Eliminating the language barrier: OMV now offering interpreting service

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - Italian, Spanish, Korean, German, and French.

Those are just 5 out of 240 languages in which the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles can now communicate with customers thanks to a new partnership with languageLine Solutions.

“It’s an exciting announcement for us, and it’s a very exciting service that we can offer to our customers who are limited English or non-English speaking customers.”

As public information director for the Office of Motor Vehicles, Matthew Boudreaux says, the service is free and available in their offices across the state.

“They could connect within seconds. It’s one button, there’s a hotkey, they press go straight to the language line, and they’re on the phone within seconds. It’s safe, it’s secure, and it’s fast and efficient,” he said.

But how does it work?

“The phone is a dual handset, so there’s actually two, you know, two of these. So what happens is, our employee, the OMV employee will pick up one of it, and the customer or guests will pick up the other and the interpreter will be on the other side of the line translating through the customer to our employee, from our employee back to our customer,” he said.

When it comes to feedback, he tells me it’s been great.

“It’s something that’s inclusive, it empowers them,” he added. “It’s equitable, and you know, it allows us to provide a level of customer service that we haven’t been able to before.”

Boudreaux says if your office is appointment only, they advise customers to fill out the notes section and put “interpreter needed” when booking your appointment online.

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