Some were annoyed about the inconvenience. Some were angry.
"It's horrible. I'm not sure what I'll do," worried Salt Lake City resident Julie Velazquez. She received a "fix-it" ticket Thursday for her expired car registration - a detail that lapsed while she spent three months battling leukemia. Now in remission, she had hoped to get that task accomplished Friday.
Davion Pope of West Valley City shared similar concerns. He recently bought a car and was eager to get it street-legal.
"I hope I don't get pulled over," Pope said. "I've put too much money into this car to lose it."
Salt Lake City resident George Conde shook his head in disbelief outside the lifeless DMV office.
"I was just here yesterday" - getting his paperwork started. He returned Friday to finish the job and said no one had warned him the office would be closed.
"What a waste of a morning," construction worker Mike Jones said as he stood outside Ogden's Driver License Division office earlier Friday.
Jones, whose work schedule mirrors the state's new hours, had gotten up early on his day off to be among the first in line to renew his license.
Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. first floated the four, 10-hour-day concept in late June, part of a conservation initiative expected to save about $3 million a year. The new schedule kicked in this week after numerous news stories appeared about the closures.
There were concerted efforts to alert Utahns about the change, said Vicki Schoenfeld, public information officer for the state's Department of Administrative Services.
Huntsman spokeswoman Lisa Roskelley said that outreach will continue.
"It's unfortunate that some people did not get news about the change," Roskelley said Friday. "We hope that over the next several weeks we'll be able to communicate to those who are seeking government services."
West Jordan resident Ignacio Guzman took the shutdown in stride, although he said he burned gas going to two DMV offices in search of an open one.
"We'll get over it," he grinned, adding that at first he thought it might be a Mormon holiday.
Letter-sized signs were posted on front entrances to the DMV and Driver License Division locations Friday, stating the hours of operation Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m..
The lawn-care company that employs Ogden resident Chris Scheffel sent him to get his driving record Friday.
"This isn't good," Scheffel said as he left empty-handed. "It's very much an inconvenience."
He and the others will have to return next week - which means more lost time. And to Ogden electrician Gerardo Najera, who left work Friday to renew his license, it also means lost wages.
"It affects me," Najera said through an interpreter, Shawn Eddy, who also took time off from laying tile to help Najera through the process.
cmckitrick@sltrib.com
Info hot line
The governor's new "Working 4 Utah" hot line, 801-538-1808 will be staffed Fridays through December so people can get answers about state agencies.
