RMV

Someone tell the Easthampton RMV that they’re not Social Security Administration office. You know– being turned down the first time you come in. No I’m not on SSI. I just heard many bad things about it. Getting back to the subject of Easthampton RMV. I walked in with my T’s crossed and my I’s dotted having gone to the official website of RMV to learn of everything I needed. That still wasn’t good enough for this location. To tell me my checklist was wrong (without looking) when I printed it straight from the official RMV website. Also, to tell me I probably don’t have everything I need without even looking at what I have. (I didn’t speak rude to you. Having a bad day dear? It’s still the morning.) Then when they finally called my number and I tell them what I’m there for and they rolled their eyes at me. Then I heard again you probably don’t have everything you’re supposed to have. Do they train their employees to be rude? Is everyone having a bad day? Could it be negativity permeates from the manager to the employees in this joint? Is this a reflection of all Massachusetts RMV’s? Yes, I talk too much at times. In any case they need a lesson in how to be more businesslike. Unless, at this location they really DO NOT want your business. Maybe they just all want to go home, go to bed, and pull the covers over their head. Dream dream come my way and dream of a better day!

Wow … I’ve done the RMV/​DMV thing in 5 states I’ve lived in. This was the worst. Went online and filled out the forms. Scheduled appointments. They advise you to arrive 10 – 15 minutes early so we did. Asked the person at the ticket desk whether I had to wait in line for my appointment. She said they didn’t have appointments and I should get in line. Waited 30 minutes in line to get a number. 45 minutes later finally get to the counter to get my license switched to MA. California was almost as bad back in 1998 but with the changes in technology you think that things could work better now.
The clerk that I ultimately dealt with was very nice but whomever runs the branch isn’t running things well.

I have a road test in a week and a half at the easthampton rmv. has anyone passed with «failing Phil» as an instructor? Or should I really consider switching locations?

If you plan on taking a road test here, don’t. Like the others, I got «failing Phil.» Rude inside and out. My sponsor and I arrived LITERALLY two hours early (our test was scheduled for 3 PM, we got there at 1 PM). I don’t know why the employees here are so miserable. In a way, I feel bad for them. It must be the pay – it can’t be that good, because if it was livable or in any way decent or humane, the person who received us would not have coldly told us to «check the board outside» for instructions on where to go next with our documents… even though she could have spent 1.5 seconds telling us the answer… though I suppose that would entail using her speech organs in a manner that DOESN’T involve breathing fire and meanness out of her nostrils.
A cloud of misery and disdain hangs over this RMV. It is very obvious the moment you walk in. The air is pretty much damp from the crappy attitude. My sponsor and I were made to wait for fifteen minutes because someone was fixing the motherboard of a laptop, even though «failing Phil» saw me. He rudely told me «just give me a minute» twice, each time in a more annoyed and condescending tone than the last, even though I was just standing there silently and politely, waiting for the IT guy to finish up his work. I didn’t ask him, didn’t antagonize him. He has a real crappy attitude toward the customers there.
After a long, long time of waiting, «failing Phil» instructs me and my sponsor to park in their special parking lot for the road test. Simple enough. We do so, and wait for him to come out. He does, and informs us that our brake light is broken, and that we need to get it fixed before he can administer the test. This is fair. No complaints there. I am peeved, however, that he told us he wouldn’t administer the test if we didn’t fix it by 2 PM (by now it is ~1:45 PM). WTF?! We got there two hours early; we had a good hour or so left on our schedule, and «failing Phil» clearly had nothing else/​better to do. Whatever.
We get the brake lights fixed. Go back. I take the road test, and guess what, «failing Phil» fails me. To be honest, it was my fault – I didn’t know my hand signals. That I will admit is my own failure. But «failing Phil» seemed to take pleasure out of my failure, and he was rude and callous in informing me of it.
The people at this RMV are miserable downers, and I wouldn’t wish anyone to take their road test here. Please, for the love of God, don’t take your road test here. Take it somewhere else. And you know what? I don’t really blame «failing Phil» for being the way he is. It must really suck to work at an RMV because that’s when you know your life is stuck in a dead-​end rut for the rest of your miserable, pitiful existence.

All complaints against RMV must be filed in writing.
Persons wishing to file a complaint against a driving school or driving school instructor must do so in writing. Written complaints should contain the following basic information:
*Complainants name, address and contact number.
*Name and address of the driving school the complaint is against.
*If the complaint is against a driving school instructor, the name of the instructor and driving school the instructor is employed by.
*The nature of the complaint.
Complainants will be contacted by a Registry of Motor Vehicles representative within 7 days from receipt of the complaint. Complaints may be forwarded by mail, facsimile or e-​mail to the following:
Mail:
Registry of Motor Vehicles
Driver Licensing Section
P.O. Box 55 889
Boston, MA 2 205‑5889
Facsimile:
857−368−0820
E-​mail:

There was a time that this RMV was quick, efficient, and friendly. Now, they cook their wait times by making you wait to take a number. Instead of hanging out and reading until they get to you, you revisit the pain of your first RMV experience, where you wait for hours to get to an exhausted, angry employee who tells you that you need to get a different form and then wait in line again.
I’ve been waiting for 15 minutes just to get a number to wait. The wait advertised on the site is 27 minutes. We’ve literally moved forward three people since we got here and there are still four ahead of us.
Once we get to the head of the line, we’ll find out how long we have to wait.

