The Notary Files: A Podcast by National Award-Winning Signing Agent Sonita M Leak

As a State of South Carolina Notary Public and a Nationwide National Notary Association® Ambassador, I am honored to have contributed to a variety of articles on behalf of the Notary Bulletin and National Notary magazine.  Did you know that your local Greenville, South Carolina Notary Public was the Author of the following article? Click on the link below to read it: HOW ONE NOTARY USES SEO STRATEGIES TO GROW HER BUSINESS (Contributor) – September 2014

Throughout my career, I’ve been humbled and been so appreciative of all those that I’ve helped, not only in my practice locally as a Notary Public and Signing Agent, but also as a colleague to all those Notaries and Signing Agents nationwide!

Thank you so much for a wonderful 9 years,

Sonita M. LeakOwner of GreenvilleNotary.com

One trip to Greenville Memorial Hospital in Greenville, South Carolina some time ago did not go smoothly. Upon arrival, I learned that the signer I was about to see had a medical emergency and therein could not sign a simple document that would have set his beneficiary information for insurance straight. It happens quite a bit. We notaries are met with situations that are beyond our control. I learned shortly before midnight that the signer passed away.

The job of a notary can go from fairly simple to very complex in a matter of seconds. Many trips to hospitals, assisted-living facilities and hospices can be daunting on the psyche of a notary. One day you will see a patient in a facility who is in good spirits; and in a different setting the next day in Intensive Care. It comes with the territory.

Although most of my posts are ‘happy-go-lucky’, problems arise and things do go wrong in many signing situations, and they are not posted on this website as blogs; hence, why I post what I do post about signers being of sound mind, not incapacitated, held under duress, etc. Sharing information is caring.

One thing to consider in signing situations is the complexity of what’s really in front of you. If you pare people’s lives down to a piece of paper, there is a major disconnect. Yes, you’re just a notary public, but being a notary in a particular situation does not mean that you don’t have feelings and cannot empathize. People who deal with signing situations can get into the rut of ‘performing the job at hand and leaving’, but I must warn these professionals that in that 30 minutes to an hour of time you are before your signer or signers, unless you are a completely heartless human being, you will have some form of attachment to them and their situation.

Customer Service is key. I say that with capital letters because those two words are so very important. I’ve contributed to several articles regarding offering top-notch Customer Service. Knowledge is at one end of the Customer Service spectrum. Empathy is at the other end.

For more information (and this is for INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY), you can search through my posts by using the Search Bar in the top right sidebar of this site.

Comments? Questions? Leave them in the Comments section below.

As a State of South Carolina Notary Public and a Nationwide National Notary Association® Ambassador, I am honored to have contributed to various articles on behalf of the Notary Bulletin and National Notary magazine.  Did you know that your local Greenville, South Carolina Notary Public was the Author of the following article? Click on the link below to read it: BUILDING YOUR NOTARY BUSINESS ONE BYTE AT A TIME (Author) – September 2018 (As Author)

Throughout my career, I’ve been humbled and been so appreciative of all those that I’ve helped, not only in my practice locally as a Notary Public and Signing Agent, but also as a colleague to all those Notaries and Signing Agents nationwide!

Thank you so much for a wonderful 9 years,

Sonita M. LeakOwner of GreenvilleNotary.com

As a State of South Carolina Notary Public and a Nationwide National Notary Association® Ambassador, I am honored to have contributed to various articles on behalf of the Notary Bulletin and National Notary magazine.  Did you know that your local Greenville, South Carolina Notary Public was the Author of the following article? Click on the link below to read it: THE TRUTH ABOUT OFFERING I-9 (IDENTITY VERIFICATION) SERVICES WITH YOUR BUSINESS (Contributor) – September 2014

Throughout my career, I’ve been humbled and been so appreciative of all those that I’ve helped, not only in my practice locally as a Notary Public and Signing Agent, but also as a colleague to all those Notaries and Signing Agents nationwide!

Thank you so much for a wonderful 9 years,

Sonita M. LeakOwner of GreenvilleNotary.com

As a State of South Carolina Notary Public and a Nationwide National Notary Association® Ambassador, I am honored to have contributed to various articles on behalf of the Notary Bulletin and National Notary magazine.  Did you know that I was the Author of the following article? Click on the link below to read it: CUSTOMER SERVICE: TRUST, INNOVATION, INTEGRITY, ACCURACY, PROTECTION (Contributor) – December 2014

Throughout my career, I’ve been humbled and been so appreciative of all those that I’ve helped, not only in my practice locally as a Notary Public and Signing Agent, but also as a colleague to all those Notaries and Signing Agents nationwide!

Thank you so much for a wonderful 9 years,

Sonita M. LeakOwner of GreenvilleNotary.com

As a State of South Carolina Notary Public and a Nationwide National Notary Association® Ambassador, I am honored to have contributed to various articles on behalf of the Notary Bulletin and National Notary magazine.  Did you know that your local Greenville, South Carolina Notary Public was the Author of the following article? Click on the link below to read it: NSA TIPS: THE BEST AND WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE PRACTICES FOR NOTARIES (Contributor) – October 2015

Throughout my career, I’ve been humbled and been so appreciative of all those that I’ve helped, not only in my practice locally as a Notary Public and Signing Agent, but also as a colleague to all those Notaries and Signing Agents nationwide!

