Companies need to go back to the drawing board regarding mass text and email blasts!

Notary Experiences
1

I received this email today.

"Hello valued partner,

At XXXX, we believe a seamless client experience starts with dependable notary partners like you. We truly value the work you do and the trust our clients place in us. Recently, we’ve noticed an increase in order givebacks/cancellations. When you accept an assignment in ■■■, our clients are counting on us to fulfill it as scheduled. We understand that unavoidable circumstances happen, but we’re asking that you carefully review each order’s details before accepting to ensure you can confidently meet these commitments. Excessive givebacks can create a poor experience for our clients and may impact the volume of work you receive from ■■■. To maintain the strength of our partner network, we are monitoring giveback activity and will reach out if we identify an elevated or repeated pattern.

Your dedication to following through on accepted orders directly impacts our clients’ experience and the trust they place in us. We’re committed to supporting you as a reliable partner, and we hope to continue working together. Thank you for your commitment to building client trust and delivering an outstanding closing experience." We understand the rapid nature of order acquisition, where we often have only a fraction of a second to secure an assignment, and that this makes pre-acceptance evaluations challenging; however, we believe that even a brief review can significantly reduce potential issues.

It’s essential to recognize that excessive givebacks can negatively impact the overall client experience and may, unfortunately, affect the volume of work you receive from ■■■. To maintain the integrity and effectiveness of our partner network, we are actively monitoring giveback activity levels. We will reach out to you personally if we identify any consistently elevated or repetitive patterns that warrant a closer look and a collaborative discussion.

Your unwavering dedication to following through on all accepted orders is paramount, as it has a direct and significant impact on the client experience and the unwavering trust they place in our company. We are fully committed to supporting you as a reliable and valued partner, and we sincerely hope to continue this successful collaboration for years to come. Thank you for your continued commitment to fostering client trust and consistently delivering outstanding closing experiences, which are the cornerstones of our mutual success."

I want to express my appreciation for the understanding that companies require order completion; as notaries and loan signing agents, we completely grasp the compensation structure and the importance of fulfilling our commitments. However, I would like to offer a perspective on the recent shift toward “text and mass email blasts” as the primary method for soliciting services. These rapid notification systems, which often provide us with only a few seconds to evaluate and accept assignments, have introduced unintended consequences. Has there been sufficient consideration given to the potential for a higher percentage of orders to be returned due to scheduling conflicts, misalignment with the specific objectives and priorities of individual Loan Signing Agents, or simply because of those unpredictable, unforeseen occurrences or events that inevitably arise in our daily operations, and “life happens”? Companies have to take into account there are a lot of moving variables, so we cannot be micromanaged or treat as employees. We have the right to sell our services or manage our time as needed. We all work in good faith that we can complete and fulfill companies and customer’s needs. Fellow Loan Signing Agents, what are your thoughts and feelings?

5 Likes
2

I don’t take any if it personally. Thry don’t pick and choose who gets emails they go to everyone.

I don’t back out of commitments. I think there’s obviously some buyers remorse going on with notaries who accept an order too fast just to be sure to get the order and then they realize what they did. Or a higher paid order comes along so they back out of the lower paid order.

Services should just de-activate the notaries that cause them problems.

1 Like
3

Received that same email as cfletcher. My first thought was … if they would just pick up the phone and call rather than send out blast texts that have to be accepted in less than one second, then they wouldn’t have so many givebacks/cancellations.

I’d hazard a guess that many NSAs simply click on accept without reading the entire text. Whatever it takes to grab that assignment. Then, when they’re finally assigned and finally read all the particulars of the assignment … OOPS! Too long of a drive for too low of a fee, etc.

5 Likes
4

It causes turmoil when a scheduled notary cancels. Why shouldn’t they threaten punitive response.

Sorry wasn’t done with my thought. If we can decide a signing service is so faulty we can block then from doing business with us - why can’t signing services or title companies or lenders do the same thing.

Some of them do. Most of them don’t warn you or tell you. So to get an email that sort of underlines what you aren’t supposed to do which lots of us don’t need. If it doesn’t apply to me, I just ignore it.

