Posted by Joy223 on 9/7/06 9:49pm
Msg #144325

What would you do?

If you get a call at 6pm at night asking you to do a signing that is scheduled for 7pm but because of the distance you have to drive you know you can't get there by the 7pm deadline.....what would you do? I recently had this happen to me. I told the lady from the signing company that I was at least 2 hours or more away and she said the borrowers would just have to understand. I placed a call to the borrowers and got no answer so I left a message. They finally called me at 7:30 and I told them how far I was. She was a bit put out but told me to come anyways. I arrived at 10pm. I was done by 10:30. They were out in the middle of no where and I ran into a detour. Today I got a call from an angry lady at the signing company demanding to know why I was 3 hours late for a signing. I told her what happened and she told me I should not accept signings ever if I can't be there at the scheduled time. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

Reply by Julie/MI on 9/7/06 10:03pm
Msg #144332

Why would you accept a signing 2 hours away?

So 4 hours in travel, plus 30 mins +/- , I would charge a minimum of gosh I cannot even figure what I would charge because I just wouldn't do it in the first place. Keep a pencil in your planner and write down the name of the person you spoke with, so if you get reamed later, you can say so and so told me it was okay.



Oh how I wish I knew what you charged on this one. I hope it was at least $500.

Reply by Joy223 on 9/7/06 10:08pm
Msg #144336

I did keep the name of the lady I spoke to and I let the angry lady from the company know just what all was said. So you are basically saying not to take jobs that far away even if the pay is good? And no I didn't charge her $500. I quoted her a priced and then she tacked some on for the edocs. After I told the angry lady what ahppened she calmed down and was going to talk to the other lady that did the scheduling.

Reply by Julie/MI on 9/7/06 10:18pm
Msg #144344

2 hours let's think about this.

I think you are in Michigan, am I correct Joy?

If so, MIchigan is flooded with notaries. This is where networking with other notaries can be good.

Now I am very protective of my territory and I don't share with my direct competition, but if I have followed your posts and felt that you could handle the job, and I received a call for something 2 hours away, I just may refer them to you.

That's one of the reasons I lurk from time to time on this bored. The off topic stuff is truly pitiful, but it ain't may bored. There are some from Michigan that I would never refer my clients to as they don't seem professional and that could come back to haunt me.

So, I know you are relatively new to the business, but you seem to ask the right questions, just take it from me, 2 hours is too far to go unless it's at least $500 bucks. Really. But somehow I think you were not compensated for your troubles AND got yelled at to boot.

Treat this as a learning experience and try to stay closer to home. I KNOW how eager you must be for assignments, but you need to make money not loose it.

Reply by Joy223 on 9/8/06 7:09am
Msg #144412

Re: 2 hours let's think about this.

HI Julie,
Yes I am from Michigan but I am in the northern part of the lower penn. There ae not many of us up here and I think that is why I am being called to do these signings 2 hours away. I am going to take your advice and next time it happens I will up the price and get a hotel. Especially that late at night. Thanks for the feedback Julie.

Reply by Jenny_CA on 9/7/06 10:06pm
Msg #144335

you pretty much answered your own question,

let them know how far you are and see if they are willing to work with your schedule. It's your business, you decide to accept the job or not , if you decide to put the extra stress knowing you can't make it on time it's your choice. If they say the time is flexible document it and as you did contact the borrowers to let them know of your arival time.

Reply by Joy223 on 9/7/06 10:11pm
Msg #144337

Re: you pretty much answered your own question,

HI Jenny,
I was asking this mainly because the lady that called me today was demanding to know why I was 3 hours late. After I explained what happened that is when she told me I should never accept a signing job when I know I can't make it at the scheduled time. It seems to me that if I tell them this and they still want me to do the job then I am no longer at fault. But this lady said I shouldn't be accepting these jobs under any circumstances.

Reply by NCLisa on 9/7/06 10:17pm
Msg #144343

Re: you pretty much answered your own question,

She's clueless. If you tell them you won't be there at the appointed time, and they ask you to do it anyway, then it is their fault, not yours. They must have gotten a nasty call from a lender or TC and decided that you needed to take the heat.

