Notary Etiquette
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New Notaries and experienced Notaries alike have a very poor sense of Notary etiquette. It is common for people to complain about small things and not communicate well. We are going to publish a course on Notary etiquette. But, here are some of the main points you should understand.

1. Answering questions the way they were asked
Most Notaries cannot give straight answers to questions. This is a sign of poor self-discipline and a scrambled mental state. If someone asks how many loans you have signed, most Notaries tell you how many years and tell their life story. This is annoying and is bad manners. Just give the person a number. If someone asks what counties you serve, don’t tell them your whole pricing strategy for each county, just tell them your counties. If they want pricing information they can ask.

2. Answer the phone stating your name.
Too many people answer the phone saying, “hullo?” It is unprofessional. Others say, “Why are you calling me on a Sunday?” Don’t do that. Be professional. Others answer the phone while answering a question to the person standing next to them. This behavior can be alienating to the caller as you don’t know who the recipient is talking to.

3. Don’t have family members answer your phone.
It is annoying and confusing when someone else answers your phone for you. If they don’t state their name, the caller won’t even know they are not talking to you and might start a long conversation with the long person.

4. Don’t have noise when you answer the phone
No Mortgage professional wants to have their conversation with you interrupted because of your screaming kids. If you are in a restaurant, apologize about the noise and explain to them where you are. Hopefully they will understand.

5. Don’t fail to answer calls in a signing
If you don’t answer calls in a signing, nobody will be able to reach you. Unless you signed a contract saying you won’t answer calls, answer your phone otherwise how will you get your next job?

6. Don’t answer the phone and then refuse to talk
If you answer the phone, give the person calling a minute or two to state why they are calling and let them ask a quick question or two. If you answer the phone and interrupt the caller only to tell them that you can’t talk — you should not have answered in the first place. It is rude and annoying to do such a thing.

7. Get documents back to the company fast.
Know your local FedEx stations and UPS stops. Get packages back as soon as you can. Nobody wants to find out that their package is in your trunk four days after the fact. They also don’t want to hear that you missed FedEx pickup because you waited until the last minute, got a last minute job, and then forgot to drop the package as a result. Drop it like it’s hot.

8. Accept criticism
Most Notaries think they are so knowledgeable and can do no wrong. But, get very hostile when anyone criticizes them. In real life agencies that list you or hiring parties might criticize you. Take it as constructive criticism and learn from it. Don’t argue and don’t be hostile.

9. Don’t brag
Nothing is worse than a Notary who has to prove to you have great they are and rambles on about how much experience they have. I ask people simple questions such as, “How many loans have you signed?” Instead of getting an answer, I get a long rambling session about how their husband works in Escrow and I learned so much from him over the years and I even attended a signing with him. You can offer to explain your level of experience to someone, but don’t just start bragging and talking nonstop. It is rude, unprofessional and makes you come across as undisciplined and inconsiderate. Be polite and answer the questions that were asked to you.

10. Dress appropriately
Business attire is what you should wear to a signing. Believe it or not, even experienced Notaries show up in flip flops, night club attire, mini skirts, or bring their screaming kids to a signing. You will get fired if you don’t dress the part, so dress like a business person and act like one too.

11. Confirm the signing
Let people know who you are, when you are going to arrive. Call if you are going to be late, etc. You can go over directions as well and it is not a bad idea to know how their name reads on the ID before you drive over.

12. Don’t park in the driveway.
The driveway is for the borrowers or signers to park. You can park on the street unless you are invited to park in the driveway. They might need that spot in their driveway and they might not appreciate the fluids you leak onto their driveway either.

Those are the basics. Read our etiquette course for more.

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Notary Situations

and how to handle them.
Notaries should know how to handle these situations, because you can lose clients very easily. Clients do not want to know about your problems or your family. They want you to get a job done professionally. Here are some scenarios Notaries typically screw up.

Screaming kids in the background
You might be used to your kids, but your clients do not want to hear them in the background. If your kids are screaming, train them to be very quiet when you answer the phone or leave the room if they can’t control themselves.

Relatives answering the phone
When you use the, “Hullo???” method of answering the phone, it is impossible to know if you are talking to the correct person. This is unprofessional and makes a horrible impression. Of the Notaries who have lasted on 123notary for ten or more years, very few say hello. The ones who say hello are not professional and generally do not last more than a few years. Everyone who answers your phone has to announce themselves, otherwise get a mobile phone that only you answer. If your three year old answer the phone, this is very unprofessional, however, if they say, “Rutherford residence, this is Brandon” then it becomes more tolerable.

Answering the phone with an alias
If you answer the phone, “Hi, this is Kathy” but your 123notary profile says Andrea and the person says, “May I speak to Andrea.” and you say, “This is her.” This creates a very annoying confusion. The point of having a name is so people know who you are and what to call you. If there are twelve people named John in one home room class at school it becomes confusing. And if you have multiple names that you go by that is confusing. Stick to one name or use an AKA when you answer the phone. “Hi, this is Kathy AKA Andrea.” That way no more confusion.

Answering the phone at a restaurant
If you answer the phone while at a noisy restaurant, it is best if you are able to step out within seconds of answering the call. The first thing you must do upon answering is say, “I am at a busy restaurant and I apologize for the noise. I can step out if you need to talk to me.” If you don’t keep in mind that nobody wants to hear the background noise and have you continually saying, “what, what what?” every time they ask you something, then be considerate and professional and either don’t answer the call, or step out quickly upon answering. Or text the caller and let them know your situation.

Having a bad phone
If you have a bad phone with bad reception, don’t keep making the other person repeat themselves and then yell at them telling them they are breaking up. That is unprofessional and rude. It is YOU that have the bad phone and it is YOU who is breaking up, not the caller. So, invest in a better phone with better reception otherwise you will lose a lot of clients and will have nobody to blame except yourself.

In a signing
Don’t answer the phone only to tell the other person you can’t talk. That is just plain rude. If you can’t talk, don’t answer. If you do answer, give the other party 90 seconds before you get short with them — hear them out, and be considerate. After the clock strikes a minute and a half, then let them ,know that you cannot talk any more because you are at a signing.

Between signings
If you just got out of a signing, are between signings or are on your way to a signing and refuse to talk to someone, that is rude. If you are at a signing, there is a reason not to talk long. But, if you are between signings and someone calls about business and you tell them you are busy — then, they will have to call you back, but they will reach you at another signing when they call back. If you are impossible about talking to people you will lose half your business.

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