6 Notary Errors to Beware as They Can Lose You Clients

Notaries offer clients the convenience of having a professional notary travel to them or meet them in virtual space. While clients greatly appreciate this level of convenience and flexibility, they still will lose faith if critical notary errors are made.

When this happens, it is likely that the notary will lose their client.

Here are 6 mobile notary errors you need to avoid in order to retain the majority of your clients. And don’t forget our other article on notary mistakes, which this article builds on.

Some notaries prepare for every signing as a hard signing, so they get their preparation checklist filled out for every notarization.

6 Mobile Notary Errors to Beware

Scheduling Mistakes

Few mistakes doom a mobile notary quite like making a scheduling error. Whether the mistake is showing up too early, late, or missing a scheduled appointment entirely, this is a mistake you cannot afford to make.

After all, much of the appeal of a mobile notary is that their professional service revolves around the client’s schedule and needs. When that schedule is violated, expect a client to look elsewhere for their notary needs.

Being Overly Opinionated

A mobile notary has one job function above all else. Namely, the job is to have the qualifications, credentials, and equipment needed to legally function as a client’s notary public.

Please avoid this most heinous of notary errors, and avoid putting your nose into the client’s business. Don’t have strong opinions on matters that do not concern you. A common example is giving a strong opinion on a loan. For example, if the notary looked at a loan’s interest rate and mentioned that the interest rate was too high, expect a client to get annoyed.

As a mobile notary, you cannot know the signer’s credit rating and financial specifics. Those terms may have been the best rate they could receive. Regardless, keep the strong opinions to yourself and don’t make one of these notary errors.

Failing to Follow Instructions

Failing to follow instructions leads to trouble in many client-based professions, and the same holds true for mobile notaries. Ignoring important instructions may lead to missing important deadlines that prevent a loan from being properly funded on time. When the blame on such matters is traced back to a notary who did not do as they were instructed, a client is probably going to find a notary who will follow instructions.  This is one of the notary errors that will lose you clients quickly.

Lack of Professionalism

Mobile notaries who fail to dress the part or speak professionally will give clients reasons to doubt their choice in notary.

A suit and tie may be overkill, but simply dressing professionally, demonstrating good hygiene and being well spoken will do wonders for a mobile notary’s reputation. And, when the alternative is losing clients, behaving professionally and looking the part is the clearly correct path for a mobile notary to take.

Poor Social Media Behavior

In today’s online world and socially driven era, businesses and professionals must also ensure they appear professional in their online interactions. Rude and insulting online interactions will lead to a potential client looking for a different notary. There is no reason to sabotage your professional prospects when searching for clients because of hostile discussions on platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn.

Overbooking

Finally, you may think that having a healthy book of business is a good thing, and in most cases, it is. However, notaries must pay close attention to their appointments to avoid notary errors. Cutting appointment times too close can lead to late appearances and last-minute cancellations.

Before long, you may find your big book of business became much smaller, because you did not space out your appointments accordingly. Be smart with your scheduling and give yourself the time and flexibility needed to provide punctual and professional notary services to all clients.

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