another little story of incompetence

One of the items on my post-vaccination to-do list is to get an Enhanced Driver's License.

I make an appointment and have to wait two months. When the date arrives, I follow the instructions mailed to me and bring my passport and current driver's license. 

I walk to a place in the West 30's.

It is clean and well-organized. And the wait is short. 

My number is called. I walk up to the window, hand over my completed forms and documentation, and am told that I also need my Social Security Card. That I did not bring. After some ineffective pleading on my part, I am told to come back when I have it. The very patient clerk gives me a green paper pass and tells me I can return the next day.

I do.

Armed now with the right documents, I have my picture taken, am asked if I want to add four years to my expiration date (sure, why not?), pay the $72.50, and am told I should receive my Enhanced License in about two weeks.

It arrives today. It is supposed to look something like this:

Instead, it looks like this:

It's an ID. 

An identification card. 

The most critical element of an ID is a clear and recognizable photo.

Didn't anyone at the DMV notice that the photo looks as if it were printed on a printer that had run out of toner? 

Or that there is no visible photo of me at all on the right?

Or maybe they just assumed I was a ghost. 

Imagine trying to board a plane with this as my ID. It's so bad it doesn't even look real.

So I call the DMV. Not an easy task.

20 or so endless prompts later, I am told the wait time is over 60 minutes. Or, I can leave my number and someone will call me back. Surprisingly they do.

I am told that unfortunately, I will have to go through the process again and have my photo retaken. The DMV rep assures me that I won't have to pay again. Well of course not I want to say.

 "I will connect you with someone now who can schedule you. Don't worry. It won't take long," he says.

Then he connects me to an automated voice and the whole process I originally went through starts again. A million prompts to get to a recording that tells me the wait is between 63 and 75 minutes. How does that fall into the category of it won't take long?

I leave my number and again, someone does call me back an hour later. At least that system works.

This time I speak to someone who gives me totally different information after she consults with her supervisor.  Now I'm told that the DMV rep cannot do any scheduling. Instead, I need to go to the DMV online site and email them explaining my problem and see what they recommend. UGH!

So I do that.

But then...

About ten minutes later I get a call back from the supervisor who originally had advised the clerk to tell me to write to the DMV. He is very nice and apologetic. He tells me that the information he previously gave was incorrect, and he, in fact, can schedule me. But, he cannot expedite things.

The next earliest appointment is June 23.

Addendum:

Called back today after my friend got an appointment for this week. And guess what? I now have an appointment for this Friday.