Posted by Bonnie_CO on 1/12/07 10:29am
Msg #170518

Good Morning Everyone! Example of NNA graduate...

I guess the NNA did another sweep through here recently. A lady that i've known for 15 years called the other day. She finally got a computer and wanted to know if I would come show her how to use it. I was a little surprised since she'd always said she had no use for a computer and would never get one. So I go and help her set up internet, email etc.
We took a break and were having a cup of coffee when she tells me she has something to show me. She comes in with a "certificate" from the NNA claiming she is a certified notary signing agent. BGC'd and all. She's ready to roll! I just rolled my eyes and thought "you've got to be joking!"
She then tells me I should take this wonderful course and I would make lots of money and wouldn't have to work hardly at all! I told her I've been doing this for a number of years and it wasn't as easy as the NNA says it is. I then explained some of the pitfalls of this business.
She said she was sure she'd do ok, & I said okay. I asked her about her printer for the edocs, she proudly comes back from the basement saying her husband had this one from his business that he'd let her use since they didn't use it anymore. Anyone remember the old dot matrix printers? That's what she plans on using! Tried to explain she would need a laser, but she's determined she can use hers! LOL! Couldn't talk her out of it!

The first night after I helped her set up she calls about 11 pm to tell me she'd just sent her first email! It only took her 3 hours to do it! (????) I didn't even ask.
2 days later she calls again to ask me why she wasn't getting calls for closings. I asked if she'd signed up with any signing services. She proudly answered that she had signed up with 3. Said her teacher at the class she took said that the companies would call her before they would the older notaries that weren't NNA Certified with the BGC.
I sent her an email with a pdf attachment. Told her to see if she could open it. I finally had to go over and show her how to open an attachment.
At this point in time I get approx 15 calls a day from her asking questions about closings and why she doesn't get calls. She finally got a call from one company to go notarize one signature on ONE paper. Offered $50.00. She went and did it , and on her way home she called and said she thought she should have been paid more since she had to drive 20 miles to do it. I asked her what she thought she should be paid, she thought $145 would have been a fair price. I'm thinking "why me????"
I realize that some of the new people out there will make it, they have some type of experience and business sense. Wish I knew of a couple here that I could refer overflow to. We are not overly saturated here with notaries....yet and there's work enough to go around. But this lady really believes the NNA hype and thinks she's gonna make 80K this year. ROFLMAO!
So, these TC's mentioned in the newsletter are gonna hire this BGC'd NNA Certified Notary before hiring an experienced notary? Looks like the joke will be on them! LOL! I'd love to be at the TC when they recieve a pkg printed on a dot matrix! Just to see the look on thier faces!
THIS IS MY OPINION ONLY! Gotta make sure that's in there! I know there have to be at least a few more out there like this lady that has done the NNA thing. What a joke! LOL!

Reply by Ernest__CT on 1/12/07 10:52am
Msg #170525

You couldn't make that stuff up. (sigh) n/m

Reply by Blueink_CA on 1/12/07 11:01am
Msg #170528

Re: Good Morning Everyone!

Should we be watching Ebay for someone from CO selling a new 'puter? Oh wait, then you would have to show her how to do that too! This story was so sad but true, I see it happening all the time. The only one making money is the XXX.

Reply by Bonnie_CO on 1/12/07 11:16am
Msg #170535

It is sad...I really like...

this lady. I keep trying to explain things to her, but she tells me I'm wrong, her "teacher" told her blah blah blah.... These things I'm trying to tell her are everyday occurances in our world. Wonder what will happen with a POA closing. We have a lot of those around here because of husbands or wives being over in Iraq. I wish the newbies could know that what they learn in that cert class pretty much is NOTHING like the real world of signings! I took that class way back when and unless it's changed drastically, and from her stuff from the nna it looks like it's pretty much still the same, those coming out of there are no where near ready to handle a doc signing.
I am not adverse to helping someone out if I think they have what it takes to do this. I would love to have someone to refer to, I do refer 1 person out of the Springs, but I'd like to have someone a little closer. But....

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 1/12/07 11:13am
Msg #170533

Re: Dot Matrix huh?..<G>

Would love to see the look on HER face when she gets the call to close in 2-3 hours - and run two copies!!

Reply by Bonnie_CO on 1/12/07 11:17am
Msg #170536

Re: Dot Matrix huh?..<G>

I was just telling my son that I'd love to see how long it would take to print a full set of docs on a dot matrix! LOL!

Reply by Gary_CA on 1/12/07 11:23am
Msg #170540

Can she even print on the thing?

IF there's a windows driver for it... IF

A PDF will realize what it's printing to... the only way to print our docs there will be as images.

10 hours and 3 ribbons later...

Oh Dear...

Reply by Bonnie_CO on 1/12/07 11:27am
Msg #170542

Didn't think about that! Can you even still GET

ribbons for a dot matrix? I didn't hook up her printer. She said her husband would hook it up later...

Reply by MistarellaFL on 1/12/07 11:29am
Msg #170545

Do a good deed, Bonnie

LOL send her a package for printing....you know, one of those generic training doc packages.
Let her see what it is like in the REAL WORLD!

Reply by Bonnie_CO on 1/12/07 11:30am
Msg #170546

LOL! Great idea! n/m

Reply by Gary_CA on 1/12/07 11:50am
Msg #170550

Bad idea... never try to teach a pig to sing...

It wastes your time and it annoys the pig.

Yep it's good for a chuckle... but seriously I think you'd be well advised to back away from this situation...be too busy... change the subject...

I can think of lots of outcome scenarios... none of them good. If you help her to failure you risk a friendship. If you help her to success you damage your business. If you help her to mediocrity you invest thousands of hours.

