Caller (not a client, just a wannabe walk-in) calls to ask about getting some forms notarized. He needs them TODAY. I took the call and Bossman and CW are coaching me from the sidelines: How many documents? Do you have the originals? And most importantly, ARE THEY IN ENGLISH? No lawyer can notarize a document written in Polish or Mandarin or Kurdish unless somebody in the office is fluent in Polish or Mandarin or Kurdish. If you give me a week or so, I can translate a German document. If you give me a month, I can (probably) translate a Russian one. Other than that ... English only, please!
Caller says three documents, all originals, all in English.
Good. C'mon in when you have a minute.
They show up shortly. Yes, "they." There are two guys. Caller has FIVE documents, and Other Guy has three. That's EIGHT documents in total.
*sigh*
Bossman went down to deal with them; took the five documents (at a slightly higher price than had been originally quoted) and we did the notarization on them. Second guy decided, for reasons of his own, not to get his stuff notarized. One of his documents was, I think, a photocopy; he said that's what his home country had sent him and we had to say some variant on "Sorry but that's not our problem. You'll have to sort it out with your home country."
They were pretty okay with it all, no arm-waving or eyeball-rolling or righteous indignation. But seriously, people ... don't tell us one thing on the phone and then show up with something different.
Caller says three documents, all originals, all in English.
Good. C'mon in when you have a minute.
They show up shortly. Yes, "they." There are two guys. Caller has FIVE documents, and Other Guy has three. That's EIGHT documents in total.
*sigh*
Bossman went down to deal with them; took the five documents (at a slightly higher price than had been originally quoted) and we did the notarization on them. Second guy decided, for reasons of his own, not to get his stuff notarized. One of his documents was, I think, a photocopy; he said that's what his home country had sent him and we had to say some variant on "Sorry but that's not our problem. You'll have to sort it out with your home country."
They were pretty okay with it all, no arm-waving or eyeball-rolling or righteous indignation. But seriously, people ... don't tell us one thing on the phone and then show up with something different.
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