WETHERSFIELD — The state’s Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner says they are committed to improving customer service and are making organizational changes in order to make that happen.
“We are making organizational changes to make the customer experience with us much, much better,” Commissioner Michael Bzdyra said in a statement Monday.
The DMV has been plagued with issues for months, but Bzdyra says he is implementing some “major and agency-wide organizational changes designed to improve customer services across a number of operating units.”
The reasons extend beyond just the recent technology system problems and focus tightly on improving DMV’s services overall to customers while also reviewing operations for efficiency. These changes will be made without additional personnel or increases in DMV’s allocated budget. All changes go into effect on May 16.
“After becoming the Commissioner, I have decided that long-overdue changes are needed now and they would come even without our technology problems seen in the last few months,” Bzdyra said. “We are making organizational changes to make the customer experience with us much, much better than it has been. It’s time for a fresh look at changing old ways of doing things at DMV.”
Bzdyra created a new role, a Chief Operating Officer for the department and appointed Division Chief Jim Rio to the position. He will be expected to coordinate activities of several major divisions to ensure services have a strong focus on customers’ needs and responsiveness to issues that create difficulties in doing business with DMV.
They will also revamp the customer service phone line system. The DMV says they receive at least 2,000 calls a day and want to consolidate and streamline those calls. Bzdyra is also creating a new unit called the Project Management Center of Excellence and an Agency Training and Management Reporting division.
“With these and other changes, we are determined to make this a strong customer-centric organization. And we’re going to do what it takes,” Bzdyra said.