Start With A Win - You're not going to believe what happened on my trip to the DMV.

Episode Date: May 17, 2023

I had to go to the DMV, and thought... this is going to take my whole day, ugh ☹. If this is the way you feel about going to the DMV, then you will want to listen to this experience and take away the lessons to incorporate into your own business!Huge business and personal EQ lessons in this episode.  As I reflect on my experience at the DMV, I keep finding myself wishing that other companies and businesses were more like the.... DMV. Weird to day! Main Topics03:42 Mindset is everything!04:00 Why give your contact information?10:06 Business lessons from the DMV??? (Department of Motor Vehicle)10:43 The best customer (obsessed) experience13:18 Ease of doing business14:49 Welcoming experience15:29 Care…personalize your customer’s experience17:00 Are you collaboratively working with your customers?17:55 Do your customers have THIS DMV experience? Connect with Adam: http://www.startwithawin.comhttps://www.facebook.com/AdamContosCEOhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/adamcontos/https://www.instagram.com/adamcontosceo/https://www.youtube.com/@LeadershipFactoryhttp://twitter.com/AdamContosCEO  Listen, rate, and subscribe!Apple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle Podcasts 

Hey, I just went to the DMV, and you're not going to believe what happened to me there. Let's find out. Welcome to Start With a Win, where we talk franchising, leadership, and business growth. Let's go. And coming to you from Area 15 Ventures, Start With a Win headquarters. It's Adam Kantos here. And I'm here to talk to you today about my business experience of going to the DMV. I learned a lot of business lessons in this, and this is very pertinent to 2023.

So let me give you a little bit of background, first of all, on why I went to the DMV and what's been going on at the DMV so that you have a little bit of clarity for this perspective. First of all, why did I go to the DMV? I bought a car. I bought a new Bronco. It's such a cool vehicle. It's got 35-inch tires, and I'm kind of an off-road geek and things like that. So I thought, I'm going to buy a Bronco. But I had to buy it from Michigan. So I bought it from an out-of-state dealer. I'm in Colorado. There's a lot of different paperwork from state to state, bureaucracy, things like that, who pays who taxes, all of that nonsense. So it was a little bit of a challenging situation. So it was called an out-of-state dealer purchase is what I was going to do. It was interesting how they dealt with these problems that I seemingly had that seemed like a little bit of a pain in the butt, but it was fascinating. Now what's been

going on at the DMV as a little bit of backstory there is there was an election. This is the clerk and recorder's office. There was an election. We have a new clerk and recorder as of the first of the year. So you would think, okay, there's going to be some chaos, some change, things like that. It was pleasant. Also background. Last time I went to the DMV, it was like trying to bail out of jail. It was like trying to bail out of jail. I was sitting in, I can tell you this because I've worked in a jail before and seen how the bailout part goes. We were sitting in these hard plastic chairs or just, you know, horrible situation. And the room full of people, everybody took a number, one of those little paper numbers,

and they had the little display board up on the wall and it said, now serving. And it'd be like 24 and you're like number 326 or something like that. And you're going, oh, this is going to take all day. So no appointments, nothing like that. Here's what happened when I just went to the DMV here. Where I live in Douglas County, Colorado, we have a new clerk and recorder. She's fantastic, has done a heck of a job with the leadership here. And I'm going to tell you why. So I go to the DMV and I actually make an appointment and I changed it three times because it took forever for Michigan to mail me all my information.

So I kept signing up for an appointment thinking I'm going to get my stuff. Didn't show. So it eventually shows up. I have an appointment. I go into the DMV 3 PM appointment. Okay. I parked my truck across the street from the building. The DMV is located in a government building where you go in and there's a lobby where everybody's trying to figure out where to go. There's a security guard and stuff like that. And then there's rooms with like driver's license and the click and recorder where you get your license plates, which is where I was going and like where you can go pay your taxes and some other stuff like that. So government building, I get out of my truck at five to three. So 3.00 PM appointment, I get on my truck at five to three. I'm thinking,

great, I'm going to go, I'll be here till at least five. Right? So, uh, last time I was at the DMV, it took a good hour and a half to two hours or so to get through it. And I just had, I had my backpack. I literally took my backpack and a drink and some protein bars and stuff like that. I'm, it's like, I'm going on a hike or going to climb a mountain or something like that to go to the DMV. And this is interesting because I planned on a bad experience. I really did. I had my mindset, this is going to be a bad experience. I get out of my truck and they sent me this link that when I made my appointment, it kept reminding me.

