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ServiceOntario
Category: Public Services & Government Public Services & Government
777 Bay StreetToronto, ON M5G
Neighbourhoods: Discovery District, Downtown Core
(800) 268-8758
16 reviews for ServiceOntario
16 reviews in English
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Review from Vivek S.
1/3/2012 1 Check-in Here
I've seen the people listless slumped,
In waitroom chairs ungainly dumped,
Mean fingers pinching numbered slips,
Folks' demeanour: about to flip,
With patience planed to paper thin,
And old man kicks his neighbours shin,
What salve can cure this discontent?
By making an appoint-a-ment!
You can very easily book a fifteen minute appointment online. When you arrive to ServiceOntario (located in the concourse level of 777 Bay St), your waiting time will be nil; I was in and out in 12 minutes when renewing my health card. It helps immensely if you have all the paperwork you are asked to bring, and I would even bring some extra just in case.
They really do put the service in ServiceOntario here. Everyone was quite friendly and helpful. I will come again, but mostly because I'm obligated to do so.
Five stars so they don't take away my healthcare.
Obligatory Title Duran Duran reference: ONTA-RIO, RIO across the RIO Grande.
Menu Readability: What could be more boring that doing graphic design for the government?
Need to mention: Try to look nice, they're about to take your picture.
What this place teaches me about myself: I'm ready for my close up. -
Review from Sara K. P.
Toronto, ON
5/9/2012
I'll start by saying, don't be a procrastinating ass and get here too late in the day...you will regret it.
Located on the lower level in the bowels of College Park
I waltzed in about 6:45pm on a Thursday, and it was a full house.
The receptionist had a funky colored 'do' and reminded me of Chris Tucker's character from the Fifth Element minus the helium voice and the screaming. He hands me my wait number slip and tells me it's an hours wait at the least. Good grief!
The decor like most government offices leaves little in way of aesthetics, with "death pallor" flourescent lighting which is perfect for those "sexy" license photos. There was jizzy crusts on a lot of seats in the wait area, and one seat looked like someone had a leaking Depends moment, sorry I went there, I'm really OCD about these things!!
As with all visits to any government offices you get to hobnob with the public at large so you will encounter a lot of the garden variety types, like the dude next to me who smelled so rank in that "I haven't showered since 1996" kind of way. Having my nasal odour threshold duly compromised I decided this was enough and hauled my ass to the nearby Winners. That's right, I like to live dangerously! plus I knew my wait number was eons away so I shopped at Winners and even had enough time to sneak in some time at Dollarama too. By the time I got back to Service Ontario at 7:50pm my call number was right on cue! Howbout that!
Useful tip: Thursdays this Service Ontario location is open until 8pm
Possibly useful tip for the ladies: try to avoid eye contact with the oh so many creepster men in the waiting/seating area and try to avoid altercations with the pathetic College Park mallrats. -
Review from Rachael T.
Toronto, ON
2/1/2012
This place is usually super courteous despite the wait and some times extended working hours....when i walked in two in the afternion to get my name changed.. I didnt expect to wait long which i was correct about. Thouht the service would ne great but was quite surprised at how much the person assisting me didnt really seem to care. His coworkers seemed to he getting the more difficult cases as he kept amswering to her questions rather than paying attention to mine.
You know how you are not supposed to smile in your drivers license? Im sure that if i had a huge big teeth smile....it would be the next photo on my license! That would have been fun! He didnt even tell me that the photo was taking when i was taking the shot for the health card... Talk abt an embarrassing shot there.
All in all i got out no trouble. They are pretty organized and the people are usually friendly. Really the luck of the draw. Can feel like a really large walk in clinic with 20 random doctors you can be placed with.
Not sure if i like the whole concept of a bell ringing everytime a New number was called. It was dinging so many times over the course of a minute my neck started to ache. Maybe Im just annoyed none of those numbers were mine. -
Review from Chris P.
10/29/2011
After looking over the reviews here it really does confuse me how SO has managed to get so many positive reviews. I have had to grace this place with my presence many times and every single time I had a frustratingly stressful experience.
