Are DMV workers some of the Grumpiest and least Helpful people out there

I apologize in advance if I offend anyone here who works there, or who’s family members work there. I went over today because I realized I did not have a lifetime Trailer sticker on my Boat trailer. Turns out that the trailer was never lifetime licensed and instead was yearly licensed because of the weight the trailer was originally registered as. The original registration had the weight listed as 4500 Lbs. I told the woman that there was no way it was 4500 Lbs. even with the boat. I even pulled up the manufacture spec’s of the trailer to prove it. She then says they can correct that and provide a lifetime license on it. But I would need to pay the missed Fee’s all the way back to the date it was last Licensed. Which was 2018. Needless to say getting that lifetime license was rather costly. I guess part of the mistake was saying I have used it the last few years. I should have just lied and said it had not been used since 2018. I thought about just keeping it listed at the incorrect weight and just getting a one year license and new plate for ut. But was told I would still have to pay all the missed license years. This was not the 1st time I’ve had to deal with A grumpy and unhelpful DMV person. I know their job probaly sucks dealing with upset people all day but they could be a little nicer. These days this Boating and fishing is getting Costly. Now I know why they say Boat = BRING OUT ANOTHER THOUSAND. These days I wish it was only another thousand. Seems like the curse keeps getting worse and worse these days.

fishthumper wrote:

I apologize in advance if I offend anyone here who works there, or who’s family members work there. I went over today because I realized I did not have a lifetime Trailer sticker on my Boat trailer. Turns out that the trailer was never lifetime licensed and instead was yearly licensed because of the weight the trailer was originally registered as. The original registration had the weight listed as 4500 Lbs. I told the woman that there was no way it was 4500 Lbs. even with the boat. I even pulled up the manufacture spec’s of the trailer to prove it. She then says they can correct that and provide a lifetime license on it. But I would need to pay the missed Fee’s all the way back to the date it was last Licensed. Which was 2018. Needless to say getting that lifetime license was rather costly. I guess part of the mistake was saying I have used it the last few years. I should have just lied and said it had not been used since 2018. I thought about just keeping it listed at the incorrect weight and just getting a one year license and new plate for ut. But was told I would still have to pay all the missed license years. This was not the 1st time I’ve had to deal with A grumpy and unhelpful DMV person. I know their job probaly sucks dealing with upset people all day but they could be a little nicer. These days this Boating and fishing is getting Costly. Now I know why they say Boat = BRING OUT ANOTHER THOUSAND. These days I wish it was only another thousand. Seems like the curse keeps getting worse and worse these days.

It doesn’t matter if you did or didn’t use the trailer. You’d still have to pay the taxes from 2018 on.

I’ve recently had pretty good experiences at the DMV. I recently just bought a new boat from WI, and handled the title transfer myself here in MN. My boat is a 20′ Tiller on a tandem axle trailer. She asked how much the boat weighs, I said maybe 2k lbs, she said well looks like you get a Lifetime license on the trailer. I said, great.

Very similar to when I was there to update my Driver’s License. I was in and out in about 5 minutes.

But, trust me, I know others have had issues. I just wanted to say they’re not all bad.

Not speaking on behalf of the small government office that I work at that may or may not be a licensing center, but each DMV can be pretty different. It’s because they had to clear the years that you didn’t pay for. If you had done one registration and claimed non-use the other years then they could change the registered weight to whatever you want.

Everyone I’ve been to folks there have been great. Lucky me I guess

I give them a break, they deal with hundreds of people everyday who A) don’t want to be there, so they are already in a bad mood B) most of the time don’t have the required paperwork needed C) Argue with them about not having the required paperwork needed as if they had something to do with it…all they are doing is following the policy and procedures they were trained on…nothing is personal unless you make it personal…

I find myself in the DMV quite often with boat/atv/vehicle license renewals and some of the excuse stories/arguments i’ve heard from the next window over are just hilarious…I always look at the person helping me out and shake my head and thank them…

Elk River DMV has got to be in the top 5 grumpiest… New Brighton DMV is awesome, very nice and helpful people. I lived in ER and worked in New Brighton, guess who got my business.

Edit: Joe said it better

JoeMX1825 wrote:

I give them a break, they deal with hundreds of people everyday who A) don’t want to be there, so they are already in a bad mood B) most of the time don’t have the required paperwork needed C) Argue with them about not having the required paperwork needed as if they had something to do with it…all they are doing is following the policy and procedures they were trained on…nothing is personal unless you make it personal…

I find myself in the DMV quite often with boat/atv/vehicle license renewals and some of the excuse stories/arguments i’ve heard from the next window over are just hilarious…I always look at the person helping me out and shake my head and thank them…

I fully agree. They’re just following policy. Treating others with respect usually results in reciprocated respect. Even if they provide answers following policy that you don’t like they still deserve respect.