I gave them my phone number and my email address. A lot of people don't give their phone number and email address to these different things. Give it to them. I'm here to tell you, give it to them. It's for a reason. And it's so they can continue to remind you because they want you to have a good experience at these places. So I give them my information and I'm thinking, okay, now what? Hop out of my truck. It says, check in your appointments now. So I hit check in and says, we're waiting for you. Like what? And it tells me go to room 143, desk four. Thinking, oh, I better hurry. Cause I'm like across the street. So five till three, 2 55 PM in Colorado here, I'm boogieing across the street and I go in the government building.

And sure enough, there's people standing everywhere and there's a security guard and there's, you know, TV screens with go to this place for that. And here's the bathroom and all this other stuff. And this lady standing there had the lanyard and a little ID around her neck. She's like, what are you looking for? And I said, I'm looking for room 143, desk four, because I'm here for my appointment. She goes, oh, it's right over there. And I'm looking for room 143, desk four, because I'm here for my appointment. She goes, oh, it's right over there. And I'm thinking, oh, thank you. This is helpful already.

I was greeted at the door with somebody. So I round the corner to room 143. And this is kind of a clinical area. It's a government building, for crying out loud. There's nothing special about it. We're building on the inside, OK? And I look in. I've been there before. I know what to expect. There's a bunch of people sitting in chairs waiting. And then there's a thing on the wall that says this person's up at this window, this person's up at this window, this, you know, so on and so forth.

Straight ahead of me as I go in is, is window four, desk four, whatever it is. And they're like these desks, these cubicles, and there's like this plexiglass thing that you can talk to this person at. Then there's like a credit card reader and all sorts of signage. You know how there's like a million signs every place in a government building. So I walk up and I see these employees. There's nobody sitting at the chair there to serve me. And I see this lady back talking to one of her colleagues and they're smiling and laughing. They're back at the printer, probably 10, 15 feet away. And she sees me and walks up and she goes, oh, you must be Adam. I'm like, how did you know?

And she goes, because you have an appointment. And I'm like, oh, she goes out of state plates, huh? And I go, or out of state transfer or purchase. And I go, yeah. I hand her my driver's license and I hand her all my paperwork. And I had gone online and it said to do all these different things to get your license plates for an out-of-state purchase, such as like a VIN verification and a bunch of different, where's your taxes going and bring your insurance and all this other stuff you do at the DMV. So I hand her my big packet of information and she looks at my driver's license and it said I had been in the military in these teeny tiny letters that you can hardly read on it. And she instantly says, thank you for your service. I'm like, what? She goes, yeah,

we also have military license plates if you'd like those. And I'm like, oh, I have those on my other vehicle. Sure. I'll take a look at that. So, um, she goes, well, if you're going to want military license plates right behind you is a, um, on the wall, it says military license plate application. I'm thinking, great. I have to fill out more paperwork. So I grabbed this thing and it was like five things, my name, address, phone number, vehicle information, stuff like that. Very simple and straightforward. And then check the box, what branch of the military we're in. So I grabbed one of those, fill it out and hand it to her also. And she goes, oh, okay, great. We're all set. And does a few things, makes some magic, says, here's how much money your plates are. And I write a check and hand it to her. I said, I was supposed to write my phone number on there, wasn't I? Because there's a thing on the window that says, write your phone number on your check. And I didn't do it. She's

like, I'll take care of that. So she writes her, um, my phone number on my check and hands me my new temporary tag. Cause it's going to take a while to ship me my military plates, hands me the registration, hands me these other documents and says, we'll mail you your license plates and your title. Thank you. And I'm like, that's it. That's all you got. And she goes, yeah, that's all. That's all I got. And I, I was thinking to myself, wait a second here. This is too good to be true. And she goes, no, we're done. And by the way, if you'd like to leave us a review, here's my card. We'll also send you a link to make it easy for you. I'm like, oh, well, you can be darn sure I'm going to leave you a review because this was quick and easy.