I had to come to to get my enhanced driver's licence so I would have proper id for a trip across the border, I looked on the SO website and found out that I had to make an appointment for that which I did, and I arrived for my appointment and still had to wait 2 hours before I was seen. Why did I have to make an appointment then?
So I filled out the paperwork, submitted it and was told to return in 2 weeks to pick up my enhanced licence, I was given a pickup date. Then they told me I would have to leave my current licence there and I would be issued a non-photo paper teporary licence through the mail to have as a substitute licence while my enhanced one was processing and the paper copy was still a valid licence to drive with. I had a bit of a problem with this as I don't drive anymore, I gave up my car years ago, but I still keep my licence valid as it is the only form of photo id I carry. So now I would be stuck with no photo id for 2 weeks.
Anyway, 2 weeks later I show up on my pickup date to pick up my new licence. Yet again the lineups were long and moving at a glacier's pace, and once it was finally my turn I was informed that there had been delays in the processing and that my licence still wasn't ready, I was simply to wait for an undetermined amount of time and I would be called when it was ready. Re-goddammed-diculous.
Finally 2 more weeks later I get a call from SO telling me that my licence is ready and it will be couried over to my home address. So of course the courier comes at a time when I am at work and I have to call the warehouse to arrange a time to pick it up and I find out that apparently my package didn't ever make it off the delivery truck into the warehouse. That is seriously what I was told. So bascially the courier lost it, I still have no photo id and now I'm out the $100 fees that I had to pay to get my enhanced licence.
Anyway, I call up SO and explain what happened with the courier and asked repeatedly why was my licence given to a courier when it would have been simpler for me to just pick it up like what was arranged in the first place??? The only response I got was that I'd have to start the process over and make a new appointment to come in and do my enhanced licence application.
So $200 and weeks of frustrations later, I finally had my enhanced licence. All that for a bloody hologram on a card that has all the exact information on it that my old licence did. Buggering bollocks,.Listed in: 1 Review A Day For Every Day…
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Review from Grainne M.
Toronto, ON
9/8/2011 1 Check-in Here
Oh dear me. I tend to be fairly enthusiastic in my allocation of Yelp stars, but there is no way I could give this place more than 3. I've had to go there three times and I'd rather stick pins in my eyes than go there again.
The subterranean location increases the feeling that this is the waiting room before you enter the depths of hell. I think it tends to be a bit quieter early in the morning, but my quickest visit was still approximately 20mins. You wait to get a number to go wait some more. The chairs are hard with mystery stains. I recommend bringing a book but reading it is potentially perilous-the numbers and letters seem to come up almost randomly so it's hard to predict how long you'll be there. Meanwhile, there's the fun of screaming children and the rest of the coughing, sneezing waiting room and looking at the empty desks devoid of assistants.
When you eventually get served, the staff are generally nice. I wasn't as impressed by the first person I dealt with though-she kept moaning to the girl next to her about how hungry she was, scowled, ignored me to eavesdrop on the conversation next to her and then spelled my name wrong for my OHIP card so I ended up stuck with a second visit.
I'm trying to think of positive things to say. Apart from one rude person, most have been nice. I suppose I also can't complain too much about getting a card that ensures I have health care. And.....that's about it! -
Review from Sol O.
Toronto, ON
5/25/2011
Before you go - book an appointment online. I had to go twice in 3 months, and the longest wait was literally 3 minutes. The people were helpful, stuff got done asap, and I was in and out faster than at a bank.
Book an appointment online. Make your life easier. -
Review from sarah l.
8/24/2010 2 Check-ins Here
This is by far the best government building I have been to.
The good:
- super clean
- computers available for people without iphones to entertain themselves
- reasonably accurate wait times displayed at registration desk
- efficient process for maintaining line order - you get your number, and then you sit down, and they call numbers on huge reader boards, with arrows showing you which way to go
- you are allowed to have drinks (in Niagara you are not)
- there was always been a free chair for me when I have been here
- everyone who works here is really happy and nice. I really like that they can wear their own (pretty casual) clothes - no uniforms, but there are also no blaring logos either. The people that work here generally look like models.
The bad:
- the lines are still kind of long. I went once at 1000 on a Tuesday and it was only 20mins but at 1300 on a Thursday it was over an hour.
