Posted by Linda_H/FL on 8/6/11 12:10pm
Msg #392880

And this is why I don't push GN work

ring ring..

Caller: "Hi....I have a time-sensitive document that needs to be notarized. My mother fell last night and I may have to take her to the hospital and I need to get this done."

Me: "Okay - where are you located?"

Caller: "Fort White (my town - very rural).."

Me: "Okay, where can I meet with her?"

Caller: "Well, she already signed it, I just need to get it notarized."

Me: "I understand, but she has to appear before me."

Caller: "Well, it says here "to you at your convenience" (must have been looking at my website).

Me: "Yes, I'll come to you - but she must be there."

Caller: "Well, I have a friend in Jacksonville who does all our paperwork and she'd do it without her being there, but..."

Me: "Well, I won't get too deep into that, but that's illegal. Anyway, yes I can help you...when would you like to get this done."

Caller: "First, how much would you charge, then we'll go from there.."

Me: "$25.00 total" (after pondering drop everything, immediate service and drive - again, very rural and remember, Momma fell so she's probably not up to going out) -

Caller: "I'll get back to you..."

Guess it's not so time-sensitive any more.

Good grief.

Reply by Notarysigner on 8/6/11 12:16pm
Msg #392881

That is just soooo funny and coincidental. I got a call like that last night only the caller told me his Dad was in a coma but the Doctor saw him do it before he lapsed into the coma.

For some people the lights are on but nobody's home. Your right, Good grief.

Reply by topflyt on 8/6/11 7:14pm
Msg #392908

Got an e-mail from someone who needs her child care provider's doc notarizes but it has to be translated first and the provider is illegal so has no i.d....am I interested? Yeah, and sell me that swamp land you have too.

Reply by jba/fl on 8/6/11 12:23pm
Msg #392882

Guess she is going to have to get out a stamp and envelope and mail that sucker to her friend in Jax to get it notarized. Of course, it should be dated for today when the friend gets it on Mon or Tues.

These country minds at work - LOL

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 8/6/11 2:18pm
Msg #392890

LOL...my first thought when he mentioned

Jacksonville (though I, respectfully, didn't say it - but I oh sooo wanted to) was "well I hope your injured Mom enjoys the hour and a half ride in the car"..

But I didn't...

Reply by ZeeCA on 8/6/11 2:26pm
Msg #392892

you can notarize me w/o my being there cuz you KNOW me and you KNOW I would only be honest and and and and............

Reply by jba/fl on 8/6/11 3:23pm
Msg #392894

(deer in headlights look, slack jaw monotone) uh, huh..yeah...uh

Reply by MaggieMae_CA on 8/6/11 3:51pm
Msg #392897

Ring... Ring... Ring... Ring...

(Call from a former co-worker)

Co-worker: Hi! I have a friend who needs a letter notarized in order to bring his friend's boat down to Mexico... and the friend's friend whose boat it is lives in Canada... can you notarize the letter for my friend?

**Co-worker chattering in the background to her "friend" in need of the notarized letter... "Oh, she's wonderful (that would be me by the way). She'll notarize it for us and I'm sure she won't even charge for it.**

Me: Is the boat owner here?

Co-worker: No, he's in Canada, but you can call him on the phone.

Me: I'm sorry, I can't notarize a document based on a phone call.

Co-worker: But my friend needs this in order to take the boat to Mexico.

Me: But it's illegal and I can lose my commission, not to mention jail time with Big Bertha.

Co-worker: So what you're saying is that you won't do this for me?

Me: Yep, you're right about that.

Funny, that was 2 years ago and I haven't heard from her since.

Reply by ikando on 8/6/11 4:46pm
Msg #392900

Re: Ring... Ring... Ring... Ring...

This goes to my favorite calls.

"What do you charge to notarize a piece of paper?"

What kind of paper and where would I be going?

"It's a car title. Where are you coming from?"

Are you the seller?

"No. I bought it from a guy at the lake. He's already signed it. It just needs to be notarized so I can transfer it."

Only the seller can be notarized.

"Oh. (pause) I'll get somebody else." (Hang up)

Unfortunately, "somebody else" probably will just stamp the title. Too often I have seen people stamp who have no clue what they're doing or the consequences of their actions.

As for me, I value my commission and the responsibilities of the position too much. I'll continue to educate myself, and anyone else when possible.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 8/6/11 9:07pm
Msg #392917

OK, all of you who are within driving distance of me, pay close attention to the posts above and stop reading now!

