Posted by MikeC/NY on 3/7/09 3:14pm
Msg #279986

A new one for me...

Got a call Tuesday evening to do a signing in my neighborhood Thursday evening. Before we even agreed on a price, the scheduler gives me the BOs name and number and asks me to call to confirm the appointment. She was actually about to hang up when I stopped her and asked if she wanted to know what this was going to cost her. We agreed to the fee; I asked for a confirmation, and she said it would be sent with the docs on Wednesday.

I stupidly did not ask for a contact number in case there was a problem, assuming it would be in the confirmation. My bad, and I will never do that again.

Wednesday comes and goes - no confirmation, no docs. Thursday comes and goes - as does the appointment time - and again, no confirmation, no docs. I figured they found someone cheaper and chalked it up to missed opportunity.

Friday I get a message from them wanting to know why I didn't show up for the appointment. Hello? I called back, got voice mail, and left a polite message explaining that since they didn't send me the docs, there was nothing for me to do and no reason for me to show up. I can't do a signing when there's nothing to sign.

I haven't heard anything since then, but I doubt that I will be getting another assignment from this company; from the tone of their message, it was my fault that the signing didn't happen... This was just a complete breakdown in communication - has anyone else ever experienced something like this?

Reply by Ilene C. Seidel on 3/7/09 4:03pm
Msg #279987

No, I don't trust anyone and request confirmation by email so there are no misunderstandings. So where'd the docs go if you didn't get them?

Reply by MikeC/NY on 3/7/09 5:19pm
Msg #279994

"So where'd the docs go if you didn't get them?"

Good question. My business email account doesn't trap spam, and it was definitely working, so I don't know if they got misdirected or just were never sent.

Reply by Cari on 3/9/09 11:24am
Msg #280075

I'm with you Irene...I ALWAYS ask for a confirmation in

email, along with the price of my fee...that way, there's NEVER a guess on their part on how much they agreed to pay me...and if it goes further to litigation, I have proof!

Reply by LKT/CA on 3/7/09 4:08pm
Msg #279989

I've sorta had that happen - get a call from an unknown number and forgot to ask for a contact number, sweated until I got the email. My last name always gets messed up - Thorton instead of Thornton and until I got the email, I just knew they spelled my name Thorton in the address. I did get the email and it worked out but I learned my lesson. One possibility is that the scheduler typed your email address wrong and since you mistakenly forgot to get their contact info, you couldn't call back to say you didn't receive the email. It may not have been that they found a cheapo notary.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 3/7/09 4:50pm
Msg #279993

Mike - you don't have caller ID on your phones?

And I'm wondering why it took them until Friday to get to you - didn't the borrowers ever mention to anyone that they'd not received a phone call??

Reply by MikeC/NY on 3/7/09 5:23pm
Msg #279995

Re: Mike - you don't have caller ID on your phones?

I do have caller ID, but didn't make note of the number - and I get a lot of out-of-state calls. Obviously, I could have avoided the problem altogether by simply asking for a call back number; that's something I'll be doing in the future...

And I have no idea why it took them until late Friday afternoon to call me back - too much assuming on both ends of the transaction, I guess.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 3/8/09 1:55am
Msg #280009

Re: Mike - you don't have caller ID on your phones?

I've learned that when I talk with a potential new client, I try to always remember to ask for their phone number on the initial call ("in case their email confirmation gets lost in cyberspace". I can't count how many times that has come in handy. Sometimes it's just that they take their time getting around to sending it and other times they've just entered my email address incorrectly. I don't want to be caught in the situation where another call comes in for the same time and I have to decide to either take a chance on an unknown quantity, risk double booking, or turn down another appointment.

I have forgotten, though, and found myself scrolling through the incoming calls on my cell phone trying to figure out which one was them. Not fun!

Reply by jba/fl on 3/7/09 7:18pm
Msg #279998

Linda - don't you ever get calls w/number blocked?

Those always seem to be the ones with the problems.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 3/7/09 7:40pm
Msg #280001

Re: Linda - don't you ever get calls w/number blocked?

Yeah, I do - and honestly never gave that a thought...sorry Mike...

Most of the time that happens on my home phone - don't normally have a lot blocked on my cell phone...

Reply by Susan Fischer on 3/7/09 6:49pm
Msg #279996

Hey, Mike, what a bummer. One thing I've found is helpful with a new company regarding confirmations:

Require a confirmation now. Not one client has ever sent the confirmation with the docs days later. How can I schedule my time without confirmations? It is my practice to call borrowers asap, to at least leave a message, to introduce myself, and confirm the date/time. Without a confirmation, I'm working in a vaccuum.

I've had to do some sleuthing for call-backs re assignments - by looking through 'calls received' and trying to pinpoint the time.

I know you know your stuff, I guess I'm just yakking. It's a wonder they didn't bother to follow up on at least their "email." The fault is with them -

And it occurs to me that if they couldn't get your email straight, one wonders if they could get your address right for payment.

Reply by MichiganAl on 3/8/09 1:22am
Msg #280007

Certainly not your fault

I know, it stinks to lose a potential client. But sometimes I get tired of the fact that we so often end up taking the bullet from someone else's screw up (and I've taken a few lately because of late docs or awful communication from the loan officer with their borrowers or the title company with their loan officers). Yeah, you wish you'd have done it differently and gotten some more info. But come on, this was their mistake. Wherever they found your number, it certainly had your correct e-mail listed too. They screwed it up, didn't get a confirmation to the correct e-mail address or didn't send it out at all, didn't get you docs, didn't follow up, didn't do a thing right.

My thought, don't let it bug you. They're likely not worth working with anyway.

Reply by Teddog/CO on 3/8/09 8:33am
Msg #280015

Re: Certainly not your fault

No confirmation, no appointment. Don't give it a second thought.
The person who made that appointment with you is responsible to follow-up with the confirmation. There are many reasons why we need the confirmation. We need to contact the customer and need every detail possible beforehand.

Reply by rengel/CA on 3/8/09 10:27am
Msg #280021

I agree, no confirmation, no appointment!

Their screw-up, not yours.

My .02

Reply by MikeC/NY on 3/8/09 4:52pm
Msg #280030

Re: Certainly not your fault

"Wherever they found your number, it certainly had your correct e-mail listed too."

They found it here, and she repeated my email address back to me to verify, so my guess is that someone on their side dropped the ball. I think my only mistake here was to not get a call-back number.

"My thought, don't let it bug you. They're likely not worth working with anyway. "

You got that right - if they can't get the basics done, collecting would probably be a nightmare.

Reply by KJ/IA on 3/9/09 3:24pm
Msg #280100

missing Confirmations

I had a company that kinda did the same thing to me. I looked on NR & one comment about them was that they find a cheaper notary & then don't tell you, so when the confirmation did not arrive in my email, sure enough, true....they must have found a cheaper notary. The next day when they sent the package, they called me to let me know it was just emailed. I told them I have a blackberry & have not received the package.... Plus I never received an email of the confirmation of the appointment & fee & now I have other closings to do & will try to fit them in. They told me they have had several confirmations not arrive & I should have called when I didn't receive it. No Way, unless they were one of my regulars. I told them of the comments on NR. As far as I'm concerned, if they know they have a problem they should fix it.

Reply by Ronda Roaring on 3/10/09 9:12am
Msg #280150

I have to admit that I've neglected to get the person's phone number only to not get a confirmation. But for me, the docs came, so it worked out all right. But I did learn my lesson--get their name and phone number.