Posted by Christopher Stevenson
I just returned from my lunch hour, which was spent in line at the Wisconsin Department of Motor Vehicles satellite office renewing my driver's license and license plate. The satellite office opened at 11:30 a.m.; by the time I arrived at 11:45, there were 20 or so people waiting in line, but the line kept moving. There were only two staff members working the office, but they kept the pace up and, before I knew it, I was at the front of the line. Now, if a quickly moving line was the end of the story, I wouldn't be writing a post about it. There's more to it.
My license plates expired at the end of June. No excuses, I forgot to send in my renewal. I had to pay $10 extra because I failed to renew on time. When the DMV staffer behind the counter handed me my registration, he pointed to its expiration date and said, "See that date? Remember it and you'll save ten bucks next year." Granted, his approach to providing sound advice on personal finance was a bit gruff, but I can't argue with his message.
Here's the snag I have. In the past, when I've overdrawn my checking account and had overdraft protection kick in (not a habit of mine, but it has happened), I've never had a teller tell me how I could avoid it in the future. Not once. Not at banks. Not at credit unions. Sure, they've transfered the funds and charged me 15 or 20 bucks for the service, but they haven't tried to educate me. No one has ever asked if I'd like help figuring out where I made mistakes. Why is that? Because it's not a chronic problem for me? Are they afraid to draw attention to what we both know--that I've flubbed up my check ledger somewhere? Or is it member service apathy?
It's a sad day when I can walk out of the DMV and feel like the DMV guy cares more about my finances than the credit union. And in an era where for-fee services like discretionary overdraft protection programs are under increasing scrutiny, credit unions that don't do something to help their members avoid going into the red are going to lose their reputation for looking out for the little guy.
Don't let the Wisconsin DMV show you up.
