Posted by Betty Epperson on 1/29/11 8:37am
Msg #370505

Distance Issues AGGRIVATION!!!

Is anyone else out there having more and more trouble with the scedulers saying the distance is much closer than it really is? I have had numerous calls from different companies claiming a location is a certain miles away and it turns out to be double?

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 1/29/11 8:42am
Msg #370506

Sure they tell me how far I am from the signing

they rely on the mileage from the listing sites where they found us - which are never right. However, I know my service area and know my distances - so it's very easy to politely tell them they're wrong and it's xx miles one way - And, if applicable, I also let them know that there's no FedEx or UPS drop boxes in my area and give them the required travel distance to drop their package.

Reply by A S Johnson on 1/29/11 8:55am
Msg #370508

Re: Sure they tell me how far I am from the signing

This week I had a call to do a signing in Seymour Tx which is 150 miles from Weatherford Tx. The caller was sure it was only 41 miles and she was in Temple Tx.
I suggested a NSA in Whichita Falls which is 55 miles from the signing.
Maps are easy to come by, either on the internet or in paper from.

Reply by Linda Juenger on 1/29/11 9:18am
Msg #370511

Re: Sure they tell me how far I am from the signing

If I get a call like that and am at home, I ask if they would give me the address. I do a mapquest or google maps immediately. I want to know also, because the town they give me could be way way out in the country.

Reply by A S Johnson on 1/29/11 9:36am
Msg #370512

Re: Sure they tell me how far I am from the signing

Linda,
I do the same as you.
My problem is I serve a large rural (I do not mean urban rural but cow and horse West Texas ranching rural). I am told the town, post office could have a number of zip codes (my local p o now has four zip codes, three are rural carrier routes) which could make the address of the signing 20+ miles more.
ps: with the proposed smaller p o closures this will become a bigger problem

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 1/29/11 9:44am
Msg #370514

Sid - me too - I can travel 30 miles one way and

stay within my town (btw, town pop. 482 at last count) - cattle/horse country ..

No FedEx or UPS drop boxes in my town - have to go "into town" to drop; post office only has one zip (I think) but it's extensive...

That's why I need to know my area - I know approximately how far a town is - if I don't recognize the town/area, then I need to look it up or, if in the car, get back to them.

Reply by Moneyman/TX on 1/29/11 9:36am
Msg #370513

Re: Sure they tell me how far I am from the signing

That's what I do as well. Ask them for the exact address and pull it up while they are on the phone. If not at home, I tell them, if I accept the assignment, once I get home that if I discover that it is more than the XX miles they quoted, my fee is subject to change or the order is subject to be turned back.

As someone once posted about the schedulers using "as the crow flies" verses real travel conditions, I'm not a crow.

Reply by A S Johnson on 1/29/11 9:45am
Msg #370515

Re: Sure they tell me how far I am from the signing

Chris,
You are in Texas and can attest to our distance, even between Houston and the golden triangle.
But what I wanted to "screm about" was when a person in Temple could not understand the distance from Weatherford to Seymour and would take the knowledge of my area for it the real thing.
By the way have you gotten paid by our Texas based "friend"?

Reply by Moneyman/TX on 1/29/11 9:54am
Msg #370518

Re: Sure they tell me how far I am from the signing

Sid,
Yes I definitely agree with you on the distance issue. I charge more for a certain area that is, in terms of mileage, "close" to me but due to the 35-45 mph roads/speed traps required to travel to actually get to the borrowers takes much more time than it would appear in terms of mileage from me.

No, I haven't been paid and I am just now feeling better, so I will be talking to the appropriate officials starting Monday.

Reply by Patricia/VT on 1/29/11 1:53pm
Msg #370546

Re: Sure they tell me how far I am from the signing

Here in Vermont, it's often more about driving time than distance, so I always mapquest door to door for driving time, and take road conditions into consideration as well.

Reply by Cari on 1/29/11 1:49pm
Msg #370545

I've got a list that has the est/avg miles from my office to

nearby Suburbs, counties and zip codes I normally serve. The list comes in handy-dandy when negotiating travel fees....

Reply by Margaret Paddock on 1/29/11 5:10pm
Msg #370554

Re: I've got a list that has the est/avg miles from my office to

I use my milage log book for the zip code which gives me a pretty good idea of the distance. If I am at the computer I ask them to wait for me to do Map Quest or Google map whatever so I can get a better idea.

