The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles recently released the results of a 2006 customer poll which said that 84 percent of the 800 people surveyed throughout the state rated service to be “Excellent” or “Good.” Better results were registered for the DMV’s mail and online programs, which came in with high satisfaction levels of 91 percent and 97 percent respectively.

In a newspaper column, I mentioned that seven out of 10 people I talked to outside the DMV office in White Plains thought the service was good or better than good, while the other three rated their experience “Fair” or “Poor.”

Well, of course, there were challenges to this assertion. Some readers informed me that I should’ve gone to the Yonkers DMV—a place which redefines the meaning of bureacratic hell.

Ray Watkins of Rye Brook told me of a terrible time he had in White Plains where he went to pick up some stored license plates. It was a quick and easy task, or so he thought.

“Dutifully waiting on line to check in, I was given a number in the ‘D’ series,” he said. “Unfortunately, there were 30 people in front of me. Well over two hours.”

It got worse.

“When I finally was called to Window 12, the lady therre directed me to a lady near Window 6 since she was the only person able to get into the safe,” said Watkins. “That lady was trying to do seven or eight things at the same time. Another 35 minutes.”

Watkins said the other people lined up in the A, B, C, E and F series breezed through in no time. Not him.

“So,” he said, “I’ve yet to see any kind of ‘improved DMV.’ It’s still a horror show.”

Rate the DMV’s customer service yourself. What’s your experience—.Excellent, Good, Fair or Poor?