As a business leader, how would you like to provide a required service with no competition? Would you like to be the only provider of a product with a built-in customer base that must access your facility to be in compliance with the law? It sounds almost too good to be true. Yet that’s the position the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is in. If they don’t want to break the law, consumers have no option but to visit DMV for certain services.

For those of you that haven’t experienced the DMV lately, this is how it works (or more aptly put, doesn’t work). If you must appear in-person for auto registration, Real ID or other services, appointments are necessary. The only day they accept walk-ins is on Saturdays, but they’re extremely limited in the number they can process. Consequently, you’ll need to get in line in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday or you’ll not make the cut. The DMV only accepts appointments 90 days out, and those are all booked. So, in reality, unless you get lucky, it’s nearly impossible to secure an appointment.

However, even if you are fortunate enough to get a time, there’s no guarantee you’ll get your business taken care of that day, much less at your scheduled appointment. I recently showed up in advance of my appointment time and was told they likely wouldn’t be able to see me that day and I was then instructed to wait at the end of a line about a block long. Needless to say, I chose not to get at the end of the line. And frankly I’m not sure how, or when, my business will get done at the DMV.

Something else I noticed in my recent trip to the DMV was the increased security presence. I understand why security is necessary, the environment is volatile. Everyone in line is upset and the processors are stressed and worn out from so many unhappy residents. Consequently, there is no customer service. In fact, there’s little compassion for the customer that’s waited in line for hours only to be told they are missing one of many redundant documents.

The system is a powder keg, and something must be done. The entire experience left a bad taste. It also caused me to stop and ponder the difference between services when they are provided by the government versus those provided by non-government entities. I am confident that private business leaders, given the opportunity, can fix this broken system. I’ll even double down and predict it could be done in less than a year. When considering the lost revenue in taxes to the state because the DMV is broken, wouldn’t it make sense for the state to subcontract with private business? This is especially true at a time when we desperately need the income.

Call to Action: Nevadans deserve better than this travesty of a DMV. I realize it may not be easy, but countless private businesses utilize technology and a motivated team to deliver services more complicated than those offered at DMV on a daily basis. And they do it with a smile and a thank you. In the 50- plus years I’ve lived in Nevada, the state government has not been able to fix the DMV. One could assume they either don’t care or are incapable. In either case, the solution is to hand it over to companies that can. It’s absolutely inexcusable that Nevadans can’t get their business done with the state in a timely fashion.

By Whose Authority?

For more information on my Commentary and to see some of my backup research, or if you wonder why I take the position I take, go to www.LyleBrennan.com.

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV) “If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.