Posted by Dennis D Broadbooks on 5/14/07 3:34pm
Msg #190108

Working with the General Public...

...as it relates to performing our Notary services can be rewarding in more ways than one. Last Wednesday (the 9th) I received a call from a woman in CA whose young college age son needed to have a form notarized here in MO, as this is where he currently resides. I gave her my fee based on traveling to where the son lives & she readily accepted; even offering to send the check overnight as she wanted to pay the fee on behalf of her son. I demurred saying it wasn't necessary & for her to simply send it regular mail after I completed the job. The notarization was accomplished the next morning & I called the son's mother to confirm that afternoon; once again emphasizing she could simply mail the check. In the mailbox today I received the payment & tacked on to my stated fee was a $10.00 tip. Sometimes the little things in life can provide the biggest emotional boost.

Reply by Michelle/AL on 5/14/07 4:40pm
Msg #190125

Amen!

I hope to eventually make non-loan business my target market/niche. I find it more rewarding personally and I learn about forms and processes I knew nothing about before. I've been fortunate so far. No checks have bounced and no one has ever refused to pay.

Reply by Sylvia_FL on 5/14/07 5:16pm
Msg #190130

Re: Amen!

I do a lot of general notarizations and I love them - get paid in cash at the time

I did have one lady complain, she said her cousin was a notary and never charged her. I suggested that she should have gone to her cousin if she wanted her signature notarized for free. (Before she came to me I had told her my fee on the phone, so she knew it wasn't going to be a freebie)

Reply by PL on 5/14/07 5:35pm
Msg #190136

I have normally had good luck with this also. Though this week I had a couple who could not believe that I would charge them to drive 1 hour roundtrip to notarize 1 paper. They stated that I as a public servant had to come see them, because their taxes paid me. I explained I was not a public employee and that I was a private citizen who performed notariztions for a living. The last thing I heard, before they slammed the phone was they were going to call their Congressman and complain.

Reply by bigdog on 5/14/07 6:00pm
Msg #190143

I had one of those last week. The lady wanted me to drive 60 miles round trip to notarize a bill of sale. I told her the fee and she went ballistic. I tried to explain its not the notarization that cost so much, it's the trip fee.

Reply by Michelle/AL on 5/14/07 8:24pm
Msg #190161

PL, you have got to be joking!!!

So they thought it was your civic duty, huh? That is so funny!

Reply by Christine/NJ on 5/15/07 1:21pm
Msg #190230

You may be a Public Servant but you are not a Public slave. You have to right to be paid with accordance to your state regulations. You also have the right to notarize for the General Public at your convenience not neccessarily theirs. The people who treated you this way are sadly mistaken and I am sure will find this out if and when they decide to make their ridiculous complaint. Best of luck to you!

Reply by OR on 5/14/07 9:35pm
Msg #190173

Re: Working with the General Public...I did one too last

week. This woman's DOT wasn't stamped and it did not have a date on it. Her husband had a stroke and they had sold their home 3 years ago. She said that she couldnt find the old notary (she was crying as she spoke to me over the phone)"I did not do this" she said "I did not mke this a mess, but I some how have to fix it some how. I cant afford an Attorney."
All I could think to say was "Let me look at what you have and see what we can do to get this fixed for you today." I drove to her 12 miles away from my office, to her husbands (he was in a nursing home he must have been 57 years old) She had a photo copy of original DOT and a new clean DOT. We signed and dated it. made her a photo copyfor her records. We took photo copy's of thire ID's from the back of my car. I loged it in my Notary Book and she asked how much she owed me I told her $10.00 She told me she She was thinking it would cost her a few hundreds of dollars to get it done. Life had been too hard for this lady for a few year. It is nice to help the ones who just need a hand. I left her with my card and told her to call if she needed any thing else. Got to love what you do more them $$$ some times it is all about real people.

Reply by SueW/Tn on 5/14/07 10:01pm
Msg #190174

JoAnn, I'm confused

You had to stamp a DOT for a home that was sold 3 years ago? She had a photo copy of the original and a new clean copy? Ya mean this was never recorded? I'm having a senior moment...

Reply by Joan Bergstrom on 5/15/07 12:59am
Msg #190181

I love Public Notary work

Easiest kind of notary work. I charge $40 to walk out the door and then $10 per signature (CA).

Reply by GF_CA on 5/15/07 9:12am
Msg #190200

Re: JoAnn, I'm confused... I'm confused too n/m

Reply by BrendaTx on 5/15/07 9:24am
Msg #190203

Re: JoAnn, I'm confused... I'm confused too

Ditto...and, I do understand that her post is not about technicalities, it is a people story...nonetheless, it makes no sense from an SA perspective.

Please explain, JoAnn.

Reply by Joe Ewing on 5/15/07 10:48am
Msg #190215

Welcome to my world Dennis.