Last August my front license plate was stolen. It was a huge pain and especially because it happened maybe a week after my car had been towed (another story for another time, I promise!).
When they give you a ticket here in Mexico for any type of vehicle infraction, they either impound the car or they take your front license plate. When you pay the fine, you get your license plate back. If you have not yet paid your first fine and you get stopped again for something else, they take your back plate. Third time, the car. Simple.
When I had noticed I had no plate, I groaned. It had either been stolen or I had gotten a parking infraction and had not seen the ticket. I had to call the police station and make sure there were no tickets. Nope, it had been stolen.
With Carlos's help, I learnt how to file a police report, what documentation was required and what to do when stopped by police until it came time to renew my plates.
Of course, the time to renew my plate and my registration came during COVID-19. GREAT. The thing I most wanted to do was sit in a small room with 20 other people waiting to be told I was missing my nail trimmings from 2019 and was going to need to file a special form and to come back on Tuesday when the person who processes that particular form would be working. I put what I figured would be required into my bag and walked over.
I arrive at the office and there are 4 people standing outside and a security guy. I smile (because you can totally tell I am smiling from behind my mask, and explain I am there for two processes, one for a friend (picking up a sticker for annual registration) and one for me (replacing my plate & renewing my annual registration). I am politely informed that I must have an appointment. He points to the notice on the wall.
OK, great! (Shit, that means another trek over but GREAT that they have this organized.) He offers that if I wanted to wait, if there was a break between people with appointments or someone does not show up, the staff could see me. Fabulous! I told him I would absolutely wait if he thought that was an option. He said yes.
As I stood, another man drove up, parked his car, and got out. About to walk directly into the office, with no face mask, the security officer stopped him and asked where he thought he was going. "I am going to renew my registration." No, no, no. The security officer pointed to the sign on the wall. Appointment required. I waited. And a face mask. I waited....
I was shortly after let in to the office and explained what I needed. The young man at the service desk was behind a "splash guard" that was quite well done. Area to pass papers back and forth while keeping him protected generally. He explained that this year we got new plates (who ever knows why?) and detailed (and wrote down for me) the various documents I needed for both processes, then offered to make appointments for me to come back, gave me print outs of those and I was off.
I was back at the allotted time on Friday morning, documents in had. There were four of us outside and at exactly 10 (reread that, exactly 10), my name was taken and I was ushered in, documents reviewed, card payment processed onsite, and did a little chair shuffle (4 in total) before everything was processed.
Likely the most shocking thing that happened was the person actually processing my two requests told me that the copy of my identification was missing. Now, this usually means leaving, hunting down a copy place, getting a copy, and coming back to this office to wait AGAIN. I cried a tiny bit inside and then a miracle happened. He offered to make a copy for me! Thankfully, I had already come prepared with one and handed it over, but I was stunned by the offer.
There are things that surprised me this time. That the government had so quickly set up a system to make appointments online. That the little splash guards were ordered and in place. That there had been some sort of agreement (and logic?) behind which processes would continue (renewing my vehicle registration) but others were suspended (renewing my license, but I was assured I could drive with an expired one, no problem). That it only took two visits to get accomplished what I guessed would take 5. And that someone in a government position offered to make a copy for me.
What did not surprise me was that smiling and being patient and respectful of people involved in any process goes a long way to making that process smoother. Thanks Mom.
When they give you a ticket here in Mexico for any type of vehicle infraction, they either impound the car or they take your front license plate. When you pay the fine, you get your license plate back. If you have not yet paid your first fine and you get stopped again for something else, they take your back plate. Third time, the car. Simple.
When I had noticed I had no plate, I groaned. It had either been stolen or I had gotten a parking infraction and had not seen the ticket. I had to call the police station and make sure there were no tickets. Nope, it had been stolen.
With Carlos's help, I learnt how to file a police report, what documentation was required and what to do when stopped by police until it came time to renew my plates.
Of course, the time to renew my plate and my registration came during COVID-19. GREAT. The thing I most wanted to do was sit in a small room with 20 other people waiting to be told I was missing my nail trimmings from 2019 and was going to need to file a special form and to come back on Tuesday when the person who processes that particular form would be working. I put what I figured would be required into my bag and walked over.
I arrive at the office and there are 4 people standing outside and a security guy. I smile (because you can totally tell I am smiling from behind my mask, and explain I am there for two processes, one for a friend (picking up a sticker for annual registration) and one for me (replacing my plate & renewing my annual registration). I am politely informed that I must have an appointment. He points to the notice on the wall.
OK, great! (Shit, that means another trek over but GREAT that they have this organized.) He offers that if I wanted to wait, if there was a break between people with appointments or someone does not show up, the staff could see me. Fabulous! I told him I would absolutely wait if he thought that was an option. He said yes.
As I stood, another man drove up, parked his car, and got out. About to walk directly into the office, with no face mask, the security officer stopped him and asked where he thought he was going. "I am going to renew my registration." No, no, no. The security officer pointed to the sign on the wall. Appointment required. I waited. And a face mask. I waited....
I was shortly after let in to the office and explained what I needed. The young man at the service desk was behind a "splash guard" that was quite well done. Area to pass papers back and forth while keeping him protected generally. He explained that this year we got new plates (who ever knows why?) and detailed (and wrote down for me) the various documents I needed for both processes, then offered to make appointments for me to come back, gave me print outs of those and I was off.
I was back at the allotted time on Friday morning, documents in had. There were four of us outside and at exactly 10 (reread that, exactly 10), my name was taken and I was ushered in, documents reviewed, card payment processed onsite, and did a little chair shuffle (4 in total) before everything was processed.
Likely the most shocking thing that happened was the person actually processing my two requests told me that the copy of my identification was missing. Now, this usually means leaving, hunting down a copy place, getting a copy, and coming back to this office to wait AGAIN. I cried a tiny bit inside and then a miracle happened. He offered to make a copy for me! Thankfully, I had already come prepared with one and handed it over, but I was stunned by the offer.
There are things that surprised me this time. That the government had so quickly set up a system to make appointments online. That the little splash guards were ordered and in place. That there had been some sort of agreement (and logic?) behind which processes would continue (renewing my vehicle registration) but others were suspended (renewing my license, but I was assured I could drive with an expired one, no problem). That it only took two visits to get accomplished what I guessed would take 5. And that someone in a government position offered to make a copy for me.
What did not surprise me was that smiling and being patient and respectful of people involved in any process goes a long way to making that process smoother. Thanks Mom.
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