Posted by NC_Notary on 7/18/11 1:46pm
Msg #390011

ServiceLink-2 different strategies??? WTF

First they call to see if I can reduce my print fees which I said the only way I could do that if I raised my travel fee to then offset the higher gas cost that I have been eating.

Now they are calling to say they are changing their overnight doc fees to $45 with an additional print fee of $10.00. Are you for real???? Even more outrageous than their original request.

Reply by aanotary on 7/18/11 1:49pm
Msg #390014

Just say "No"

or no thank you.

Reply by Notarysigner on 7/18/11 1:58pm
Msg #390015

Just don't answer! n/m

Reply by Jessica Ward on 7/18/11 1:59pm
Msg #390016

Just got the same call

They're telling me, Seattle area is total with printing, is worth $65. No way. I can't cover paper, insurance, taxes, gas and parking for that. Who is taking this work, and how in the heavens are they making any money off of it?

I used to do thousands of dollars a month with ServiceLink when they paid competitive rates. They are very good to work with, but they stopped calling me in January when they dropped their rates, and I've been OK without the work. My strategy changed without compromise. What they will find is that when they compromise to 1/2 the expected fee, they are bound get what they've paid for. :-(

Reply by Notarysigner on 7/18/11 2:04pm
Msg #390018

Re: Just got the same call

Wow Jessica, I use to live in Seattle, 1st Hill area, your coverage area would be about the same as here. An offer of $65.00 would get the caller a reaaaal earful!

Reply by Jessica Ward on 7/18/11 2:09pm
Msg #390021

Re: Just got the same call

Yeah, now we've got loads of toll lanes (if you want to get anywhere in the valleys during the rush hours, you've pretty much got to do that). I cover King, Pierce, Kitsap and Snohomish (though extra fees for outside King). Can't do it for that kind of fees though. Can't/wont. I've got enough other work. They are saying they have a "majority of notaries" in the area meeting their fees. That is, until those notaries employers discover where all their paper is going....

Reply by jba/fl on 7/18/11 3:03pm
Msg #390038

Re: Just got the same call

That is so laughable! I'm from Seattle - just time spent in traffic is worth more than $65. As for "other notaries": my theory is that that is just what they want you to believe. That old saying again: Buyers are liars. They are buying (or trying to) your time and are lying to get you to do something totally not worth it.

Fortunately, for you, you know your worth and don't even need to entertain their flimsy excuse of a fee.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 7/18/11 2:07pm
Msg #390020

Re: Just got the same call

"They're telling me, Seattle area is total with printing, is worth $65"

Did you ask to see their cost analysis and research for that? LOL

Reply by Jessica Ward on 7/18/11 2:12pm
Msg #390022

Re: Just got the same call

Business is business, If Service Link can consistently get that fee met, they should keep paying it. What I would like to see is the analysis for these notaries' costs. Wonder what it's going to look like when they pay taxes? I went through this with some of my biggest clients about two years ago. Within 9 months, all of my regular clients returned to meeting my fees. Meanwhile, I keep building up smaller, more reliable companies.

As a first-time freelancer, it can be really misleading to see invoices going out, and money coming in, and able to meet your bills, but later you find out that because you've never done a P&L, you've been tricked into believing that you are making money, but instead, it's like a shell game. Just as soon as it comes in, it goes into the paper bill, the gas tank, etc. Sometime you've got to buy your groceries, pay your house payment and Uncle Sam. I think a lot of people are mistaking "business" for "profit." Big mistake.

Reply by Linda_H/FL on 7/18/11 2:21pm
Msg #390023

Re: Just got the same call

"it can be really misleading to see invoices going out, and money coming in, and able to meet your bills"

Yep...checks coming in tend to push the up-front expenses aside or to the back of a memory. And I think many forget that bill to "Uncle Sam" - which *everyone* should have no matter how low a fee they accept....it's all taxable.

Reply by RuRu/NC on 7/18/11 2:31pm
Msg #390025

Re: Just got the same call

It is ashame that we only speak to the schedulers.
They are following orders.
Although I doubt even speaking to the supervisors would
do any good. It's all about money. Cutting cost , starting with us.
Problem is...... some idiot notary will accept the job.
and with cost of paper, ink,gas, equipment that idiot is making less than half
of minimum wage.

Reply by Patti Corcoran on 7/18/11 2:37pm
Msg #390028

Re: thinking they are in finacial trouble??? n/m

Reply by jba/fl on 7/18/11 3:06pm
Msg #390041

I agree: they are in finacial trouble??? n/m

Reply by SouthernOK on 7/18/11 3:12pm
Msg #390045

I agree they shorted my last check and gave me the runaround n/m

Reply by GOLDGIRL/CA on 7/18/11 2:50pm
Msg #390031

Laughing all the way to the bank

<<I used to do thousands of dollars a month with ServiceLink when they paid competitive rates. ... but they stopped calling me in January when they dropped their rates,

I've never worked for SL and never will, but it appears they're doing just fine with their $65 (or under) notaries if they're been going without you for 6 months (you and many other NR posters who did lots of work with them). It seems the moral of this story is to do exactly what you have done - just move on and don't look back. Apparently, most of their regulars are taking the lower fees - either because they don't know any better, they use their employer's paper, printer and ink, and/or they're are completely desperate and don't know what else to do. I'm not necessarily a believer in the "you get what you pay for" theory, anyway. Clearly, SL's slashing of notary fees is working well for them - at least for the moment.

