Saturday, September 24, 2005

an exercise in frustration

Yesterday we spent some time at the Tag Office. (That's the DMV to Californians). Is it just me or do people with the most casual attitudes tend to gravitate to jobs that require a sense of urgency? Part of the problem was that the office was not set up for efficiency. Each time a clerk needed to use a pair of scissors she would get up from her desk and walk to the other side of the room, use the scissors, then back to her desk. There were several clerks using the same pair of scissors. All the computers shared one printer which slowed things down a bit, and it was located in another room. Whenever a clerk left her station to retrieve forms being printed I suspected she used the opportunity to duck out the back door for a smoke or a trip down to the corner 7-11 for a slurpy. It wasn't just the feng shui of the office. These people just didn't care (or so it seemed to me). I couldn't stand it any more so I jumped over the counter, gathered all those lazy girls together and exclaimed, "Girls, it's obvious you don't like working here. This job requires a promptness, efficiency, and productivity that none of you possess. You are more suited to a job at a self serve gas station. And, for God's sake, why don't you buy yourselves a pair of scissors!"

Actually, I didn't do all of the above. It just took place in my mind. I went to the car and read a book while Dorothy waited patiently for her car tags.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Tag/DMV/License Office(s) must be universal in nature - we have the same 'atmosphere' up here LOL

Dawn said...

Actually, I think they are required to take a personality test before they are allowed to work there. Anyone with an ounce of kindness or consideration is immediately eliminated from the hiring pool.

Envoy-ette said...

If you had actually done that in my area...a cop would have arrested you because it's next door. My thoughts about the DMV are a little more violent then yours. Best to keep those to myself! (you should have told them you were a postal worker and getting a little edgy with all the waiting) haha!