I just had the most shocking experience.  I went to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles office in Stafford County and had an incredibly good, efficient and speedy time getting my new drivers license.  It reminded me that with all of this talk of government 2.0, transparency and making government more open that the average citizen doesn't care about any of that. 

 

The average citizen wants to get what he needs from his government fast and without any hassle.  In the end, good government still starts at the tax office, DMV, police cruiser and 911 center cause that's where most citizens meet their government the most.  We can't forget that in our rush to transform government it needs to start with the average customer.

 

My experience today showed it all so clearly.  I started by going to the DMV Now site where I found the forms I would need to fill out as a recently retired military officer with an out of state license.  Another form told me what documents I would need to bring along to get approved.  They have just added a step-by-step walk through, with videos, of how the process at DMV works so there is no doubt what you must do.

 

I drove up to the office and found exactly what the site expected.  The lady at the info desk was friendly and complimented me on doing my homework before coming up.  I was issued a number and given a clipboard and pen to fill out my forms.  The electronic system for tracking customers was working perfectly and within 10 minutes I was at a window with a nice lady who was able to type furiously while carrying on a pleasant conversation about the high pollen count.

 

Signed some forms, got my picture taken (disappointed she was unable to make me look thinner but its all good) and I was on my merry way in under 10 minutes with everything done, my temporary license in my pocket and cheerful farewells from the info lady and security guard. 

 

Guess what?  I have maybe dealt with the Virginia state government three times in the three years I have lived here and I think they are a darn fine government right now.  After 26 years in various uniforms I have dealt with a lot of DMV offices and no one came close to being as efficient and squared away as the one I hit today.

 

As I drove home it hit me.  All this talk about Government 2.0, data mashups, open gov...etc.  Its all good but for the average person they really don't give a flip about it.  They will never touch an application for data mashup that tells them where water chlorine counts are mixed with fluoridation levels and layered on top of nitrogen counts in the tree samples.  They just want their license without having to take an entire day off of work only to find out they didn't bring the right form.

 

Its important that those of us who obsess about these new tools and databases remember that in the end good government is still a ground game first.  If we want happy citizens we need to start where the rubber meets the road with good customer service and smiling faces in tough situations.