Another Study, Another Contract, Same Lines
North Carolina’s Division of Motor Vehicles is paying Boston Consulting Group $1.2 million to study what almost every resident already knows: the lines are long, the service inconsistent, and the experience, best described as “please don’t make me go back.”
This marks the second time in six years the state has hired BCG. Back in 2019, the firm earned $2.9 million to offer solutions for the same issue. According to reporting by WUNC, that effort led to minor improvements, but for anyone who’s visited a DMV in a fast-growing county lately, the only thing that’s changed is the playlist—still bad, now slightly newer.
The contract, signed April 4, tasks BCG with identifying and evaluating so-called “priority services.” These include both end-to-end processes like license renewal and more granular moments like standing in the wrong line for 22 minutes because the kiosk was down.
You can read the full contract, redactions and all, here.
Employee Experience or Employee Exit?
BCG isn’t just tackling customers’ woes. The consultants are also launching an “Employee Experience assessment” to determine why staff turnover remains high and morale remains low.
They’ll examine “gaps and friction points” across DMV systems, staffing, and operations—basically the internal equivalent of “why does this job make people want to cry in the parking lot?”
Commissioner on His Way Out
DMV Commissioner Wayne Goodwin, appointed in 2022, announced earlier this year that he’ll be stepping down once a successor is chosen. Timing, as always, is a question mark.
Meanwhile, State Auditor Dave Boliek is digging through the agency’s books. And in case that wasn’t enough oversight, legislators ordered a separate study last year to explore privatizing some DMV functions.
Translation: everybody wants a better DMV, but nobody agrees on what that means—or who should run it.
A Roadmap to… Another Roadmap
BCG is expected to present its findings by July, presumably in PowerPoint form, with steps for implementation. What happens after that depends on whether state officials actually act on the recommendations, or file them next to the last batch.
With North Carolina’s population growing fast, the pressure is on. But for now, residents can take comfort in knowing that at least someone is being seen quickly—consultants at the payment window.
About the Author
Jack Beckett is senior writer for The Charlotte Mercury. You can find him most mornings at the Einstein Bros. Bagels on South Boulevard, where the coffee is hot, the shmear is thick, and the line moves faster than the DMV. Swing by and get yourself a turkey sausage egg white sandwich—and thank Phillip Rice’s crew for supporting local journalism in style. ☕
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