We waited in line for over an hour to fix an issue that we had been told would be resolved last week. It was incredibly frustrating. While we were waiting, a staff member came out from the back and started serving people who weren’t next in the queue. Then, when we finally reached the front, two people from a completely different line were brought through to complete their entire driver’s licence tests while we continued to stand there waiting. They were bumped ahead of us even though we’d already been waiting a long time. I’m disabled, and there was no seating available while waiting in the queue. Standing for over an hour was extremely difficult and, in my opinion, unacceptable. The staff were polite, but the queue management was very disorganised and unfair. I don’t understand why people from another line were allowed to go ahead while everyone else continued waiting. It made for a very disappointing experience. Read Less

On my first visit, I was assisted by a very kind and helpful staff member whose name started with “S”. She clearly explained the process and gave me correct instructions. I prepared all required documents based on her guidance and returned on another day for my appointment. I arrived before my appointment time and waited in line. When it was almost my turn, the staff member at the middle counter (name starting with “R”) simply nodded for me to come forward, without any greeting. From the beginning, her attitude felt unfriendly. She examined my overseas licence and began questioning it with other staff members. The same helpful staff member “S” was present and stated that she did not see any issue. However, the staff member serving me was not satisfied and contacted an NZTA agent. She said that because there was no comma between my surname and given name, she could not clearly identify them according to my passport, even though this could have been easily understood with basic common sense and experience. My conversion request was declined, and I was asked to obtain a letter from my home country. Throughout the interaction, her communication felt dismissive and unhelpful. When I tried to explain, I was told that she had done many conversions and that this is how it goes. What made this experience more frustrating is that I visited another AA centre the following day, where my overseas licence conversion was completed within 10–15 minutes without any issues. If there had truly been a problem with my licence, it should have been identified there as well. This experience showed how important attitude, customer service, and practical judgment are, especially when assisting migrants with overseas licence conversions. I have also noticed several previous negative reviews regarding similar issues at this branch. I would like to note that not all staff at AA Invercargill are the same. Some staff members were polite, kind, and efficient. Unfortunately, this particular interaction left me very disappointed. Read Less