Secretary Of State

Repulsive customer service! I got rushed into taking a test due to their poor lack of customer care!

Very clean and well organized. People were polite and efficient. Both time I have been here they are Short staffed, so be prepared to wait.

I liked it a lot better when they had a «triage» person posted at the door to make sure you had all the right papers *before* waiting an hour to ask your question.
I had wanted to be there right when they opened on Monday, but I had forgotten where they were. It has been a long time since I had to go there in person. I went to the mall with ACE Hardware and Arbor Farms. Nope. Old memory. OK, it was at the mall with Plum Market, then. Waaaaay in the back, past the workout place. It has its own parking lot area.
So I grabbed a number. At least they have chairs so that you don’t have to stand the entire time. I tried to read the book I had brought, but the general restlessness of everyone else around me and the incessant «peeeeeeee» of the ATM near the door were maddening. I think it only took 45 minutes before I could talk to someone.
I had a car title that needed to be changed. Since my name was not on the title, I expected to be told that I couldn’t do anything, and that my husband had to show up. Turns out I was wrong! I filled out a form that we faxed to my husband at work, designating me as his agent. Then I could get the instant title. (The other SOS office over on Washtenaw does not do the instant titles.)
It wasn’t exactly instant, because I had to wait for my husband to be out of his meeting before we could conclude my business, but the nice lady remembered who I was each time I needed her help, and told me to step to the mat in front of the desk with the two footprints instead of waiting all over again. She didn’t even wait for me to step up, but saw me there and invited me back up.
I thanked the lady who had helped me. She was very kind and patient. I was pleasantly surprised to be able to get my business done, in only two hours. (Would have been only an hour if my husband could have gone.)

I got to this branch at 9:10 this morning and drew number 39. As I sat down, they called number 5. Yes, there were 34 people in front of me already. I got out at 10:15. Next time, I’m driving to Chelsea.

A break from the past, this might be the best run State Government service in Michigan. The wait is only long enough to miss an entire afternoon Tigers game on your day off.

Went here on a recent Wednesday morning and let me tell you to get here early. I walked in the vestibule at 8:45 am (they open at 9) and there were 3 people in front of me. By the time the doors opened there were at least 10 people behind me. Staff was friendly and courteous and I was in and out of there pretty quickly.

Employees were efficient (for a state run institution anyway) and friendly. The best part was when they closed at 7pm, they locked the door and guaranteed everyone would be helped as long as we stayed. None of that pink slip, come back tomorrow nonsense. I was in and out in an hour, which isn’t bad for this sort of place.

Came here on a Tuesday afternoon and it took about 50 minutes for my number to be called. I was a little confused at first because I wasn’t sure if I had to fill forms out ahead of time, but apparently all you do is take a number and wait to be called… and then the nice lady calling out numbers will provide the correct forms for you.
Anyway, there were 4 or 5 employees working at the time. The two that I interacted with were very friendly. I was in and out in about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
My main complaint is that there isn’t really a bike rack nearby (well, there was one metal post that maybe two bikes could be locked to in front of Planet Fitness). That’s more of the shopping center’s fault than the SoS’s.

