I had a signer hold me hostage for 2.5 hours as she read every singe word on a 40 page closing and told me that I shouldn’t mind the wait seeing that I was being paid well to be there. She saw on the doc the fee was $350… y’all know I professionally corrected her on her misconception.
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I’ve had that happen twice. Once was for a wonderfully nice elderly couple that I did not mind spending the time with, especially since I had no other appointments that day. They were great story-tellers, too. 
The other was some goofy lady that just had to read every word. I politely informed her that I had other appointments and that she could take her time and read the set of docs I was leaving with her at her leisure. I also gently explained that my job is to authenticate the identity of the folks signing the docs and notarize accordingly. We have about an hour to accomplish all this. Y’all know how it went from there. . . Finally, after five minutes of discussing her need to thoroughly read every document, I packed up and excused myself and left with the signing undone. I immediately called the SS and they completely understood, supported my reluctant decision to leave and paid me the full amount agreed upon on time and without further comment. That SS has been one of my most prominent feeders of work ever since.
Moral of the story: don’t let anyone take advantage of you. Be polite, be professional, be on time and get the job done.
I blame the lender for not prepping the borrowers when this kind of thing happens. Lenders need to help the borrowers gain an understanding of what the documents mean and not leave it to the notary to fill in the blanks. Too many lenders seem to forget this important aspect of their job. Alas. . .
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@Bobby-CA Definitely can see your perspective on this scenario.
When this arises for me, I let the signers know that I’ll need to reach out to the title company/hiring party to receive an authorization for the additional fee required for them to read through their documents in-depth.
Sometimes, they’ll recognize/remember that they have the 3-day Right-To-Cancel period to review & evaluate their documents in further detail than what will be covered during our scheduled appointment.
Sometimes, not . . . If the signers are adamant, I reach out to the title company/hiring party (in a friendly & professional manner), review the situation with the title company/hiring party, and request that a fee revision be implemented.
I’ve found that normally the title company/hiring party will provide the signers with the latitude of in-depth reading & the fee is added without question.
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Thank you for this… and @Bobby-CA you as well. It was the very first time that this happened to me so I was totally unprepared for it. This signing was 1.5 away from home and I had allocated 1/2 max to get it done. The only saving grace was that it was my last appointment for the night. I will absolutely keep that practice in mind moving forward. It was one of those rare days that I had 3 signings and only accepted it because it was 40 pages and I was getting paid top dollars to complete… now I wonder if the SS and the company knew ahead of time the type of signers I was to be meeting with hence the $175 price.
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@donaldsonnp Absolutely a possibility . . .
- The SS could have had first-hand experience
- The SS could have sensed it from the types of queries posed by the signers
- Or, the SS could have had a previous CNSA cancel for that reason
It’s truly all speculation without asking the direct question of the SS (usually not worth it to ask though, that is, unless you know them well).
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You’re also absolutely correct also about previously established ‘hard’ schedule constraints for required time & travel, etc. to the next signing engagement.
We business owners are flexible & multi-task to the MAX! 
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This was the first time I worked with that company. The good news is that they gave me a good snap docs review.
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How are you able to see your reviews on snapdocs?
I feel you on this! I think the SS knew about a late night signing I had this week. Husband and wife were both annoyed. They read every single page (200pgs) and the wife almost made me want to tell her to shut up and sign! (I didnt of course). I felt like the SS set me up!
The company sent me an email directly with a copy of the feedback. Snap docs send a report monthly on how many closings you have done, the number of thumbs up you receive from companies that use their system, and the number of customer reviews.
Ahh ok, I received a report in December but didnt open it. Snapdocs went quiet on me for a while, but recently has picked back up.
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I had the same thing… the wife let me know upfront that she used to be a paralegal and she reads everything before she signs it… ugggggg 
I let her know that I completely respected that however I did not have the authority to make any changes to the document and if there was a problem with the document we would have to stop the signing and she would have to contact the lender directly. That shut her up and she smiled and signed where I flagged. 
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and still do not understand how some notaries keep taken signing for $50 or less. what they learn in the school about business 101. and the way the gas going now my fee will be in the $150 or $175.
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Definately feel the same way I say always ask for a scan fee upfront because it does cause
a notary’s day to be less smooth. I totally agree 
I think they are scared to ask for more but keep encouraging them and their expectation will go up. I can definately speak for myself that I used to accept low fees and after hearing
about other notaries getting much more I now have higher expectations.
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I don’t believe in using commas
What kind of scanner do you have? I’ve bought three different scanners (each of them recommended by the people working in the store) and I had to get a refund for all three
due to them either not working or being so hard to manuver it took too much time to do it.
I do not use a stand alone scanner. Mine is part of my Xerox machine.
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Well, the difference is are you a regular notary or an Notary Signing Agent? Two different qualifications. Two different processes.
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Good comment if people don’t like fee don’t take the signing and set at home and watch soaps.