MISSOULA - It’s a new system. One that is supposed to keep wait lines manageable.
The Missoula County Clerk and Treasurer Office now offers an enhanced virtual queue system which allows residents who need their services to have more control over the schedule by joining the wait line, virtually.
“The idea is you can get in from home and then when you're ready to be served, You drive down here and get served without having to wait,” explained Missoula County Clerk and Treasurer Tyler Gernant.
Residents who need to title a vehicle, renew a vehicle registration or pay property taxes, can now join the wait line virtually from anywhere. The online queue opens at 7:30 a.m. and closes shortly after 5 p.m. To join the queue you text “Missoula Clerk” to (406) 285-7490, then you are added.
Once a person is added to the queue the system will notify them how close they are to being helped, by sending notifications with live updates. Users then have the ability to move themselves in the queue, if they are running late or need more time and have the ability to leave at any time.
The queue has already been saving time for employees and customers.
“We've been open, you know, for 40 minutes and we've already served 10 people, and we're serving three more right now. On average, these transactions take about 15 minutes per person. And so the average wait time right now or the transaction time is about 11 minutes," Gernant told MTN News recently while showing the live queue system.
Gernant says the system has been successful since launching in October. “From the back end on our side, it allows us to manage the workflow a little bit better," said Gernant. "And so we've seen already a pretty substantial reduction in wait times for us.”
You can also join the online queue from the Missoula County website.