- it's very boring.
- In April when I neeced to renew my insurance sticker, I'm glad I went to a different location because I needed an eTest and I would have been really upset if I waited in line, then realized that, then had to take the streetcar home, get my car etested, take the streetcar back, wait in line again, and then get a sticker. I'm glad I went to a different location (in my car) that day.
Overall, if I were dealing with a licencing or health card issue, I would only ever consider coming to this office. All other offices are inferior. If I was dealing with something directly related to my car itself, I might consider going to an office that I could drive to, in case I needed to do an errand (like an etest) -
Review from Chad M.
7/15/2010 2 Check-ins Here
WOW! I continue to be impressed with government offices here in Toronto.
It's so ODD to have a pleasant experience dealing with the .GOV. I'm from the US and when you go to the DMV you generally have to block out an entire day. It's just one of those things you accept.
I arrived at 777 Bay street fairly late in the day, around 3:30. The offices are bright, shiny and I didn't see anyone with a scowl on their face. Very strange indeed! Even better, nobody gave me shit about my cookie and coffee. In the US there are signs everywhere. No Dogs, no food, no drinks, no smoking, NO NO NO! Because of this I tend to be an outlaw and look for ways I can break the law each day. I'm serious. Don't tell me I can't smoke indoors. It's the law, and if you aren't taking a dirt nap you probably f'ing know this!
Anywho, my number was called in about 30 minutes! A far cry from the Beetlejuice-esque 2-4 hours+ I'm used to.
My rep, Ivan, was professional and very friendly. I also noticed that they were sitting in $900 Herman Miller chairs! It's like the .COM all over again but on a governmental scale. Well, if they're happy then we're happy I suppose...
There was one slight hiccup, but it involved my license back in the states and not Ontario. I was issued a conditional license and Ivan said to just come back up and see him so I didn't have to wait in line tomorrow.
Blah. I'm on the phone right now with the Washington State DMV and the computer told me the wait time is 20 minutes. This is normal in the US. I'll probably either be hung up on or transferred to the wrong department.
I wuv you governmental office of Ontario. :)
EDIT: My second trip here to finalise my DL was a similar experience. I just waited for the reception and stated that I'd been told I didn't need to wait in line. The receptionist said "Well, you typically need proof of that but I'll let it slide." So freakin' nice! -
Review from Kat F.
I'm actually scared to post this review, lest ServiceOntario track me down and punish me for not waiting in line long enough.
Time from start to finish to get a new health card and driver's licence at 10am on a Thursday:
5 minutes.
Exhibit A: http://www.yelp.ca/biz... - taken while waiting in line at reception. The tabletop card said the estimated wait time was 45 minutes. D105 & 106 were being called while I was in line. The number I was handed? D107.
I rushed over to get my photo taken for a new health card and was immediately put back into the queue for my driver's licence. They called my number as I was collecting my things from the health card counter, and I had to sprint across the office, past Exhibit B: http://www.yelp.ca/biz... - hundreds of people waiting to get their licences renewed and hoping they wouldn't notice I had nary arrived on the scene. It was akin to tiptoeing past a sleeping giant.
I changed outfits for photo op #2 (!) and tried not to grin in my driver's licence photo, since you're no longer allowed to show any emotion and dashed out of there - nay, I glided. I looked like the incredulous woman in that IKEA customer from last season who couldn't believe what a deal she'd just scored: http://www.youtube.com...
TIPS:
- bring something with your current address on it (ie a bill)
- bring a passport to cover your citizenship, photo ID, DOB bases
- don't come here at lunchtime
UPDATE:
My new licence arrived in the mail within 7 days. Mind-boggling!!Listed in: The Most Random Things I've…
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Review from Antoaneta J.
4/14/2011
Shockingly nice, clean, efficient and fast government office.
I went there twice in the past month, once for a health card and once for a driver's license. The first time I waited a total of 7 minutes, including the time spent in the reception line to get my number. The second time I waited 4 minutes. There is ample seating (not that you'll need it for too long) and all the agents are polite and helpful. Still in amazed disbelief that I could walk in and out in less than 10 minutes with all my paperwork taken care of. I practically skipped out of there singing Oh Canada! -
Review from Lorian H.
