This all happened around 2004. Carmen and I did not communicate as effectively together in those days. Carmen was given a top spot back then as a gift, but she did not see the value in it in those days. I asked if she wanted to get a formal upgrade and pay for the spot. She didn’t care then, and the key word is then. After that, there was this other lady in Los Angeles who was a Realtor and Notary. I think she is still with us although she dropped out for a few years. The Realtor Notary lady paid for the spot.

So, Carmen noticed that she wasn’t getting as many calls and complained to me about what had happened. Carmen got very angry I remember. I am not sure whose fault it was as our communication was not in writing. I think Carmen’s words are that it doesn’t matter if she is in the top spot. But, after losing the top spot, she started whistling a different tune. I am not sure if I waited for that other lady’s top spot to expire or if I bribed her to give it up. I can’t just take a legitimate Notary out of a spot you know — that is a violation of my terms and conditions. So, the minute I could legitimately get the other lady out of the spot which was a year or more after Carmen complained, I gave Carmen her spot back.

Carmen got so much business from her top spot that she became really good at selling top spots to other people. Carmen has been working with me since 2003 by the way. That was the year I got really busy with 123notary. The 123notary of today is very much formed because of that little communication mistake that happened back in 2004 or 2005, I forgot the exact year. Carmen has been the best top spot salesperson ever since. And I owe it all to a mistake.

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It is a sad state of affairs when I make this comparison, but yet there are many parallels.

The new signing agent who is on solid ground studies from the best, passes tests, writes nice notes sections on his/her/their listing, and never misrepresents themselves. There are people like this who come across as very professional even though they have no experience to speak of.

Then there are the phony sounding Notaries who try to hype themselves up. They say words about themselves that make them look like they are — all that, but the way they come across is as an amateur and a phony. It is a shame. I deal with people like this all day and I am tired of it. Keep it real please.

Here is what the new signing agents say and what the wannabe players say.

I have a zero percent error rate
Baby, I got what it takes. I could satisfy you.

But, if I do make a mistake — in that unlikely event, I will fix it right away.
Baby, I’ll love you forever, but if something happens, I know how to deal with it. I’ll figure it out.

I have signed every type of loan
Baby, I’m down with all the flavors, and I’ve had them all. Every description, every type, girl.

But, in real life the ones who claim they have signed every type of loan have only signed every type of loan that THEY have heard of which is very far from the ones on my list. I have 40 financial package types on my list. The ones who said they do all average only about 35% of the loans. But, one of 5000 notaries on the site got almost all of them, so when you say all, there is a sliver of chance you might be telling the truth.

But, why come across as phony when you can be helpful and factual with the information you give to others? Facts impress. People who deal with notaries all day long not only see through the fluff, they are a lot less likely to deal with a fluffer, in fact. Is there such thing as a fluffer?

If you are new, just answer questions, and don’t try to impress people. The minute you try to impress, you blow it. Just be helpful, without trying to help.If someone asks if you are still in business — don’t ask when the job is, and don’t tell them you are on vacation – just say yes or no. Being factual is easy – just stick to the facts. Answer numerical questions with numbers, yes no questions with yesses and no’s, and keep it real. Don’t tell people about your zero percent error rate — nobody believes you and nobody has time for that.

CARMEN’S DEATH
Carmen Towles passed away in July of 2020. I found out on July 25th from a client. I believe she passed away on the 24th, but I see other conflicting reports on Notary Rotary saying it happened two weeks before that. The last time I talked to Carmen was on June 29th when she was released from the hospital. She was able to talk but wasn’t making logical sense. She couldn’t remember if she had a gall stone or a kidney stone. I think you would remember that.

Carmen died of Pancreatic cancer, but had a gall bladder infection too. She never told me about the cancer, perhaps because she didn’t want me to worry. I think it would have been better if she had told me so I could plan ahead.

