Department of Motor Vehicles

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, July 11, 2019

Contact: 
Lisa Koumjian
[email protected]
Tim O’Brien
[email protected]

DMV STREAMLINES TICKETING PHONE SYSTEM TO SAVE CUSTOMERS TIME

Improvements Part of Initiative to Improve Customer Service;
Time Callers Spend on Phone Cut By Two-Thirds

The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV)  today announced customers are saving time thanks to a recent streamlining of the phone lines for the department’s Ticketing office and the addition of a new callback feature. These changes are only one part of a number of initiatives under DMV’s Lean Initiative to improve how the agency does business with its customers who received tickets returnable to the Traffic Violations Bureau – so now, customers calling to enter a plea, schedule a hearing or pay a fee spend less time on the phone. 

“These positive changes are just one part of DMV’s ongoing efforts to streamline its operations to ensure motorists receive the best customer service and support possible,” said DMV Commissioner Mark Schroeder. “I commend our Ticketing team for their hard work and commitment in helping our agency deliver results in a faster, more efficient way.”

DMV’s Ticketing office receives approximately 200,000 incoming phone calls per year. Prior to the project changes, those calls were routed to one of six separate units, via multiple lines and channels, across two locations in Brooklyn and Albany. The calls were routed based on customer responses to prompts within an automated system. This meant customers had to be redirected between different representatives following a long series of prompts.

Ticketing related calls from motorists are now handled via one phone line in Albany, (718) 488-5710. The effort shortened the average time that customers interact with the automated phone response system from four-and-a-half minutes to 90 seconds. The rate of calls being transferred within or outside the office has dropped by nearly 50 percent, also reducing customer wait times and frustration.

The most popular improvement to come out of this project has been the Ticketing office’s new callback option, with more than half of callers now choosing to have a DMV staff member return their call rather than wait on the phone. This new feature further reduces frustration among callers by providing an estimated wait time.

The Ticketing phone unit has increased the total number of calls they answer by 3 percent. DMV has also benefitted from significant cost savings by eliminating the $64,000 in rent payments made each year for its Brooklyn Call Center location. The changes have reduced staff costs by approximately 5 percent, while allowing for the hiring of additional Spanish language representatives to better serve a more diverse range of customers.

Originating in the Japanese manufacturing industry, Lean is a method for creating a more effective business by eliminating wasteful practices and improving efficiency. Under DMV’s Lean Initiative, 130 processes have been reviewed and improved to date. The majority of these projects achieved a 40 percent improvement or better in the time to get products or services back to a customer after a request (referred to as “cycle time”), as well as reductions in rejection rates and other inconveniences to the customer. DMV continues to examine more processes for the opportunity to eliminate waste and improve the customer experience.

To learn more about the NYS DMV, visit dmv.ny.gov, or follow the DMV conversation online at Facebook and Twitter.

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