Service Ontario Offices

[bornagainbiking]

This idea HAD merit but the implementation is a dismal failure. This is the electronic age and we have the technology Capt Kirk..
Canada's Wonderland can issue a family pass with picture ID in a matter of minutes.
If a business treated a customer like this there would be some compensation but this is a goverment agency and compensation is not possible but an improvment in service standards is required. We are customers and this is a service we pay for through taxes and fees.
The line-ups are too long and it is not designed for the elderly. I saw a gentleman save a place in line for an older man, so he wouldn't have to stand in a 20 person line up. The older man sat down and when his time came, the gentleman called the old guy forward.
Funny, I remember as a kid, 45 years ago you had to renew your licence the end of March (everyone) and you lined up at the arena and you waited. That was a small city, I can only imagine what they did in Southern Ontario.
You may not know this but at one time at the LCBO they had a menu on the wall and you had a ticket and a golf pencil and you marked down 28B. Took it to the cashier and they brought out the Walker's Special Old 26er in a paper bag. Not one bottle in sight in the lobby.
Remember Consumer's Distributing. Same idea but more spartan.

[vid]

Blah blah blah, it was better in the old days! Bitch moan bitch I hate children.

Canada's wonderland isn't issuing IDs with 500kb of data encrypted into them so that they also double as passports. And the current system of renewing drivers licenses in the month of your birthday is easier for everyone involved, trust me.

[bornagainbiking]

It was not better in the old days and I am an old guy.
As for you drivers licenser that can double for a passport maybe you should check it out. It cost about the same for the enhanced drivers license as a passport and only allows you access to the states.
It is a real messed up concept as there are only so many offices for this. For example I live in Hamilton (505,000)and I have to drive almost an hour to St Catharines (130,000) to get it or 45 min the other way to Missisauga. My point was yes security is paramount but spend your time wisely on the suspicious cases. It is my almost 10th renewal as it was 3 yrs at one time.
I just seems to me Canada's Wonderland is better organized and the technology is there.
I am pissed that the licence renewal I started the end of Jan is not here yet and 3 trips to the office. The birth month option is great but I went in early and it is almost June and I did another to be safe.
I am complaining as my fee was out of my bank account within minutes and I still wait.
We have one service centre with minimal parking and the line up is out the door all day. So new is no better. 500 kb my butt. My drivers license don't Swipe and does nothing. Lord liftin, maybe they should talk to Tim Horton's they got a cash card for coffee or my Master Card is a swipe for purchase. Sub contract the drivers license to either MasterCard or Tim Horton's and have a free $20 credit if you do it on line.
Final answer the service at Ontario service

[Tony]

Originally Posted by bornagainbiking

IAs for you drivers licenser that can double for a passport maybe you should check it out. It cost about the same for the enhanced drivers license as a passport and only allows you access to the states.
It is a real messed up concept as there are only so many offices for this. For example I live in Hamilton (505,000)and I have to drive almost an hour to St Catharines (130,000) to get it or 45 min the other way to Missisauga. My point was yes security is paramount but spend your time wisely on the suspicious cases. It is my almost 10th renewal as it was 3 yrs at one time.
I just seems to me Canada's Wonderland is better organized and the technology is there.
I am pissed that the licence renewal I started the end of Jan is not here yet and 3 trips to the office. The birth month option is great but I went in early and it is almost June and I did another to be safe.
I am complaining as my fee was out of my bank account within minutes and I still wait.
We have one service centre with minimal parking and the line up is out the door all day. So new is no better.

BS. Here are your License Renewal COUNTER SERVICE offices in Hamilton ALONE (not including the Service Ontario Kiosks found in various places):

50 Dundurn St. S.
119 king st. W.
140 Upper James St.
17 King St. E.
245 Dundas St. E.
163 Centennial Pkwy N.

Such a lame complaint. Idiotic to think you actually need to drive to St. Catharines to renew your license... yeah, the technology is out there.. it's called the internet, you search your closest renewal office / kiosk, took me less than a minute.

500 kb my butt. My drivers license don't Swipe and does nothing.

uhh.. you do know there's a magnetic strip on the back of your license huh? The black strip isn't there for decoration.

