Posted by Jessica Ward on 5/9/12 5:41pm
Msg #420440

Coffee, pastry, notary, paternity test....

This is a very elaborate list of services to be offered at a coffee shop.... http://boingboing.net/2012/05/09/coffee-shop-also-provides-pate.html

I'm curious -- have you seen notary services popping up at unlikely establishments? I've noticed a few hotels in the area offering notary service with their business center services.

Reply by MikeC/TX on 5/9/12 6:52pm
Msg #420445

In the case of this business, I don't think it's odd at all - they are right next to a courthouse, and notary services would be needed there.. I think it was a great idea for them to realize that and add it to what they offer - and they might sell another couple of coffees and pastries in the process. And the paternity test thing - having worked as a volunteer at Family Court in NY, I know that it's a needed service.

Same thing with a hotel that offers a business center - notary services may be required, so why not offer them?

The notary is not getting rich in either situation - it's all about thinking out of the box a little, offering the customers what they might need, and giving them a reason to come back again.

Reply by Jessica Ward on 5/9/12 11:16pm
Msg #420454

I wasn't criticizing the collection of services, mostly just interested. I had missed the part about this place being close to the courthouse--that is nice. I live about 5 minutes from the county jail and courthouse in my area, and get a lot of calls to come down at all hours, even though they have a notary in the building (though limited hours).

The one that I will refuse EVERY.SINGLE.TIME is wedding license notarization in lockup.

Personally I LOVE seeing notary services in the hotels, because a few years ago when my husband and I were in the midst of our international adoption, we were often in two places, across the country trying to get paperwork turned in (I was working as a lobbyist at the time and communting between the two Washingtons).

ON the flip side of this, I'm seeing more and more traditional providers of notary service (Banks, copy centers, mail centers, etc) getting out of the business, which I think is a very curious trend.

There's an engineering firm nearby that advertises walk-in notary service, which I think is brilliant, since most construction and engineering firms all have notaries anyhow (for lien/payment releases and recording of plans for permits), but very few companies construction firms "share" their notaries outside their firms. (My previous lobbying experience was with a trade association for construction contractors--and when their in-office notary was out of the office, they would often come to the association for notary services).

I'm just interested in business trends, not complaining.

Reply by FlaNotary2 on 5/10/12 7:35am
Msg #420465

I'll have the 2 for 1 paternity test special, please... Oh,

and a grande non-fat no-whip raspberry mocha.

Reply by janCA on 5/10/12 8:30am
Msg #420467

I think it's bizarre...

And I certainly wouldn't have a pee test at the same place I was eating a scone or drinking a cup of coffee. Are they going to hand it to you through that little door in the restroom???? Oh, just gross!

Reply by monet/MI on 5/10/12 9:15am
Msg #420469

Re: I think it's bizarre...

Paternity tests are done by swabbing the inside of one mouth with a q-tip, not by urine samples. In the past paternity was established with blood tests.

Reply by janCA on 5/10/12 9:26am
Msg #420470

Re: I think it's bizarre...

Did you read the advertisement? They do urine tests in addition to doing paternity tests.

Reply by BrendaTx on 5/10/12 10:19am
Msg #420475

I suspect there is a separation between the food service

and the urine testing.

I applaud this woman and her entrepreneurial spirit. My friend has a video/parcel pack/notary storefront. Every little service makes a difference at the end of the day.

Years ago I wanted to put together a one-stop shop like this (well...maybe not urine testing) but thought it would not be taken seriously. I was in the right place, but just not at the right time.

A storefront near the courthouse with a counter for dropping off documents to be filed or recorded at the courthouse would be a boon to many lawyers who are doing it all themselves. For a few bucks they could enlist a contractor to go to the courthouse and save themselves $100 or more in their own billable time. It would take a little while to make it catch on, but once it did, it would be a constant source of income.

Another worthwhile service would be to contract with process servers to file and serve. Drop the documents off at the counter, pay the filing and service fees, and let the counter personnel worry with the rest.

As a former legal assistant I know that a good process server is not easy to find. My experience was that the best few that I had were usually recovering alcoholics who were trying to pull it back together again. They fell off the radar on occasion...but, seldom all at the same time...when that did happen, I had to call Mr. Talk Your Ear Off and Too Much Huggy Man. I would have gladly paid an up-charge to avoid that.

Reply by BrendaTx on 5/10/12 10:50am
Msg #420478

Oops...woman or man...not sure who the mastermind is. n/m

Reply by BrendaTx on 5/10/12 10:03am
Msg #420473

lol...2 for 1 n/m

Reply by Stephanie Santiago on 5/10/12 11:02am
Msg #420479

Cute, Robert n/m

Reply by MW/VA on 5/10/12 10:07am
Msg #420474

LOL. Probably not so bizarre for Camden. It's known

as the worst city in America--drug-ridden, poverty, etc.--a real blight!

Reply by CJ on 5/10/12 10:28am
Msg #420476

I wish I knew a drive-thru paternity testing place.

My second husband has a son that I don't think for a minute is his. His previous wife ran off with the next door neighbor and I think that's the real father. And my husband paid child support on the son from the time he was 2 years old until he grew up. (Son and neighbor guy both have thick, dark, curly hair, and my husband, when he had hair, it was blond and fine.) My husband says he doesn't care, and that's fine, but it just bugs me.

Reply by jba/fl on 5/11/12 2:12am
Msg #420561

CJ: being a father is not same as being a dad... comfort

yourself with that and let it go.

Reply by HisHughness on 5/11/12 7:41am
Msg #420562

When I was CEO of the Texas Fatherhood Initiative...

...I got involved in a case where a 7-year-old boy was diagnosed with a hereditary disease. As a result of that, the divorced supposed father was found not to be the actual father. He then decided to have his other three children DNA tested.

Of the four children, three were found not to be his. Altogether, there were three men who fathered the children. He was paying $1,200 a month in child support, and petitioned the court to have it reduced. The court refused -- on the grounds that he had not raised the question at the time of the divorce; at that time, of course, he had no reason to challenge the paternity of the children. You can imagine what it would do to divorces in this country if every man was required to question the paternity of his children at the time of a divorce even though there was no reason to do so at that time.

It got worse. Eventually, he told the children what was going on. At that point, the court cut off visitation with the children -- including his own -- and ordered him to continue to pay child support. So, two men who were the actual fathers escaped paying child support while one who was not was forced to pay.