Posted by Yoli/CA on 5/28/13 6:12pm
Msg #471492

FASS "white glove" status ~

I'm relatively new to FASS. I'm used to them calling numerous times a day with signings, I ask the pertinent questions, give them a quote and they "have to get it approved." Sometimes, they call back with approval; sometimes, not.

Sunday, I received an email from them welcoming me to their "white glove" ranking. White glove basically means you can self-assign. The notary fee is already listed on job offer.

Didn't hear from them yesterday. As of 6:10 this morning, there have been 11 email notifications of available signings. Each one has had the same $50 notary fee. Each one has been scooped up almost immediately by someone. Not me. I can't afford to work for $50 per e-doc signing - and some of those have been Bank of America (usually large packages). Okay, there seems to be volume but all those signings have been within a 40 mile radius from me. Somehow, do a lot a travel plus do a lot of printing does not equal make a profit to me. Doesn't even equal come out even.

I did contact vendor management and they advised on process to request another fee. Considering how quickly those jobs are grabbed, that process is nullified. Guess I'll just wait for their calls and approval of professional fees.

JMHPO

Reply by Lee/AR on 5/28/13 6:34pm
Msg #471498

So...white glove means work cheap or sit at your computer waiting for a potential to bling in, get back to them with 'your fee' (along with however many other notaries who are doing the same thing) and wait (how long?) to see if 'they get approval'....
Lot of losers and only two 'winners'. Yes, two-- FASS & the notary who got their fee approved. Yep, Yoli...think I'd just let them call me, too.

Reply by Jack/AL on 5/28/13 7:35pm
Msg #471508

Yoli, you can kiss that white glove status goodbye.

If you're not playing their game, you're not a team player, so you'll lose the white glove status. Hopefully, it was fun while it lasted.

Reply by MonicaFL on 5/28/13 8:00pm
Msg #471513

I had "white glove" status at one time but it wasn't for very long. This was several years ago. I went online and took their "conference" training and then was told I had white glove" status BUT I was expected to work for $75.00 w/edocs and no negotiations. Well, I told them to remove me from their database as I was not going to accept their terms. If they wanted a well qualified notary to handle their closings, then I was their gal BUT only on MY terms since this is MY Business - not theirs. Haven't heard from them since and don't care to.

Reply by Rita Adu on 5/28/13 8:43pm
Msg #471516

I asked FASS to remove me from their list a few months ago. Due to my fees, I was never afforded the "white glove" status either. Why is it that their schedulers seem like they're always calling from overseas? I always had to ask them to speak up so I could hear them.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 5/28/13 11:58pm
Msg #471543

Wow.... shocking that they have so little problem getting people to work for that kind of money. Even more sobering for me is that I've only ever heard from them when they needed a Spanish speaking notary (and that's not happened for a very long time), so I suppose they have no problem finding people to work for cheap in my area. Just breaks my heart. NOT!

When I was brand spanking new at this business - before I knew better - I remember doing some signings for $50. But I never had to print docs for that kind of money, and many other things, including gas, were a WHOLE lot cheaper in those days! So while I may not have been making much for my time, my out of pocket expenses were minimal and I was at least not losing money. I doubt that's true for people working for $50 a signing today! Very sad...

Reply by Susan Fischer on 5/29/13 12:20am
Msg #471546

Can so relate, dating back 10 years in my rural, Coastal

and some Inland service; I soon established my fees via the process with a decision-maker, and became established in the perfectly documented auto-payment pipeline for a decade. Over the years, any "issues" were resolved in my favor in a professional and timely manner. When your ducks are in a row, they're easy to count, no?

Disclaimer: My 'status,' or not, of a "White Glove" ranking had no effect on building a mutually beneficial long-term business relationship with happy consumers writ large - bottom line. Can't speak for the 'self-assigning' thing; if it was in the mix then, I didn't use it.

Just my observations.

Reply by Scriba/NM on 5/29/13 1:33am
Msg #471553

FASS.....AGAIN.....REALLY?