And not what I expected at the DMV. I left and I went to get in my truck. I walk across the street and I'm just kind of blown away by what just happened here. I just accomplished everything I needed to accomplish. And I get in my truck and I look at my watch. So remember, I got out of my truck at 2.55 p.m. Okay, 5 till. I got in my truck at 3.09 p.m. 14 minutes.

14 minutes from getting out of my vehicle, going to the DMV, and getting back in my vehicle to leave. All done. And I had this card that this very lovely, smiley, happy, jovial person gave me saying, can you leave me a review? I'm like, okay, I got time. Guess what I did right then and there? I left a review. I got on my phone. Sure enough, the link shows up immediately after I walk out the door. Good timing. Good lesson here. And it's a picture of the newly elected clerk and recorder saying your opinion matters. I want to hear about your experience. So I click on that and it asks me a few questions, super simple, quick and easy. And then I want to hear about your experience. So I click on that and it asks me a few questions, super simple, quick and easy. And then I get to the part of, is there anything you'd like to tell

us? And I'm like, yeah, there's stuff I want to tell you. So I sit there and thumb typed a whole bunch of really good things about this. Can we contact you if we have any questions? I'm like, sure, why not? So I mean, for crying out loud, there were a whole bunch of business lessons here in my trip to the DMV. And I want to run through those real quick. So let's take a look at what are the business lessons of going to the DMV. Because this isn't just about the DMV. This is about your business and how you and your customers feel. Because I can tell you initially just a couple things.

How did I feel? Wow. It's not often that when people go, tell me about your best customer experience. And I go, well, it happened to be at the DMV. I mean, when's the last time you heard that said? It doesn't happen. It doesn't happen.

I'm here to tell you my best customer experience ever can now, you know, in recent times in memory, can now be attributed to the DMV and getting license plates for my car. That was a pain in the butt that I bought out of state. Yeah. Can you believe that crap? So, I mean, for crying out loud, that's what customer experience is about. It's interesting because Forrester Research did a study in the end of 2022 or, you know, and think 2022, what are we doing? We're kind of hangover from the pandemic. There's still a little bit of pandemic going on, whatever it is. Businesses still have all these weird restrictions or changes that they've made.

Most of them are working from home. So good luck finding a lot of people to service you. I mean, we're having all sorts of other government issues like permitting when building businesses. It's difficult to get licensing for businesses and things like that. We just licensed a new business and it is practically impossible to get these things to happen. But the DMV made it happen. Come on people, get your act together. Lessons learned here. One, aim for that great customer experience. I mentioned Forrester Research. They said the number one thing that businesses need to have in 2023 is customer obsession for a great experience. customer obsession for a great experience.

Customer obsession for a great experience. The DMV got that. Check the box for the DMV. Bravo, high five DMV on that one. And well done, clerk and recorder. How do we become customer obsessed and what were the steps to do that? Let me tell you, first of all, the first step was make it easy to come here. Make it easy. I got to schedule an appointment online. I thought it was gonna be a pain in the butt. It was easy. And I told you, I had to change my appointment three times. It was easy to change my appointment three times. They actually let me do that. And it was fascinating because I got reminders a few days ahead of my appointment going, is this still going to work for you? Like, no, it's not. I don't have my stuff back. So yeah, I'm going to change my appointment. So I did three times.

And then when I showed up, they actually treated me well. They didn't care that I inconvenienced anybody. Because half the time when you call a business and go, I'd like to change my appointment, they're like, well, if you have to. We really don't like to change appointments, you know. I'm like, this didn't happen. The DMV's like, game on. Change your appointment all day long.

You can change it 100 times if you want. So here's what I experienced. The first thing was I got to set my appointment. The second one is I got to say why I'm coming. And they made it easy. It was a drop-down menu. Here's all the top options. Or you can go to other and then enter your own thing probably or something like that.

