(Memphis) A special team called a ‘strike team’ is in Shelby County to work on long lines at Driver Service Centers.
Long lines continue three months after we first uncovered an audit that showed lines in Shelby County are the longest in the state.
“You spend your whole day here your lunch your dinner,” customer Lucevia Greenwood said.
In rain and sleet, customers waited outside the center on Summer Avenue Friday afternoon.
In the same parking lot, state leaders met behind closed doors to tackle the wait time troubles.
Before the meeting, strike team member Linda Russell agreed to sit down to discuss her team plan.
Reese: “How can you cut down on wait times. What are things that you can accomplish?”
Russell: “This is what we are going to find out. We’re going to look at things that could be causing that to happen but we really won’t know until we get on the ground and get a first real hard look.”
Reese: “You have to come in with some sort of ideas as to what you think you can do?”
Russell: “Well we are going to talk and ask questions.”
Customers had plenty ideas. Adding personnel topped the list.
“For about the past two hours there have been three people working with all these people here,” one customer said.
Reese: “Is that something that you plan on addressing or is there a money issue from the state where you can’t fill those counters.”
Russell: “That’s really not something i know enough about to answer. we are just looking at the productivity and other issues that may affect our employees.”
Customers also want the state to add new locations.
“That’s not something I’m directly connected to,” she said.
Russell did say her strike team will be looking at where improvements can be made.
Her team tackled problems at centers in East Tennessee last month.
Reese: “What were you able to do there?“
Russell: “Not really, I think one thing specific, just customer service. We’re just listening to the customers and our employees trying to do some things that we can to just. Simple things perhaps moving the furniture, some equipment changes.”
While Russell can’t say yet what they will do here.
Reese: “There’s no plan.”
Russell: “No. Every center is different.”
She’s hopeful her team will drive down wait times that drive Shelby County customers mad.
“I’ll believe it when I see it,” Sophia Gilmore said.
The strike team will start in the centers on Monday.