As a stranger from a strange land, I know this institution as the DMV (department of motor vehicles). Knowing nothing of this mysterious «Secretary of State» except for its name, «SOS,» I was expecting the worst. Turns out, this place ain’t so bad!
First off, to get here you have to drive all the way past plum market, under the archway (bigger sign for some fitness store than for the SOS) and park.
So far, my experience with the women who work here has been nothing but pleasant. They joke with each other, and if you approach them in a relaxed fashion, they will joke with you, too. Be an uptight, stressed-​out jerk, however, and they will shut you out of fun-​time.
The first time I went was at 3pm on a Tuesday and it was pretty darn busy. There were about 30 people in front of me and only two people working the windows. My number was called at 4pm (watch out — when it gets busy, it’s hard to hear the numbers being called — keep an eye out on the sign to anticipate your number).
The second time I went was at 12:30pm, again on a Tuesday. The place was a veritable ghost town! I sat for all of 30 seconds before getting called. In and out in less than 15 minutes. Glory halleloo. I’m not sure if this is indicative of any pattern but I’m going to shoot for lunch hour next time to see if the luck continues.
One thing I really wish they had was a preliminary «info» window — they have had one of these in every DMV location I’ve been to in CO and CA and it’s really helpful. At the window, someone checks that you have all the necessary documents BEFORE you wait in in line for an hour only to find out you need a proof of residence, or your expired registration receipt isn’t the right one.
Also, THEY DO NOT ACCEPT VISA CARDS. Only mastercard or discover. Really? Man it’s like the government teams up with every dying technology known to man. I had to pull out a ratty, folded up, blank check from my wallet. I stared at it like a curious artifact of the days of yore.
Other weird thing? Your car’s registration starts on your birthday. Wha? Shouldn’t it start for the month that you… you know… register your car? I mean I LOVE my car (as much as a pseudo eco-​crazy bicyclist and bus-​rider can), but I don’t want to think of it passing through my mother’s birth canal, ok?
For a governmental agency, this one takes the cake for being friendly. It is only as efficient, if not a little less so, than a post office or SS office though. But clean. And not completely in the middle of nowhere.

Let me be absolutely clear… I ate Sec of State, always will! I have been burned by them too many times, just waiting to get simple things done, slowly dying, minutes being wasted, thus if I can bypass SoS for anything, I will!!!
However, this location is little more efficient… staff are much more friendlier then other locations. The first visit, it took us 30 minutes, only because we had to wait for our insurance agent to fax them some information and second visit lasted only for five minutes, which was really nice.
This location will be my go to place and I hope others stay away :)

The thought of having to go to a Secretary of State puts me in a cold sweat. When I lived in Dearborn Heights my SoS was the now defunct location at Inkster and Cherry Hill, a location I would give negative 5 stars if I could (and it still existed). I have never had a visit at that SoS that didn’t last at least an hour and a half – no matter what time I went. 10am on a Tuesday, 4pm on a Wednesday, 2pm on a Friday. I tested them all and it always took FOR-​EVER. And I surprisingly went there a lot. As the one in my family with the flexible schedule I was always the designated «registration renewer.» So I went multiple times a year. SIGH. Anyway, each visit was a waiting game. Without fail they would, at max, have about 4 tellers open for a room full of people. Not exactly accommodating. I remember one time I pulled a 20 and they were on 34 with 3 tellers open (FML). Plus the space was tiny and the inside had seen better days.
So, you can understand why I waited about 2 months to finally get my address changed post move. I was not excited to enter the belly of the beast willingly. However, it had to be done so away I went.
OH EMZ. THIS SECRETARY OF STATE IS HEAVEN. Well, comparatively. Big. Spacious. Clean. 7 tellers open. Not overly crowded (around 4pm on a Tuesday). And FAST – I came in and pulled a 16 while they were on 91. Not the worst I’ve ever pulled but I assumed I’d be there at least an hour. I was in and out in under a half hour. HOT DAMN! And my teller was cheerful and didn’t seem to hate life which is always a bonus. I had my address changed and my voter registration updated too.
For real this place rules. I shall no longer be a’feared!

I know, you are thinking DMV… five stars… or Secretary of State (SoS) as it is known now, is kind of an oxy-​moron, but I have lived in a lot of places and had to visit a few of these and this one is pretty top notch.
They are very busy almost all the time, near as I can figure. Yesterday when I went in, there were 30 people in front of me. I waited less than 30 minutes. One of the ladies came out and was asking each person waiting in chair what they were there for and directing them in ways to save time and to special lines.
When it was my turn, I was all set in about 40 seconds, that was a plate transfer, new title and registration and a new personalized (vanity) plate. Can you believe ProCr8 was not taken!!! Well, it is now!!!
Thanks ladies at the SoS, always fast, no nonsense, and courteous. Even in Ann Arbor, where you never know what language you will come up against. Or situation, «this is my dad’s fraternity brother’s car from Anchorage Alaska, he is letting me use it for the next four years and I am just wondering what I need to do. No I do not have any paper work, what is a VIN number? What do you mean you can not help me??»