Reply by Shelly_FL on 1/29/11 10:21am
Msg #370521

I had one try to argue with me about the distance for me to Riverview. FL (at least an hour, plus tolls). She said "but you are listed for Hillsborough County!" She could not understand that I can get to Hillsborough in 15 minutes, why would I need to charge extra to go to Riverview?

Another factor that is perplexing to them (so it seems) is that it may take 30 minutes to get there, but an hour to return if its rush hour traffic.

Reply by Moneyman/TX on 1/29/11 10:23am
Msg #370523

Seems as though some of the schedulers are working from home and have lost the ability to remember that traffic is actually real. LOL

Reply by bob/IA on 1/29/11 10:45am
Msg #370527

Part of the problem is that some of them are working from another country. Once had a scheduler ask me to go to a city in Texas,( I'm in Iowa) when I laughed and said "that's at least 700 miles" she asked me ,"well, can you go there?"

Reply by Moneyman/TX on 1/29/11 11:34am
Msg #370534

LOL and for $70? n/m

Reply by bob/IA on 1/29/11 1:27pm
Msg #370544

Re: LOL and for $70?

I told her sure, for $2000.00. She declined.

Reply by Les_CO on 1/29/11 11:28am
Msg #370533

What difference does it make? If you know where the closing is supposed to take place, and where you are, price it accordingly. If they don’t like it tell them to call someone else, or recommend someone closer, thats what I do. These people are not clairvoyant; they are just trying to do their jobs, probably using some software package comparing zip codes distances, which are often wrong.JMO

Reply by Ali/IL on 1/29/11 11:36am
Msg #370535

We must sit down with a list of zip codes and towns and get familiarized with them.So that when the schedulers call we can quickly decide if too far for us.

I have noticed lately that a company that only calls me to do closings within 25 miles is calling me for further distance. I think they are new people or that there aren't enough closers to cover all.

Reply by Mary Ellen Elmore on 1/29/11 1:01pm
Msg #370542

I used ZIPMath at http://www.zipmath.com/zmsl.cgi?RAD and set up a database of areas I can afford to cover for a set base fee.

I also looked at a state map and determined what sort of area it is-urban or rural. And When I say rural in TN I mean no street lights, pastures, fording THROUGH creeks that are more like rivers after a good rain, roads made of churt (with posted speed limits!), roads so narrow with no shoulders you pray you don't meet another vehicle.

These schedulers just don't understand. They will call and tell me the ZIP and I say, "The entire town has one ZIP." and they trip out.

One called me and wanted me to go to Linden, TN the other day. I will, for the right price. It was only one page. They could have taken to the bank--because the county is so small, it does notarizations for everyone for free--one of the 2 does anyways. They could not understand that it would take me an hour and 15 minutes to get there going down Hwy 100 or an hour and a half going down the Interstate. And that is just to get to the town.

And I have 2 towns I cover that are in 2 or 3 counties each. Did a closing once that the living room was in one county and the dining room in another! Lived in a house in SC once that the yard was in one county and the house in another--nightmare when I had to call an ambulance!

Reply by Linda Juenger on 1/30/11 12:32am
Msg #370570

Ali. This does not always work for me

>We must sit down with a list of zip codes and towns and get familiarized with them.So that when the schedulers call we can quickly decide if too far for us.>

I am very very familiar with the zip codes around me and the towns. Not every town around me has a post office, which means that town is actually in another town's zip code. Ex: I live in Mascoutah, IL. My zip code is 62258. The next town just south of me is 8 miles away. It is also in MY zip code of 62258 because they do not have a post office. Same with the town just east of me which is 10 miles away.

Zip codes are pretty useless to me and to a lot of us.

Reply by Mary Ellen Elmore on 1/29/11 12:10pm
Msg #370540

I had one argue with me that an appt. was only 20 miles one way--it was a 75 mile round trip. She even argued that I lived in Lawrencenburg in Hohenwald County.

Lawrencenburg is a city in Maury County and Hohenwald is the County Seat of Lewis County. I have never lived in any of those places.

It was Nations Direct.

Reply by GWest on 1/29/11 2:19pm
Msg #370547

I always call first

I handle signing at a few Chase Banks as well as Bank of America. I always call as soon as I receive the confirmation and ask to speak with the manager. The Chase offices always know I am coming before I call but they still appreciate the call. I have never had a problem. I know them all personally now and have even handled a few of their personal signings at their homes.