Normally a visit to the RMV is trying at best. This branch appears to be well managed and we got right to the countet both times will little wait.

They literally drove me to tears. I am a new resident to both Easthampton and Ma. I came from the west coast and tried to register my vehicle and get my drivers licence. They would not accept my pink slip and made me send for a new one that is costing me over 100.00 plus additional wait time and I can not drive until I have my car registered here which will take more than 9 weeks and it is a hardship but they do not care. They could have contacted the DMV or ran the VIN to check my proof of ownership rather than be lazy and cost me more money. They’re mean and rude too. REALLY EVIL. I will never go back there again. I plan to go to the Grreenfield office when I get my title n the mail.

I would never return to this rmv. My driving school brought me here to take a road test, and I had Phil, or as they call him, «failing Phil». Either route on which he will take you is a trap set up to prevent people from receiving their license. If you turn left out of the parking lot, you will enter a school zone almost immediately, and if you do not slow down to 20 mph regardless if school is in session or not, he will fail you. When coming back, you enter the main road after the school zone sign, so there is no warning of it. I failed my test because I sped up while entering a 30 mph stretch. If you turn right out of the parking lot, he will take you down a road with a double stop sign, another one of his tricks. He is rude, condescending, and despite the fact that he should be more understanding since he has a child with special needs, he does not tolerate any mistakes. I was warned of the school zone and I made an effort to go a reasonable speed, but he failed me anyways. I would never return to this rmv, or Phil, and I hope every one of you decided to take your business elsewhere instead, such as Chicopee, springfield, Westfield, or anywhere other than easthampton.

Warning: Avoid taking the road test here at all costs !
Roads in Easthampton are fairly horrible. their roundabout’s more like a triangular road. Their roads are generally not conducive to a road test.
I had taken a road test at Greenfield previously, and the person there was far more respectful than the rude employee, Phil, at this Easthampton branch.
I later found out that he had been transferred from the Greenfield branch because he had so many bad complaints against him, on his rudeness, and excessive ‘driving standards’. It turns out that the Greenfield RMV had blatantly lied to everyone who complained, saying that they fired him, when in fact they only transferred him so that those who don’t know better can continue suffering at this nasty man’s hands.
His ‘driving standards’ consist of being entirely picky on all the tiniest details, even mistakes which only exist, twisted, in his mind. He gets annoyed at every single thing & person, including himself.
Simply put, this is a man whose aim in life is to make everyone else more miserable than him. One of the nastiest & most miserable man I’ve ever encountered.

Thrill to the possibility of reclaiming your youth by visiting this RMV, as time flows backwards with the confines of this building. Your entire perception of time itself will be re-​calibrated when you start to discern individual milliseconds, each more unpleasant than the last. Additionally, you will realize there is no need to be pleasant or polite, as the employees here have already discovered.

Omg the wait is crazy take forever !! on a weekday 1−2hrs wait this is unbelievable. Northampton or hadley need to open up another rmv seriously :(

I waited 4 HOURS at this place to register my camper. Its goes in a A, B, C, fashion with a number after your letter being called. I was an A. They stopped calling A at 12:00 to 2:30 for the people to go to lunch. Wow I mean come on nobody else does registrations there? You have to take a full day off work to come here. People that got there at 2:00 were pulling tickets that had estimated wait times longer then this place is even open too. Complete mismanagement, and waste.

No way will I ever walk into this RMV again. Rude service. Long waits. I had to over hear a rude employee (the retired cop with a chip on his shoulder) who gives the on road tests speaking condescendingly to a woman and young man who came in for the young man’s on road test. It was so painful to hear how rude this man was to her. And he spoke to her loudly so that all waiting could hear it. Aweful! Worst business in Western Mass.

It took two visit to the RMV to convert my CT license into an MA license. Here’s the story:
My wife and I stopped by the Easthampton RMV branch on Wednesday 11/​13/​2013 to convert our CT drivers licenses into MA licenses — a process that we assumed would be simple and easy to do.
When we arrived there were about 30 people waiting for service. There is no one there who can answer questions and the information posted (on the wall) is rather limited.
I was issued ticket number B113 by the self-​service ticket kiosk at 12:09 p.m. The ticket also said that my estimated wait time would be 21 minutes.
At about 1 p.m. I walked back into the waiting room to see that only 2 of the 6 desks were in service.
At 1:20 pm., after waiting over an hour we couldn’t wait any longer so we left, without having our numbers called.
When I got home I went on the RMV web site and learned that its actually possible to schedule your visit to the RMV for some transactions! This seems to be a secret that the RMV does not want you to know, since they don’t tell you anything about scheduling a visit until you have completed an on-​line application.
I completed an on-​line application and scheduled my time for 11 am on Tuesday 11/​19/​2013.
I arrived the the RMV (for the 2^nd visit) at about 10:45 am and registered at the kiosk. I was issues ticket number V100 and I sat down to wait.
At just about 11 am my number came up — right on schedule. Yea!
I went to the desk and the clerk started the process to convert my CT license to an MA license. The process took about ten minutes and I left with my MA temporary license
I’m hopeful that my official license will arrive soon.
:
BOTTOM LINE:
Do not go to the RMV unless you have completed an the on-​line application and scheduled an appointment — unless you have lots of extra time to sit around a wait to be called.

