Customers should plan ahead before visiting the Georgia Department of Driver Services to renew or obtain a license or state-issued ID Card. Customers may print a detailed list of all mandatory requirements to prove identity, residency and social security number at dds.ga.gov.
With new federal and state regulations, what can be more maddening these days, or more necessary, than getting a current driver’s license or a state-issued I.D.? No one knows that better than Marie Davis, an examiner with the Georgia Department of Driver Services. Davis, who works in the Norcross Customer Service Center, the state’s busiest, goes out of her way to help customers, so much so that she was recently named Georgia’s top examiner by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators. Davis, who was born and raised in Atlanta, was selected not just because she has served more than one hundred customers in a day and has a transaction time under six minutes. She was selected because she also will stop and take the time with customers who need it. “Marie is a shining star,” said DDS Commissioner Rob Mikell. “She has the technical skills, attention to details and people skills that make someone excel in this position.”
Q: Did you grow up thinking that you’d be a driver examiner?
A: I actually wanted to play sports or be in sports medicine, which is what I went to school for. Sports medicine and my job now are both about helping people.
Q: What do you do?
A: I try to give our customers the easiest route to get or renew their license or their state issued I.D.
Q: So your job gives you satisfaction?
A: At the end of the day, it is very satisfying knowing that you are able to help customers. There are a lot of things you can’t do without a license or a state issued I.D.
Q: Can you talk more about that?
A: People need an I.D. for voting reasons. Some people need one for medical reasons, when they go into the hospital. Some people need one when they are going to school. Other people want an I.D. to carry around with them.
Q: What do you like best about your job?
A: Getting along with my coworkers and the customers.
Q: What is the least favorite?
A: Having to tell someone “no,” especially customers who just don’t know how to get some of their information together.
Q: Do you deal with a lot of grumpy people?
A: From time to time. Most of the time we just try to comfort the customer. We still want to make sure that they get what they came in for. Even though we may not be able to give it to them right away, we try to ensure that when they come back, that we can pick up where we left off.
Q: You like dealing with customers?
A: I really do. I see my job as a problem-solving issue.
Q: You do the driving test. Are you ever scared?
A: There have been a couple of times when my heart has skipped a beat. We do try to make sure drivers aren’t too nervous before we take them on the road. For the vast majority, there isn’t an issue.
Q: Has your job made you a different driver?
A: The job does definitely change you as a driver. I pay more attention to other drivers. My friends tease me because I lecture them about texting and driving. I tease my mom sometimes when she doesn’t put her blinker on.
Q: What about texting and driving?
A: I do think the law helped a lot.
Q: How do you feel about your award?
A: I was really, really surprised and thankful. It was nice to see how hard work does pay off. It makes you want to continue doing what you are doing.
The Sunday Conversation is edited for length and clarity. Writer Ann Hardie can be reached by email at ann.hardie@ymail.com.
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