Posted by dollyPA on 12/3/07 12:34pm
Msg #224002

What happens when there is a family emergency???

I was at the hospital last night with my mom who was taken by ambulance because of congestive heart failure. I was there until 9:30 this morning and did not have phone numbers with me to call my client to let them know I was unable to make the signing at 10am. I did get home and leave a message on their voice mail around 9:45am and spoke to the borrower but now the client said they can't use my services any more since I did a no show....What do notaries do when they have family emergencies??? Just curious because I wasn't thinking about the next day when my step dad called me about my mom. There was another time of course that I didn't go to an appointment because of not receiving docs on a Friday night. I went to a college with my son for the weekend and didn't check email until Sunday. I sent an email asking for the docs and had no response until later in the after noon when the client called to tell me they found someone else to go to the signing because I didn't show... They said they understood that there are other commitments but that I should have notified them on Friday that I didn't get the docs. I was not able to sit here and wait until they showed, the client called me at noon to ask me to do the signing on Monday morning and said I will have the docs before end of day. This has never been an issue before, ever. The company is good at communication. Sorry for the long stories. Just need advice on how to handle these situations in the future so that I don't loose another client.

Reply by Regal/NC on 12/3/07 1:01pm
Msg #224008

Faith, Family then others

I wish the best for your mother!

If a company decides to not utilize my services due to a family emergancy, so be it. It's their lost not mine. Faith, Family then others!

Depending on the time & circumstances, I may return home to contact the hiring company & borrower to advise them of my situation.

The only other option is to have a "partner" or "buddy" to cover for you when ever possible.

Reply by Linda Juenger on 12/3/07 1:33pm
Msg #224009

Re: Faith, Family then others

I agree. A wonderful lady used to say and I quote " If you put God first, your Family second, everything else will fall into place.

You were where you needed to be, with your mom. I would have done the very same thing. Some things in life are just more important. I guess if it were me, I would take the time in the next few days to write a note of apology to the company and explain again what happened and you certanily didn't mean to put them or the borrowers out. Sometimes a handwritten note goes a long way.

I wish the best for you and your mother. I'm sorry.

Reply by OR on 12/3/07 3:14pm
Msg #224026

Re: I had the same thing happen to be and I had

I even called the day before the signing. I have to fly to Southern CA. I kept in touch with the SS and call then a few months later and still they have never used my services again. I hear that they have bounces checks lately. I guess it wasn't too big of a loss. Good Luck

Reply by Michelle/AL on 12/3/07 1:39pm
Msg #224012

I agree w/Regal

Dolly, I think you did the right thing by being there with your mom when she needed you. Since I am also a "one-person shop" I have a buddy system with other notaries in the area. Two of us refer work to one another on a regular bases. I wouldn't think twice about asking her to cover for me on an assignment that I couldn't make due to a family emergency. I suggest you use this board or another site to identify someone in your area you can get to know and trust and use him or her as your back up. Start now because you really do want to know the person beforehand. Good luck.

Reply by NCNotary on 12/3/07 1:42pm
Msg #224013

Dolly, I think you should identify the company involved. Any company as heartless and lacking in understanding of very personal issues such as this would go to the head of my "refuse signings" list. We are all individuals and have families and commitments that at times interfere with business and these companies seem to lose track of the human side of this business.

Reply by SReis on 12/3/07 2:11pm
Msg #224015

Last year I had something similar happen to me but it was w/my then 2 yr old that ended up being hospitalized for a month. Luckily the co that I had appts w/is awesome & completely understood the situation. I will say, however, that I was shocked by some co.'s that would call me for appts & when I told them I was not available because my son was in the hospital in a coma they had the nerve to ask me if I could refer them to others & when I said sorry I don't have any of that info w/me (since I never left the hospital), they acted all huffy. In the end, I stopped answering my phone & changed my mssg explaining I would not be available due to family emerg.

Family should always be #1 priority & if a co. is that inconsiderate they are probably best not to work with anyway!!!

Hope your Mom is doing better.

Reply by Bob_Chicago on 12/3/07 3:20pm
Msg #224027

Please do not take this in the wrong light. I hope that your

mom is ok, but we each run a business and people count on us
to get the job done , no matter what.
With today's technology, one can easily access their e-mail accountl, schedule,
contact info , etc, etc.
from just about anywhere, including a "smart phone"
In the event of any emergency we should be able to access the necessary
info to be able to inform the appropriate party of the problem so that it
can be dealt with.
Develop a network of reliable NSAs in your area who can cover for you when
the need arises.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 12/3/07 3:30pm
Msg #224028

Re: Please do not take this in the wrong light. I hope that your

A couple of years ago while on a cruise a company called my cell phone for a signing, scheduled the day after we were due back. I told the company that I would be back and would be able to do the signing.
The ship docked in Miami and I had an emergency and wasn't able to get home. I didn't have any contact numbers with me, so I called Paul and explained the situation to him. As the signing wasn't until the afternoon I figured he could get a hold of them and they had time to get someone to cover the signing.
He called the company several times and couldn't get anyone on the phone. He left voice mails and no-one returned his call - until three days later!!!! When he explained the situation to them, they told him he should have called earlier!!!


