Big NJ MVC fail that ruined weekend plans for many

For all the progress New Jersey's Motor Vehicle Commission has made over the past 10-plus years, there have also been some setbacks. Of course, that's to be expected of most agencies and companies.

It's where the saying of two steps forward, one step back comes from. And when it comes to this failure, I'm hopeful this is all it was.

Still, the issue that occurred earlier in the year inconvenienced many people on a Saturday morning. In fact, most people ended up waiting for hours or having to reschedule their appointments altogether.

Before we get into what my wife and others recently went through, I would like to highlight some of the good that's been coming out of the agency. Because despite issues that clearly pop up, not all locations or staff are created equal.

Some of our own station staff who needed to go to the NJ MVC for various reasons have said that their visit was quick and easy. In fact, they even praised how well it went, something that they never expected.

We've also heard from some of our listeners who have said the same thing. So clearly, there are examples of common courtesy and great customer service.

Unfortunately, the agency also has that one step back. And this particular one really affected multiple people on one of the two most important days of the week. The weekend.

Reason for appointment

My wife had an appointment at our local NJ MVC for her license renewal. Since she works standard Monday through Friday hours, it was easier for her to take advantage of the Saturday morning hours.

Her appointment was for around 9 A.M. That way she could go through the 6-point ID checks and get her new Real-ID license processed and still have the whole day ahead of her.

So on the day of the appointment, she arrived early. At that time of day, she recalls everything running smoothly with only a few people waiting.

6-Point ID

Since she was going from the standard license to the new Real-ID one, she needed to go through and gather all the documents necessary in order to get her license renewed.

Now yes, the 6-point system still needs improvement when it comes to how the points are calculated. But by and large, gathering the documents wasn't too difficult.

Nor was getting all her documents checked. When she arrived, everything she brought with her was accepted and she went to take a seat until it was her time to go up.

So far, so good. At this point of the visit, everything was smooth sailing.

The wait begins

It wasn't until she began to wait when the problems began. She noticed that after only a short period of time, all the lanes started to close. Eventually, people seemed to stop being called.

Meanwhile, more people kept arriving for their appointments. Slowly, the facility started to fill up with people waiting to be called, but with nowhere to go.

This continued on for hours. My wife ended up sitting around for around four hours herself with no idea why the lanes closed or why nobody was being called up.

What could be the holdup? Why did everything suddenly seem to come to a standstill?

Trying to get answers

Eventually, someone else who was also waiting had enough and tried to get some answers. Why is nothing happening? Why is nobody getting called? Why are the lanes shut?

It took a while to get any info since a good portion of the staff didn't seem to know. However, the truth of what was happening was finally shared with this individual.

Apparently the reason absolutely nobody was getting called was because all of the computers crashed. With no way to process licenses or anything else, they simply closed all the lanes and kept everyone waiting well beyond their scheduled appointment times.

LOOK: Why some say GPS made NJ travel worse, not better

One problem, but a bigger fail

Look, computers crash, it happens. But the way this unfolded was completely uncalled for.

Yes, perhaps the system used by the agency needs to be upgraded, especially at this particular location. But I would say the computer's crashing is secondary to what the primary issue is.

How come nobody at that location had the decency to at least get on the loudspeaker and communicate what was happening? Why keep it a secret?

Communication problems

The lack of communication for those waiting was totally uncalled for. If you can't help anyone because of technical issues, you tell them. Don't leave them waiting there in the dark for hours on end.

What if some people had other plans they needed to tend to? What if some of them had to go to work? It didn't seem to matter to anyone else working there.

My wife ended up being forced to reschedule for her new license when it became obvious there was no way it could happen that day. Again, would've been nice for someone there to communicate that since for her, it was more than four hours later.

At least then many could reschedule their appointments and be on their way instead of ruining their weekend plans waiting around for hours.

Two weeks later

It was a different story when my wife was finally able to get an available appointment a couple of weeks later. This time, she was in and out with no issues whatsoever.

So when the computers are up and running, it's a great experience. But when they go crashing down, don't expect to know about it. At least, that's how it was at this particular NJ MVC.

To their credit, they made up for it on the second visit. Hopefully, this was only a one-time incident as their customer service was great when all was working correctly.

UP NEXT: Why some say GPS made NJ travel worse, not better

The above post reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 Sunday morning host Mike Brant. Any opinions expressed are his own.