Bridgeport resident Dennis Murphy is working to fix the mess at the Department of Motor Vehicles. More on this from the Associated Press.
The private vendor that designed a major upgrade of the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles’ aging computer system is committed to making sure all the “bugs” are fixed, the interim commissioner assured state lawmakers on Friday. Dennis Murphy, who was appointed by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to temporarily run the agency, told the General Assembly’s Transportation Committee that 3M has “committed to us very directly, from a high level, they’re going to make this work. We’re going to hold their feet to the fire to make the system work.”
Friday was Murphy’s fourth day on the job.
The DMV has been plagued by long wait times, erroneous vehicle registration cancellations and other problems since the upgrade was launched last summer. Some legislators said they have received numerous complaints from constituents and questioned whether 3M should be replaced with another vendor…
Murphy said he has been briefed on the situation and believes the computer system “basically works.” The DMV originally began the complicated process in 2006 of upgrading its computers to allow customers to conduct more transactions online.
Full story here.
Not sure the problems are strictly because of the new computer system. I took a day off from work last month to register a new vehicle, I arrived at about 9:00, stood in line for about 45 minutes to get a # to get the process going, then proceeded to get a seat. While sitting there, I couldn’t help but notice the total lack of interest of the employees working. Here is the way I noticed it goes, an employee waits on a customer,a verage time for transaction is about 15 minutes or so, depending. Each and every time the DMV employee is done with a customer, they “close” their station and then get up and either walk around or disappear in back for a while, it happened time and time again. There seems to be a total disregard for the people waiting, perhaps if the DMV put some kind of incentive program in place for the employees, they would speed up their pace a bit. Just a thought.
And I almost forgot, I arrived at 9:00, and was waited on at 11:45. Ridiculous, really.
It seems Andres Ayala was placed in a terrible situation he had nothing to do with.
Harvey, why should they need an incentive to do their jobs? They should put a DMV spotter in and document what you witnessed, then deal with the employees in an appropriate matter.
Governor Malloy “brings good things to life.”
Oh! I’m sorry, that’s GE’s slogan!
GE brings good things to Boston.
I’m hoping Malloy will, too!
Boston gives good things to GE (and my favorite corporate welfare queen, Jeff Immelt).
Is it possible it is OK by whatever”work rules” have been set in place for the employees observed to be within their “rights?” Who stands in for “taxpayers” and “customers” when labor agreements are negotiated? Does your loss of 150 minutes to handle a transaction enter into anyone’s consideration? To whom would you complain in any case? A “for profit” deli will handle their customers in line with better overall timeliness and attitude, right? Time will tell.
John Marshall Lee, have you ever been a dues-paying member of any union?
Ron Mackey,
Have you ever tried to run a business providing a service to the public, paying compensation to skilled workers who learned their tasks and understood the field was competitive and we all needed to attend to each detail as very little was guaranteed? Time will tell.
JML, the point of asking that question is there is a process and if a customer wants to make a complaint they should. If a employee is not performing their duties the supervisor needs to investigate and if it’s found is not performing their duties then action should be taken.
Forget that, Mackey.
JML is anti-Union and pro-privatization.
Nothing you say will change his mind.
JML read one post by Harvey and immediately blamed the unions.
Simple solutions by simple people.
Bob, I know, you’re right.
Ron,
Are complaints solicited at DMV? Is it obvious to the consumer where to go to turn in such a commentary? Have you sat in the chairs with your number in hand waiting for your number to appear on a monitor, all the while noticing the employee behavior Harvey mentions?
Is management following up with DMV patrons to find out their level of satisfaction, the same way it often happens when I make a call to a cable company, or a utility or a furniture retailer that sells mattresses? How was the experience for the customer? Can we learn anything? Do better? Time will tell.
JML, c’mon man, are complaints solicited? You receive bad service anywhere you make a complaint. I’ve been elected to three union executive boards including the fire union and I would get into a member’s ass if they were wrong but then go and defend them against management to make sure their rights were protected.
Remember when I came up with the phrase:
MALLOY
Mal hoy, mañana y siempre.
It’s not the first time Dennis Murphy is Bugged.
Joel Gonzalez. Can you please translate your entire post?
JML, when was the last time you filed a complaint about a service worker?
JML, both these guys are talking through their asses. The DMV and most city and state employees know they are protected by their unions. Most city and state employees know it takes forever to fire them. The supervisors at DMV are in the same boat. If you want to fire these do-nothings, you have guys like Mackey and Walsh say OOOH you can’t do that this person has a family. You know what I say, TFB, do your job. I have gone to DMV and the clerks act like they are doing you a favor when they wait on you.
I have the solution. Fire 50% of the workers and hire new clerks who live in the town the DMV is located.
If a employee is not performing their duties then a complaint needs to be made. There are rules and regulations employees must follow and if they fail to follow orders then action should taken against them. If I did something wrong in the workplace then I should be held accountable. I could be punished but it’s up to my union to see that things were done fairly. If someone doesn’t make a complaint and follow up then it’s their fault.
Mackey,
Knowing Fardy, the half he’d fire would be B’port residents and he would have it hire them all back again. And then blame it on the unions.
Bob, spoken like a true asshole.
Mackey,
I nominate JML and Fardy to be the new DMV QC Inspectors. Then they could walk up to all the patrons at the DMV asking if they have any complaints.
Bob, I don’t see what the issue is with the union. You make a complaint and follow it up, if nothing is done then you go to the next level. I’ve seen where firefighters have had private citizens make complaints against them and they had a hearing and discipline.
You know what, asshole? Someone should do it because right now it’s a cluster fuck aka Bob Walsh.
Almost what everyone has said here has a ring of truth to it. The DMV is one of the few state government agencies a significant portion of the population interfaces with on a fairly regular basis, and therefore it becomes the “face” of the state for all those who deal with it. As far back as I can remember, dealing with the DMV would bring on a headache and this goes back to when the local DMV was on East Main Street. If my memory serves me right, when the DMV relocated to the North Avenue address, initially things went well but the last couple of years things have gone backwards. There are some examples of state agencies that are unionized and provide good service. I am talking about some scenarios in other parts of the country. It would require agency employees to view users as customers/clients. However, it would require a LOT of heavy lifting upon DMV management, possible changes in contracts and a COMPLETE overhaul of agency ethics, morale, work culture.