Three Hour Lines at MVC

This is getting ridiculous.

I moved recently and although I went online to change my address, my driver's license doesn't reflect that. Printing out the note that says it was changed may not be enough for the places I am traveling and some of the people to whom I will have to present ID.

So I grabbed my six points of ID verification and headed for the Eatontown MVC one day last week in the late afternoon about 45 minutes before closing, at which time I was told that there was already a THREE HOUR WAIT so they weren't accepting any more people for new driver's licenses.

Fine.

I went back the next weekday that I could, this time at 2 p.m., at which point I was again told that there was a three-hour wait (I had to pick up my son from school and couldn't wait that long).

I should have known both days that there would be a problem because there wasn't a spot in the whole parking lot (in Eatontown) available. In fact, there were people parked in-between the tree beds up on the curbs!

I know we all will need the new READ ID by October in order to get on an airplane for travel, but clearly this is a disaster. Having to take a day off from work just to wait in line when the doors open is not an option for everyone. Saturday mornings are also not an option for everyone. More people working behind the counters to make this a smoother transition would seem like the best way to help when you know just how many people need to get this done.

Some listeners told me this morning that you can sign up online to make an appointment to get the new license, but, first of all, why did I talk to THREE people at MVC while I was there who all told me the wait was three hours yet did NOT tell me I could sign up online for an appointment? TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE.

Secondly, the sign-up may not help if it isn't timely. My license is not expiring, I just simply need to reflect my new address on my license for the purpose of having ID for some upcoming hotel stays and places I am visiting that require a driver's license that matches the debit card that I am using to pay. (I am not flying. I am traveling Amtrak.)

So...I await either an alert that I can indeed book an appointment through MVC Online Services (yes, I registered to do that) and, in the meantime, will try again at different MVCs at different times of day to see if I get luckier than a three hour wait.

But this is an abomination --  both the waits and the customer service, which bordered on rude.