The state Department of Motor Vehicles is beginning an extensive review of its day-to-day operations with the goal of limiting wait times and improving customer service.
The first of a series of examinations, which began this month, include hiring a contractor to study the best ways to streamline passenger vehicle registrations, simplify commercial vehicle registrations, and eliminate unnecessary steps to register boats.
“Our goal, as I promised when I took office, is to build a better and stronger DMV that makes it easier for customers wanting to transact business with us,” Commissioner Michael Bzdyra said.
The department has chosen a licensing vendor, MorphoTrust USA, because of the association between the licensing system and other DMV operations.
“As the provider of driver’s licensing systems and identity solutions to the majority of the United States, MorphoTrust is uniquely positioned to help our customers optimize their customer service strategy and experience,” Robert Eckel, the company’s CEO, said in a statement. “We are excited to work with the Connecticut DMV on this project and enhance the customer experience.”
DMV officials say the work will include a review of the entire transaction process and will study whether each step is necessary and how it affects the customer.
Pilot projects are planned to determine whether suggested changes have the desired effect, and will include feedback from customers and employees, which Bzdyra said will be critical to assessments by revealing trouble spots and providing a clearer understanding of why problems arise.
“It is also important to acknowledge to customers that DMV is working on resolving problems, like wait times, that they find inefficient,” Bzdyra said. He noted that a recent poll of nearly 1,300 people showed that 70 percent of them said wait times were too long.
“That 70 percent is unacceptable,” Bzdyra said. “Customer sentiment is critical to our success. DMV’s focus now is on finding new and different ways to reduce wait times and improve our relationship with our customers.”
The review is the latest measure to reorganize the agency, which has been plagued with computer issues, long lines, and other problems.