FASS turned into a schlock company years ago, yet people still acceot assignments from them. Their schedulers call from the Phillipines and are barely proficient in English which makes them insanely difficult to understand. Additionally, they use this White Glove thing (which started out as a real bonafide designation YEARS AGO) as an absurd ego booster for notaries who don't know any better.

They pay miserably and yet there are dimwits that accept their meager offerings left and right. Millions of lines have already been written here about FASS, yet people continue to constantly initiate messages about something that everyone already knows!

Smart people have already quit working for people like FASS and have forgotten about them completely like they don't exist.

People who can't get hired by reputable companies because they don't know anything lap up the dog food offerings of FASS and then write over and over and over about how terrible they are. Yes, we ALREADY know this. Duh.

Reply by Yoli/CA on 5/29/13 8:49am
Msg #471561

Re: FASS.....AGAIN.....REALLY? Well, Scriba ~

This is why there's a subject line. If you don't care to read about that subject, you're more than welcome to skip over it.

Some people on this forum are newbies and still learning about the various hiring entities out there. I've been a NP/NSA for over 7 years and can proudly say I learn something new every day. For instance, I did not apply for nor request the "white glove" status. It's just something they do. Well, now, I've learned how it works. Doesn't necessarily work for me. But, that's my choice as I choose to not work for $50 per signing.

You're correct to a certain degree. FASS does offer low fees. However, that doesn't mean we have to accept them. When they call me for a signing, after several questions, I give them my fee quote. My base edoc fee is $125 (within 15 miles); extra charge for scan-backs, longer distance, Spanish, e-signing, etc. When they require my services, they meet my fee and pay in less than 2 weeks.

Reply by janCA on 5/29/13 9:21am
Msg #471568

Re: FASS.....AGAIN.....REALLY? Well, Scriba ~

What I think is hysterical about this "FASS" company is the name: First American signing services, and yet they OUTSOURCE their work. I think that's about as scummy as you can get.

I've been signing since '02, and like Janet, I started out doing assignments for a $50 fee for ON'd docs. Petro was under $2 a gallon. The cost of living was probably half of what it is today. That may be an exaggeration, but once the edocs came into play, then the added expense of paper was thrown into the mix. And paper does cost twice of what it did 10 years ago. Plus, then you had to go out and buy a laser printer, along with the expensive cartridges. I quickly learned that if I was going to make any money doing this I had to up my fee, so I did, to $100, and I got it, and more.

Now, this is the same fee and LESS that many companies want to pay. What is wrong with this picture??? Those that don't know any better, accept the paltry fees, and that's their perogative, (sp) but they're certainly not making a decent profit. Just not possible.

I worked for FASS a couple of times, way, way back when and they screwed me over. I dumped them with no hesitation, and have never looked back.

Reply by KarenVentura on 5/29/13 12:33pm
Msg #471597

I get one every now and then from FASS that meet my fee. But this last call the gal said $75 and I countered and she said I really should contact FASS by phone and have them up my base fee in the computer so I dont have to "negotiate." So I did and the gal on the phone said I would most likely be pricing my self out of the market as most of the notaries here in California are accepting $50. What?? She said they do volume so it makes it worth it for them. I told her no thanks here is my base fee, call me if you need me but not for $50. How does FASS get so many loans?

Reply by JanetK_CA on 5/29/13 5:20pm
Msg #471649

"They do volume..."

I just love that "they do volume" rationale! All that does is make you go broke faster at the fees some (like FASS) want to pay. Volume works for the hiring parties because they can have an unlimited number of signings happening at the same time. But how many 6:00 pm signings can a signing agent do in a night? Even if they're able to book them up back to back (tough for most of us to do), they're running themselves ragged for peanuts.

The assumption behind that offer is that the notary is sitting around with no work, waiting for the phone to ring. That tells you who they're targeting to hire...

Reply by Jodith/WA on 5/30/13 10:43pm
Msg #471772

They won't give you white glove status unless you accept their "regionally acceptable" price. They only call me when they can't find anyone else because I charge more they deem acceptable.