I'd bail on this situation as nicely as I could.

I've done computer consulting... had a nice old guy refered to me that was stabbing at an internet business it was obvious he'd never succeed at. Slow as molasses, took hours and hours of time, spending money he couldn't afford. Of course I couldn't bill him full fee in good conscience... so I just quit answering his phone calls. I'd recommend a similar course of action.

My two cents, free on NotRot.

Reply by Ernest__CT on 1/12/07 12:31pm
Msg #170564

I'm with Gary. Do the most loving thing. Be "busy". n/m

Reply by JanetK_CA on 1/12/07 3:53pm
Msg #170592

I agree, too.

Sounds to me like what could be the beginning of a "co-dependency" if you let this get too far. This quote from you first message was my first clue:

"I finally had to go over and show her how to open an attachment."

I realize I'm over-analyzing this and you probably weren't giving weighty consideration to every choice of word, but the truth is that you don't "have to" do anything for her. She clearly isn't willing to take direction from you - to her detriment - but also, this is HER business and her responsibility. You already told her you'd been doing this for some time. If she had any sense, she be picking your brain and taking pages of notes and offering to pay you in some way for your time and effort. The more involved you get, the more likely she will blame you when she fails.

One possible scenario is that after she gets her nose bloodied in the business - if she lasts that long - she will become more and more dependent on you for answers and will, as Gary suggested, start sucking up hours of your time. From what you've said here, the possibility that she will become the type of notary that you would feel comfortable referring business to is pretty slim... Sounds like a no-win deal for you, imho.

My recommendation is to keep your friendship on the same basis it has been in the past and leave business out of it. She is, after all, trying to become your competitor.

Reply by Bonnie_CO on 1/12/07 4:58pm
Msg #170600

When she called

a while ago, I told her I'd come over and talk to her. We sat and had a deep discussion on this whole situation. She's still determined to run with it, but also knows that I do not have the time to baby her through it. I have a feeling there will be several "clean up" calls on this one, we'll see!
I think she will lose interest in this fairly quickly. She got very upset when I told her about having to wait for payments, and most signing services she would have to wait 30-45 days on payment on average.
I imagine a lot of people that do the "cert classes" are like her in that, she has pretty much tried every "work at home" thing out there, everything from Avon and Amway to stuffing envelopes. I did give her some ideas and told her what she would need to do, things such as getting a laser (again) printer, a fax, a cell phone, and sign up with a min of 300 companies. She wasn't real happy with all the realities of this business. She said the "teacher" didn't mention most of what I told her. Out of curiousity I had her 'present' a set of sample loan docs to me. OMG! It's a case of UPL waiting to happen and a lot of things she made up as she went along. She could not tell me where I might find my payment amount, if there was an escrow account with the loan, where it told me my interest rate, what apr was(she said that was my interest rate), if there was a prepayment penalty etc. I left the sample set with her and told her to read them all the way through over and over until she could show me where to find the answer to my questions. Told her I'd come over in a couple of weeks for coffee and she could present them to me again.
Thanks for all the advice everyone! And it is AMAZING what the DON'T teach them!

Reply by John_NorCal on 1/13/07 12:04am
Msg #170662

Teach a pig to sing?! ROFLMAO! Good one Gary! n/m

Reply by kikeroo on 1/13/07 7:09pm
Msg #170715

Re: Teach a pig to sing?! ROFLMAO! Good one Gary!

Can you please tell me what ROFLMAO is? I'm new to blogging.

Reply by PAW on 1/13/07 8:33pm
Msg #170720

Re: Teach a pig to sing?! ROFLMAO! Good one Gary!

Though this technically isn't a Blog, but a forum or bulletin board, you can find just about all the typical and common internet acronyms at http://www.gaarde.org/acronyms/ which are used for posting messages as well as writing blogs.

For the record, ROFLMAO is Rolling On the Floor Laughing My A$$ Off

Reply by TitleGalCA on 1/13/07 9:39pm
Msg #170730

Paul, did you just say....

"Rolling On the Floor Laughing My A$$ Off"

Good heavens. There is hope for you yet, my Man.

Reply by kikeroo on 1/14/07 2:17pm
Msg #170776

Re: Teach a pig to sing?! ROFLMAO! Good one Gary!

Aha! Thanks. I'm slowing figuring them out as I go...but I'll check the site out too. And I'll never use "blog" in here again.

Reply by Nakai Williams on 1/12/07 8:42pm
Msg #170645

Re: Do a good deed, Bonnie

Hello can anyone tell me where I can get some generic training docs at?

Reply by Art_MD on 1/12/07 11:59am
Msg #170551

Re: You can get dot matrix ribbons..

Believe it or not, there are still a lot of dot matrix printers around. Some stores still use them . i.e. Jiffie Lube, Ace hardware etc where they use a 3 part form and give you a hard copy (usually yellow or salmon)

Art

Reply by Carolyn Bodley on 1/12/07 1:15pm
Msg #170570

Re: That's true

I still use my dot matrix for my Public Defender work I do. The court forms are 4-part carbons. I love it and it is so much easier than digging out the typewriter. It uses IBM Selectric ribbons and prints quite fast.

Reply by Susan Fischer on 1/12/07 12:38pm
Msg #170566

Would docs even be accepted ala dot matrix? And as

I recall, dot matrix printers had the continuous feed, not the rubber platens (sp?) for plain paper printing. Been way too many years...

Reply by PJM/MI on 1/12/07 2:59pm
Msg #170583

I too, have been contacted by the "graduates" of the NNA certified course. Isn't it amazing what ISN"T taught?