DMV’s kiosks greeted with mixed emotions

Lynn Doan

Friday, June 4, 2004 | 9:17 a.m.

In the corner of the Henderson DMV offices, hidden from the lines of customers enduring an estimated two-hour wait, two newly installed self-service kiosks stood largely unused Thursday.

Just steps away from Department of Motor Vehicles Director Ginny Lewis, who was introducing the machines to the media, office clerks attempted to coax reluctant customers out of line to use the kiosks instead.

Perhaps customers had reason to be wary.

Nancy, 65, a Henderson resident who declined to offer her last name, gave up her spot in line when a clerk explained that she could use a kiosk to renew her registration, the only service the machine provides right now.

"They even asked if I would be interested in appearing on television while using it," Nancy said.

It was a good thing for the DMV that Nancy refused the TV appearance because, minutes later, the kiosk's monitor advised her that it would be unable to process the transaction.

In trouble-shooting situations like these, Lewis said customers would be able to talk to a technician specifically assigned to assist kiosk users.

Sure enough, a technician arrived on the scene and handed Nancy a numbered ticket to wait in another line.

Linda Van Tilborg, the Henderson DMV office manager, said technicians are only present to assist customers in the basic functions of the kiosks.

When a customer gets an error message like Nancy's, technicians are only able to offer a spot in the faster DMV line and put the machine out of service until a repairman arrives to fix it.

"I spent a few minutes trying on the machine, and then I ended up back in line where I started," said Nancy, who said she might as well have skipped the kiosk altogether.

"Plus, the kiosks don't take checks," she said.

Myrna Sheets, 68, who was considering the kiosks, overheard Nancy and asked, "They don't take checks? Then I'm dead because that's all I use."

Sheets, who lives in Henderson, said she never carries cash on her and doesn't trust the kiosks with credit cards.

Meanwhile, Lewis boasted the fact that Nevada's kiosks were the only ones in the country to accept cash and credit cards.

Kiosks in Indiana and Virginia DMV offices don't take cash but do accept checks and credit cards.

"We know that there's a huge cash-customer population in Las Vegas that is unique to Nevada because of the gaming industry," Lewis said. "So we needed to find an alternative for them."

In fact, she said a third of the DMV's transactions are paid in cash.

Some customers couldn't leave the line because the kiosks don't offer the services they needed.

For example, Megan Hernandez, 19, was unable to use the kiosk to renew her driver's license.

"I only come to the DMV for license stuff, and it always takes really long," said the Henderson resident, who said she has waited as long as three hours during earlier visits. "So it would be nice for the kiosks to help with more than just registration."

Virginia's kiosks allow customers to renew their driver's license as well as vehicle registration.

Nevada kiosks are expected to handle late registration renewals by July, and Lewis said she'd also like to see the machines handle license renewals, driving records, and insurance reinstatements.

But even then, Mark Wilkerson, 47, said he would use the DMV Web site to handle most of his simple transactions.

"The machines are kind of redundant," the Henderson resident said. "You can do all these things online, so that the papers come in the mail."

Lewis said the differences between renewing registrations online and at a kiosk is that kiosk users can use cash and receive their documents and stickers immediately. Meanwhile, online users must use credit cards and have to wait for their license decals and paperwork until days later.

In addition to the kiosks, Lewis said, the DMV is looking into other ways to decrease the wait time for customers, including more extensive online services and hiring additional clerks.

For example, this month, Lewis said, the Henderson offices will be adding 20 new employees.