Posted by LisaH/VA on 9/15/07 5:51am
Msg #211232

Everyone should read this...

The Notary Talk Discussion Forum is a free service offered by Notary Rotary™. It was created to allow professional notaries public to share experiences, advice and opinions with other members of the profession. Discussion topics can be as general as basic notarial procedures or as specific as how the notary loan signing agent is to handle a particular signing scenario.

This is under the Rules & Guidelines. I have never seen a board like this is. I have never seen people so rude and bash others like this!!! You think the experienced notaries would want to help the newbies!! Grow up people!!!

Reply by Margaret_FL on 9/15/07 6:05am
Msg #211233

Greatly said, there a lot of great notaries on this board and they do not post crap and feel they have to put down people. When I worked in the corporate world these were the negative people that worried what everyone else was doing. I tried to ignore them but it was impossible in an office environment. So that is why I work for myself. I only have me to answer to and I create my own success. This year has been so good to me that I will be leaving on a cruise next week and I can assure you I will not be spending my free time on a chat board.

Reply by Lisa Horstman on 9/15/07 6:13am
Msg #211234

Have fun on your cruise!! That is great!!!

Reply by Margaret_FL on 9/15/07 6:45am
Msg #211235

Thanks, I am up early on a Saturday to go shopping for last minutes items. I have been shopping for months for my cruise wear. Hit all the sales for the summer items with 75-90% off.

Reply by Lisa Horstman on 9/15/07 8:25am
Msg #211242

That's a really good idea. I have been hitting the clearance items too!! Good for next summer. Have fun on your cruise!!!!

Reply by HARRY_PA on 9/15/07 8:31am
Msg #211245

Lisa, welcome. I agree with your feelings about some members of this forum. My belief is that their impatience is fueled by the current downturn and end of the sub prime market. I do agree with many that it is the responsibility of new notaries to first become knowledgeable in basic notarial functions before tackling the added responsibilities of a signing agent. Margaret I am truly jealous. Have a wonderful time.

Harry

Reply by LJ on 9/15/07 10:10am
Msg #211258

Well said Lisa. I agree 100%. I am by no means a newbie. I've got 2 years under my belt and hundreds and hundreds of signings. But, I guess to some of you that have been doing this 6-7 years, I am still considered a newbie in your eyes. I admit also that sometimes I get a doc that I have never seen before, even after 2 years, or a situtation comes up that I have not dealt with before. I want/need to be able to come to this board, ask a question, and not be bashed for it. I will search for the answer first. I think we're all going to see some doc's in pkgs that none of us have ever seen due to the current crisis. Sometimes, like Harry said, we all get a brain fart or have a senior moment. We all lead very busy lives and what a wonderful feeling it would be to be able to come to this board, ask our dumb question, get the answer we need and move on. It takes time to research a question and sometimes we just don't have the time (ex: we're trying to get out the door to a closing) and need a quick answer. I also admit that I get very aggravated at the very basic of questions, like how much do I charge, how do I get signings. These questions tend to make my blood boil also. I would love Harry to find a way to get this stopped, but fear it is impossible. Just ignore or give them msg 33325.
Have a great week-end. I enjoy this board and have learned tons. If we quit learning, we're dead. No one can possible know it all. JMO

Reply by Lisa Horstman on 9/15/07 10:37am
Msg #211263

I am a newbie. I research as much as I possibly can. I find all of my answers that way. Your right about the time, sometimes you don't have alot of time to research. I hope if I ever do have a question, someone will try to be helpful and answer my question. I will definately keep coming back. This board is very helpful and full of information. Have a great day!! It's beautiful here in Virginia. No humidity, finally!!

Reply by mbcinva on 9/15/07 11:43am
Msg #211272

Lisa: I also agree with you. I have been doing this for over 12 years and one loan company or another is changing docs or adding new ones. It does take a little time to read and research if you don't understand. I have, again, just begun using Notary Rotary and I was appalled at the way some of the "old timers" treated one newbie. I do agree with them that if you don't know what you are doing, find out before taking off to do a closing. However, people don't have to be so rude and mean. If I were the "newbie" asking for advice and was treated that way, I think I would never get on Notary Rotary again or tell them how I felt. It appears that these people need other things to occupy their time (like working) rather than sitting at the computer bashing other people. Apparently they have forgotten what it was like to be the new kid on the block!!

Reply by JanetK_CA on 9/15/07 6:45pm
Msg #211336

I think we need to be careful about generalizing on both sides of the issue. I am embarrassed sometimes by the venomous personal attacks and the name calling - which I think serve no purpose, except to make the poster feel better for the moment. However, we each have the option of not responding to, or engaging with those posters. And as I think Harry PA said, some of it may be in part fueled by the frustrations from what is happening in the industry as a whole.

On the other side of the coin, LJ brings up some good points about doing your homework first and then saying "wouldn't it be nice..." Yes, it would. The problem arises when people begin to see that option as an entitlement due them. Or when they don't limit those questions to the issues they have already searched and couldn't find, or start asking basic stuff because "they don't have time".

Now imagine that the person asking basic questions (that most feel someone accepting money for an assignment should already know) is a competitor in your coverage area. And imagine that that person has undercut your fees and misrepresented their experience and knowledge to get business (some of which used to be yours), then comes to this board because they are in over their head. They are demonstrating their lack of understanding and expecting to get by on the efforts and accumulated knowledge of others here because "they don't have time". The presumtiousness of expecting others to spend THEIR time to bail them out for free still astounds me.

