Seriously, do you know anyone who has ever gotten good service at a local Department of Motor Vehicles center? Over the years, husband and I have had our share of frustrating visits in numerous states, but one this week takes the cake.

Daughter was supposed to take her driver’s license test. We had called the Texas DMV when we moved from Wisconsin, and they told us her Wisconsin permit would work here, that she just needed a letter from her old school, stating she had taken the driver’s education course (classroom and behind-the-wheel). We got that, no problem. But daughter and husband show up at the local DMV and are told that won’t work, that she needs an official certificate stating she completed the course. After a bunch of not-so-nice words and an escort by a policeman to a back room, husband and daughter left the DMV sans license.

Come to find out after a few phone calls, daughter’s old school district filed her completion of the course with the Wisconsin DMV, whose electronic records the Texas DMV has access to. Unfortunately, the Texas DMV leaves it up to individual DMV offices as to whether they accept it that way. And our local office apparently refuses to get with the rest of society, who knows how to use a computer. So, daughter is stuck with trying to find another area DMV office that will look it up on the computer. And, since no DMV office actually answers its phones, that means a totally separate trip just to find that out and then schedule an appointment to take the driving test. Or she can get a Texas permit and wait another six months to try to get her license. Nice options, huh?

Fine, fine use of our tax dollars, the DMV is.