Thank you so much for a wonderful 9 years,

Sonita M. LeakOwner of GreenvilleNotary.com

As a State of South Carolina Notary Public and a Nationwide National Notary Association® Ambassador, I am honored to have contributed to various articles on behalf of the Notary Bulletin and National Notary magazine.  Did you know that your local Greenville, South Carolina Notary Public was the Author of the following article? Click on the link below to read it: BY FLUKE AND DESIGN: HOW THREE NOTARIES BUILT THRIVING BUSINESSES (Contributor) – May 2016

Throughout my career, I’ve been humbled and been so appreciative of all those that I’ve helped, not only in my practice locally as a Notary Public and Signing Agent, but also as a colleague to all those Notaries and Signing Agents nationwide!

Thank you so much for a wonderful 9 years,

Sonita M. LeakOwner of GreenvilleNotary.com

As a State of South Carolina Notary Public and a Nationwide National Notary Association® Ambassador, I am honored to have contributed to various articles on behalf of the Notary Bulletin and flagship magazine of the association in the past.  Did you know that your local Greenville, South Carolina Notary Public contributed to the following articles?Click on the links below to read each:

8 WEB AND INTERNET MARKETING DON’TS FOR NOTARIES (Author) – REVISED January 2019

BUILDING YOUR NOTARY BUSINESS ONE BYTE AT A TIME (Author) – September 2018 (As Author)

BY FLUKE AND DESIGN: HOW THREE NOTARIES BUILT THRIVING BUSINESSES (Contributor) – May 2016

NSA TIPS: THE BEST AND WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE PRACTICES FOR NOTARIES (Contributor) – October 2015

CUSTOMER SERVICE: TRUST, INNOVATION, INTEGRITY, ACCURACY, PROTECTION (Contributor) – December 2014

TO DO IT YOURSELF OR NOT: THAT IS THE QUESTION (Contributor) – 

THE TRUTH ABOUT OFFERING I-9 (IDENTITY VERIFICATION) SERVICES WITH YOUR BUSINESS (Contributor) – September 2014

HOW ONE NOTARY USES SEO STRATEGIES TO GROW HER BUSINESS (Contributor) – September 2014

Throughout my career, I’ve been humbled and been so appreciative of all those that I’ve helped, not only in my practice locally as a Notary Public and Signing Agent, but also as a colleague to all those Notaries and Signing Agents nationwide!

Today’s post is dedicated to my Daughter, Lianna Nicole. Thank you so much for a wonderful 9 years,

Sonita M. LeakOwner of GreenvilleNotary.com

One trip to Greenville Memorial Hospital in Greenville, South Carolina some time ago did not go smoothly. Upon arrival, I learned that the signer I was about to see had a medical emergency and therein could not sign a simple document that would have set his beneficiary information for insurance straight. It happens quite a bit. We notaries are met with situations that are beyond our control. I learned shortly before midnight that the signer passed away.

The job of a notary can go from fairly simple to very complex in a matter of seconds. Many trips to hospitals, assisted-living facilities and hospices can be daunting on the psyche of a notary. One day you will see a patient in a facility who is in good spirits; and in a different setting the next day in Intensive Care. It comes with the territory.

Although most of my posts are ‘happy-go-lucky’, problems arise and things do go wrong in many signing situations, and they are not posted on this website as blogs; hence, why I post what I do post about signers being of sound mind, not incapacitated, held under duress, etc. Sharing information is caring.

One thing to consider in signing situations is the complexity of what’s really in front of you. If you pare people’s lives down to a piece of paper, there is a major disconnect. Yes, you’re just a notary public, but being a notary in a particular situation does not mean that you don’t have feelings and cannot empathize. People who deal with signing situations can get into the rut of ‘performing the job at hand and leaving’, but I must warn these professionals that in that 30 minutes to an hour of time you are before your signer or signers, unless you are a completely heartless human being, you will have some form of attachment to them and their situation.

Customer Service is key. I say that with capital letters because those two words are so very important. I’ve contributed to several articles regarding offering top-notch Customer Service. Knowledge is at one end of the Customer Service spectrum. Empathy is at the other end.

For more information (and this is for INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY), you can search through my posts by using the Search Bar in the top right sidebar of this site.

Comments? Questions? Leave them in the Comments section below.

In July of 2015, I completed GreenvilleNotary.com’s first ever Process Service and it felt, well, it, it, felt kinda gooood. 😉  No guns, no bumps, no bruises and no getting chased.  Walked right up to an alleged cheater’s door, knocked, handed the appropriate subject the paperwork and said, “You’ve been served.”  No expletives were blurted, no follow-up needed.  Knocked out our first, and as of this date, our last ‘Process Service’ assignment. DONE!

So this is how it all went down…

I walked up to the house and the gentleman I was to serve was sleeping. I arrived in a very Summery dress (no way did I look like I was going to serve him anything). I lightly tapped on the door, he was right there on the couch sleeping. It could not have been easier. He came to the door and he had no clue what hit him! I pulled the paperwork out of the bag on my shoulder from behind, handed the piece of paper to him and said “You are served!” Made me feel a little like Byron on “All Worked Up!”