While the coronavirus has halted many aspects of life, states are slowly reopening and trying to provide some semblance of normalcy. 

Restaurants are open for business, most of them only requiring customers to wear a mask. Bars are operating under restrictions, allowing people to enjoy a cold drink after work and on weekends. And some businesses are getting back to normal by letting employees come to the office. 

While still different, the remnants of our old life are present today. States and local leaders are doing everything they can to operate normally and safely. However, one organization that’s fumbling to provide any sort of normalcy is the Department of Motor Vehicle Services. 

Like most businesses, the DMV is open, but it has restrictions. These restrictions are in place to keep people safe and healthy, but drivers aren’t too happy about them. 

A New York resident, for example, said that her experience with the DMV has been “ridiculous.” After making an appointment to get her license renewed, she discovered that she didn’t have the proper identification. 

A DMV employee turned her away and asked her to make another appointment, which she scheduled a month out due to a lack of availability. While commonly unknown, DMV offices book around 520 appointments per day, making it difficult for customers to address their needs in a timely manner. 

Some states are even seeing customers book DMV appointments that are two months out. But despite booking in advance, consumers are still finding themselves in long lines. Even if they get to the DMV before 5:30 am, they wait hours for their appointment to begin.

What’s worse is that some DMVs are totally booked, leaving drivers without any remedy to solve their problems. Customers have sent emails, tweets, and social media posts, asking the DMV for help. 

Some of them go onto the website, notice there’s no availability, and assume it’s a glitch. But they soon find out that there’s no glitch. Their local DMV is actually booked for 90 days. 

The difficulty in scheduling an appointment with the DMV results from two challenges: a discouraging backlog and a severe lack of employees. The coronavirus led to a 6-week shut down for DMV offices. 

And this closure quickly resulted in a backlog with hundreds of thousands of requests piling up. Some local leaders estimate that it will take a whole year to work through the inquiries.  

However, the DMV has tried to mitigate this issue by opening their offices, but some of them are operating at 50% capacity. Most DMV’s don’t have the staff and resources they need to work through their backlog, leading to long lines and less availability for appointments. 

To help decrease this issue’s impact, the DMV is pushing customers to take advantage of their online services. Yet, it’s unknown whether this solution is actually working. 

Online solutions are supposed to offer efficiency, ease, convenience, and great user experiences. But the DMV’s online solution is arguably not that great.

Conclusive evidence about the DMV’s online services will likely come out after the pandemic subsides. At that time, experts will better understand how effective and efficient it is to use the DMV online. But, in the meantime, certain clues can suggest how great the DMV is at servicing customers digitally.

In a digital world, online experiences are everything. They help determine whether people will conduct business with an organization.

Unsurprisingly, research suggests that 88% of adults are less likely to revisit a website after a poor user experience. What’s also interesting is that 40% of consumers will leave a website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load.

If anyone has ever visited a DMV website, they know that sometimes the pages load slowly, and the user experience is awful. Instead of providing an easy path to what consumers need, most DMV websites have pages that lead to another page that leads to another page that leads to five different pages before people get to the one they need. 

When it comes to user experience, the DMV fails. The path-to-purchase is always slow, long, and confusing. 

If customers find the page they’re looking for, they’ll notice the steps they have to take to complete their transaction. 

But some of these steps might sound confusing and take a while to finish. Completing a transaction in-person at the DMV or online usually requires customers to navigate the same exact process. 

The only difference is that when people go in person, they have an employee to guide them through the transaction. However, if someone does it online, that customer has to figure everything out by themselves. 

While trying to complete a DMV transaction online, consumers may have a few questions along the way. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely someone will be available to answer them.

On some websites, people may notice a live chat button or another easy way to communicate with a representative. For example, it’s not uncommon to see businesses offer an online contact center where customers can send a direct message and expect an answer within a few hours. 

However, most DMV offices don’t offer that capability. If customers have a question while completing an online transaction, they either have to check the FAQ section, call a representative, or show up in-person. 

But all of these options come with issues. 

FAQ sections don’t always answer very specific questions. Phone calls usually come with long wait times. And showing up in-person isn’t an option today unless someone schedules an appointment that’s 1-2 months out. 

Right now, using the DMV online is not the best solution for customers. While digital solutions are necessary, the DMV hasn’t mastered the best way to provide great user experiences, seamless processes, and excellent customer service. 

Still, that doesn’t mean people can’t find other ways to complete their DMV transactions. In fact, Barry Risk Management, Inc. provides DMV solutions online that center around convenience, efficiency, and excellent customer service. 

With Barry Risk Management, Inc., consumers can encounter an online experience that’s straightforward and easy to navigate. What’s also great is that Barry Risk Management, Inc. provides knowledgeable representatives that not only guide and answers questions. 

People don’t have to wonder what to do, click through multiple pages, or wait a long time to get a question answered. At Barry Risk Management, Inc., customers will have an agent guiding them every step of the way to complete their DMV services quickly and without any hassle. 

If you don’t want to use the DMV online and prefer an easier solution, reach out to Barry Risk Management, Inc. today!