Reply by GWest on 1/29/11 4:45pm
Msg #370552

Sorry, wrong thread n/m

Reply by Susan Fischer on 1/29/11 6:30pm
Msg #370558

Yeah, some just say "Oh, we only pay one-way"...

What a hoot. I tell 'em that since my Teleporter is in the shop, they'll have to get me home...

Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 1/29/11 6:49pm
Msg #370560

Holy cow!

After reading through this entire thread (thank gawd I'm in a totally urban area; if I ever saw a horse or cow, I'd call 911!), I'm reminded of the Bad Notary that MeganPA posted about the other day:

<<She also moves the borrowers' closing to a local Friendly's restaurant b/c I guess she doesn't want to go to their home! (This must be her M.O. b/c I've come across it several times.) >>

Maybe Bad Notary is on to something. When lowballers call or bozos who pay only one-way or insist that 125 miles is really 30 miles, tell the borrower to meet you at Friendly's! And if they complain, then too bad - you really didn't want to work for fill-in-the blank idiot SS anyway ... where is it written we have to go to them all the time? Amid all the endless instructions we get - make a copy for the borrowers, call and confirm, sign in blue ink, dress professionally, sign exactly the way the names are printed, make sure your seal is legible, get a copy of their ID, return docs ASAP priority overnight, blah blah blah, I have never seen an instruction that says you must travel to the borrowers' home. Maybe Bad Notary is relatively new and doesn't realize that in the "good ole days" ($1.50/gal gas) this was understood procedure - now with gas at $3.15 and fees dropping every day (or at best, static), she's thinking Friendly's!

Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 1/29/11 7:23pm
Msg #370562

P.S.

This post also reminds me of a conversation I had with a scheduler trying to find a notary for a borrower who lived way back in the hills somewhere in Georgia. She finally found one willing to give it a try - for $500! The notary told the scheduler the roads were bad, the distance was bad and it was dangerous way up 'thar, too (if you know what I mean). So she was packing her gun and taking her German shepherd. And because there was no way she could do all this in a day, she needed money for a motel to spend the night - and extra because motels charge more for pets! (I think they finally sent smoke signals to the borrower that he'd have to come down to civilization to sign).

Reply by Susan Fischer on 1/29/11 10:39pm
Msg #370568

Too funny. n/m

Reply by James Dawson on 1/30/11 1:22am
Msg #370572

Re: Holy cow!

now that's really cool!

Reply by Moneyman/TX on 1/29/11 9:02pm
Msg #370565

LOL I haven't had any try that, but now I have a response! n/m

Reply by Jodith/WA on 1/30/11 3:50pm
Msg #370601

We have one location in our county that's only 20 miles away as the crow flies. The problem though, is that how the crow flies is across a bay. The only way to get to Point Roberts is through Canada. So to do a signing out there, I have to cross the border 4 times (into and out of Canada on the way and again on the way back). Depending on border crossing times, it can take all day to make a trip to Point Roberts. And get this...they wanted me to do it for a total of $120 *laughs*. When I quoted my price for the location, they told me that was more than they were getting. I explained the difficulties and suggested they needed to renegotiate with their client.

I also get calls to go out to the San Juan Islands which requires an hour drive each way, 2 hours on the ferry each way (round trip cost over $100), and if the signing goes to long and I miss the ferry I have to spend the night. My usual quote is $500. When they stop choking, I suggest the borrowers take the ferry and we'll do the signing at the ferry terminal.

Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 1/30/11 4:35pm
Msg #370603

Yikes, Jodith!

I looked at a map and can see you are centrally located for nothing except water and snow! I can also see how you would have to have several "I'll meet you at ... " locations that both you and the borrower can more or less easily get to - like the border and the ferry terminal. And the San Juan Islands are out of the question - unless, like you said. you have all day and lots of $$ for transportation costs. It's probably less to transport just you than both you and your car but what if you get stuck there past the last ferry? Plus once you're out there you probably can't take any other jobs on the mainland cos of the time factor. (And I thought I had it rough.) Have you ever considered buying a business boat to get to all those islands - or to Point Roberts - which actually looks like a peninsula, not to mention a place to get away from it all!