Toronto, ON
6/9/2011
I'm confused about all of these good reviews. Maybe these were health card renewals (rather than new health cards), maybe I picked a bad day to go? I went on a Thursday at 1pm and waited nearly 3 hours to get a health card, which is totally unreasonable.
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Review from Connie T.
Toronto, ON
12/29/2008
Thanks to a history of changing provincial health cards and driver's licences, not to mention a lost wallet, I've had to deal with government agencies. A lot.
When these services were split, this was a chore. Half a day would be spent at the Ministry of Transportation, and another at the Ministry of Health, with unpaid time off and anger in my wake.
However, since the two services merged into these shiny and bright mega service centres, my entire provincial document transfer (driver's licence and OHIP card) was actually processed within an hour, including wait time. For this to be done within a lunch hour is fantastic. Much better than my previous day-long investment.
Finally, my tax dollars at work! (Man, I sound old.) -
Review from Emily T.
Toronto, ON
1/13/2009
I have to admit it; I actually had a pleasant time in a government regulated office today. I keep getting health card renewal notices in the mail (I still have my red and white card; well half of it. You can still see the number and swipe it, but the top half that I had taped together a dozen times is now lost) and I've ignored every one of them so far.
A friend in the health care field had told me to hang on to the old card as long as I could, or until they 'find' you. Well, I guess I can' t hide anymore. Bummer! I was really against changing my card, having the picture taken, etc, etc...
However, when I went today to accompany my better half to have his changed, among other services, I was surprised at the concise nature of the office. The wait time was less than 5 minutes. The agents were thorough, talkative and funny. Enjoyable. And I learned why every resident of Ontario has to change their health card, and I can now respect this process. So, I'm next...
In the same space along with OHIP and Transportation services, you can get your marriage license, your death license (not sure how that works) and pick up passport applications and pretty much any kind of government document imaginable, including Publications Ontario.
If you need governmental or legal documents pertaining to building codes, medical information, business management, or pretty much any document of the like, you can purchase it on whim at Publications. I was skeptical of the services at Service Ontario, but can agreeably put my foot in my mouth now due to my assumptions on it. -
Review from Noel D.
7/15/2010
Wow. Glad to see I'm not the only one who had a stress-free and somewhat pleasant experience with this place...
When I was getting my passport recently I didn't have a Health Card with my photo on it and I needed it to support my existence basically. They wouldn't accept the old red and white one I had been sporting for over 20 years. So I rushed to this location in order to get a temporary sheet to fax over but didn't have anything with my address on it, so they turned me away and I had to come back the next morning.
I don't like mentioning this sort of thing in reviews, but the girl who pre-checked my documents was stunning! I could not believe she was actually working at this place. Anyway, she was also super polite and patient with people who were barking at her. And there were a lot of cranky customers to be had this day.
I got my number and waited for a good hour. This was around 9:00am so I guess there's really no avoiding the wait. I had my phone with so just checked Facebook and texted friends to kill time. Also played about 20 games of solitaire. I recommend having a phone or iPod with games on hand. Or even a book, because the wait is long and boring.
They finally called my number and I went to the booth. The dude didn't really say much other than to tell me to stand for my photo and that was it. Said my health card would arrive in a week and it did. Done and done. Apart from the wait it was so effortless and stress free. -
Review from Kelly O.
6/7/2010
I had set aside the entire afternoon, predicting that having to renew BOTH OHIP and license, as well as change my address would just throw these cranky government people for a loop. Boy, was I wrong.
After lining up for directions, I was placed in the OHIP line first, as this was the faster line. Before I could even orient myself, my number was called. The clerk was super friendly and very fast.
She then placed my number back into the queue to wait for my license. Again, before I could orient myself, my number had been called and I had to literally run to the wicket, lest they assume I'm not there and move on. This guy was also incredibly friendly and efficient. Altogether, it only took about 10 minutes!!!! AMAZING. -
Review from kelly h.
Toronto, ON
6/1/2011
In, out, and with plenty of time to visit Dollarama.
