Posted by AmandaCA on 1/19/06 9:37am
Msg #89391

Docs on the Run....Mysti is gone.

Not sure if everyone knows that. She was my one link I could count on. I always knew when I accepted a signing from them it could take 2 months or longer to get paid, but I would get paid and she would always be fair with me.

I called a week or so ago, checking on a November signing. Mysti informed me that my check was cut 12-28 but had not gone out yet. She was not sure why, said it would go out soon. Then she told me that week was her last there.

So I have emailed Suzanne and called. Trying to figure out why my check was cut 12-28 and yet on 1-19 still not in my hands. Obviously she was trying to cut it for 2005 tax purposes, but that stinks on my end.

Anyone still doing work for them? I don't think I will accept any more work now that Mysti is gone. I will miss working with her.

Reply by Charles_Ca on 1/19/06 10:09am
Msg #89414

Gee AmandaCa, that's awfully tolerant of you tho help them finance their business by accepting "2 months or longer" to get paid. No wonder SS have the freewheeling attitudes with notaries that they do.

Reply by AmandaCA on 1/19/06 10:15am
Msg #89421

Charles, I had my reasons. They were the only company I did that with. Way back when I was first beginning my business they were very helpful and gave me many of my first signings. Their signings are always super simple, approx 70 pages, no problems, always a breezem and usually O/N. Plus, they pay more than the average SS. And Mysti was very nice to work with. That goes a long way in my book. I will sorry to see her go.

Didn't ask for an attack, merely commenting on the fact that she is no longer with the company for whatever reason. Maybe they will be closing their doors, I have no idea. Just putting the info out there for whomever can use it.

Reply by AmandaCA on 1/19/06 10:16am
Msg #89423

meant to say "always a breeze" n/m

Reply by Charles_Ca on 1/19/06 10:24am
Msg #89433

That was not an attack, merely a comment. I have no reason to attack you. If I did there would be no question about it. If you can't take a casual comment then you proabaly shouldn't post.

Reply by CaliNotary on 1/19/06 1:14pm
Msg #89585

I've gotta agree with Charles here. To accept work from a company that makes you wait forever and jump through a bunch of hoops to get paid is just unacceptable in my book, no matter what your history with them is. It's no wonder there are so many companies out there willing to screw us over, because there are always going to be people who will justify why it's ok to work for them even when they are screwed over on a regular basis.

And even with all of your justification and your good contact person, you still got stiffed for payment.

It's like the fable of the turtle who gives a ride on his back to a scorpion, who then stings him. While the turtle is dying he asks the scorpion how he could do that to him after he did him that favor, and the scorpion replies "you knew what I was when you let me on your back".

Reply by Anonymous on 1/19/06 1:46pm
Msg #89603

Re: or. . .

the morale being the scorpion also dies because the turtle was giving him a ride across a pond, and the scorpion says to the turtle's question, "Because it's my nature."

Some people are just gonna do what they're gonna do, can't talk 'em out of it.

Reply by CaliNotary on 1/19/06 6:04pm
Msg #89708

Re: or. . .

I knew I should have googled it and posted the entire fable Here's another variation:

This girl finds a snake that pleads with her to place it in her winter coat because otherwise the snake will freeze. The girl goes "No you'll bite me, blah blah blah". Anyway the girl eventually puts the snake in her jacket to keep it warm and she continues on her walk. Then she feels a sharp pain in her side, the snake drops out and begins to slither away. The girl say something like "Why? I took care of you, blah blah blah". The snake simply replies "You knew what I was when you found me".

Reply by Jenny_CA on 1/19/06 9:41pm
Msg #89747

CaliNotary,

Did you by any chance google the fable of the snake? I like to collect children's literature and variations of fables, fairy tales, and so forth. Just thought I'd ask.