I didn't do that. But I'm assuming that's something you could put in there. And then they reminded me. They reminded me over and over and over again. Studies have shown that a simple reminder for really anything, any appointment will massively increase the probability that somebody is going to not just show up, but show up on time. Because this person made the appointment and they were reminded that they made the appointment and we're excited to see you at this time. They don't want to let anybody down. So think about that. They

made it easy. They reminded me. And then when I got there, they made it easy to check in because they served up a check-in instantly in my phone when I got there or like right before my appointment, you know, don't forget you can check in. And I don't know, I think it might've shown up like a half hour or an hour before my scheduled appointment to go ahead and check in because they wanted it to be bumped to the top of my text and email string. We all know how those things fill up, but if you bump it to the top, guess what's going to get the first attention? We're human electronic programmed to go to the top of our list of stuff and do what is current and necessary and easy, by the way, which it was.

So they bumped it to the top. I got in the door and there's a lady standing out there. And I don't know if it was a supervisor or what, but people, it seemed like people were rotating out into the lobby to say, hey, do you need help? Can I point you in the right direction? Whatever. They did not want people waiting there.

They wanted people kind of constantly moving. It was like Disney. You know, there's always somebody to say something or greet you or give you an experience while you're waiting in line. That was going on here. They pointed me in the right direction. The next thing that happened was I could walk right up to where I was and I was greeted with an ear-to-ear smile.

And it was really cool to see. I was greeted with an ear-to-ear smile. And it was really cool to see. I was greeted with an ear-to-ear smile by this lady. And she called me by name. She personalized it. What is one of the top rules of customer experience? Personalize it. And she knew I was there. And it was fascinating. It was quick. It was easy. She said, hey, we can take care of this. She was actually having conversation with me while this was going on. We own some businesses, and one of the tenets of our business is to have your eyes up and be engaged with the customer. And that means having a conversation. Whether or not it was me walking in with some Air Jordans on, and she could have said, hey, nice Jordans. And I don't know if you've ever

seen anybody with Air Jordans on, but if you call them out and go, nice Jordans, they're like, thanks. I mean, it's like a cult movement. It's like you're recognized. Michael Jordan is their God or something like that. I don't know, but they love their freaking Air Jordans for some reason. If you go, nice Jordans, they're like, thank you. So just a simple compliment like that or her saying, thank you for your service, Adam, that made a difference. It made a huge difference because it made it personal. And then she told me, let's see if we can get this taken care of for you.

And she went through it. You know, there's no guarantee that I brought the right paperwork or did the right stuff. And I know that. She said, let's see if we I brought the right paperwork or did the right stuff. And I know that. She said, let's see if we can get this taken care of. But she was so nice to me that even if she couldn't have gotten it taken care of then, I would have felt good like she helped me. Make the person feel like you care. Not just personalize, but make them feel like you care about what's going on.

She asked me some questions about my car. What color is it? What do you think? What should we put down? You know, stuff like like that. We were collaboratively working on this project. So are you collaboratively working with your customer on the project is the next question. And then she wrapped it up quickly and asked for a review while I was still on my customer experience high. Yes, I was really impressed and very joyful about how this whole thing went.

So you're darn sure that I gave her a review really quickly and I was proud of my review and I was happy to put my name on it. Why? Because it was worth it. I appreciated what she did and I appreciated her leader for programming the culture of that business that way.

And then I left quickly and I sat there and I shook my leader for programming the culture of that business that way. And then I left quickly and I sat there and I shook my head and thought, I just went to the DMV and had the greatest customer experience of my life. So let me ask you this, business leaders, okay? If somebody comes into your business, can you say that they have had this DMV level experience or do they have the DMV level experience that I had before where I felt like I was bonding out of jail? Which one is it? Because I was incredibly impressed with just a few things. And guess how much it costs for them to have this experience? Now, everybody has book an appointment, set this on your calendar or make a reservation or whatever, because we all got it during COVID,

right? A lot of people got it during COVID. If you didn't get calendly or something like that and allow people to book an appointment, what if you followed these steps? Let them check in or communicate with them right ahead of time and remind them of their appointment. Call them by name when they show up and recognize what they want to talk about and then collaboratively deal with it and then ask for a review and appreciate them. What if you went through those steps? We would all win, wouldn't we? The customer, the consumer, and the business. Life is good. Okay, go out there, have a DMV experience. It's Adam Kato, Start With A Win. I'll see you next time. Thanks for joining us on Start With A Win.

Be sure to like and subscribe to this episode and share it with your friends. Also be sure to check out Adam on YouTube, Adam Canto CEO as well as on all the social media platforms. And don't forget, start with a win.