Have You Ever Had a Worker at the DMV that Actually Made You Smile?

I love it when people treat you like they really enjoy their job!

For the month of February, I’ve been sharing various stories in my Black Like Me publication, in recognition of Black History Month, in addition to the stories published here in the Daily Justiss publication.

I love it how many people of color have truly learned to embrace the spirit of Black History Month, when February comes, and hopefully, the months that follow.

One of the very best ways to do this, is to dress the part. The garb we choose to adorn ourselves with can speak volumes, without us even saying a word.

The picture of the beautiful Black Woman in the cover image of this story, is a photo I took on my visit to a local DMV office.

Not only was she stunning in her colorful ensemble, but her sweet and kind disposition was truly befitting of what her clothing represented.

I normally dreaded any necessary trips to Department of Motor Vehicles, and I rarely left without an attitude.

This time was a real first for me, so allow me to tell you why.

I love it when people treat you like they really enjoy their job!

It’s no secret; sometimes the people who work in customer service type positions, don’t really like their jobs.

That shouldn’t be held against them, because a whole lot of working people don’t really like their jobs. But here’s the thing;

• Not everyone is in a job working with the public like Customer Service
• Not everyone who doesn’t like their job, does it in a way that it shows

All too often, people in positions where they deal with the public, have a tendency to burnout. I know first-hand, how working with the public can cause you to do that, if you’re not careful.

Without realizing it, working too long in a customer service position that you don’t really care about (for various reasons), can manifest itself in the way you treat the public.

That is why, some businesses and organizations — such as the Post Office, or DMV — develop a reputation for providing poor customer service.

When this happens, after a while, it won’t matter whether this is true or not for individual branches, because the entire business or organization gets a bad rap.

In my past experience, not only have I seen this to be the case with the DMV in general, but also with the branch that I recently visited.

Given my previous experiences, I have to admit, I wasn’t looking forward to spending a Friday morning at the DMV, especially before a holiday the following Monday.

For one thing, I just knew it would be crowded, regardless of what time I got there, so I didn’t even bother to try and beat the crowd.

I still managed to arrive shortly after 9am, and to my surprise, the line wasn’t draped around the building like I assumed it would be. Hooray!

Since I was in the line with the folks who didn’t think to make an appointment in advance, I was happy for a line that wasn’t really that long — that is, until we were notified that the computers were down.

One of the representatives explained that they might only take twenty minutes or so to come back online. Then again, it might be one or more hours; they just had no way of knowing.

Those of us who opted to stick around, amounted to about a dozen people, in both lines combined.

Surprisingly enough, it took less than an hour before both lines were finally moving along.

Yay again!

I couldn’t believe my luck. It was just too good to be true. That’s why I couldn’t believe the quality of service I received from the lady at the window, complete with a big cheery smile. She seemed to actually enjoy her job.

Whether she really does or not isn’t the point. The point is, she performed it in such a way, that she made the customer feel that she does.

Without even knowing it, she managed to set the tone for my entire day.

Customer service should come with a genuine smile

It’s a wonderful feeling when customer service comes with a genuine smile and helpful attitude.

There’s nothing worse than a sour or dry, monotone voice instructing you on what you need to do, not to mention someone who’s visibly irritated as if you’re bothering them.

When you think about it, anyone can have a job where they eventually run out of the smiles and sunshine that they probably started out with in the beginning. But in customer service positions, you have to figure out a way to make it work.

It may not be easy to keep your same degree of joy everyday. However, if your work involves directly interacting with customers, it helps to try and remember how contagious both joy and gloom can be.

My recent DMV visit was unique this time for the following 3 reasons:

• In spite of my negative assumptions, the line outside wasn’t long, and neither was the wait — relatively speaking (maybe 30 or 40 minutes).
• The line inside wasn’t long, since they staggered how many people could enter the building, so I reached the window in just 2 - 5 minutes.
• The Customer Service Rep at the “Getting Started” window (my model in the above image) was extremely courteous, professional, efficient, and a pleasure to have wait on me.

While I was more than glad to get in and out of the office in under two hours, the thing that really made my day was the Customer Service Rep.

She was patient, even when I wasn’t completely ready with my paperwork and had to step aside and return to her window twice (Hey, don’t judge me).

After being so helpful and causing me to have the perfect DMV visit, she happily agreed to allow me to take her photo.

I’m glad I decided not to put my visit off for another time . Today, everything really seemed to fall into place.

Final Thoughts

I fully disclosed to the wonderfully dressed sistah in the photo above that I planned to use the picture in a story about the DMV, and also mention her outfit.

Since I didn’t think to ask if I could mention the location, I decided not to publish which branch I visited.

But don’t worry people. I suspect that DMV offices have come to realize the importance of having employees offer better customer service, that comes with a genuine smile.

If so, you all might just get someone on your next visit to the DMV, who actually enjoys their job too.

Not a Medium Member yet? Join now with my referral link. I’ll earn a few bucks when you do, https://justissgoode.medium.com/membership plus I can HELP YOU START EARNING MONEY TOO! 😄