Driver Services improvements please residents

It's 12:45 on a dreary Wednesday afternoon, and Isabella Siepierska paces in front of a glass door.

Rows of bright fluorescent lights are burning overhead, and a woman with a voice that could be soothing if it wasn't so constant is giving instructions over an intercom every 20 or so seconds: "Now serving H873 at counter 12."

Siepierska, of Palatine, doesn't notice. Her focus, like so many others this day at the Illinois Secretary of State's Driver Services Department in Schaumburg, is on her youngest son, who is attempting to get his driver's license.

"I am so scared right now," she said. "With my other two kids, it wasn't this bad. Maybe it's because he's the youngest and he'll always be my baby."

A few minutes later, Siepierska's "baby," a tall 18-year-old man with facial hair, walks through the doors.

His name is Wojtek, and the grin on his face answers Siepierska's question immediately.

He passed.

A need for change

Experienced drivers know that unless you are a teen getting your first driver's license, a trip to the local DMV is about as enticing as a visit to the dentist.

Nevertheless, it is a necessary evil. Last year, there were 4.3 million visits to the Driver Services Department, with 1.1 million visits in the Northwest suburbs alone.

Recognizing this, the secretary of state's office has made vast improvements in recent years -- most notably, replacing the long winding lines with chairs -- to make the process less dreadful, officials said.

"It used to be like cattle in a slaughterhouse," said Tom DeLeo, the department's division manager. "We know this isn't a pleasant place and no one wants to come, but we want to make it as painless as possible."

In 2001, Secretary of State Jesse White presented a three-year, $9.3 million initiative to improve customer service.

The plan included self-service machines and expanded hours and staffing.

Because the Driver Services Department has such a significant impact on people's daily lives, the Daily Herald decided to spend a day at the Schaumburg branch to see the initiatives in action.

After the five years since the customer service improvement plan was completed, it's getting positive reviews from patrons.

"It's great," said Ann Caruso of Palatine, who had to bring her two young nephews and niece along to renew her license and feared the task would take several hours.

"We've been here for literally 10 minutes and I'm already done."

Tom Bush, manager of the Schaumburg facility, said the branch gets 20 times as many complimentary letters as complaints these days.

"I've been here 31 years, and things have really, really changed," Bush said. "We have zero tolerance for employees being rude."

Smiling all day long

If anyone knows the importance of customer service, it's Jose "Joe" Thariath.

For eight years, Thariath has watched as anxious teens and annoyed drivers have come through the doors of driver services.

His face is the first customers see, and with about 1,100 customers per day, Thariath gets a lot of exposure.

"People have a lot of problems with their driver's license," he said. "One small thing can get bigger and bigger if they don't take care of it."

One of the people Thariath greets this day is Leah Page, a 16-year-old from Schaumburg ready to take her road test.

Leah has been practicing for months with her mother, Chris Page, and both are feeling pretty confident.

A few minutes later, Leah is back. All the practicing has paid off -- like Wojtek, Leah is going home with a driver's license.

The moment is bittersweet for Chris, 53. She found out in February she has terminal cancer.

Leah will probably be the only one of Chris' four children she lives to see drive.

"I firmly believe if you pray to God, he'll help you get through it," Chris Page said. "This is so exciting for Leah. I'm really very happy for her."

Seeing people struggle is one of the low points of Thariath's otherwise satisfying job.

After Leah's test, Thariath had to explain to two children who needed ID cards that he couldn't help them.

"They were born to illegal immigrants, and because their parents didn't have driver's licenses, we couldn't issue them the cards," he said. "Sometimes work can be very difficult."

Whether it is because of the secretary of state's new mandates or just his optimistic personality, Thariath maintains his cheerful demeanor all day, despite a few testy customers and unending drizzle outside.

"I appreciate the chance to meet the people and say hi, and it gives me a chance to see if they like my funny accent," said Thariath, a native of India.

But what about that female voice that literally has not stopped giving commands over the intercom for three hours?

"The first couple of days I worked here, yes, it drove me crazy," Thariath said. "Now I like to joke that I'm used to it -- just like being at home."