Posted by ikando on 12/8/12 6:01pm
Msg #445939

Do you ever feel like an information booth?

I do quite a bit of general notary work. I guess it's because I also do a lot of advertising, that I seem to be getting all types of questions lately. In the last week, I've been asked if I can do a medallion stamp (not allowed), if I can "stamp a piece of paper" giving a sister permission to enroll a child in school, but the parent doesn't have custody, and my frequent request--stamp a vehicle transfer that the seller has already signed, but no seller available.

Does anyone else get these type calls? I try to help when I can by giving them directions of where to get the information they need, but gee I wish my phone was busy with actual money-making activity.

Reply by HisHughness on 12/8/12 6:18pm
Msg #445940

I don't have a life since PeeBee the Platinum Blonde abandoned me for Florida. If I didn't hear from info trolls and telephone solictors, I wouldn't know the outside world existed beyond borrowers' kitchen walls.

Well...there's also all those lonely housewives who keep trying to make a connection via the Internet. Anything with the word "wife" in it, though, immediately gets deleted.

Reply by Lee/AR on 12/9/12 12:22am
Msg #445949

Yep. Lot of that with GNW...usually as I'm trying to get out the door with late docs...after they have called 4 hours earlier and would be here in 1/2 hour.

Reply by Roger_OH on 12/9/12 12:56am
Msg #445951

I actually like fielding the questions and setting people straight.

GNW runs the gamut of strange, weird, and unusual requests, at all hours of the day and night. I'm sure most of us have our own compilation of experiences that would fill a book, and many of them have been shared on NotRot over the years.

I also get a number of requests for title transfers that have already been signed. I simply tell the caller that "I don't know that you didn't bury the vehicle owner in your backyard, steal his car and identity, and forge his signature. This is why we have notaries - to deter fraud." If they can locate the signer and have them appear, I'm happy to then ID them, swear them in, and re-sign them (different color ink), then they're good to go.

Reply by Verne Gordon on 12/9/12 12:00pm
Msg #445956

I also get these types of calls. They constitute about one half of my calls. I am not an information booth, however, but I do try and give some advice to people about where to go to get things done correctly. SInce I am not giving actual legal advice, it's okay to do. I've had peopole ask me if I can stamp birth certificates (a no no in California), do weddings (also a no no) and many others. I've tried to steer them in the right direction.
The reality here is that folks who need notarizations are not well informed. One would think in this day and age with so much media and internet use, folks could find thatinfo, but I've found that most folks are in too much of a hurry to get the right information. As a professional notary, I try and od my best to help folks within the bounds of my training. I always advise a client that I cannot give any type of advise about their document(s) before Id o any signatures.

Reply by ananotary on 12/9/12 12:27pm
Msg #445958

1/2 of your calls are for GNW? Where do they get your

Contact information? GNW only is about 5 percent of my calls and I have plenty of online advertising. I find most GNW requests are for quotes and most do not want to pay my travel fee. I quickly refer them to ups store, AAA etc. unless they really need a mobile notary.

Reply by SheilaSJCA on 12/9/12 7:18pm
Msg #445971

Re: 1/2 of your calls are for GNW? Where do they get your

I too, do about 60 percent GNW . It has increased each year, I have been in business. It did not happen over night or even over a year or two, I am talking 8-9 years of build up. I have grown to love GNW (more than loans). Quick pay, high profit margin.
Yes, they find me online, lots of repeat business too. Lots of ways to get your name out there. Most are free. Really.
If they don't want to pay a travel fee, (many will and my travel fee varies from a low of $20 to a high of $50 with $30-40 being my most typical fee) I offer them a few local places VERY close by to my location, where I am willing to meet them with no travel fee, just the usual $10 per each signature, which I do charge everyone. I think it might also depend on your market. I live in a very dense market. Lots of people, lots of jobs, so even though the economy has suffered, my business has continued to increase each year. If you are in one of the harder hit areas, or sparse locales, that is likely a factor.
So when you do a search for a mobile notary in your area, does your name comes up in the first five results on the page? That is what it takes. Having plenty of listings plastered all over the interenet, won't always help you, unless they have the correctly worded information that search engines are looking for, and those listings need to be ones listed on sites that are highly visible that show up in those first page search results. If you want to increase your GNW, you need to find ways to get your business found consistently.