To the rest of you, I'd say that it's just a matter of how you look at it. If we're in this business long enough, we'll all have a head full of stories like this. However, as I see it, the conversation may take 5 minutes, if that, and then I'm back to whatever I was doing before and I do my best to put it out of my mind. It's the price I pay for the ones that don't turn out like that. BTW, I think a $25 total is pretty cheap, if you're doing the driving - especially at today's gas prices - although gas is probably slightly less expensive in your area than here.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 8/6/11 9:25pm
Msg #392921

Not sure Janet - we're at $3.75/gal here

at least we were on Thursday - it may have gone up again by now. I thought $25 to drop everything, pull myself together, drive to them NOW (which in my area could, feasibly, have turned out to be 25 miles rt - 45 minutes travel alone) was fairly reasonable. But people around here don't seem to want to pay - they're shocked to find out they have to pay me to travel to them.

Ah well - like you said - there are those who WILL pay and, like you said, I just went back to my previous activity - kicked back on the loveseat watching Saturday TV..

Reply by JanetK_CA on 8/7/11 1:15am
Msg #392928

Re: Not sure Janet - we're at $3.75/gal here

I think $25 is waaay more than reasonable, for "dropping everything" and the amount of driving you're talking about. I like the comparison someone here suggested a while back about how much a taxi driver would charge for the same distance - without offering any additional service.

And, BTW, you got me on the gas prices... Most gas stations around here are hovering around $3.80, I think, but I filled up at Costco the other day (my usual spot) for just under $3.70. (We'll see how long that lasts...)

Reply by Joan Bergstrom on 8/6/11 10:39pm
Msg #392922

I agree with Janet that we all get calls like this and really it shouldn't take more than a few minutes to be polite and get off the phone.

Sometime people just don't understand the notary process and don't think what they are asking is illegal and yes, sometimes the person absolutely knows the request is illegal. I try to point them in the right direction and move on.

If your phone rings you will get a lot more hits than misses! I do a lot of GN work and I enjoy it.

Reply by LKT/CA on 8/7/11 12:44am
Msg #392926

Agree with Janet and Joan

I get far more hits than misses....about 30 to 1. In addition to what Joan said about people not knowing the notary process.......they ask legal questions for which I must refer them to an attorney for direction. No big deal.....I notarize for those I can and for those I cannot I just point them in the direction they need to go.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 8/7/11 1:09am
Msg #392927

Re: Agree with Janet and Joan

I also agree with Joan about people not understanding the notary process. Overall, I get more hits than misses, too (but my numbers aren't nearly as good as Lisa's!)

I find *most* people expect to pay something and are happy to do so, especially if it's at an odd hour. Others are willing to travel to me to save the travel fee and are shopping around. (There's certainly no lack of choices in my area - even with the reduction in notaries here.)

I guess it's with those odd calls where I feel that I put on my public servant hat - or maybe it's the teacher in me. I just decided a while back that it goes with the territory.

Reply by RedBaron/IN on 8/7/11 10:24pm
Msg #392968

I enjoy the GN work when it works out. Frequently I get a nice tip and from folks you would not expect it from. Many calls, thourgh, are like a SS call. When I tell the caller my fee they say they will check with their wife or whoever and get back to me. Ya, just like the SS. No matter how important the document is they rarely call back after talking to their spouse. But the people that do meet me at McD's or Starbucks are very grateful. It is a pleasure to do the work.

Reply by FGX/NJ on 8/7/11 2:39pm
Msg #392950

Re: And this is why I do push GN work

Today 4 miles total time including travel 30 minutes $70 on the spot.

Reply by Roger_OH on 8/7/11 3:17pm
Msg #392952

I have always LOVED GN work!!

I get to meet and HELP all kinds of people in all kinds of situations, all across the socio-economic spectrum.

Loan signings are OK, and certainly necessary to sustain my company. But for me, they don't compare to the constant flow of calls from people that need my assistance for documents that are very important to THEM. Car titles, insurance claims, adoption, divorce, immigration, medical, copy certifications, POAs, letters, you name it.

Most of the time, folks are very grateful, and it gives me a lot of personal satisfaction to provide the help they need. I'd like to think that's why most of us became notaries in the first place.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 8/7/11 3:21pm
Msg #392953

I like GN work too..BUT...today for me...

10 miles rt travel - drop everything cuz she needs it done NOW - 30 minutes out of house - $20 - and she resented having to pay me that!!

