Lat time I went to an American DMV it was in a small town in Colorado to get a license renewal. I was in and out within 10 minutes.
My next license was in Canada. Made an appointment and it was about the same, maybe a bit more to get all the paperwork scanned to convert my US license.
The DMV doesn't have to suck. Government services don't have to suck, and a lot of them actually don't. Frequently they suck because they are tasked with doing far more than any similarly resourced private company could accomplish.
In my experience living in California, government services such as the DMV and the post office tend to be more pleasant in small towns compared to in large metro areas. When I lived in San Luis Obispo and in Santa Cruz County, it was generally a smooth experience running errands at government facilities. In fact, I remember people smiling and being friendly in San Luis Obispo. In larger metros such as Sacramento and the Bay Area, though, I often have to contend with long lines and surly service.
I know this is just anecdata, but this is something I’ve noticed over the years.
It depends on the country, though. I love Japan, where I lived for eight months and where I frequently travel to, but dealing with government services there can be stressful. Granted, the clerks are professional and cordial, but be prepared to deal with long waits and perplexing bureaucracy. The United States is not unique when it comes to the stereotypical “DMV experience.”
I actually lived in Japan for some years and was thinking specifically of them.
People that care at the post office, even if they have a litany of questions, and deliver your package in pristine condition is the preferred result over crap service where nobody in the entire chain cares at all if it even shows up or if it's beat up and stuff fell out.
The only government service that felt purposefully bad, like many American government services, were the immigration services in Shinagawa, conveniently located next to the garbage processing facilities.
Back in November I spent half a day at the Shinagawa immigration office to obtain a trusted travelers program pass since doing it at the airport would’ve been inconvenient for me due to my super-early arrival at Haneda and my super-late departure. It wasn’t too bad, but I spent half a day there and there were unclear instructions regarding which area I needed to wait in. Thankfully it’s all taken care of, and the reward for spending half a day at Shinagawa is using the automated kiosks whenever I enter and depart Japan, which saved me tons of time in July when I arrived at Narita, bypassing a very long visitors’ line. I go to Japan frequently and so I’ll make up for the hours I spent in Shinagawa by the time my pass expires.
