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Notarizing For All Sorts of Folks – Serving the people of the great state of California

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Notarizing For All Sorts of Folks – Serving the people of the great state of California

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    by Notary Course Online
  • November 19, 2024

Not always strictly business 

Providing notarial services is not just about business deals and hand shakes. Oftentimes the notary public is needed at someone’s home or hospital room  when tough decisions need to be made or a  follow up on traumatic events. I have mentioned before in previous blog posts about some unique signing locations and uncomfortable pet pressure. But because the notary public takes an oath to serve the people, you will undoubtedly run into interesting characters and captive audiences when your signings are taking place. People are most particular about their homes but many small family businesses may have the same opinion about their office or place of business as well. An observant notary public will sense the feeling or vibe of the people you are serving and make sure to act in the utmost professional manner. Even if it really is your own personal style to be California casual, having an overly relaxed attitude or attire while performing notarial services can give your client the wrong feeling, making you seem not professional enough for the situation and lead some to question your authority, credibility or even the legitimacy of the documents you are processing. 

Conservative culture.

When meeting new clients or customers, it’s better to be more conservative than casual. Especially when notary signing agents in the field don’t select the appointment location 99% of the time. The environment you are walking into is always up for interpretation. Because you meet so many different types of folks from all walks of life, I highly recommend attire that is modest and professional with as little skin showing as possible. Since the act of notarization is a legal act, you want that to come across in your attire and attitude. Revealing clothing is not only unprofessional, it can be deemed unsafe when it comes to the setting in which you find yourself working. As a representative of authority of the California Secretary of State, you are truly an ambassador and representing this office should make clients feel respected and welcome. Another tip is that during these times when people are more likely to share their personal or political stances in all aspects of their life and work, the best course of action is to refrain from taking part in  any particularly  personal or political discussions during a signing appointment. Your job is to create a comfortable and professional environment for all signing participants. 

Signing “in the wild”.

 As I mentioned in my April 2024 blog post, locations for your notary appointment can vary wildly. Busy people might have to squeeze their signing in between their appointments or family schedule. That can leave you scrambling all over town to a variety of locations. I’ve talked before about unusual signing locations such as outdoors that require some special tools to make the signing happen. But with unique locations comes other surprises such as distractive noises, inclement weather, pets and participants that might insert themselves into a signing transaction they are not part of. Be sure to communicate in a friendly manner with your signers that this is a private matter and it’s best that during this brief appointment a little privacy and quiet will be appreciated. Sometimes having a “helper” nearby for signers who may have a health condition is actually a great benefit, so long as the signer is comfortable with this witness to the signing process. True story – I had a signer that had a chronic health condition and while signing the paperwork I nearly had to call paramedics when the signer seemed to have a medical emergency right there at the signing table. I was not aware that anyone else was in the home but I did yell out for help just in case before I started dialing 911.  I was very thankful that the signer’s adult child was upstairs and could come down to render aid to the signer. It might be a good idea to get my CPR certification renewed in case this ever happens again. Another true story – I had a signer request to meet at a local park for their document signing and we were down to the last few pages when a swarm of bees started to get busy around us. A notary can never leave their documents behind, so we needed to act fast so that both the signer and I were safe from stings and I was thankful for wearing long sleeves, trousers and closed-toed shoes. We retreated to our own cars while the swarm slowly passed over and we were able to resume the appointment. Being prepared for all that California and its people have to offer will set you up for success at your signing.

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