Three months after the launch of the SAAQclic platform, queues are still a reality in multiple regions. The Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) attributes the problem to the busy period early in the summer and the many customers who still come into the branch when they could have used digital services.
Posted at 12:11 p.m.
“The months of May and June are very busy times every year, particularly due to the large number of customers switching vehicles and especially the parking season,” SAAQ spokeswoman Geneviève Côté told La Presse.
She claims that “many customers” are still coming into the branch, although they “could have avoided the wait by using digital services”. “For example, SAAQclic is the fastest way for discounts or transfers of ownership between individuals on a passenger car, but we still get a lot of customers for these transactions at the service points,” says Ms. Côté.
Several La Presse readers still report a number of technical difficulties, including the long waiting time when paying for license plates in several regions. Bugs related to the Quebec Service for Changes of Address (SQCA) have also been reported, with the changes being made in other organizations but not the SAAQ.
On Wednesday, the waiting time in Sainte-Thérèse was just under an hour, while in Beauharnois and Saint-Georges-de-Beauce in particular we had to wait up to 45 minutes. In the Saint-Eustache and Pointe-Claire sectors, the minimum waiting time averaged 40 minutes. In several other establishments, the waiting time was more than half an hour.
While waiting times increased in the first two weeks of May, they are now “back to normal at most service points,” according to the Société. “Overall, our turnaround times throughout Quebec are in line with the objective of our service declaration to citizens, which envisages that 80% of our customers will be served within 30 minutes,” specifies Geneviève Côté, adding that the SAAQ expects a return to normal in July only.
measures still in force
The SAAQ ensures that several queue reduction measures remain in place. First, customers who come in person will be “picked up and, if necessary, offered a different option depending on the priority level of the request.” have,” says the spokesman.
For users who show up without an appointment, on-site supervisors offer the opportunity to accompany them so that they can provide their service digitally. SAAQ promises that these “SAAQclic Spaces” for assistance will also be available in all service centers by the end of July.
Currently 25 of these areas are available across Quebec and essentially help customers create their SAAQclic account. In addition, self-service terminals were installed in 43 service centers.
Note: The smallest service points often have “limited capacities,” argues Ms. Côté. “An unforeseen absence of an employee will affect their ability to serve customers at any time of the day. For example, a service agency employing a new employee in training may experience longer wait times due to the onboarding time required to train a new employee,” she says.
The cost of transitioning to SAAQ will be at least $2.6 million, primarily in the form of overtime and extended hours, the company said in April when examining the budget for the National Assembly.