Rude notaries?
At 123notary, we have 6000+ notaries on board, and we talk to most of them at one time or another. We take pride in how dedicated and professional our notaries are. Our notaries answer emails promptly, and have a high rate of answering their phone. But, once in a while we will get a complaint of rudeness.
Who are these rude notaries?
Rudeness is a two-way street. Most of the time, if a notary is accused of rudeness, the borrower or signing company was unreasonable with them or harrassed them. Is it the notary’s fault? In my opinion, a professional should try to maintain their cool at all times. The defining line that separates the men from the boys is how well you handle a difficult situation with finesse. Can you calmly handle a difficult client? Can you smoothly work your way through a difficult situation? Can you keep your cool when others around you are screaming? Its difficult to know what to do when a notary is accused of being rude. I usually keep these incidents off the record, and only in my private records.
Incomplete information?
What bugs me the most, is that when I get a complaint about a rude notary, I only see text such as, “The notary was rude”. My question is, what did the notary say? What did you say to them first to provoke this reaction?
Notaries who hang up on clients.
We get regular complaints that the notary hung up on someone. Was the client rude? Did the notary have a cell phone that routinely drop calls? Was the notary just being a jerk? Sometimes clients call after hours and the notary doesn’t want to be bothered.
Antagonistic emails
Be careful with this one. Nobody can remember what you said, other than the fact that it was polite or rude. However, if you write a rude email, it can be forwarded to me — and that is proof that you really are rude!
Threatening clients with lawsuits
When a notary and a client get in an argument, some notaries quickly start threatening clients with lawsuits. This is really unnecessary and rude. It reflects poorly on us and on you. You should not threaten someone with a law suit unless you have serious damages which you can prove.
Criticizing the company you are working for.
If you work for a signing company, its not good manners to criticize them or their borrowers. If they are horrible people, just don’t work for them anymore! If the borrowers are horrible, just try to put up with them.
Summary
99% of our notaries are fantastic, and this blog entry doesn’t apply to you. If put in a difficult situation, try to be polite and then refuse to work for the difficult company again! Don’t criticize people (even if they deserve it), and don’t write threatening emails. Just do your job, and go home!
You might also like:
What to say and not say: minimum competency guide
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=4337
Borrower etiquette from A to Z
http://blog.123notary.com/?p=2995
What to say and what not to say.
Notary Etiquette – what to say and what not to say
Politeness is hard to gauge in any society. In a social environment, if people don’t like your comments, they just won’t associate with you. But, in a business environment, you will lose valuable clients. Personally, I am the worst person to write this post, because I am notorious for saying the wrong thing at every given opportunity. On the other hand, maybe thats why I am the perfect person to write this article — I know what one has to lose by opening their mouth!
Being professional
Some people treat professionalism by being overly uptight, no fun, and addressing people as Mr Smith, and Mrs. Sutterfield. They never crack a joke, and never express an opinion. They will dress well, and get their job done, but were they a pleasure to deal with? Sometimes I really tune into this issue at the Japanese restaurant down the street.
The Japanese restaurant
Its less than two miles away — a Japanese restaurant so good, its worth walking a mile to get to. With the lack of parking, sometimes I do walk at least half a mile, and then wait to be seated. They are the best cooks, and are very professionally dressed in their black ninja outfits. Politeness is never an issue, but there are never opinions, and small talk is …. well… “small”. Then, a new guy started working there. He is ultra friendly and talkative while being extremely polte. We talk about every topic under the sun (not the rising sun). He can talk about any subject while being careful not to criticize others. Maybe he should be writing this blog entry!
Being friendly!
To get good reviews with the signing services, you need to be a pleasure to work with. Being human and friendly is part of the game — of course without sacrificing professionalism. I really want to get responses from this blog on what the notaries consider the “right amount” of being friendly. The trick is knowing what to talk about and how to talk about it. With me, I’ll quickly digress into some inappropriate political discussion: a big no-no. But, weather is a much safer bet. But, even weather can be controversial. Talking about rain is safe, but should you wait for the other person to bring up the subject of tsunamis just to be safe? If its me, I’ll even ruin the subject of weather by bringing in the concept that God is upset with humans and thats why we are having the tsumani. I’ll alienate borrowers even with the safest of topics. Maybe I should stick to hurricanes. At least with hurricanes I can blame the government for being neglegent about building levies, and leave God out of it!!!
Safe topics
Traffic is a safe topic, especially for me, since its clearly the fault of humans and not God’s wrath. But, what if you are late and talk about traffic. Then, its no longer fun conversation — its an excuse… There’s a no-no! Only talk about traffic if you are on time! If its me, I’ll ruin even a nice conversation about traffic, by blaming the government for keeping gas taxes so low. After that remark, even the socialists will outcaste me! But, its true — if gas were $7 per gallon, there wouldn’t be any traffic — ever!!!
Fashion – is it safe?
Fashion could go either way. It depends on whether the other person has the same tastes as you. But, sticking to more “universal” topics like where the best sales are for general items is relatively safe. Talking about general items is politically correct, but when it gets into tweed blazers, you are entering an area of sociological barriers. The professors will like the conversation, and everyone else will raise their eyebrows!
Guns and Religion?
Obama really blew it with this comment. Religion teaches peace, so how can religious people love guns so much? Do they want to fight for peace? Don’t talk about this at a signing! But, if you can pull off talking about what happened at church last week without alienating those of a different caste, creed or faith, I’ll be impressed. If you can make this type of conversation “universal” in nature, you are a professional at knowing what to say and how to say it. I would personally give you a reward!
Politics?
OHG… stay away!!! The most political statement you can get away with is how you bumped into Obama at the swimming pool. That will work. You can mention how he out swam you. I heard he keeps very fit!
If you follow these tips, you will be a more professional notary!
You might also like:
Credible witnesses from A to Z
If the world ends before my renewal, do I get a refund?
Notary Etiquette from A to Z