Good People at California DMV & OMG!

This blog posting is a bit off the business path. Today my 15 year old daughter, Gabi, got her drivers permit. A new adventure in parenting and the reason for my OMG in the title. (for those without the teen lingo OMG = OH MY GOD!)

It's an exciting and scary time in my home. While I look forward to the day when Gabi can drive me home from a dinner party where I won't monitor my wine consumption, it's pretty scary to watch your "baby" drive a motor vehicle that is capable of going 100+ MPH. This is a new chapter in my parenting book!

In my feeble attempt to make this relevant to the blogging world, I will say the folks at DMV were great! First of all the appointment system makes all the difference in visiting the DMV. You show up at your designated time and within 10 minutes you are going about your business. That's better than what I get at my doctors office!

Last week when we showed up for our appointment, Gabi didn't do so well. She missed 10 on her written test, thereby giving us the opportunity to visit again! The man who graded her test was truly empathetic. As you can imagine, a 15 year old who already waited an extra month to get her permit still walked out without it. It wasn't pretty. To top things off my Mercedes, once again, malfunctioned and were stranded in the parking lot afterwards, but that's another story.

Today Gabi passed with flying colors. We were fortunate to get the same man who graded her test last time. He remembered her and seemed genuinely pleased that she passed this time. Everyone we dealt with was pleasant, friendly and empathic to a teenager visiting the DMV for the first time (or second).

All in all the DMV experience was better than many of my consumer experiences. California must be doing something right to hire employees that appear to be interested in your needs and willing to serve.

And thanks to their efforts (and hers), I have the adventure of driving with a teenager. Wish me luck!