Joe pretty much nailed it. My current customer may not like me much, but the one behind them that gets to move up in line because I’m done with the BS thinks I’m alright.

I was just at the one by fleet farm in Waite Park. No issues.

I usually go to the paynseville one really good people there.

I feel fortunate to live in a small town with its own DMV where the line is never more than 2 or 3 people. Never had a bad experience. Not saying you cant run into a jerk at a smaller DMV, but I feel it’s a lot more laid back and they don’t feel the stress of getting to the next number in line.

I’ve had bad experiences at other DMVs, but flip the script – they’re having the same conversation about 150 times a day – often with people that should know better or be more prepared than they are and the customers are often rude when they get called on it. Often times there’s a language barrier they have to navigate, and the only thing they have to look forward to is getting up the next day and doing it all over again. It’s gotta be one of the more soul-sucking jobs there is.

I hate going to my local dmv.
I haven’t dealt with grumpy employees much. What gets me is the lack of customer service and hustle. There’s always a line of people and the workers are never in any kind of hurry to help people as fast as possible. It’s slow motion all day long. You can’t go anywhere else for their services and they know it.

fishthumper wrote:

She then says they can correct that and provide a lifetime license on it. But I would need to pay the missed Fee’s all the way back to the date it was last Licensed.

Sounds like she did an excellent job of doing what you asked and explaining the procedure. I’m sure this was not the 1st time she has dealt with a grumpy and mistaken person.

Big difference between a government DMV and a privately owned DMV. The one up here in Brainerd is privately owned and they’re great! The one down in St. Cloud makes you want to just drive without a license!

Just walk out and go to different DMV and not pay all the back fees…

You made a mistake and pulled the trailer on public roads illegally for 5 years and got it straightened out by paying the fees you should have paid over the 5 years with no additional penalty. You also got the trailer registered the way you wanted. I can’t comment on the grumpiness but it looks like they were extremely helpful.

P.S. The 4500lb weight limit for the trailer is just the next step up from under 3000lbs that is eligible for permanent registration.

I don’t personally care to visit the DMV and as others have stated the customer service is not very good sometimes, but they are just doing their job as a state, county, or city employee. I work for the federal government and I know there’s a fair amount of people that don’t care for me either, or what I do on a daily basis. They don’t make the rules, they only enforce them.

grubson wrote:

I hate going to my local dmv.
I haven’t dealt with grumpy employees much. What gets me is the lack of customer service and hustle. There’s always a line of people and the workers are never in any kind of hurry to help people as fast as possible. It’s slow motion all day long. You can’t go anywhere else for their services and they know it.

I just wish they’d fix the ac! Last time I went in it was 20 min of 85 and humid!

I was mostly just venting a little. I know that they have a difficult job and they often have to deal with some grumpy and difficult customers. I’ve had some good experiences at the Waite Park DMV and some not good ones. It’s Rather hit and Miss. There are a few workers there that probably should just find a new job. Had I been on the other side of the counter this is what I would have said. Depending on how you answer this next question will determine what the lifetime license is going to cost you. If you have been using the trailer every year since it was last licensed in 2018 it’s going to cost you a lot. If you have not used it since 2018 it will not cost you near as much. Now when was the last time you used it? Now I know that may not be right, but that’s just the way I am and what I would have said. I realize it is my own fault that I had not paid the license fee the last 4 years. The license plate was torn off the trailer right after I got it and to be honest I simply forgot about it. I think in my mind I just thought it had the lifetime license like most all my buddies trailers. It was only because of my upcoming trip to Canada that I even thought about the license. I was gathering info. I thought I may need and realized / Remembered about the lack of a license for it. I remember the 1st time I registered it and paid for the license that I inquired about getting the lifetime license for it and was told by the same DMV that due to its listed weight that I would need to take it to a weigh station and have it weighed. Both with the boat loaded on it and also without the boat loaded on it. I said that seems like a real hassle. I remember asking if the spec. Sheet on the trailer would not be proof enough and being told NO. So wanting to just be done with the process I just paid the Fee and moved on. Oh well, my mistake.

Until you work with the public all day every day it’s hard to understand workers not being bright and cheery the way you want them.

Remember, the DMV is just like factory assembly work only with humans tossed into the mix.

Our local DMV worker is short with some, but polite as can be with others. If you are polite, prepared, and have everything ready to go the DMV isn’t the nightmare some make it out to be (here at least).

