Seth Godin discusses the difficulty of getting a Visa for India at the New York consulate (thanks dhrumil):

Many of the chairs are broken, leaving sharp steel platforms on which to crouch. And there aren’t enough chairs, broken or not. The signs are confusing, the two clerks are protected by a sheet of glass a full inch thick (which is twice the thickness of a typical bank’s) and the little machine that dispenses deli-style tickets is broken.

I have had the same experience more than once in San Francisco.  The lines are unbearable.  It’s slow.  The staff is stressed and dismissive.  Instead of thinking about throwing a chair through the glass window (my reaction), Seth thinks about how to fix it:

Fixing the consulate would be easy. I’d start by putting in phone lines to a call center in India and making it easy for anyone waiting to get questions answered by a helpful person with plenty of time to invest in the conversation. I’d buy some comfortable chairs. I’d invite airlines and hotels to have brochures or even better, a booking agent right there in the waiting area. I’d hire seven more clerks. And I’d definitely lose the glass.

I couldn’t agree more.  And while we’re at it, let’s get to work on the airports!

Seth’s full post.