There’s often not a line, but you’ll still need a number for service at the Haines DMV office.
“Nemo-Q,” a computerized service system, came online at the Main Street office in late March, and at other offices around the state, said Regina Rioux, Haines customer service representative.
The system requires customers to use a touch-screen computer to register their transaction, then a customer number automatically prints out. A suspended, electronic sign shows which number is being served.
It wasn’t well received. “At the beginning, people weren’t happy about it. There was even a little profanity under the breath of some of the old-timers, but once you show them how to use the machine, they’re a little more open to it,” Rioux said.
Rioux said the purpose of the machines in small offices like Haines is to track customer use, and those numbers could help keep the local office open. The system costs her time, though, particularly when customers forget to register their transaction.
Rioux, who started on the job in January, said numbers of daily customers in the office can go as high as 30-something and drop as low as three. To avoid a wait, the best time to come seems to be on Thursdays, in winter, during snowstorms, she said.