I just finished writing a little tonge in cheek essay on my website about the benefits of being able to bribe government officals and it got me thinking about how many people would actually be willing to a pay a bribe, or “express service fee” at the DMV and similarly useless and frustrating government offices in order to get better service or to simply make red tape go away. Since far more people read SDMB than my website I thought I’d do better posting a poll here
So how bout it, if a DMV employee tried to solicit a bribe from you with the promise to have you out the door with your problem solved in minutes instead of hours or weeks, woud you?
Any other situations where you’d be agreeable to paying a government official an express service fee to make the red tape and paperwork just go away?
Or have you actually done this? Tell us about it!
I’m assuming of course that no other laws are being broken, everything’s legit you’re just paying extra to avoid the lines and having to fill out all the forms.
Nope. Everybody should get the same deal with the bureaucracy.
Some societies condone this, and rooting out acceptance of petty corruption is something our neighbor, Mexico, has as a big barrier to improving her citizens’ lot.
Paying your own attorney to help you skip the potholes is a little different.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles has an online appointment logging function that permits you to breeze through in mere minutes. You can often get a slot within days of your login. Not always at the nearest office, but the extra drive is worth it.
Permitting rich people to bypass rubbing shoulders with the plebes stinks. No appointment? Wait with the rest of us mere mortals. Any DMV employee soliciting a bribe would be passed a marked bill by myself and immediately reported to their supervisor.
Well, apparently enough people are willing that it’s a viable business opportunity, at least in New Mexico. I personally refuse to pay extra for something I’m already funding through taxes (and that’s why my kids are in public school, too).
Heck no. See, what you need to do is move to a state with a low population (like say 1.2 million people for example), then when you go to the DMV there’s almost no one there. I don’t think I’ve ever been behind more than 3 people any time I’ve gone to the DMV, and half the time there’s been no line at all.
Yeah, what elfkin477 said. Whether getting a new license, replacing a lost one, or whatever the reason, I’ve never spent more than 30 minutes in the Louisiana DMV.
There is no DMV office in town, so we have to drive to the DMV office in Greater Helium. This is always at least a 90 minute affair. The clerks are all surly, all the time. Shel Silverstein’s Crocodile Dentist had it easier than one of us ordinary Joes waiting in line.
Sure, they have an appointment window. I thought I would be clever and make an appoinment well in advance. But you have to be a dealer, or a person registering 4 or more vehicles at the time.
Hey, thanks for thinking about me, DMV. I truly appreciate your efforts to expedite my experience (so the signage inside the office says).
Oddly, one can drive to the DMV office in Zodanga, and be in and out in 20 minutes. It’s about the same driving time as the other office, but I can drive there, wait in line, do my business, and drive home in less time than I would be waiting in line at the other office.
Granted, the Greater Helium office has much more traffic than the Zodanga office. But at the Zodanga office, If there is a line to the door and only one clerk working, they will open another window to help shorten the line. This does not happen at the other office. If their line reaches the door, they will do nothing, even though they have sufficient clerks on staff to open all five windows.
My common DMV tasks can be taken care of either by mail or at the Zodanga office, so I would not pay an express service fee to be done with it quicker.
There are times when my time is more important than my money, and times when it’s the opposite. I wouldn’t mind being able to choose to spend my time or my money, rather than only having one choice.
I am fortunate to live near the capital city of my state, so I can go to the service center there. They’re usually pretty organized and efficient, and since they’re the main service center, they do everything right there. Last Friday, I needed a duplicate of my registration, and was in and out in about 10 minutes, including waiting and processing time.
I just went to the MVA (MD version of DMV) to change my address. I downloaded the forms, filled them out, went to the MVA perpared for a wait.
I walked in. The place was packed. I told the woman at the desk what wanted, she gave me a number. I walked away, looked up, and my number was on the board. I went to the counter and walked away 5 minutes later, completed.
Looks like the administrative changes queue was empty and you just fell right in at just the right time.
California has a system of several queues - new licenses, renewals, registration, etc. Each has with and without appointment options. Sounds as if MD has a similar setup.
I think elfkin has the answer. I’ve had dealings with 8 different states’ DMVs and of all of them NH has far and away the best service. 8 years in NH didn’t produce a total wait time equal to the shortest visit I ever made to any office of the Mass. DMV.
When I lived just outside of Baltimore, going to the MVA was always something you had to block out half of your day for. Then, the first time I had to go to the MVA here in Cumberland, I had planned hours to be there; imagine the shock when I was in and out in under 15 minutes! Here, no “express fee” would be necessary. There’s never any real wait time involved. But, when I lived in Glen Burnie. . .I wouldn’t have bribed anyone, because it’s not legal or ethical. But if they offered an option of quicker service for a higher fee, I might have considered paying it, depending on how high the fee was.
Wonders if they’ll change the state motto to Live Free or Die…while enjoying quick DMV service!
I wonder though, do other states allow you to register your car at the town hall and pay the DMV fees and get plates there? I’ve only been to the DMV half a dozen or so times, and I’ve been driving for nearly 10 years.
I lived in Maryland for three years. When I moved there, I went in and re-registered my car (to make sure my insurance would be valid – otherwise I’d have kept my registration in my home state). The droid behind the counter almost wouldn’t take my check, because I insisted on writing it to the “MARYLAND Motor Vehicle Administration” instead of the (apparently holy) “Motor Vehicle Administration”. I was dealing with two different state’s motor vehicle departments, and I wanted to keep them straight. Basically, I told her that the only way they were getting my money was if I wrote it the way I wanted. Somehow or other, I prevailed. A minor, but very satisfying, victory over mindless regimentation!
FTR you can also make an appointment by phone (or at least you used to be able to.) Having an appointment is great. All you have to do is log on to the web site and all of a sudden you’re a vip. It’s almost like being a high roller in Vegas. You get to wait in the appointments line–even if you are way early or way late for your appointment. It amazes me that more people don’t do it.
Not in Jefferson Parish you haven’t! It took me HOURS and FOUR trips to get my car registered here, coming from Georgia! Plus the should-be-illegal sales tax payment!
But no, I wouldn’t pay a bribe. That’s just unethical. Even if I could afford it!
For an extra $9 I could pay my car registration online with a credit card - including a smog check logged in two days before by the smogger. No trip necessary. (I didn’t want to pay the extra, but I kept spacing on going in and the fee was about to go up due to lateness.)
