It's part expectation and part negotiation. Many callers are expecting to pay less because that's what they usually get away with. Sometimes they're willing to meet my asking fee, sometimes when I ask, they've already disclosed on the CD an amount higher than I was going to ask for. Other times we meet in the middle.
Title people and schedulers know that many notaries are willing to work for peanuts, so many offer as little as they think they can get away with. If notaries just accept that, or quote what their usual fee is for work with signing services, that expectation gets reinforced. For anyone who has been at this a while and knows their stuff, they should expect to be paid accordingly.
BTW, I realize we're in a difficult time and I'm not saying that anyone is going to get the "big" fees every time, unless they have an established relationship with a client. But this reminds me of a great saying I heard years ago:
"If you shoot for the stars, you may hit the treetops. If you aim for the treetops, you might shoot yourself in the foot..." |
