April 19, 2026 It must be catching: Ben Wylder, writes of his experience at the Ashland, Oregon DMV. For the full accolade go here. An extract follows:
“I don’t know if anyone else in Ashland has had this experience, but as an Ashland newcomer, I feel utterly compelled to report something that I did not previously believe possible: the Ashland DMV is… unabashedly badass and Oregon AF.To understand why this is so shocking, you have to understand that in all my years going to the DMV in Los Angeles, the experience always felt less like a public service and more like the torture scene from The Princess Bride:..”
One of my most frequently read old posts, “The Un-DMV” deserves a prominent spot on my WordPress platform.
And, in a time of “pulse checks” for government employees – with many identified flat-liners – it is good to celebrate when an agency understands its purpose and carries out its mission with urgency and exceptional customer service. So, here is my previous blog, only slightly edited.
Take what you can from it; much of the Un-DMV (or Not-the-DMV) philosophy will transfer nicely as long as your team (and you) are willing and able.
It has been said, if Franz Kafka were alive, he’d be writing – glumly – about customer service.
In the USA, the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) serves as a caricature of bureaucratic client abuse; only the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) or the SSA (Social Security Administration) come close in popular disdain.
Unlike the extra-terrestrial NASA, each American will have, over a lifetime, frequent contact with the named agencies.
We will do so with trepidation and, often, loathing.
We are told to take a number and to line-up. We expect to wait, stew and dither, yearning for acknowledgement, if any, from an eye-contact resistant, dour-faced staff.
But, hope springs eternal. (You can quote me.)
After a recent night of cold wind and rain, I shook off my dismay, and remembered there is sunshine behind those dark clouds. And, that the dawn cometh, however rarely, even to the most Kafkaesque.
I first wrote about the Oregon DMV in late 2018, “Ambassadors for Government”.
No, it was not the usual, cliched, jeremiad.
Rather, it was a heartfelt hip-hip-hurray.
Who would think a DMV would provide a “best practice” model for client service?
Or, as I term it, exemplary Courtesy and Kindness in service, (the C+K Factor.)
Well, the North Salem DMV branch (one of 60 in Oregon) does just that.
My conclusion is based on several trips to the DMV following a cross-country move from North Carolina to Oregon.
During those visits, I was taken with how well this DMV works: fast and courteous service with knowledgeable and pleasant staff.
Not a sullen face in the bunch, no one afflicted with office.
Still in recovery from a Kafkaesque experience in a North Carolina DMV, I asked myself, how does Oregon do it?
Looking for answers, I interviewed – amidst their busy schedules – Bea Halbert, Customer Service Manager; Stefanie Coons, DMV Field Services Group Manager; and, Thomas L. McClellan, Oregon’s DMV Director.
Each state in the USA has a DMV and a driver is obligated to register her car, prove ownership and insurance and to pass a written test prior to getting a driver’s license. Newbie drivers – in an American coming-of-age ritual – have to pass, along with the written test, an on-road drive test.
In brief, the DMV gets to say yea or nay on your freedom on the road.
Not everyone gets what they want: a failed driver’s test, an adjudicated loss of license, or an iffy car title, can result in unhappiness.
Bea told me, “We deliver a lot of bad news every day”. Statewide the DMV handles about 20,000 convictions and other court orders.
So, there is no shortage of self-inflicted frustration to be dealt with amidst the daily volume of walk-ins: on average the North Salem branch sees 482 customers per day and on peak days as many as 700.
If you handle conflict well, your clients will respect you; if you do not, well that is how far too many DMVs become a mockery (see the cartoon, one of hundreds).
My interview with Bea (a DMV employee since 1984 and a self professed servant leader*) revealed several clues to how her 17 staff members achieve high levels of service.
These points also illustrate how her branch gets high staff buy-in.
And, given the rising anecdotal erosion of America’s superior quality of customer service, these points provide tips to any organization wanting to regain and excel at the Courtesy and Kindness Factor toward clients.
- Weekly staff meetings with expected input from staff. This hour-long meeting occurs each Wednesday prior to opening. It features a Not On Agenda opportunity to bring up urgent items. Several customer service improvements, like express lanes, have resulted.
- A regular rotation of staff (no one does the same thing over and over) among workstations. Staff then become familiar with all parts of the DMV, not just a narrow bailiwick.
- Strong support for training, in house and at other venues with paid time off. Bea regularly promotes training opportunities and frequently participates.
