The Licensing Company

We have been to this company twice and have had nothing but terrible service! We have moved to Calgary from the maritimes and had gone in to get our Alberta license. We had been warned by others that they will often write that you have a beginners license, even though you have been fully licensed for multiple years. Knowing this, we specifically stated that we had a full license, as they reassured us that we would receive a full license. I also asked about getting my registration switched, as I had read online that an inspection that has not exceeded 90 days from another province would exempt you from getting an Out of Province Inspection. I was however told that I was incorrect.
Upon receiving our new license in the mail two weeks later, my boyfriend’s came back as GDL (a beginners license). I had also emailed Alberta Transportation to confirm what I had read about my NB inspection being accepted, which they responded that I was correct and they gave contact information for the registry agent to contact if they were still giving me a difficult time.
Upon returning to the registry, I was once again told I was wrong. I stated that I read this online and was also in contact with Alberta Transportation. They then bobbed their head with attitude and stated «Ummm no. You’re wrong.» I then stood my ground and handed them a copy of the email and told them «Actually yes, here is the copy of the email, and there is a number you can call if you have any issues with this.» The lady then handed it over to another worker to call since she never «Called for inspection approval before». The lady then proceeded with attitude in the meantime, informing us she would be getting out the policy manual. She read through a few with attitude trying to say they applied to us, such as «You’ll find this interesting… Any Alberta resident who moved to another province and had an inspection done, requires an out of province inspection upon returning to Alberta», we told her that this did not apply to us as we have never resided here before. It was a huge fight with the staff instead of calling the contact in the beginning, as she did end up finding the exemption that I was able to use in her policy book.
They then waited for 10 minutes while doing nothing before calling the contact, and then stated «Bad news, they closed two minutes ago!» So because of their lack of customer service, I am approaching the 90^th day of my inspection before I need an out of province one. This has been nothing but a terrible experience.
We then tried to get my boyfriend’s license fixed to a full license, in which they basically stated that he was not telling the truth and shouldn’t be fully licensed. After fighting with them, they went into the back and found his NB license as it had not been shredded yet, once again stating that we were correct and that it was indeed a full license. They said they would have to fax it to someone and then they would be able to fix it; however since they were closing in 10 minutes, they weren’t going to do it that day.
This has been a terrible experience (Both times that we have gone), and also did not enjoy the rude comments by the staff such as «Ughh, don’t people have anything better to do on a Friday at 4:00pm than come here?!?
I would never recommend this company to anyone!

Wait time is awful! All employees move like snails.45 minutes in line. defeats the purpose of the location as you need 2 lunch breaks to come here… never again

It seems that the previous two posts had a similar experience to mine. I too, had a mixed experience. It was a Monday and I had visited another registry company on the weekend but they couldn’t resolve my licensing questions, presumably because it was the weekend and they couldn’t access all of their information sources. On Monday I went in to visit the, for me, very conveniently located TLC. In my case I was happily dealing with one of the counter staff and Grumposaurus (a more senior staff member) needed to lend some additional information. In the end she gave me the impression that I was trying to manipulate the system by visiting more than one registry to get my problem resolved. That accusation was just plain weird and entirely unwarranted. I was looking into registering a vehicle for a charitable organization for which I do some volunteer work and she also concluded that they were going about their vehicle registration in entirely the wrong way and insinuated that they didn’t know what they were doing. In the end, the charities process was just fine and it was she who didn’t know her business! Ooooh, very frustrating… Without going into a lot of other detail (which would take another thousand words), it was all-​in-​all an unpleasant experience!
That said, the lady that I was dealing with initially was quite pleasant but couldn’t make up for the overall distasteful experience. 5 stars for her, –3 stars for Grumposaurus.

Review #27 of Unilocal’s 30 Day Challenge 2012
This company is in a PRIME location and it’s a very clean and well set-​up location. They moved from their old 2^nd floor location down to the main floor, which seems quite a bit bigger.
Overall, I’d say that some of the staff was100% friendly and efficient, and some, particularly the one that I ended up dealing with when I got to the front of the line, were a little rude and unhelpful. Luckily one of the efficient and friendly staff overheard and came to the rescue, but it still wasn’t a pleasant experience leading up to that.
I had a simple service request, one I has spoken with Alberta Registry services about beforehand. They gave me the instructions, and I followed them exactly. The staff member that helped me with this «simple» request gave me a dirty look like I was making an outrageous request, she accused me of lying about talking to Alberta Registry services, and said she could not help me. I tried to tell her how she could check that I was telling the truth, but she waved me off and continued to give me the «you are an idiot» look. Like I said, a more senior and pleasant staff member over heard and told her how to do her job properly, which I definitely appreciated.
All in all, my 1 minute request turned into a 45 minute visit, from waiting in line to being verbally assaulted by the one staff member. But I did think it was pretty efficient of them to have a staff member coming around to people, ensuring their paperwork was in order. She was very friendly and helpful, and it *should* have saved time on the process once the customers get to the kiosk, but I guess it depends on how inept the person that serves you is. Overall, I love the location and on average I like the staff, so it’s a solid 3 star registry!

I was served by Grumpasaurus Rex, the long lost dinosaur. She lives! At The Licensing Company! In Bow Valley!
This is your run of the mill registry place EXCEPT, it’s CONVENIENTLY located in Bow Valley Square for your car registering and Alberta Health Services needs.
That’s a pro, another pro is that if you go before 11 am you’re laughin. Line ups move quickly and are short. After lunch you’re toast.
They do not accept credit, (this might be standard) so when you pay with debit you must also pay a .50 cent fee. Dumb. I hate that. I should’ve tried to pay with food stamps or buttons.
Happy registering!
April Underdog Challenge ²⁄₃₀

I was looking for a fairly convenient licensing company to get my learners, drivers and car registration. And when comparing rates on the phone, I found TLC to be the most reasonable. The girl on the phone seemed very friendly and was extremely informative, I called her several times with many small questions and every time she was kind and very efficient.
This location is just off the terminal line, just a block walk and in a not so busy mall. The line-​up is short and quick here, and they seem to get the proper papers put through fairly fast. I still needed to fax in an insurance document to them and they were still fine in processing all my papers. So basically their trust in me saved me a trip home and back.
Fast, efficient and convenient service. TLC they are what their acronym says they are.