Poor service and long wait at the traffic department

I WAS at the traffic department on January 8 and 9 to renew my driver’s licence.

I arrived at the traffic department at 6am, only to find a long queue. I eventually left at 11am. There was only two or three eye-testing consultants and after a while one left.

By 8am the queue was out of the door.

We got shouted at by a very rude woman dressed in a blue dress. She never introduced herself. She was so rude to the people who had been sitting in the line since 6am.

I quote her words: “If you don’t like the way we manage our lines you can leave.”

Because of her we were pushed back even further by people who had failed their eye tests the day before, then they went to an optometrist and paid for their eyes to be tested – they were pushed right to the front of the line.

Never mind us people who had been waiting for more than two hours in the line.

We all were very upset at how this woman spoke to her customers, whoever she was.

The problem I noticed with the traffic department is there is a lot of a buddy-buddy system going on there. The staff are unfriendly, and no prices or instructions are given.

The traffic department of Port Elizabeth is just one big mess.

What made me even more upset was this woman pushed the people who had failed their tests the day before into the front of the line, but when it comes to paying for your licence everyone lands up getting stuck at the cashiers anyway.

There were five tills, but only three were open up until 10am.

Then one cashier went off on her tea break for 30 minutes and no-one filled her space.

The other two cashiers served the customers and the other two tills were closed.

My driver’s licence expires in January and I had to go to the traffic department – I had no other way.

My response to the woman who shouted at us: the way you talk to people is totally disgusting and you should not be in the business of offering a customer service.

Athol Trollip, please send a business analyst to assist the traffic department to make some sense out of the mess that is happening there.

People can’t go to sit there for a whole day to renew their driver’s licences.

Yes, you are assisting people, which is true, but the traffic department needs help.

Why doesn’t it have two tills open for renewal of licences and two tills open for other payments?

Surely in this day and age queues should be a thing of the past.

Mr Trollip, please do something and specifically help the people who take ID photos outside.

They also need a place where they can run their legal business from.

Pauline Slater, Port Elizabeth

I NOTICED from statistics that the second most common traffic offence, after speeding, is driving without a valid driver’s licence. That is not surprising. I have tried three times since December 12 to renew mine, without success and after being treated like dirt by the officials at these centres.

I have now given up my efforts and from the end of January I will be joining those driving without a valid driver’s licence card.

I will cancel the insurance on my cars and face the music in court if I am ever apprehended.

Seun Gerber, Summerstrand, Port Elizabeth