Polkton DMV — Local services in Wadesboro

This is going to be long...so buckle up!

My son and I went this morning for his permit test and it's the DMV, of course it's an all day affair. When we arrived, there weren't many walk-ins in line, nice! It wasn't until one of the ladies came out to let us know that when they open at 8 am, they put the first 12 people in line on their list. They get a ticket and they're guaranteed to be seen, starting at 10:45. Sadly, my son and I weren't one of the 12.

The rest of us in line had to battle and text a code to get a ticket. Unfortunately, Raleigh opens the system up between 11:45-12:15 and even if you're in a physical line waiting it still doesn't matter. From what we were told, you can text the code from your house and still get a spot in line! I was able to get a ticket, there were others who were stuck in queue because of a system overload and they didn't get a ticket, but here's the kicker, even though you get a ticket number you're still not guaranteed to be seen at all! That's what happened to my son!

We went for his permit test and while we patiently waited for his ticket to be called, there were other walk-in's before us, who were unprepared and were able to leave come back with documents they didn't have the 1st time and skip the line. Not to mention a wife who was seen was able to allow her husband to skip the line as well and piggyback off her ticket! Another person taking his driver's test got to wait for his mother to come back with his car and that took up a lot of time! Driver's test stop at 4pm, computer test stop at 4:15 and there was lots of unnecessary chatting between workers and customers.

I totally understand there are only two people working at that location but someone who's worked in customer service as well, it's more important to keep the lines going. It's more important to be better organized so there's a better flow and not having long winded conversations, losing sight of what's important. Allowing people to come back after being unprepared the first time, isn't right. They do not have the man power for that and it pushes the rest of us behind who are prepared! I also should mention the man that came in around 4pm. He didn't have all his stuff to take his CDL test but the worker at station number 1 recommended the test that he could take to get those out of the way! Again, skipping the line, and my son didn't get a chance to take his test.

Like most, I took the entire day off and my son missed school just to sit in an office of unorganized chaos! Why not dedicate certain days for drivers test and certain days for permits and other things? There has to be a better way! Students getting their permits have 30 days before their stamp expires on their certificate, and being a walk-in is the only option because you can only schedule appointments 90 days out. Make it make sense!!!!

In closing I would also like to add:

If 👏🏾 people 👏🏾 are 👏🏾 not 👏🏾 prepared 👏🏾 they👏🏾 don't 👏🏾 deserve 👏🏾 to 👏🏾 skip 👏🏾 the...

I came to renew my CDL class A. Usually or used to be, this was the fastest location.

While one must acknowledge that this is a government job in a government building and the government computer systems have yet to be DOGE'd & are constantly going down. Even the Debit/Credit card machine is down🤦‍♀️, SO BRING CASH 💸💶💵!!!

At least there is one, & I do mean one full time employee who is blessed with a sense of humor, personality, & with good customer service skills.

The one who usually does the road tests got injured on a road test! Scary that this is the reality of the job. She is recovering til God knows. May she heal fast!

The Monroe office sends a new person every day to help. Today I got a lovely, kind substitute from Monroe. She is a splendid asset to know works in the Monroe office.

There is ongoing training, bringing people with appointments inside in groups to stage them for processing with zero guarantee to actually be completed on the same day, regardless of your appointment. The REAL ID is a REAL PROBLEM, setting every thing back for months. Then add the influx of migrants, who may or might not have legal rights to get ID, it is all a complete debacle.

4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ is for the effort here, that goes a long, long way.

Monroe has a horrendous reputation, that said, as crazy as Polkton is, it is also heads & shoulders above the rude, arrogant and seriously unwelcoming environment of the Monroe office. Not everyone is bad, but 1st...

I recently had the pleasure of interacting with Examiner Swaringen at the Polkton, NC DMV for my child's provisional license test appointment, and I am compelled to share what a positive experience it was. We arrived for our scheduled time only to realize we were missing a crucial insurance verification form. My heart sank, and I immediately thought we would have to reschedule, which would have been a significant inconvenience as I had already taken the day off.

Examiner Swaringen was an absolute lifesaver. Instead of simply turning us away, she immediately offered a solution. She suggested I call our insurance agent to obtain the form and then graciously offered to move our 8:15 a.m. appointment to the early afternoon to allow us time to get the necessary paperwork printed and brought back to the DMV. This level of understanding and willingness to accommodate our situation was truly remarkable and deeply appreciated.

Thanks to Examiner Swaringen's kindness and flexibility, my child was able to return for the afternoon appointment as scheduled. The test proceeded smoothly, and I'm happy to report that she passed! We are so grateful for Examiner Swaringen's helpfulness and the positive attitude she brought to our visit. It's not often you hear such positive stories about the DMV, and Examiner Swaringen is a shining example of excellent customer service.😇

Thank you so much for your kindness and for making this process so much easier for our...