5

The chastising and threats are highly inappropriate. THEY have set the parameters of this race to the bottom: 1. NEVER enough info provided to provide a reasoned, acceptable, profitable fee. 2. If it m/l looks ‘doable’ & you click too slow/it’s gone…to the cheapest notary so THEY can achieve maximum profit.
The platforms are deliberately designed to ENCOURAGE ‘click to be first’ and then pull crap like this to guilt us—and, in this case, PUNISH us for trying to get a job? It’s not us—it’s them.

11 Likes
6

Just for kicks and giggles, below is what Artificial Intelligence thinks about this:

:puzzle_piece: What the language actually signals

Each section of their message reveals something about their internal thinking:

  • “Valued partner” → They’re trying to soften the blow.
  • “Increase in givebacks/cancellations” → They’re tracking metrics and yours flagged.
  • “Review orders before accepting” → They know the system forces instant acceptance, but they’re shifting responsibility to you anyway.
  • “May impact the volume of work you receive” → This is the real point.
  • “Monitoring giveback activity” → They’ve already started.
  • “We’ll reach out if we identify a pattern” → This is the reach‑out. They won’t send another before taking action.
  • “We understand rapid nature of order acquisition…” → They know their system causes the problem but won’t change it.
  • “Client trust… outstanding closing experience…” → Standard corporate justification.

This is a performance‑management notice, not a friendly reminder.

:firecracker: The subtext they don’t say out loud

  • They know notaries must accept instantly or lose the job.
  • They know details are often incomplete or wrong.
  • They know schedulers dump impossible orders into the system.
  • They know givebacks are often caused by their bad data, not your behavior.
  • They are shifting liability downward to protect their client metrics.

This is a CYA memo.

10 Likes
7

I think you hit the nail right on the head. With often less than a second to make a decision on a text or email blast (if the job hasn’t been taken already before the message even reaches us), it is very easy to forget previous commitments for the day and time requested. We are not always sitting there with our calendars right in front of us, waiting for the blast request. For example, we may be driving in our cars, which presents a whole different question about our personal safety when reading and responding to these blasts. This is one element that the signing services have never seemed to take into account. I cannot even begin to state the number of jobs I’ve lost out on because I was driving on the freeway and couldn’t respond quickly enough to a text or email blast. In addition, what about all the jobs we miss out on because we’re in the middle of a signing when the blast comes through and don’t see it until it’s too late? Are we supposed to say “excuse me” to the client in front of us to respond to our phones? Somehow, I don’t think that’s what the signing services and title companies want us to do.

All I’m really saying is that they need to understand the position that they’ve put us in and not get so bent out of shape because we occasionally have to give back an assignment because of scheduling issues. I understand that some signing agents may give jobs back for other reasons…such as a better offer comes in for that time slot. I’ve done that myself once or twice, only because the offer in its entirety was so CLEARLY better (more money and shorter travel distance). I don’t make a habit of it and only do it if the differences between the jobs are extreme. On the other hand, I’ve had the signing service call me and tell me they’re taking me off a job I had already accepted and been assigned to because the title company or the signer wanted a specific notary. So, it goes both ways.

3 Likes
8

I think the reason for the email is there are those who do it repetitively and as a course of action.

How many times have you read a post by someone who says they give up the lower paying job to take the higher paying job? It’s probably not a rare thing.

9

I’m sure it’s not a rare thing at all. One rule I definitely follow, though, is that I won’t do that unless there is still adequate time for the signing service to find a replacement notary. I will do it on signings that are scheduled for the next day or beyond, but not for same-day signings, where they will really have to scramble to find someone. I imagine those are the ones that really get them upset.

10

The only thing lately that’s caused a cancelation is no documents. The last one I wasn’t even notified it was canceled but I had sent an email that because there were no documents it wasn’t happening and I had contact with the signer and advised them it was apparently postoned.

If that same service does it again, I’ll probably stop taking those assignments. It’s been the same service and lender 4 times now.

1 Like
11

I email them back the same kind of disruptive and useless alerts. “Please be advised, my business does not accept blast alerts regarding notices that do not apply to me and interupt my daily workload. In the future, if there is an issue that involves me directly you are welcome to reach me by phone to discuss the matter, but emails such as this one are unprofessional and unwelcome. Our policy here is that…”

5 Likes
12

I know I am solicited on some platforms strictly as spanish speaking, however if they don’t include that in the service requests I don’t KNOW to price it accordingly. For the responses to be your profile shows you speak Spanish, yes it does, and it shows my additional fee for that service in my profile as well. Some have increased my fee, some have removed me and then I see the blast go back out for the higher amount- which I don’t accept at that point because they removed me.