OUR HISTORY TOGETHER
In any case, Carmen and I worked together for 17 years since 2003. I remember the first time I met her at the entrance to our complex. I was selling her a course book. She was very talkative, inquisitive, and sharp. She kept calling me to ask questions and became very knowledgeable as a signing agent. Carmen claimed she took the NNA course, but that it did not make her feel confident enough to go out and do real signing work. After she mastered our 123notary course, she felt she got a practical road map of what to do and how to handle situations. As time went on, I begged her to work for me. She initially didn’t want to. It took a few years to get her to work full time. After she got used to it, signings slowed down, and she became hooked on 123. She did the new sales and renewals and was very possessive about the work.

CARMEN AS A MENTOR
Carmen was an excellent mentor to many of our Notaries. She taught them the twists and turns of what can happen at signings and with the various companies who hire Notaries. She kept many out of trouble and inspired all. She had real charisma, pizzazz, combined with a deep and pragmatic knowledge of Notary law and signing competency. Nobody else combined her flamboyance and knowledge. None of the other Notary companies have anyone even half as good as she was.

CARMEN’S INPUT
Carmen helped me put together a new over the phone test content as well as a new course which is on the blog and free — Notary Public 101. We wanted to emphasize what gets Notaries in trouble, so they can stay out of trouble. The other courses taught information which was about loan documents which is fine, but you don’t normally get in trouble for not understanding the documents, you get in trouble for notary mistakes or mishandling situations.

OUR LOSS
The Notaries are very sad that Carmen is gone. There will never be another Carmen. I am sad that I never got to say goodbye. I didn’t think she would pass away so fast. I thought she had another year where she would function at half speed. But, I can communicate easily with spirits, so I have had a few simple dialogues with Carmen.

JEREMY: How are things in the brighter world?
CARMEN: I’m getting a lot of rest.

JEREMY: What will I do without you?
CARMEN: Oh, don’t worry about it.

JEREMY: Do you have to wear face masks up there?
CARMEN: Ha ha…. no!!!

LIFE WITHOUT CARMEN
So, now I have to do all of Carmen’s work. I call all of the renewal people. It wouldn’t take that long except that the higher level people like to chat. Many of our higher level people have been with us for years, in some cases up to 20 years, and they have stories from long back. The bigger issue is not having to do her work. I am missing the new calls because I am not prepared to answer the phone all the time. I am not sure how I will hire someone new who will be acceptable and who will last.

And third, I miss Carmen because she is like a family member to me. She understood me well, and had very sensible advice for me about all of my issues. I didn’t necessarily agree with all of her advice, but most of it was good. I am very sad, lonely and don’t know what to expect of the future. The future doesn’t look very bright now, but you never know. I am going to try out several new ladies who seem promising.

With all of the bad vibes in the atmosphere due to the Covid19 issue, riots, and political upheaval, it seemed like the devil made his rounds to disrupt many cities, many lives, many political issues, etc. First there were Covid19 shutdowns which took away our rights. 80% of what I could do outside of the house was shut down or disappeared. Then the devil came to my neighborhood with the riots. A month later my site went down for a week. Actually that was done by angels for my protection, but felt like the devil was somehow involved. And then my site went back up, Carmen became incapacitated and then died shortly after. So much grief in just five months. No wonder I feel more depressed than I have felt in years.

Carmen was always there, usually answered the phone, only went on one quick vacation that I knew about which was a cruise in Mexico. But, she kept her phone with her so she was accessible. She even did phone duty while she was on Jury Duty. She was always there, and now she will never be there again.

I will have my psychic contact Carmen in the brighter world to see if she has anything she wants to tell the Notaries. My ability for spirit communication is okay for very quick questions and answers but not good enough for conversations. So, we will leave this up to Walter who is an expert.

Incoming phone communication to 123notary is basically almost impossible now. I answer some of my incoming calls. but, I really can’t get more than 10%. If you want to reach me fast, just use the email form on 123epayment.com. I am very slow by info@123notary.com, so if you are in a hurry, 123epayment.com is a little faster.

So for now, that is all I can say.