I’d nominate car salesmen as the least helpful people out there. Cars can be found and researched online. Most times I’ve known more about the make and model I’m after than the person selling it.

I work with customers all day for my job. I am lucky to have a lot of great regular customers and have mostly great interactions with them. I pride myself and train my staff to always have a smile and treat them as they would like to be treated. However it is hard to do that all day when some of the people you help are lets just say not that great to deal with. Customer service is a easy thing that can become difficult for many reasons. Lets face it in todays world when you go to the gas station and the kid barely even looks up at you let alone greats you, that is what your supposed to expect I guess. At my shop we get lots of compliments on our service and I am proud of that.

John Rasmussen wrote:

I work with customers all day for my job. I am lucky to have a lot of great regular customers and have mostly great interactions with them. I pride myself and train my staff to always have a smile and treat them as they would like to be treated. However it is hard to do that all day when some of the people you help are lets just say not that great to deal with. Customer service is a easy thing that can become difficult for many reasons. Lets face it in todays world when you go to the gas station and the kid barely even looks up at you let alone greats you, that is what your supposed to expect I guess. At my shop we get lots of compliments on our service and I am proud of that.

thats because your just a fun and loveable kinda guy John!!!!!!

glenn57 wrote:

thats because your just a fun and loveable kinda guy John!!!!!!

Easy now I have a reputation to keep up. Thanks Glenn!

you find them kinda things out when you go to Sharon planned IDO G-T-G’s!!!!

glenn57 wrote:

I was just at the one by fleet farm in Waite Park. No issues.

I usually go to the paynseville one really good people there.

Same here. Although it’s a bit more of a pain to get to with 23 torn up. I’ve been enjoying the Cty Rd 43 – Edgeton – 123 – ect, route.

TillrLife wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>fishthumper wrote:</div>
I apologize in advance if I offend anyone here who works there, or who’s family members work there. I went over today because I realized I did not have a lifetime Trailer sticker on my Boat trailer. Turns out that the trailer was never lifetime licensed and instead was yearly licensed because of the weight the trailer was originally registered as. The original registration had the weight listed as 4500 Lbs. I told the woman that there was no way it was 4500 Lbs. even with the boat. I even pulled up the manufacture spec’s of the trailer to prove it. She then says they can correct that and provide a lifetime license on it. But I would need to pay the missed Fee’s all the way back to the date it was last Licensed. Which was 2018. Needless to say getting that lifetime license was rather costly. I guess part of the mistake was saying I have used it the last few years. I should have just lied and said it had not been used since 2018. I thought about just keeping it listed at the incorrect weight and just getting a one year license and new plate for ut. But was told I would still have to pay all the missed license years. This was not the 1st time I’ve had to deal with A grumpy and unhelpful DMV person. I know their job probaly sucks dealing with upset people all day but they could be a little nicer. These days this Boating and fishing is getting Costly. Now I know why they say Boat = BRING OUT ANOTHER THOUSAND. These days I wish it was only another thousand. Seems like the curse keeps getting worse and worse these days.

It doesn’t matter if you did or didn’t use the trailer. You’d still have to pay the taxes from 2018 on.

I’ve recently had pretty good experiences at the DMV. I recently just bought a new boat from WI, and handled the title transfer myself here in MN. My boat is a 20′ Tiller on a tandem axle trailer. She asked how much the boat weighs, I said maybe 2k lbs, she said well looks like you get a Lifetime license on the trailer. I said, great.

Very similar to when I was there to update my Driver’s License. I was in and out in about 5 minutes.

But, trust me, I know others have had issues. I just wanted to say they’re not all bad.

You got lucky because most DMV I’ve been to would ask the weight of the trailer not the boat lol. Just be careful when dealing with insurance or officer, if you ever, because that tandem trailer you have is over 3000 lbs.

I so wish I would of applied to work at a DMV, as a supervisor. Best job it the state next to weather forecasters.

Last time I went to the >NEW< Stillwater DMV I asked why they had 15 windows with only 4 bodies behind them and a room full of people. Of course they said help was hard to find. I just didn’t understand why they added so many extra windows when they couldn’t find enough help in the old place with 6 windows and only 3 people working.

1 hour, 45 minutes….to get to the window.

The scene from Zootopia accurately depicts many of my DMV experiences.

The dmv I go to is awesome. 4 ladies work there, I have never seen more then 5 customers at a time there. And have never waited for more then 5 minutes. I’ll let you guys keep going to the metro ones and I’ll keep going to the small quiet ones with friendly staff