[bornagainbiking]

Those locations I have visited, upper James is minimal parking and line up out the door, du durn has a line up of at least 10 when it opens and Centenial has a large car dealer following like the two next door.
As for en
Enhanced drivers licence when I was thinking of this over a passport, as most I just what to drive thru the states.
For Enhanced it was from Hamilton either Missisauga or St Catharines.
As for those magnetic strips do they do anything yet as I would love to put $20 husks on it for my morning coffee.
Talk about security and strict scrutiny, in Ontario you can't use your health card as picture ID on it's own even though it has a picture and address. Funny they accept local produced student ID.
In an age where we are steering (pun intended) everyone towards public transit, what can you use as ID if you don't want a drivers licence. De we still have age of majority cards.

[vid]

Originally Posted by bornagainbiking

Those locations I have visited, upper James is minimal parking and line up out the door, du durn has a line up of at least 10 when it opens and Centenial has a large car dealer following like the two next door.

http://www.whitewhine.com

Originally Posted by bornagainbiking

As for those magnetic strips do they do anything yet as I would love to put $20 husks on it for my morning coffee.

The magnetic strip holds everything on the card so that the police can just run it through a reader instead of typing everything in manually. They're being replaced with special bar codes this year. Health cards already have them. Both health cards and driver's licenses with magnetic strips will expire in 2014. BYID cards just have a number that states the card is legitimate to prevent counterfeiting, since the card only has a photo of you, your name, and birth date.

Originally Posted by bornagainbiking

Talk about security and strict scrutiny, in Ontario you can't use your health card as picture ID

You can, and people can accept it, but it is just as risky as showing your SIN card as ID. Anyone can record your OHIP number and use it to receive insurance in your name.

I use my health care for ID all the time. If someone says I can't, I just go to another place that does.

It is illegal for anyone outside of a medical profession to ask to see your health card, just like it is illegal for anyone outside of certain circumstances (employment or banking) to ask to see your SIN card.

Originally Posted by bornagainbiking

De we still have age of majority cards.

No, they were replaced with BYID cards. They're limited to people between 19 and 35.

[Tony]

Originally Posted by bornagainbiking

Those locations I have visited, upper James is minimal parking and line up out the door, du durn has a line up of at least 10 when it opens and Centenial has a large car dealer following like the two next door.

oh, so you do know there are offices in Hamilton, so your original argument was misleading. You're simply too impatient to *gasp* wait in line.

Originally Posted by vid

http://www.whitewhine.com/

[ForestryW]

Virtually all the S.O. locations I've visited have about 8 counters, only two of which are occupied by employees. I agree with the first poster that the system is inefficient and broken.

[bornagainbiking]

Tony
I finally got my licence yesterday after 4 months.
I don't mind waiting in line, it was the three trips to get'er done.
Just a bit ticked off with the outdated rules, and lack of common sense. The attitude of those three occupied stalls.
I just think with a little effort the customer service aspect could be better addressed.
This is a card and with modern technology it could be better and faster.
A passport is 10 days and it is usually faster.
Passports used to bfe real slow and enough people complained and viola it is down to a weekish.
Things could change but I really don't think they want to as it would disclose gross inefficiencies.

[bornagainbiking]

TORONTO About 1.5 million people in Ontario who don’t have a driver’s licence will soon have another option for government-issued identification.

Transportation Minister Kathleen Wynne will unveil Ontario’s new secure identification card, which can be used by people who don’t have a driver’s licence.

Holders of the photo ID who are Canadian citizens will also be able to have them upgraded to an enhanced card that can also be used as a passport alternative to enter the United States.

The government first promised the alternative identification cards three years ago.

The photo identification cards will have one corner cut to make it easier for blind users to find it in their wallet.

Wynne will reveal the new ID cards at the Canadian National Institute for the Blind in Toronto today.

Now more work in Service Centres.

[SteelTown]

Went today for my drivers license and health card renewal. The whole process took 20 minutes. Went to the Upper James centre at noon.

[bornagainbiking]

May all the negative feedback was heard. About time as no matter what taxpayers are customer's of a higher level.