I thought after years of experience nothing would surprise me.
SCENARIO:
I point to show the signer where to sign. He points to the same spot and says “Here?”
I say “yes”. (This page had only one line, lots of space.)
He very quickly turns the page upside down and begins to sign.
His wife says something to him in a different language. He puts on reading glasses
and gasps. This man has signed his name upside down on the signature line.
Oh wow that’s a first. I have had people sign receipt of right to cancel incorrectly before, not on the first copy but the 2nd or 3rd after I showed them where to sign on the first one, but never had the upside down signature 
At first I thought he had a clever way of signing his name so that no one could replicate it. but then….
Was he left handed? Leonardo da Vinci wrote backwards and upside down in his journals.
That’s what I thought at first but, he’s right handed and he just needed his reading glasses
I had a [nasty] lady ask me four times (in less than a minute) if where I was pointing on a simple document was where she should sign. After the fourth query, I gently said, “You don’t believe me, do you?” with a smile. She knew where she was supposed to sign. No eyesight problems, no infirmities, no nuthin’ preventing her from just signing. Just being obstreperous.
She leaned forward and said something I won’t repeat here and implied that I was a rude jerk. I pointed to the signature line and said, “Please sign right here.” She signed where I pointed and we finished the signing session. I apologized for any misunderstanding, congratulated her and her husband (poor fella) and packed up and left with a pleasant, “Have a great evening!”.
The title company fired me the next day. She complained I was rude and uncooperative. She beat me to it.
My presentation and etiquette standards are the absolute highest and I follow them rigorously. Alas. . .
@Bobby-CA Boy, have I had similar experiences with some difficult signers. Each time after completing those situations, I would sit in my car outside their home and call the hiring company to report my experiences. Every company has conveyed their understanding and never held it against me. It’s just a true fact that some people have arduous personalities.
cfletcher What a SMART move! Thanks for the reminder to call the company right after the signing.
wow, some people are not thoughtful at all,
you’re the one doing her a favor by coming to her
C’mon folks! We gotta remember that even though we’re hired by title or a signing company, ultimately, the signers are paying for our services. What’s that old saying? Something like: He who holds the gold ….
Put on your best face and demeanor. Give the instructions, get the signatures, get out as soon as you can, get in your car and scream a little. THEN you can call the hiring party and let ‘em know of your experience. Part of our offerings is customer service … unless, of course, you’re being threatened.
“Arduous Personality” what a great phrase. Good name for a race horse.
I just don’t get that. Maybe it’s my personality, the way that I carry myself or my “voice for radio” that seems to convince the client/signers that I’m in charge that prevents anyone from questioning me or my methods.
I’m sorry. This is funny. I’m sorry you went through this.
No problem at all. It’s pretty hilarious.
That is a new one. I’m curious if the signing company accepted it. It was signed on the line.
I have been very fortunate to have had only one truly difficult signer. As most people genuinely want to get their paperwork done and I provide after hours appointments to fit their schedule. With this signer, it was just all-around bad communication with him, his wife, and the company. (The location was also a prison without any notice of this.) Of course, I was standing in front of a very angry signer, so he took it out on me, I did my best to keep my cool and apologize for the miscommunications and issues. I explained that I am here to assist and make the signing go as smoothly as possible but I couldn’t change how we got here. I immediately called the signing company after the appointment to advise of the situation.
On a lighter note, I have started asking signers whether they have ever gone by a different name than listed on a legal document for the affidavit of identity. I have received many hilarious, unusual answers from my male signers.
Haha, love the cat! I’ve definitely felt like that a few times. I had the worst Friday last week. All of my signings had some sort of issue, but the last one at 5pm took the prize. I arrived and started setting up and asked the husband where his wife was, the second signer. Uh oh, he said I didn’t know she’d need to be here (hmmm, really?) so he calls her and she states, “just sat down to get my nails done” and he replies okay when can you get here. She says I’ll be there right after. He replies okay, hangs up and says to me, “can’t interfere with a lady getting her nails done” I replied while let’s get you signing and I’ll mark the pages she’ll need to sign when she gets here. He was the borrower and she was signing as the non-borrowing spouse. It’s now 5:45 and we’re done. He checks in with her and she states she wrapping up now. Now, understand I live in a small area and everything is only 15 minutes away. Six o’clock, he calls again and she insists she’s on her way. By this point I’m frustrated but trying to maintain professionalism. Six thirty rolls around (1.5 hrs) and I call the lender to advise what’s going on and that I’ll be leaving in 5 min if she does not arrive. He understands my frustration and offers additional amount to have me stay until 7pm. I accept, I mean at the end of the day, we all want to close the file. She arrives at 6:40! I quickly get her ID and explain her signing instructions. She’s Asian and has an Asian signature and I explained she needs to sign in English and in cursive. She provides an example which was a good signature. Yes, please sign this way. As we go thru, she keeps asking how she should sign! 20 minutes later we are done. I pack up and just walk out. Ughhhh! I love @Bobby-CA “Just being obstreperous”. Which sums her up. Some people are just naturally obstreperous! My new favorite word!!
Hilarious! I can’t stop chuckling at this one. You WIN!!!
Ask AI? this sounds like Carl.
In the context of your frustrating real estate signing experience, the term ‘obstreperous’ describes the non-borrowing spouse’s difficult, unruly, and uncooperative behavior. Derived from the Latin for ‘making a loud noise’ or ‘clamorous,’ it perfectly captures her pattern of causing delays by prioritizing her manicure over the appointment, arriving an hour and a half late, and then creating further confusion by repeatedly asking for guidance on how to sign despite having provided a clear example. Essentially, calling her ‘obstreperous’ highlights that she was being stubbornly disruptive and resistant to the professional process, making the signing unnecessarily chaotic.
This never gets boring
Oh my gosh that’s the worst Good for you for being patient 
