These are tips that have worked for me. Everyone has to choose their own strategy that works for them, in the end. As I said, time is money.
Regarding this, I’m not sure where you’re getting these assumptions, as these are not words I ever mentioned. If your standard for the signing is 1 hour and you make this known, then your appointment time is 1 hour. When someone goes to a therapist and pays for an hour of therapy, does the person get mad that the therapist asks them to leave after an hour because they have other clients?
As a professional, you shouldn’t be threatening or pressuring anyone to do anything. But, if your time allotted is 1 hour then that should be made known. You may have other appointments. Are you going to be late to all your other appointments because 1 signer decides to take 2 hours? That is extremely unprofessional to me and unfair to all your other appointments. However, if that’s how someone wants to run their business, it’s their choice.
If you have a signing that for some reason will not even start until 35 minutes after the appointment start time, then it behooves you to express apologies, reschedule the appointment for a better time, and remove yourself, I think. Your time is just as valuable as theirs. I once had an appointment where the signer was late. I had another appointment across town afterwards, 2 hours later. The signer said she was “on her way” and would only be “5 minutes.” I told her that was fine, but that our appointment only had 1 hour allotted. However, I waited outside of her apartment for 15 minutes. Then, she sent someone to let me into her empty apartment and wait there. I obliged. I waited another 20 minutes. At this point, she still wasn’t there and 40 minutes afterwards, I was certain we wouldn’t be able to go through everything properly and on time. So, I left and told her so. I immediately called title and told them what happened. They reimbursed me my full fee and I made it to my next appointment on time and got paid for that as well, where the signer did respect my time and our appointment.
Obviously, if you’ve started the signing on time and it’s just taking a bit longer, you should clearly stay and finish. Up to 20 minutes after an hour isn’t the best, but can’t be helped sometimes. Once started, it’s up to you to finish the signing and it’s up to you to guide the signer through the documents efficiently and in a timely manner. If you are reading every sentence or not summarizing things for the signer in a way that makes them confident in the material, that is a time management issue.