Exactly this. It was worse in the past, though. I remember going to the Registry in Marlborough in the late 70s... They were so slow that the line extended well into the parking lot. After you stood in that line for an hour or more, and got "helped" by an employee, you had to go stand in another ( shorter ) cashier line to pay for your transactions.

Also, the RMV workers were butthurt at the time because Massachusetts voters had passed some economic cutback measures... So, besides being jerks to deal with in person, they absolutely would not answer phone calls. I remember listening to the phone ring for an hour while I stood in line... it never did get picked up.

RMV really did improve their service a few decades back, making it just a pain in the butt to go there, versus the soul crushing bureaucratic experience it was in the past.