- Strong support for and action on a promote-from-within policy. Bea has benefited from mentoring by her supervisors and others from the time she came on as a summer temp in 1984 to now managing the North Salem office. She told me that reaching out, asking for help, describing scenarios and what ifs to her mentors were important to her career. “The managers I have worked with all have the same mentality, how we coach and how we train.”
- A very supportive top leadership with clearly stated expectations, e.g. in the published handbook, DMV in Motion: A Strategic Vision there appear acronyms like PACE (Public Service, Amazing Quality, Customer Focus and an Engaging Workplace). And, there is regular statistical feedback to evaluate and monitor the service, business, and program aspects. A current statewide goal: 70% of customers will be seen within 20 minutes. Tom and Stefanie told me (confirmed by Bea) that managers have leeway to try out ideas and to see what happens; mistakes are not career ending. There is freedom to problem solve and to propose solutions; it is expected when someone identifies a problem, he will make recommendations on what to do differently.
- Facility-wise, most Oregon DMVs are an open building, with a barrier-less lay out. This is quite remarkable, as I have observed an ever-increasing trend for architectural barriers (including what looks like bullet proof glass) in many public offices. The agency must think it is OK for a client to stoop and speak and hear through a 4 inch diameter cut-out hole!
- Very well informed receptionists (see # 2) including at-the-door greeters and, on occasion, so-called floaters who mingle among waiting, seated clients. The floater makes sure no one (unlike a Kafka hero) gets lost in the process.
- Stress on face-to-face, one-on-one communication between managers and staff. Problems are dealt with immediately.
- Teamwork. Bea sees herself as the Coach of her team. She is a player/coach, since she works out front (doing real work, not just a photo op) once a week. One routine that takes teamwork and good ideas well beyond the local office is that, when necessary, most offices share staff with other regional DMVs. Remarkable and unheard of in most government units; indeed, not often seen in other organizations. Offering to help another agency can be seen by some that the offering agency has too many staff!
- Leadership role: When I asked Bea early in the interview about the many positive services and actions toward clients she told me without hesitation that the Vision comes from Administrator Tom McClellan and from Field Services Group Manager Stefanie Coons (and regional managers). While I would expect her to say that, she did so with sincere conviction.
In other words, the DMV leadership practices what it preaches
The five characteristics for DMV leadership (creativity, courage, communication, collaboration, and commitment) are not just office speak; they are routine.
*Robert K. Greenleaf described servant leadership in a 1970 essay: “The servant-leader is servant first: It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead.”
As a “Not-the-DMV” footnote:
While in Maine this week I had reason to visit the Maine General Medical Center (MGMC) Express Care in Augusta for a severe cold. I stopped by with no appointment and as a stranger from three thousand miles away to learn if I was infectious. I was greeted kindly even without my Medicare card and was processed in a timely way to see a care provider.
In less than five minutes I was called by name to come into an exam room. After a thorough back and forth with a nurse assistant on what was happening with me I was quickly greeted by a nurse practitoner who checked me out and proclaimed I was indeed infectious but NOT with covid or strep.
So far, her prognosis of 3-5 days duration and symptoms of the cold has been on target. I mention this little episode because each step of the way, I could have been met with indifference, rebuffs or rejection since I was out of the community and an unknown without a Medicare card. The receptionist found a way to work around that and I got the help I needed. All were well focused on my health issues and gave me time to respond and to ask questions. I assume this agency sees thousands each year, so based on this one time visit, i would present them with the yet-to-be created “Not-the-DMV” Award. Here is one version from the Gemini AI Robot:
The inevitable has happened: The DMV is on TV: According to the blurb for the show’s video trailer, “DMV is a workplace comedy set in the dreaded DMV office, following quirky minimum-wage employees who make the best of dealing with annoyed customers, finding solace in each other’s company.” One clip features the team leader incoherently shouting at customers clamoring for the doors to open.
When you buy my book of fables (cover above) tied to leadership and the workplace, you’ll get a 25% discount until the end of 2025, in celebration of the blog’s move to a new platform: Link HERE to BUY
And, my book (cover above) on democratic workplaces and what leaders can do with limited resources and unlimited imagination, Leading from the Middle, is available at Amazon.</a>
N.B. For other essays on numerous other topics go to my Nucleus archive from 2010-early 2025.
© Copyright all text John Lubans 2018, 2024 and 2025