How warm and fuzzy do you feel about helping now? That person is too busy, but they don't seem to respect the already invested time and effort of those they expect to help them - who have nothing to gain and potentially much to lose by doing so. Some of us feel that they shouldn't have time to take the assignments until they've done their own homework. Multiply that several times over and you may begin to understand how tough it can be sometimes to be "nice".

And one more point... when I was still pretty new (I didn't find this board until I'd been signing at least a year), I very seldom brought my questions here. I took them directly to my client or figured it out on my own. It's very hard to know who to listen to and who to ignore, especially when you're new. You get a pretty good idea after a while, but I've found that you can't even really rely on what some people put in their profiles all the time. I've nearly always preferred to either listen to my client or use my own judgement. Doing a search is a great way to get a variety of opinions on a subject, but as I've said many times, we need to be careful to not be swayed by those who are "often wrong, never in doubt"... Point being that it may be dangerous to think that you can come here to get a quick right answer. That may be true most of the time, but there are no guarantees.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 9/15/07 6:53pm
Msg #211339

OK, Al, and others...

I haven't ever linked my profile because in the past it gave me a good idea of how many potential client looks I was receiving. I have nothing to hide - and I'm getting lots fewer client looks anyway (potentially partly because, for some unknown reason, I am no longer first on the list for my zip code, even though I have been for a good number of years, as a Premier Member - longer I think than any of the others listed). So no more. You all have convinced me to link to my profile, such as it is.

Reply by Therese on 9/15/07 7:34pm
Msg #211344

Janet... I diffently agree with your last paragraph....and this can be told to the people who are asking these questions in a way that no-one if feeling attacked.

Reply by Therese on 9/15/07 2:56pm
Msg #211305

I will help anyone to the best of my knowledge if you don't want to post publicly just send me an email. Good Luck.

Good form makes for a good forum!

Reply by MichiganAl on 9/15/07 6:23pm
Msg #211334

This is one of the things that scares me

Not to pick on you specifically, but you say you will help to the best of your knowledge. But what exactly IS your knowledge? Have you been a signing agent for five years or five minutes? What are your credentials, your experience? How do you present yourself on your business profile? Somebody asking a question doesn't know any of those things. So while you're sharing your knowledge, you're completely shielded from any responsibility or repercussions if the knowledge you pass out is bogus. Once again (and I speaking in general and not about you or anyone specifically), all the names I see pop up of people who have so much to say about how this forum should be and how people should act are either anonymous or they're names that have been here for about a month. If someone thinks they have something valuable to add, or if they think they can ask a reasonably thought out question that shows some modicum of effort, then don't hide. We have the ability on our profile to block out any personal info like address, phone number or e-mail. So I find no real excuse for it other than someone not wanting to be accountable for themselves. Personally, when I see someone without a link to their profile giving out advice my overriding thought is "this person must not be have much confidence in their knowledge." And when I see someone asking a question who isn't linked, I think "this person knows they didn't put any effort into finding the answer themselves." And when I see anonymous people telling others how to post, I think it lacks any real conviction on their part. If people want to have a say and take responsibility for the quality of the forum, then take responsibility for yourself by being yourself and not a nameless voice.

Reply by Ilene C. Seidel on 9/15/07 4:12pm
Msg #211316

I'm with you Lisa, we all have to start somewhere. We were born into this insane industry and how are the newcomers to know if they don't ask. Its' sad to see anyone bashed on this website.

Reply by LisaH/VA on 9/15/07 7:10pm
Msg #211341

Thanks for all of the nice replys. I knew there were nice and friendly people out there somewhere!! LOL

Reply by Therese on 9/15/07 7:18pm
Msg #211342

Michigan Al... when I say the best to my knowledge I am saying I do not claim to know it all.
I would not give any advice or assistance that goes beyond the boundaries.
I am just offering assistance to a fellow colleague in a non-threating manner.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 9/15/07 8:23pm
Msg #211346

But Therese, sometimes we don't know what we don't know, especially in the first few years of doing this -- or any other career, for that matter. I'm sure you mean well, but if it were me, I'd rather hear a rough-around-the-edges, even harsh message from someone who had lots of experience and truly did know what they were talking about. It's pretty hard to know where the boundaries are and I think Al's point is that someone who tries to help off-line is at even greater risk of doing more harm than good because there is no one else there to cross check and correct whatever slightly inaccurate or outright wrong info someone might inadvertently give out with the very best of intentions. And that new person may not know enough to be able to discern whose comments to take to heart. jmho.

Reply by Therese on 9/15/07 8:51pm
Msg #211350

Right, I get it but better for them to ask in private rather than not ask at all in fear of harrasment. At least myself or someelse could direct them to get the experience they need or questions they need answered in the right direction. I think that would be better than going out blind-sided. I would never give anyone but general advice and of course tell them to call the TO, LO or state office. I am not saying that I have all the answers and I prefer everyone would just go to the TO or LO for their questions because every signing is unique. I even had circumstance once calling the state and not even being able to find in answer there and being told to ask the advice of an attorney. So treat each as case in individual. I was just hoping to give the unexperienced a place to go without threat. My bad.