Reply by CaliNotary on 1/20/06 12:37am
Msg #89763

Re: CaliNotary,

Yeah, I just put "turtle scorpion" into Google and it gave me the link to this page:

http://www.snopes.com/critters/malice/scorpion.htm

which contains the snake story. I'm guessing there's a more eloquent version out there that doesn't use "blah blah blah" to move the story along.

Reply by Jenny_CA on 1/20/06 1:28am
Msg #89769

Re: CaliNotary,

Thank you. :-)

Here I was thinking the "Blah, blah,blah" was from you. Now, I've seen the three movies the link mentions at the bottom and now I am going to have to watch The Crying Game again just so I can hear the scorpion reference.

Mind if I ask, if you have done 33 signings now that it is slow, how many do you sign in a great month? Living in Fresno and having family in L.A. I know that it sure takes longer to get from A to B in L. A. than it does in Fresno.

Reply by CaliNotary on 1/20/06 12:12pm
Msg #89862

Re: CaliNotary,

I don't really have too many "great" months or too many "bad" months. If anything, I'm actually doing a little better than I normally am at this point in the month.

Business is usually pretty consistent for me, about 50-60 signings per month, with maybe 10 or 15 more that I turn down, usually because of scheduling conflicts.

Reply by John_NorCal on 1/19/06 10:34am
Msg #89449

I had posted earlier (msg #87064) about Docs on the Run payment policy. They do not pay until they get paid from escrow. A signing that I did in November they claimed they were not paid so they are not paying me until they do. If I had known that when Misti first called me, I never would have accepted the signing. By the time I found out it was too late, signing was completed, Misti in an exasperated way, told me what there policy was after I emailed them for my payment. Nothing against Misti, but I sure as hell won't do any signings for Docs on the Run.

Reply by eXpedN_TX on 1/19/06 10:43am
Msg #89460

John NorCal....

Did they have that policy somewhere in writing? Not sure if it makes a difference, but if they didn't disclose that in the first place but told you they are going to hire you for a job you did, then you should get paid whether or not they have received funds...of course, this is not a new comment. It's been said over and over here on notrot, but I just thought I would say it AGAIN.

I discuss this with the companies who hire me in the initial call and then add the outcome in a confirmation email I send back to them. I have a check-off list I go through when they call. It's short and sweet, and saves me a lot of trouble. If they get impatient when I ask these questions, it may be that they are hiding something?!?!

Reply by John_NorCal on 1/19/06 10:49am
Msg #89463

Re: John NorCal....

I didn't learn of it until I had completed the signing and was looking for my check, this was the first time I had done any work for them. Nice to have a check list, but sometimes when I get a call on my cell phone, driving down the freeway, I have to hope for the best. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, thankfully I win more than I lose. But this is something to keep in the back of my head when I get a call from someone that I never worked with before.

Reply by eXpedN_TX on 1/19/06 11:24am
Msg #89489

Re: John NorCal....

I am one of those crazy drivers that writes, takes notes, does conference calls, etc. when I am driving. I have been very lucky that I have never been in an accident. Knock on wood!!!

Reply by Charles_Ca on 1/19/06 10:51am
Msg #89466

Rignt on Expedient!

I tell my clients my policies up front and discuss any possible probelms and the we aboth know what is expected. I am a running a buiness and that business is my primary concern. I really don't understand all of these posters here who believe in compassion, in being nice: to another person, yes! To a business, they get wheat they earn! Yes I am a cold, unfeeling miserable excuse for a human being!

Reply by eXpedN_TX on 1/19/06 11:27am
Msg #89498

Re: Rignt on Expedient!

Business is business. Gotta cover yourself for those that will take advantage. I wouldn't call that "cold, unfeeling...". I guess if you don't discuss it up front and they don't send you the info. in there confirmation email or FAX, you can still email your policies and ask them to call you if you have any questions. I understand some people son't liek to be distracted when driving...traffic here in North Texas sucks and people drive like crazy. Also, some places have cell phone bans when driving.