That company never called me again. No big loss.

Reply by jba/fl on 12/3/07 4:27pm
Msg #224038

Re: Please do not take this in the wrong light. I hope that your

"He called the company several times and couldn't get anyone on the phone. He left voice mails and no-one returned his call - until three days later!!!! When he explained the situation to them, they told him he should have called earlier!!!"

Of course they reach you, and more and more we are unable to reach them, for any reason. Stinks.

Hope that your mom is ok and improving.
Do try to network w/someone for the future, as for this co., I liked the suggestion of handwritten note of explanation. Relates to Bird in hand is worth two in the bush (somehow).

Reply by CaliNotary on 12/3/07 5:27pm
Msg #224049

I agree with Bob

Obviously sometimes there's just nothing we can do in an emergency. But sometimes we can and just don't.

I don't know exactly what Dolly's situation was but if she left the hospital at 9:30 and was able to call the borrower at 9:45 then I'm assuming the hospital was 15 minutes away from home. So I'd wonder why she or somebody else couldn't have made a quick trip home at some point throughout the night to get the necessary phone numbers. Again, it all depends on what the circumstances were, was it truly a life and death situation, or was it just staying at the hospital all night because that's what we feel we're supposed to do in these situations? If it was the former then yeah, screw the signing, they'll get it worked out. But if it was the latter then we do have to consider our other obligations, even though we're completely stressed out.

I'd also wonder if it would be possible to have done the signing a little bit later, like 11 instead of 10? Obviously if she'd been up all night in the hospital she's gonna be wiped out by the time she got home, but could she have sucked it up and pushed through and still got the signing done and then come home and collapsed?

Don't take this the wrong way Dolly, I'm posting these as hypotheticals, not as finger pointing. You did what you had to do and I certainly don't fault you for it. I guess I'm just trying to give food for thought as to whether the situation was impossible to handle any other way, or whether it could have been done differently but wasn't.

Reply by dollyPA on 12/3/07 5:37pm
Msg #224053

Re: I agree with Bob

I actually returned home at 9:30 and by the time I logged on and found the phone numbers it was 9:45. I did tell the borrower we can do it late in the afternoon but the client never called me back. I sent another email asking for confirmation that they received an email explaining my situation and that the borrower was going to be available all day. This is when they said they found someone else right away when I didn't call them back at 9:15am and that they can't use my services anymore. Some people don't make an effort but I did rush down the express way to get home to call them before the appointment so that we can work something out. They didn't want to wait for me to call them. One thing that does bother me is that they left a message at 9:15am and just because I didn't contact them right away wasn't a reason to find another notary. I had confirmed this appointment already with them and the borrower on Friday. Oh well, I just need to come up with a "fire escape" plan in case of any other future emergencies. My mom was in critical condition, she has water around her heart and she couldn't breath at all not to mention stand up.

I understand what your saying about figuring out another way, which I was trying to do with the borrower. But, I guess some notary's don't make an extra thought of it and they thought I was one of them.

Reply by CaliNotary on 12/3/07 6:15pm
Msg #224056

Re: I agree with Bob

Yeah, sounds to me like you made a more than reasonable effort given the circumstances. So at this point all you can do is send them that note and see what happens. I'd like to think most companies are going to be reasonable in these circumstances, it's just too bad you found one of the buttheads.

Reply by dollyPA on 12/3/07 5:30pm
Msg #224051

I thank everyone for the well wishes to my mom. I just returned home again and she is coming back. Here oxygen is up to 83 now and hope to increase by tomorrow morning. She does have a virus of some sort also in her blood stream and the docs have no idea what it is yet.

I will keep all the advice in mind and will write a note of apologize to the company. I am a sole-proprietor and do realize I am running a company. One thing though, when you get a call at 11:30pm on a Sunday night the last thing you or I thought of was grabbing my phone and lap top. I didn't realize I was going to follow an ambulance down to the city after meeting my step dad at the emergency room here locally. No one was home at my house for me to call and get the info.

I did call this company before the appointment time and called the borrower so no one was wondering why I was late. The front desk transfered me to the Notary Dept and I got the machine saying the office was closed. Then I called the scheduler direct and left a voice message. Well she wasn't in today from what her colleague states but yet I received an email from her at 9:15am to check on whether I was going to meet with the borrower on time.

This is a decent company and one person in that company should not have to pay for their ignorance. I can email the company name to anyone who does want it by private email if this is something that you really want to know. Just wanted to keep the name out of the forum.

Reply by Ernest__CT on 12/3/07 8:51pm
Msg #224077

Prayers and best wishes for your mother. Sounds ...

... like you did what could be _reasonably_ expected of you regarding the signing.

Good for you for _not_ Posting the company name.

Reply by LKT/CA on 12/3/07 10:02pm
Msg #224099

I wish your mom a speedy recovery. Thanks for sharing your story...it is a lesson to us all to have back up in the event of an emergency. I plan to have at least 3 numbers in my Treo at all times for just this purpose.