WHAT PRESIDENT TRUMP DID
The Veteran's Administration (V.A.) medical system had many problems, such as:
- Long wait times, with veterans sometimes dying before they could be seen.
- Suicidal veterans dealing with the demons of combat could not timely get the comprehensive help they needed. So they killed themselves.
- Staff were rude, sometimes undertrained, made improper diagnosis, conducted unnecessary procedures, and improperly denied eligible and needed medical care.
- There were also many scandals to include veterans contracting diseases from improperly disinfected instruments, missing graves in V.A. cemeteries, the theft of 26.5 million veteran's social security numbers, and a backlog of disability claims.
Then along came Donald J. Trump. He ordered the V.A. to put the needs of veterans ahead of bureaucracy, and to clean the system top to bottom. Stat. Those who didn't move fast enough, and those who were incompetent were fired.
As President Trump notes, “VA workers who failed to give our veterans the quality care they deserved were fired or punished.”
As a result, at Trump's V.A.:
- Appointment wait times have decreased substantially.
- Mental health care has improved tremendously. At every log in, phone call, in every mailing or messaging mental health services are prominently offered.
- If care is delayed, Veterans can seek care at non-V.A. facilities.
- Access to physicians, nurses, and therapists is available through telehealth as well, with use of this program up by 1,000%.
- Better mental and physical health care has caused the number of homeless veterans to decrease significantly.
- Unlike many hospitals and medical groups, at the V.A. most appointment setting and information is still provided by American citizens on the other end of a phone call. There are no aggravating delays by AI trying to solve your problem, and annoying 20 minute delays listening to awful music on loop.
Not surprisingly, positive ratings of the V.A. have gone up from 19% to 91%.
TALE OF TWO CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES: VETERAN'S ADMINISTRATION v. NEVADA DMV
A month ago, around the same time, I needed a knee replacement, and my wife needed to pay registration and get a new tag for her car. Thus, I was able to compare customer service at the V.A. versus Nevada DMV.
Within weeks the V.A. diagnosed my need for a new knee, conducted all testing, carried out in-patient surgery, and got me started on physical therapy. Any questions I had were quickly answered either by secure messaging or phone calls with real people. V.A. staff were positive, polite, professional, and responsive. The Veterans Administration earned an A+, five star rating.
Then there is Nevada DMV, who as you will see earned a F with a one star rating. Below is a very short summary of the DMV's multiple failures. It is important to know my wife and I both work full time during the day.
- One night we drove 80 miles round-trip to a DMV kiosk in Carson City. It was down.
- The next night on the way home from work, wifey drove 30 miles out of her way to try to conduct business at the other DMV kiosk in Carson City. It was down.
- Lorrie tried to renew her registration on line. The computer refused and said she had to go to a DMV office.
- Lorrie went to the rural DMV office in our county and was turned away. She was told walk-in appointments were no longer allowed, and she had to make an appointment.
- Lorrie got up early and arrived at the DMV's main office in Carson City. The security guard turned her away, saying walk-in's were no longer allowed. He said the soonest appointment was a month away.
- Lorrie went online and chose the soonest available appointment regardless of location. She was able to get one 40 miles from our home. At the appointment the DMV clerk said they had made a mistake and should not have blocked online re-registration.
Total time and cost: 11 hours, 240 miles of driving, and at least $55 in fuel.
WHAT DMV DIRECTOR TONYA LANEY DID
Just before Christmas last year, and acting on her own initiative, DMV Director Tonya Laney arbitrarily ended walk-in appointments at all rural DMV offices.
As confirmed by the DMV Public Affairs Officer, cutting off rural walk-in appointments was not mandated by law. There was no study, no data, no working group recommendations. Director Laney simply and arbitrarily imposed this policy.
In her December 22, 2025, press release Director Laney claims ending walk-in appointments has created “monumentally positive impacts… [and a] positive experience” for customers. I asked the PAO for studies or data that confirm a “monumentally positive impact” and “positive experiences”. None was provided.
The Director of the DMV lives in one of Nevada's large cities. Maybe she doesn't have empathy for the rural residents of Nevada.
Director Laney's decision to cut off walk-in appointments at rural Nevada DMV offices was bureaucratic. I doubt any rural citizens have reported a monumentally positive impact from walking into a rural DMV office–possibly after driving two hours to get there–and being turned away.
Director Laney should not make decisions based upon what is good for her or her staff.
One indicator of a great leader is the ability to admit a mistake and undo it.
Wifey's experience isn't isolated nor unusual. While researching this article I interviewed many people on background. Each had a DMV customer service horror story.
Perhaps Director Laney should look to the Veteran's Administration for a better model of service, and then impose it.
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views.
