Pennsylvania Department of Transportation - D L Center, Whitman Plaza — Local services in Philadelphia

I recently took my driver’s test and had a very disappointing and frustrating experience with the examiner assigned to me. I am filing this report due to his unprofessional behavior, lack of clear communication, and what I strongly believe was an unfair evaluation.

From the very beginning, the examiner did not introduce himself or show any professionalism. He immediately began giving instructions without any greeting or explanation. While I understand the seriousness of a driving exam, there was no reason for the rude, dismissive tone and attitude he displayed throughout the test.

During the exam, I received one warning for not using my signal while parking — which I accept responsibility for. However, the area was completely clear, with no other cars or pedestrians around. After that, I followed all instructions properly. I completed my parking within the lines, did a successful parallel park, and maintained safe driving on the road.

As we were returning to the testing site, the examiner told me that I failed because I didn’t look over into the bike lane before making a right turn — even though there were multiple cars parked in that bike lane, which he also witnessed. He did not issue a second or third warning, and this was not presented to me as a critical error during the test. Based on standard procedures, a failure should only happen after three warnings or a critical error, neither of which applied to my situation.

To make matters worse, the examiner did not give me the standard testing feedback sheet or any written documentation about what I did wrong. He simply got out of the vehicle, handed me back my permit, and said, “Next time,” with no explanation, no constructive feedback, and no paperwork showing why I had failed.

I am requesting that this incident be thoroughly reviewed and that this examiner’s conduct be looked into. His attitude made the experience more stressful than it needed to be, and I do not believe I was evaluated fairly or professionally. Additionally, being denied a feedback sheet left me with no guidance on what I need to improve for next time.After being unfairly failed by a rude and unprofessional driving examiner, I attempted to speak with the supervisor to report what happened — and unfortunately, his behavior was just as dismissive, if not worse.

While I appreciated that the supervisor allowed me to reschedule my appointment that same day, when I returned to inform him about how his employee handled the exam, he gave me nothing but attitude. Instead of listening or showing concern, he cut me off and said, “Ma’am, you just have to get back in line and redo it. There’s nothing I can do.”

I explained that the examiner didn’t even follow proper procedures — he didn’t explain my errors clearly, didn’t document or issue the test paper, and failed me without giving the required three warnings or noting any critical errors. The supervisor ignored all of that, brushed it off, and showed zero professionalism or leadership. Not once did he offer to investigate the situation or take accountability.

If someone in a leadership role can’t even uphold the basic standards of fairness or treat people with respect — especially when they’re clearly being wronged — that speaks volumes about how poorly this location is run. Instead of addressing the issue, he acted like my concerns were a nuisance.

This experience was beyond frustrating and left me feeling completely disrespected. I wouldn’t recommend anyone go here unless major changes are made in how both examiners and supervisors treat the people coming in to earn their license the right way. Do your job — and...

I normally don’t leave reviews, but I feel it’s important to speak on my experience at this PennDOT location. Today, I returned to the office and happened to see the same examiner who failed me previously. It was hard not to notice the shift in energy the moment he recognized me—his expression completely changed, and he immediately got up to speak with the supervisor.

It felt very personal, especially considering I later found out that my appointment had been marked as “canceled by me,” which I never did. I went to the supervisor to get clarity, and while waiting to speak with them, I noticed that the examiner himself was already in the back, seemingly giving them a heads-up about me being there.

When I approached the office, the examiner was standing in the doorway. He knew I was right behind him waiting to speak to the supervisor, yet he never moved, never acknowledged me, and didn’t say “one moment” or anything to indicate a conversation was taking place. I said “excuse me” and still had to squeeze past him into the office. The room was silent—just stares. I greeted them with a “good morning,” and instead of responding, the examiner called me rude and nasty for supposedly interrupting a conversation that wasn’t even happening.

The unprofessionalism was honestly unbelievable. What made it worse is that the supervisor said nothing to correct the examiner’s behavior—not in the moment, not afterward. As the examiner got a paper printed and walked off, he continued to talk about me while leaving the room. All the supervisor said to me was, “next time, don’t let that happen again.”

I told him, “Sir, there won’t be a next time—because I’m not coming back.” Why would there be a next time if I wasn’t the one in the wrong? Why would you be saying anything to me if your examiner hadn’t already gone back there to talk about me? I greeted everyone respectfully and said excuse me. I did nothing wrong but was treated like I was the problem.

Thankfully, I passed my test today—just like I should’ve the first time, if the original exam had been handled without attitude or bias. I hope this review brings some awareness to how poorly some staff behave at this location, especially toward women. If certain people are that miserable in their jobs, it might be time to move on instead of projecting it onto others. PennDOT needs...

While the majority of the staff I interacted with were cordial and efficient, the lady who took my initial license renewal application was extremely rude for no reason, despite me being very polite knowing that it was towards the end of the employees days and they were probably tired and over it. I thought nothing of the rudeness, we all have those days, and she told me to go sit down and wait for my same initial ticket number to be called so that my photograph could be taken. I confirmed with her that the number that will be called is the same number that I took upon entering and she said yes. My number was 923, and after seeing numbers 924 through 932 called and watching multiple people who arrived after me leaving before me, I went to ask the front desk lady what was going on. After a few minutes she returned and told me that my original number, 923, was never put into the system, and gave me a new and completely different number to wait to be called. I had to sit and watch up to 938 be called before me until finally my new number was called. Going to the DMV is already a less than ideal way to spend what little time I have off work, and having to spend more than DOUBLE the time waiting there than literally any other customer who was also there that day, all because some rude lady either "forgot" to input my number or just wanted to spite me, is ridiculous behavior and a really basic mistake for a government agency to be doing. On top of all this, many other customers had their masks pulled down on their chins or riding under their nose... we are 6 months into this respiratory pandemic, people, and I don't know if it's news to some but us humans do indeed respirate THROUGH OUR NOSES. As a bartender and 10 year service industry veteran, I understand that customers can be exhausting and that enforcing mask mandates is a test of one's patience. But I really expect better from a literal...