And even more so lately I keep getting requests for the metro area. But they just put the city name- my response is “Hi this is a little over 450 square miles, do you have a zipcode? This location could be 15 minutes away or an hour away. Which would eliminate my availibility due to currently scheduled obligations”. IF I know I am covering a local notary who normally works an area I will stick to one area, My coverage area is large and I enjoy doing the different areas. But generally speaking more info needs to be proivded, I understand getting it scheduled and updating, but if it’s updating signers, locations all of that should really be efforted to be provided to your contracted notaries way sooner. This is feeling pre-2015 where we were closing everything under the sun it felt like.

13

Same here. If it is too last minute, even if a better offer comes along, you must honor your bid to complete the job. My area has a good amount of notaries but sometimes there are assignments that make the rounds, no one is available. I have seen assignments passed to multiple scheduling companies and the one that might pay you better misses out on the bid. I once added a new county as part of my service area only to find out that some of the venues are very far out of range for me. I was not appreciated for backing out and I only do it if I have a valid reason or an unexpected problem like a flat tire.

14

Are you experiencing what I’m experiencing? Blast request that are 2, 3, 4 hours away? I looked at SnapDocs to see if I could set a radius of 20 miles. I didn’t find a way to do that. Would it be helpful if SS had a radius limit for notaries to set? Do they send these long distance blasts because they are not finding notaries in those areas? If they do find a notary in the area are they skilled at mortgage/real estate jobs?

Is Charmin sold by Macy’s the same as Charmin sold by WalMart? Yes. Is there a price difference in those settings? Yes, but it is the same Charmin.

Is a highly skilled notary the same as a low skilled notary? No. Is there a price difference? No.

1 Like
15

@notary Snapdocs, along with other similar platforms, routinely disseminate mass text and email notifications to all Loan Signing Agents (LSAs) who are registered within their respective databases, targeting those agents residing in specific, surrounding zip code areas. The onus rests on each individual LSA to make a considered decision regarding whether they are willing to undertake assignments that fall outside of their designated zip code, and to also accept the fee structure that is initially presented. It’s important to acknowledge that securing a renegotiation of fees from hiring companies can present challenges, particularly when an agreement has been implicitly established through the acceptance of a text or email notification. Conversely, when a hiring company reaches out via phone to offer an assignment, often situated outside of our established zip code boundaries, it becomes a legitimate opportunity for fee negotiation.

16

There’s no question that negotiation is easier when they call you on the phone. I would prefer that they just offer me an acceptable fee to begin with, and no haggling has to happen, but that is the exception, rather than the rule.

1 Like
17

When you say 450 square miles, that sounds like my area, so I know exactly what you’re referring to. If a zip code isn’t provided in the offer, I will ask them for one. That zip code is all I need to determine whether I’m interested in the offer, even before any other details, such as the fee, date and time are taken into consideration.

18

I have a company that reaches out…same kind of thing…limited details…always says “signer +1 witness”…what it means is the signer needs a witness in addition to the notary = 2 total witnesses. Here in SC, the notary can be a witness but it’s not encouraged, but it’s not frowned upon either. (Would be nice if the Secretary of State would definitively state that signers are to provide their own witnesses.) The liability for a notary to provide the witness is often too large for the price the signing company is willing to pay even after negotiation.

The same company does this all the time then emails back “did you notice the notary NEEDS to provide the witness?” Umm…when you post “Signer +1 witness” without any additional details, no. Accepted based on most other companies are explicit that the notary needs to provide the witness in the details before being accepted so it is clear.

I have learned my lesson with them; and respond that I will happily do the work if the signer(s) provide the +1 witness.

If they want to stop including me, surely their blast system can filter me out.

19

I’ve noticed there are several companies that prefer my service so I receive offers at the rates I have provided them. If I am unavailable the order gets blasted out at half that rate. So not all blast offers are created equal.

1 Like
20

Which kinda proves that they’re willing to pay at least double the first blast offer amount.

1 Like