We went yesterday morning to get our IDs replaced, without an appointment and yes, we had to wait, also.
We arrived around 8:15AM and both waiting rooms were filled with people ...some with appointments, some without. As people came in, without appointments, they were told approximately how long the wait would be. Some decided they'd stay, others left. Hubby and I brought along something to read (droid phones with games and Kindle) and we just waited. Once we got into an office to get pictures taken, new ID made up, things went very quickly.
I'm sorry you had such an unpleasant experience, but I can't say that we did. We knew we might have to wait and decided that since we were already there, we'd just wait. Heck the sofa was comfortable...
Can't say I particularly like my picture on my new ID...I think they took a picture of a woman much older than me and just put it there...
A number of our friends showed up without appointments at different times and had no waits at all....they all went early in the morning and honestly, I was hoping we'd luck out that way, too....didn't, but it's done!
You're right, everyone should schedule an appointment...those with them are taken pretty much on time, sometimes even a bit earlier.