Incidentally, I live in a highly notary-saturated area and have not received the "recruitment" call that SL had in place in case their regulars said no to their fee cuts and they needed to get a bunch of lo-ball notaries on board quickly.... to me, this says my fellow notaries are accepting these fee cuts - but I've known for years which notaries in my area are accepting $75-$85 jobs ... so to SL, this area is easy pickin's.

Reply by Jessica Ward on 7/18/11 2:56pm
Msg #390033

Re: Laughing all the way to the bank

I've never had to accept "cut rate" fees from SL, they always paid my fee without complaint until the beginning of this year. I think I have done two closings for them this year. I used to do 2-3 a day.

And I have a pretty aggressive fee. I also don't take 10 closings a day, double-bookings or any other nonsense that is necessary for a notary not making a living wage. They get customer service, flexibility and patience when they're willing to pay for it.

Jess

Reply by Frank/NC on 7/18/11 4:09pm
Msg #390055

Re: Laughing all the way to the bank

As we all know, the real problem is the number of notaries willing to accept those fees. In this area there are a number of notaries who accept these paltry fees. There are 4-5 who all work together and accept this garbage. Their full time or other job pays $8 an hour so this ia a windfall for them. Service Link and a bunch of other low ballers just keep going on. Until January of this year I was doing 10-12 a month for SL but haven't done but one or two in 6 months for them.

Reply by Tina/N on 7/19/11 9:17am
Msg #390137

Re: Laughing all the way to the bank

Hi Frank, and I wonder who those 4-5 that work together are? Maybe they are the reason the packages have 10 pages of instructions, printed in BOLD. Like everything I guess you get what you pay for.

Reply by Moneyman/TX on 7/18/11 3:15pm
Msg #390047

5 STAR POINT! "mistaking "business" for "profit." n/m

Reply by Moneyman/TX on 7/18/11 3:11pm
Msg #390043

LOL n/m

Reply by AngelTX on 7/19/11 12:41am
Msg #390107

Re: Just got the same call

they called for a modification but it was offered at 45 how many pages are their mods?

Reply by Cecy/VA on 7/20/11 10:24pm
Msg #390441

Re: Just got the same call

Today they called me telling me about the new fees. They asked if I was willing to accept either $55 (45+10) e-docs and/or their maximum $70 (55+15) e-docs. Neither is fine with me. This is an insult and I cannot believe that notaries out there are that desperate that would be willing to work for them for such low fees. I wonder how much they would offer for modifications which were $45....I don't even want to know. I told them that to leave my fees the way they were which is $90 and I will not lower my fees. According to them a lot of their notaries have accepted their new low fee....I don't believe...SAY NO TO THEIR LOW FEES!!!

Reply by NC_Notary on 7/18/11 4:42pm
Msg #390061

I am definitely not agreeing to any of this for the same reasons you all have pointed out. It is also concerning how aggressive they are being with these calls so it does make you wonder...are they having financial problems.

Reply by Riley/FL on 7/18/11 5:50pm
Msg #390072

I've been called twice this month to go out and fix mistakes

made by $65 notaries. One left the signature affs blank and another did not have the mortgage initialed. In time I'm sure they will realize that their plan is not so cost effective.

Reply by Jack/AL on 7/18/11 6:15pm
Msg #390084

Don't shoot the messenger. The scheduler is just doing as told and trying to find someone who'll do some job for a low fee, no matter what we at NotRot think about that. I've noticed that once I say I'm available, I'm always told the confirmation will be sent, without mention of the fee by the scheduler. I got one of those calls today, for later this week, and said that I am available. When I asked the fee and was told the "authorized amount is $45", I just said "I'm not available for that amount, but thanks for calling," and then hung up. If they do call back just a few hours before the scheduled signing, after not getting someone to accept the low few, I'll just confirm that I'm no longer available, rather than to play their game. I'd really rather be at home, watching "America's Got Talent" anyway ..............

Reply by FeliseSoCal on 7/18/11 9:30pm
Msg #390095

If they had people willing to work for those fees...

They wouldn't be spending so much time calling us and asking us to lower ours. They've always called the cheapest people first...they just don't have enough people that cheap in my opinion. And definitely not people qualified.

Anyone who has worked successfully in this industry knows that what they are paying for a closing is not a sustainable living wage and will quickly move on.

They have tarnished their reputation and lowered the quality of their services with this desperate attempt to cut costs.

Reply by samH/CA on 7/18/11 9:50pm
Msg #390099

They called me today for the second time this month. Said my fee is too high for them and they have notaries in my area is accepting much lower fee. I told them my fee is already the lowest.

Reply by JandB on 7/19/11 7:10am
Msg #390117

Raise your base fee

Call vendor management to raise your base fee to cover the difference. I did and they are still calling and meeting my fee. Not as much as before because they call the ceaper notary first but when they call, they know how much to offer. They confirm my base fee and, when the docs don't come, they confirm the base + print fee prior to my printing.