On July 24, every DMV in California will be shut down for a half-day of training, they announced on Monday, June 24.
DMV workers will undergo customer service training and training on the federally mandated REAL ID program.
“We want to equip our employees with some new tools, so they can help customers through the REAL ID transactions. We want them to be empowered to provide better customer service in general, so we are going to instruct them the best practice to deliver the best customer service,” DMV Spokesperson Jaime Garza said.
DMV workers will learn how to communicate REAL ID information effectively and so, DMV workers will work through scenarios and some realistic simulations to offer the DMV workers the best opportunity to help their customers.
After the Department of Homeland Security mandated the REAL ID, California has been working tirelessly, including the DMVs across the state to be ready for this change, not only for themselves, but more importantly for the customers.
“It’s a new process and the DMV is doing their best that everyone is trained and versed on in terms of the REAL ID guidelines and customer service techniques,” Garza stated.
On July 24, DMV staff members across the state of California will undergo the training in the morning of that day and then reopening that same day, around 1 p.m.
“They will also get a tool kit that will allow them to adequately assess the REAL ID process immediately in various field offices,” Garza said.
Interestingly, both customer service reps and management in the DMV came together and both worked on the training that will take place at the end of next month.
“I will tell you this, this is very positive in terms of training,” Garza said. “Employees were involved in both the development of the curriculum and the design of the training session.”
When the federal government changed their minds late in the process, it caused some headache within the California DMV, but the state department has worked hard during the process and have now clarified the process for the community members.
“The DHS gave the DMV updated guidance after we had already started issuing REAL ID licenses and identification. What happened was homeland security basically said that the method that we approve you guys to collect residency documents, but now we changed our mind and you need to collect that up front,” Garza explained. “So, we had to make changes to that originally approved method by which we were collecting the two residency documents and of course now, the DMV is mailing letters to REAL ID cardholders who submitted one proof of residency to verify it, sign and return back to the DMV.
“The DMV aims at improving the customers’ experience within the various field offices. With the mandatory training that was created and designed with the help from employees we see every day, the DMV looks to be more helpful for their customers.
“Our goal is to address wait times, so we can process things much quicker. We can provide information in a much clearer manner because there seems to be some confusion in the public. Part of that is misinformation that is spread through the media. We just had to take care of some this morning in Los Angeles, who didn’t quite get it right. We want our folks to get it right and we want them to help the best we can. We think by providing them the opportunity to train with the tools they need in order to do their job, we should be able to process things much quicker and of course part of that goal is to reduce wait times,” Garza said.