Yesterday got a request via snapdocs for an order in Grant County. I’m in Yakima County it’s a haul over the hills and through the sage. I go often because it’s an underserved county. But the fee is the fee. And when it came through yesterday I indicated the fee. Never heard back.
Today the same order comes through at 10am for 11am at the same fee and it’s impossible to get from here to there in that timeframe. So I countered with the same fee and indicated the time has to change to accommodate the drive time and docs prep.
I have a 4pm in county, so if it came through for the new time I’d have to change the time again because it’s not realistic and I won’t be late to the committed appointment either.
We do our best to educate schedulers, but companies would benefit from using schedulers who understand the region they are scheduling. Eastern Washington is vast and the drives are long and it’s harvest time so factor that in and my advice to schedulers is adopt a realistic approach to notary travel and what that costs or you could be stuck today trying to get a notary at the last minute when there simply are none.
I feel your pain. I had a similar incident on Wednesday. I live in Seattle, but often I get requests for signings on one of the islands. I try to explain that I cannot do a signing on Bainbridge Island for $75, when the RT ferry fee is $41.20 (summer rates). After finally realizing that this signing was not going to happen at their rate, the signing gets back to me at the originally quoted rate. However, title was still working on the documents (unbeknownst to me), and I had already left the ferry when I received a frantic call indicating that the appointment may need to be rescheduled. When I informed them that I was already on the island and on my way to the property, they asked if there was someplace on the island where I could reprint a new set of documents. Island life does not have a Kinkos on every corner, and I don’t like that they were willing to send copies of such highly sensitive documents to “copy down the street” copiers. In addition, I was already in a rural area of the island with spotty reception. I informed them that I could not accommodate a reprint of a 150 page document and assure I would make their drop deadline and my next appointment in 4 hours. Turns out they only needed to reprint the settlement statement and CD, which the signers were able to do. (That was an issue in and of itself which set us back about 30 minutes!) Everything happened as it should have with no further hiccups, but not without a high stress level on my part. Took yesterday off for stress relief. But, wouldn’t you know it, the same title company called me again this morning with an offer for a signing to take place in a little over 2 hours. No haggling on the fee this time – but, really?!
It really does seem they are their own enemy. Nor do they learn from past experience. After trying to find a notary and realizing the issues/paying what’s required…something happens that requires a re-schedule…and instead of checking if the ‘canceled’ notary is available for the new date/time…they start the ‘looking for cheap’ again (and often again & again & again). As some sage has said: You can’t fix stupid.
Being a mobile loan signing agent presents a unique set of challenges. We regularly navigate roadways and frequently encounter unforeseen circumstances and variables that can impact our ability to arrive on time and complete signings efficiently. From the scheduler’s perspective, it may seem straightforward to simply view the signer’s location on a screen, but the reality for us as mobile signing agents is far more complex. We are constantly contending with a range of issues, including unexpected road construction projects, traffic accidents that cause significant delays, mandatory road detours that extend travel times, and the ever-present possibility of adverse weather conditions, which can make travel extremely difficult, if not impossible. Other home services businesses schedule their service calls with a window block of time, for example the tech will be to your home between 8am to 9am. We could call each signer and provide our ETA. For situations where title companies make changes in the loan package, after we had left for the scheduled appointment. Well they should be willing to pay us accordingly, because there is no where in the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/statutes/gramm-leach-bliley-act) that allows us to use third party printing services. I just going to throw this out there… I don’t wish to wear orange jumpsuits… Just saying…
To add to my need for a day off, the second signing in the afternoon had a wrong address! (Another need to replace a notary order.) In addition, when I called to confirm the appointment that morning, I had to leave a vm due to no answer. That happens and I thought little about it. Except these were “high net worth” individuals and there is another whole set of do’s and don’ts in dealing with them! When I pulled up to a vacant patch of blackberry bushes with no such address in sight, I tried calling the signer again. Still no answer. I poured through their paperwork and thank goodness there was another phone number. When I spoke with the signer he told me I was a couple streets over. So, there was a wrong address and a wrong phone number on the order. Unfortunately, we have no recourse when they mess up our day. But they are quick to want to reduce our pay or give us a demerit if we miss a comma. Some days I really feel undervalued.
