Where and when did it all go wrong?

The longer I stay in this business the more I see things that just don't sit right with me. For example, I for the life of me don't understand why we as notaries don't demand more from the companies that use our services. Doesn't it strike anyone other than me odd that when we work with various companies they demand a copy of our commission, E and O insurance (usually with very high limit), copies of insurance and drivers license and anything else they can dream up, but they in turn DON't supply ANY information about who they are (well, except for their contracts about don't do this and don't do that). Is this because we don't ask and/or demand this information? And why don't we ask? Are we afraid? After all, WE are providing a service, WE use our time, cars/gas, paper/printer, ink, supplies, etc, and then extending credit to them. We jump through all of these hoops without ever really knowing if we are going to get paid. Unfortunately for us, we work on a wing and a prayer. As I often say, we don't know any of these companies from a can of paint. Sure, as a last hope, we can go to 123notary.com and other sites (which I recommend highly due to no other options) and search the forums to see what other notaries experiences may have been but that is really not the efficient way of doing it and that does not guarantee payment. When and how did this become an acceptable standard that we jump through hoops to work with folks that take our jobs, dictate our fee and to add further insult NEVER are required to prove their credit worthiness?!? I mean anyone running a service orientated business (like we do) would typically ask a potential client to supply them with payment either in advance or immediately after the services were rendered. If they needed to establish credit with the company an application for credit would be in order and perhaps a profit and loss statement as well as their credit report. This would show whether they are credit worthy and have the means to pay. And if they didn't pay us after an agreed amount of time we would have the necessary information to help in collecting the debt. This is just the way a business should be run. Unfortunately for us it is just the opposite and it is time for us to do something about it. We need to change the way we do business. If we don't pay more attention to who we work for and how we handle our payments from them they are going to be more instances where we won't be paid. Just something to think about! Until the next time....be safe! ~Carmen