Technical problems, slowdowns, web glitches… not to mention the sometimes two-hour queues… the resumption of online services by the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) after a month of paralysis is often done in mess monday
• Also read: They’re taking a break to renew their license
• Also read: Complete overhaul of the SAAQ system
From the first minutes of the brand new website going online on Monday, a spokesperson for SAAQ confirmed to the Journal that we had “minor technical hiccups”.
Some time later, the SAAQ stated that their website was working, but the platform was “not immune to certain slowdowns”.
“As with any new system, expect a dip, but we’re evolving! ‘ said Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault on social media.
Image provided by the SAAQ.
hours of waiting
On Monday morning outside a SAAQ office in Longueuil, there was a long wait for Robert Carlson, who came to do a file.
“I’ve been here for an hour,” the man denounced to the Journal, standing outside.
“It’s long, long, long,” he added, saying he’s still happy to see people being offered coffee.
- Listen to Yasmine Abdelfadel’s interview with Dave Leclerc, Vice President of Marketing and Road Safety Strategies and Employee Experience QUB radio :
From an office a few kilometers away, customers often left with tense faces, disappointed that they could not clean up their files that had been waiting for several weeks. Some even said they waited more than two hours.
“I made an appointment by phone. I came here to find out my name wasn’t in the system,” sighed Albert Pierre Lomanga, factory worker met in another office on Montreal’s south coast.
“It’s a big mess. They have to organize their system,” he lamented.
Better in Quebec
While the wait was endless on the South Shore, the situation in Quebec was better.
Patience continued as SAAQ customers had to take time off work to renew their driver’s license in person, despite the launch of new online services.
“My license renewal deadline is today. I didn’t risk it. I came in person. I took this morning off and am working this afternoon. It needs to be repaired there. I work on the go. If I don’t have a permit, things don’t go well,” said Elsie Kirouac.
– More details to come.
-In collaboration with Diane Tremblay and Antoine Lacroix