OP here. I've been in and out of Thailand for 35 years, but other than some "interesting" times with the customs department and the occasional visa extension, have not been much involved with the bureaucracy. Until now. So thanks for the feedback. Looks like the provinces with more expats than here have decided they have better things to do than sit on a routine request for a week or two. The Lamphun office had three Myanmar nationals in there the first time I stopped by and no one at all the second time, so they might just want to look busy. Or, the boss doesn't bother to show up but once a week. Interesting that BKK has different rules, even within the city. My government officer girlfriend was (unsurprisingly) less surprised than I at the variation between offices.