I don't trust the DMV

No, this is not some neo-libertarian screed where I quote Rothbard and tell you to go read Human Action.

This is just a little story about how much the DMV sucks and how low the bar is for customer satisfaction.

Story time kids

So, it’s no secret that I am an avid camper and RVer (I have no idea what my European friends call an RV, and frankly, I’m too lazy to Google it). Right after our last camping sesh of the season last October, we decided our 2008 model was getting a little long in the tooth.

We went on the hunt for something relatively local and found a nice 2021 Forest River about an hour away, which was great because most of the listings were out of state.

The price was good; the trailer is in good shape, so we got them to knock off a couple of grand. Money changed hands, bills of sale were signed, and I hauled our new rig home.

Now, in my state, a title is held by the State until the release of lien is provided, which was back in December. That is no problem. Sometimes it takes a while for them to mail it out.

Fast-forward to mid-January. I started getting curious about the whereabouts of my title. Nothing. They started talking to the DMV to address this issue. Long story short, we are still without a paper title. The sellers are exasperated, and I think a little scared that I’m going to sue them. But last week, I found a passage on the State DMV website that says electronically held titles can be processed without the paper title.

Awesome! I have all the other stuff. This morning, I headed to the county DMV office…only to be told that my country requires the paper title signed by the seller, regardless of what the State DMV rules say. Dammit.

After this, I called the seller. It turns out that their county DMV has been sending the original title and subsequent replacement titles to the wrong address because the DMV never actually processed an address change. Pretty standard government work.

Why does this matter?

As much as it sounds like I’m here pissing and moaning, I’m not. Instead, it’s a broad overview of the competency crisis. Now, the DMV might be a poor example because they are notoriously bad, but the problem is that this sort of piss poor service has crept out of the sludge of government “services” and permeates much of our everyday life.

I am not a great writer. I am not a great marketer or self-promoter. But what does work for me is being really reliable, and willing to learn. Also, when existing clients ask for something new that I haven’t done, I say yes, roll with it, learn the ropes, and deliver.

There aren’t any hacks. The only hack is to show up and learn. Oh, and having a grain or two of humility is a major selling point. If you are reliable, a lot of clients will still give you more work because your reliability is a known quantity.

That’s all for today. The DMV sucks.