of computers not performing any task who were not assisting with driver’s license renewals. On both occasions, only one person was working to renew licenses, taking approximately 20-25 minutes per individual. On my first visit, this lone worker took an unannounced break for about 30 minutes, leaving everyone to wait even longer without any indication of when service would resume.
When I took an informal poll amongst the people sitting there on how long they had been waiting, one person stated they had been there for five hours and 15 minutes and another one said they were there for just short of four hours, with a third saying they’re now there for 3.5 hours.
I find it difficult to understand how the license office can justify this lack of basic service. It’s surprising that the other employees did not even attempt to assist with renewals and seemed to ignore the general public. Perhaps there is a specific qualification required to handle renewals, but if even so, it is poorly communicated and managed.
Remarkably, this office is not government-run; it is a private enterprise. One would expect a private business to prioritize efficiency and customer throughput. It would be logical for the office manager to cross-train employees to handle multiple tasks, including license renewals, to better serve the public and increase revenue. Faster processing would likely lead to more customers through positive word of mouth, ultimately benefitting the business.
Unfortunately, the Platte City license renewal office does not model such efficiency. I hope this letter brings attention to the need for improved service at this office, as the current situation is far from acceptable.
--Jason Maki
Platte County
