I mean, think about it.
If you are halfway successful, you are on the road or in signings for large blocks of time during the day.
Text offers (at least for the reputable companies at decent fees) go at the speed of light - if it takes longer than 3 seconds to respond, forget it.
Ergo, in order to remain halfway successful, you are forced to respond to text offers while driving - there is simply no other way to compete. There is no time to pull over.
Why can’t companies text out their offers only between the hours of… say, 6 pm to 10 pm and 6 am to 9 am? Then they would find more experienced NSAs would be able to respond, the quality of returned signings would go up, and everyone involved would be happier.
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The biggest issue is “MOST” appointments are based on the signers availability, not the clients. In this case, “experience” is not a factor as much as “availability” is (service).
some signing services have a button that you can press that gives you additional time
to make a decision, like an extra 3 minutes and no one else can take it during those 3 minutes
I don’t agree. If you get your signings from a platform they definitely have a tiered approach to offering the jobs. Anyone of a certain level (either experience, ratings, proximity or qualifications) will have first pick of a posting. If they cannot find the type of notary specified, they will fly the offer to the second tier. I know this is true because I have sat at the table with another notary and received the signing offer first, even a 30 second delay can mean the difference in getting an assignment or not. Another case, I work with a partner with less experience than I have. Some companies will offer every one locally the same job at the same time but despite the response of some notaries, they will fly the offer a second time trying to secure the service of the notary better fitting the requirements, whatever they may be. Even in this competitive environment, if your services are needed you can get the job despite not being the first to respond.
With work so rare, it is a real temptation to reply to offers while driving. I have my phone mounted (and charging) while I drive and my car has the software to allow me to dictate replies, still it is dangerous. The email offers usually have a longer response time. In my experience they come from companies that are looking for GNW and are already established with me. Those wait until I can pull over. There is nothing like an accident to take you out of the running. By the way, haven’t you noticed that we are getting booked further and further in advance? My most recent example is for a signing booked 3 weeks ahead of the date. Every time I look at it on my schedule I wonder if it will poof away in the interim.
I hear ya, but I have been doing this for 11 years now, and “availability” has always been at the top of the list. The signer sets the signing date based on their availability, no one else can dictate the signers availability (although they may "try). If experience, ratings, and qualifications was at the top, they wouldn’t offer you $65 to do a package. The only time an offer goes out a second time is because others on the first round didn’t accept the initial offer, or they weren’t available. Basically, even if there is such a “tiered” approach, there is no guarantee your client will get a experienced, highly rated and qualified NSA at the time the signer set the signing date for based on their own availability.
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