I like to reply to the confirmation with an email that states that I've told them that the scheduled time will not be the actual closing time and they are aware of it. That way I've got it for my records.

Reply by NCLisa on 9/7/06 10:14pm
Msg #144339

Not your fault. You disclosed to the scheduler that you wouldn't be there on time, that you would be at least 2.5 hours late (giving you 30 minutes to print and map). I suggest you find the names of a few notaries outside your general area that you can refer people to.

I cover 20 counties, and many of my closings are 1.5 to 2 hours a way. I don't charge $500 either, not even close. I normally make the distance work in my favor, by running some errand that I have in that area (but obviously not that late at night)

Reply by Jenny_CA on 9/7/06 10:23pm
Msg #144345

perhaps it came across as if I was putting blame when I was saying: You did inform them of the distance and you wouldn't arrive there on the orinally set time. It's your business you decide to accept it or not , another person can't tell you " you should not accep this job".

What I have experienced: 1) I tell them the town is farther then what they think , I can be there an hour later or they can find someone else. 2) I suggest another notary I network with and add if that doesn't work out I am available at this time since it is further.

3) I have quoted the $500 for time/distance and although I didn't get called back for that particular signing , I do receive repeat business from the client that I quoted the $500 to.

Reply by Joy223 on 9/7/06 10:25pm
Msg #144347

Thanks Lisa for your feedback and the suggestion that I follow up with a confirmation email of my own. I will keep this in mind next time. And you are right. The borrowers called their lending company who in turned called the signing company. Thats when the lady called me and lit into me right away until I told her I resented her talking to me the way she was. Then she calmed down and listed to my story. At the end of the conversation with her she was calling me g/f. Go figure. Anyway....thanks again for the feedback.

Reply by Jenny_CA on 9/7/06 10:27pm
Msg #144350

ugh!spelling errors,ignore them ( referring to my posts) n/m

Reply by Joy223 on 9/7/06 10:34pm
Msg #144353

Re: ugh!spelling errors,ignore them ( referring to my posts)

no problem Jenny. We have all done this in the past. I appreciate your feedback.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 9/8/06 12:35am
Msg #144387

Joy, you made a business decision for your own reasons to accept the job and told the scheduler the conditions under which you could complete it. She then had the option to accept it or go find someone else on her own.

The only thing I can think of to do differently (which is easier said than done...) is to work on developing that two-inch thick rhinocerous skin and try let nasty comments like hers bounce off of you. I like that you stood up for yourself - and it worked, too, didn't it?! Wait... there IS something else you can do: reach around and give yourself a pat on the back for not letting her walk over you! Also, make sure your fees are adequate for that kind of time/distance for future reference. And FWIW, if I accepted an assignment that far away (a very big IF...), I would probably charge slightly less than $500 (unless it was a piggyback; but I'm just guessing at miles involved).

Reply by ReneeK_MI on 9/8/06 3:28am
Msg #144394

I think you dealt with the angry phone call PERFECTLY, since the outcome was exactly what you would hope for - the anger subsided, the woman became friendly and you were both then able to communicate and reach some understanding. Truly evidence of your professionalism.

The situation that made her (the caller) so angry in the first place wasn't what YOU did - it was that someone called and reamed HER out, and rather that being a professional herself, she just opted to keep the ball of Stuff rolling on down the hill ... in my opinion, she was fully intending on being a bully - but the manner in which you responded to THAT influenced her to change. Kudos to you!

As far as your actions in accepting the job in the first place and how much you were paid - those are your own decisions and by no means are they anything anyone else can say were "wrong" or "right". I know you're up there in the woods somewhere (lol!) and your area is probably not all that saturated (I don't know) - that's certainly a factor when it comes to pricing a two hour drive-time. Would I drive two hours? Well, sure ... for a price. lol - have to agree with Julie, I don't even KNOW how I'd price it, can't imagine DOING it! As far as I'm concerned, anything at the end of a two hour drive had better have a hotel room at the end of it, and call itself a vacation!

Let the whole scene roll away ... you did all you could do, did it in a professional manner, and just need a boost of confidence. Brings to mind my favorite poem - http://www.polishcenter.org/mother_theresa.htm