I don’t think I will use this RMV again. I waited FOREVER. Eileen was very helpful. It was more the environment that made it suck. Their computer systems were down for the photos and they kept coming up and down. So when they were down they sent people away and told them just to walk up to the desk, which kinda caused chaos. I know this isn’t a normal issue but it sucked and my photo didn’t turn out well… But since there was such a bad mob of people behind me… I didn’t ask for a retake and I just wanted to leave. Also, chairs are these AWFUL hard benches so everyone is uncomfortable and sardined. Keep in mind the parking lot is PACKED try the West lot…

The service is so outrageously bad at this branch that I felt compelled to add the business into Unilocal directory (wasn’t already in there) and write a review. I went 3 times to this branch and each time it was a progressively worse experience with deplorable customer service. The first time I took a number like everyone else, waited the 2+ hours (no joke), met with a woman (desk #6) and explained that I needed some questions answered. Having just moved back to MA from 5.5 years in CA, I had a bunch of things I needed sorted – license, plates, registration, title, etc. and since they don’t have a customer information desk with a human being there to help (only a make-​shift sandwich board with some forms), I expected her to help me. As soon as I explained that I had questions she was practically on to the next. I had 5 or so questions and she listened to 3 and said «Now that I’ve answered your questions, I’m going to call the next person in line» and proceeded to press the button that signaled the PA system to call the next number. I was brushed off, I felt totally unimportant and what I wished I’d said was –I waited my turn like everyone else, now I’m here and do me the favor of treating me like a human being and extending me the courtesy of answering my freakin’ questions! Instead, because the next person had been called in and was already chatting with the woman, I left.
On my 2^nd visit I arrived early, waited less (the key is to get there early and stake out a seat by the door), got to a different woman there (desk#1) who not only scolded me for taking 2 tickets – oh yeah, for everyone who’s been doing that, and I *didn’t* the first time, but after seeing and hearing people say that you should take 1 ticket per item (a license ticket and a ticket for registration, etc.) depending on what different requisites you’re looking to fulfill on that given day, I took 2 the second time (one for license and 1 for registration) and the lady bitched me out. Here I am thinking, well then PUT UP A SIGN that reads, «TAKE ONE TICKET ONLY»; it would take less than a minute, easy. Then she proceeded to tell me that I was lacking proof that i’d paid my sales tax. Well, I have a letter from the financing company that states the car was «PAID IN FULL” – not good enough, I need to wrangle some document from the Dept. of Revenue in CA stating as much. I was livid, why hadn;t the first lady told me this. It wasn’t on my list of questions, it wasn’t even something I knew to ask. So I asked her what document *precisely* do I need to request (from another freaking state-​run department) so that I can be sure I’m getting the right thing? She didn’t know. Nice.
3^rd visit –just this morning. Saw a new woman (desk #3). I explained I needed to sort my license and registration, she said license first and asked if i had the necessary documents. I told her «I hope so, I’ve been here three times» she replied «After three times I would hope so too, either that or you’re a slow learner.» Are you serious?!! I replied, «*OR*, you people just aren’t doing your jobs properly… I waited in line and when I got – » right about here she cut me off and said «okay, okay okay». OKAY? No, not okay, lady. Then we got to the registration, turns out, I didn’t even need the damned proof of taxes paid (I ended up just bringing the bill of sale with the taxes itemized on there and the very same letter from the financing office stating the car was «Paid In Full»). Turns out that the car was considered mine from the get-​go because I was financing… Nice. I bit my tongue, and refrained from telling her that she just proved what I’d suspected – that at least the last 2 people I’d seen were incompetent. The rest of the interaction went fairly smoothly, she explained I’d be getting my new license in the mail, I gathered up all my paperwork and went to «The Lift» salon across the hall to get my hair bleached on a whim. I get home only to discover I can’t find my title. Since the phone number for this DMV is automated there’s NO human to help. I drive all the way back, I walk right up to the same woman, and, panic-​stricken, explain that yes, my hair is different, but I was just in this morning and did I leave my title there accidentally? She said «yes,» and I’m instantly relieved, and then she says «We’re going to send you a new one.» What? She never told me she was taking it, nor explained a new one would be issued. Despite all this I’m still so relieved I’m not even registering that I should be angry, and as I turn to leave she says, «Don’t worry, you’re blonde now so you’re allowed to be ditzy». Are you f*cking serious?! I’d expect a misogynistic comment like this from a man, but from a woman?! I would only go back to this branch to lodge a complaint. I know DMVs are notorious for being inefficient places, but I’m shocked at how miserable the people who work @ this one are. People go there for help, not to be treated like dirt.