Reply by JanetK_CA on 8/7/11 7:22pm
Msg #392957

Re: I like GN work too..BUT...today for me...

Bummer! Sorry you had that experience. Maybe you just need to move!? I had a similar experience today, about the same distance away, with two exceptions: 1) the family I traveled to was very grateful and 2) I made twice as much. The other side of that is that I'm perfectly willing to either offer to have them do the driving and meet them around the corner OR let them continue to go down the list to try to find someone else who will answer their phone on a Sunday afternoon.

My fall-through rate is probably pretty high. In fact, this conversation reminded me of someone else who had called me on Friday asking questions and wanting to know if I'd be available Sunday afternoon. Never heard back from her. If they don't book the appointment with me on the spot (or at least give me their name and phone number), I put it out of my mind. I'd rather let go the ones who are going to give me grief (or nickle and dime me) and feel good about the ones - well, most of them, anyway - that do follow-through.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 8/7/11 7:47pm
Msg #392958

This one had a real attitude...

Ah well...good thing was at least *I* didn't have to go home with her...LOL

She was so arrogant and obviously in a major hurry - huffing and puffing over having to answer my questions (have you read the document and everything is true and correct?) - response "Yes...YES!! YES!!"... smirking at me filling out journal, getting set up, etc etc. I almost walked away from it - wanted to tell her go find someone else...but instead

I slowed down to turtle pace...hehe....slowly filled out journal, got money up front...took my time with receipt...set up cert....then issued a niiiice, loooooong, sloooow oath...

In the middle of a gas station parking lot...LOL

$20 plus poetic justice - priceless I guess..

Reply by jba/fl on 8/7/11 9:19pm
Msg #392963

It is that (transplanted) Southern drawl & charm! Very good! n/m

Reply by taxpro on 8/8/11 1:11pm
Msg #393006

I would've charged at least $50... n/m

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 8/8/11 1:18pm
Msg #393008

Taxpro - if you're referring to my quick lil job

$50 fee would never fly around here..I have all I can do to get $25, sometimes $35....if I said $50 all I'd hear was "click"..

Reply by Scott/NJ on 8/9/11 3:39pm
Msg #393158

Re: And this is why I do push GN work

Is $70 what you charge? Or what was given to you? I might be charging too little...

When people call me and need something notarized I tell them I am a "mobile" Notary, that I come to them or meet them somewhere and I charge $30. If they want to go to their bank, often times the bank will do it for free; or they can go to any UPS Store and they will do it for $10, although UPS Notaries may not be all that well trained.

If it is far away, I charge $50. I have done two Mesothelioma notarizations where I quoted the NY lawyer (who couldn't do the notarization in NJ) $50 but he gave me $100 both times; I did a PoA for a dying woman and quoted $50 (it was kind of far) and her children gave me $100., and then sent me an email a couple of weeks later when their Mom had passed away.

Today a guy was deploying to Afghanistan and needed a PoA for his girlfriend to handle his affairs. He leaves Saturday. I notarized the two copies of the PoA, then told him I didn't want his money. It was free. Drove all the way out to his house at the drop of a dime and then charged him nothing. Well, almost nothing- I told him he has to buy me a beer when he gets back.

Reply by ME/NJ on 8/7/11 3:38pm
Msg #392954

I'll take what ever I can schedule

Last two months best I've ever done, this month nothing to write home about only 140 so far that about the avg so far.

Reply by Pa_note_r_e on 8/8/11 11:56am
Msg #392992

I had an acquaintance call me about 6-8 months ago. He had a time share in Hawaii that him and his x wife bought together. They since divorced 20 some odd years ago and he remarried. He needed her to sign off on the time share and have it notarized to sell it. So, he calls me to notarize the paper. I said I could do that and could meet them. Well, here is the thing he says I don't know where she is. She could be dead for all I know. (Here is the good part.) He says his wife could act like her and sign all I have to do is notarize it. They kinda look alike he says...I told him I could not do that and that is illegal. I said the only way I can do this is if you find your x wife. He said he tried he can't find her. He says there is no way you can do this for me huh... I said nope...So, get this then he says well, how about if I get my sister she has the same first name. OH BROTHER! Needless, to say I said no...sorry... no can do...

Reply by JanetK_CA on 8/8/11 2:32pm
Msg #393031

Sheesh! It's one thing deciding to do something illegal, but asking someone else to do that, at risk of their livelihood? I just don't get it. Takes all kinds, I guess. Actually, I believe that people just don't think through the consequences. He needs an attorney and is probably trying to save the cost.