Reply by SarahBeth_CA on 1/19/06 10:51am
Msg #89465

Charles I couldn't agree with you more.

Why is Misty leaving? I don't know. Could be the company is in trouble. Could be Misty is fed up with having to explain a payment policy that she knows is rediculous. Could be that she's found something that's less stress and good pay. The number of "it could be's" is huge.

I rarely take assignments with such a long payment policy, in fact I've only taken 2 in the last year. And you know I'm relearning the lesson again; it's the companies that take that long to pay are usually the worst to collect from. For instance signing 11/25, check promised 1/1 (I know rediculous), check was not cut till 1/15 without any explaination why. Shame on me for accepting the signing. Never again. Charles has it right, when we accept those signings we are financing that company. SS should have the capital to pay thier SA's upon completion, or within 2 weeks. I feel that is more than generous. Good grief have a plumber come out and fix something and he's not leaving without payment. The only reason SS can get away with that is there are too many that are willing to take it on a regular basis.

Reply by SLB SIGNING SERVICES, INC. - Sherry on 1/19/06 11:12am
Msg #89477

I agree....If a SS does not have the capital to pay their closers in a timely manner, than they shouldnt be in this business. On the same note, TC's should also pay the SS when the loan disburses and not expect us to float their moneys.....It is so strange to me that some TC's choose not to. I mean they are cutting checks anyway.

I think the problem is that some of these SS have way too much overhead (an office, etc)...I mean regardless of what people may think, most SS's do not make a killing off of these loans. I choose to have satellite offices across the US. My schedulers are independent contractors who work out of their homes which keeps our costs down and allows me to pay the schedulers better and pay the SA's on time. In order to keep my clients happy I have to keep the closers happy as well....JMHO

Reply by NM_CO on 1/19/06 11:37am
Msg #89517

Sherry

Amen to that, sister.

I'm in the process now collecting a big amount from a tc that hasn't paid for half of their loans but I STILL had to pay the SA. I love these SA's and don't want to dissapoint them. As for the tc, when they don't pay I could care less how our relationship turns out.

Reply by SLB SIGNING SERVICES, INC. - Sherry on 1/19/06 11:42am
Msg #89525

Re: Sherry

I just had a client who was in disagreement with a collections report that I sent stating they had an outstanding balance of $3000+....I had to go through each transaction (took over 2 hours) and tell them Yes you paid this one but the loan reclosed with a different closer on another date so you still owe for that closing and so on and so on....ITs like I always have to fight for my money and it is truly aggravating...Some clients are sooooo easy and I have no trouble with them and than you have the others that eventually pay but its like pulling teeth

Reply by Charles_Ca on 1/19/06 12:51pm
Msg #89578

Hi Sherry! I have friends who are SS and its not

what a lot of people think. I don't know about your business and so I am not purporting to describe your operation but most of my friends only make from $25 to $50 a signing. I suspect that you are also beginning to feel downward pressure as things slow down. By downward I am sure that there are direct competitors who can only compete by lowering prices. This business is undergoing tremendous changes as always happens in a transition period. I see it because I am in the real estate and loan business and I can see listing times extending greatly and the number of listings expanding: its not a buyers market in California and is probably a long way from it but there is definitely a slowing in the pace. There will be a lot of casualties because of the market changes. There will be those who are stuck with with overheads which they can't change and those who are only a commodity. The average commercial space in California rents for about $2 a square foot. So if you have an 800 square foot office (real small) you have a fixed cost of $1600 a month. You have to be able to get at least 80 signings just to pay the rent. Depending on the other fixed costs a lot of your signings go to your costs before you see a single cent yourself.

Reply by SLB SIGNING SERVICES, INC. - Sherry on 1/19/06 1:16pm
Msg #89587

Re: Hi Sherry! I have friends who are SS and its not

You are so right Charles. I have noticed a little of a slow down but thanks to a huge marketing campaign, we are seeing a lot of orders from new clients....Hopefully we can all survive this transition!