PS 101 – Chapter 2 – Article 4 – Confession of a Bad Process Server

The following is reprinted here with the kind permission of the author, John Perez. Mr. Perez is one of the most experienced process servers in the nation. He has twice been president of the National Association of Professional Process Servers. Mr. Perez received the prestigious 2011 Donald C McDonald Award from the National Association of Professional Process Servers.

Confessions of a Bad Service Provider By John Perez

As professional process servers, we all pride ourselves in providing the best service possible. We all claim to provide services better than the next guy, at more “reasonable” rates, whatever your definition of reasonable is. We all claim we can do this, we can do that, blah, blah, blah, better than our competitors. In most cases that is true. Sadly, however, no matter how much one tries to deliver quality service, there are times when it just doesn’t happen. This usually occurs when the service is out of a process server’s immediate control; when you are relying on someone else to do the work. I must confess, despite our best efforts, and best intentions, on occasion our company has been one of those “bad service providers”.

Geographically, in New Jersey we are situated in a small state. It is feasible to travel from one end of the state to the other, and back again, from High Point to Cape May, in a single day. Do we normally do this? No, but there have been occasions that we have had to, and we have done it in order to get an assignment completed, no matter what the cost, or loss of revenue.

Like most companies in New Jersey, we advertise that we cover the entire state. Our process servers are mostly in-house, commissioned employees; not independent contractors. However, there are areas of the state where we use independent contractors, some who started out as employees and have now established their own businesses. In the transition from employee to business owner, we encouraged the change. Some may say that we created new competition. We say, we strengthen our ability to delivery quality services by having a person we grew to know and trust remain in business deriving revenue, not only from us, but also from other sources as well.

In other situations, we have been introduced to quality process servers through our competitors, some of whom we share. Conversely, we often recommend independent process servers to others knowing that the services they provide will not embarrass us, nor the company that will use them. We also exchange work with our competitors.

The relationships we have established with our in-house employees, independent contractors and competitors grew out of personal contact, experience, trust and a confidence that they know what they are doing. Most, if not all, are members of the New Jersey Professional Process Servers Association, including most of our employees. Most, if not all, have attended the NJPPSA seminars. Many are members of NAPPS and other professional associations.

I will not recite our bad service experiences because to do so will seem like I am trying to put the blame on someone else. The bottom line is that once we accepted a paper to serve, it was our responsibility, not someone else’s, to see that it was timely and correctly completed. One cannot shed that responsibility. We can, however, try to learn from our experiences and guard against them in the future.

Here is what we have learned from our bad service experiences. I call these our 10 in-house standards.

1. Never accept an assignment that you cannot do yourself, or turn over to a trusted, experienced process server. Yes, that means turning away the work, or referring it to someone else.
    
2. Once you accept a paper, it is your responsibility to see that it is timely and correctly completed, no matter what the cost, even if it exceeds your estimate to the client. Your reputation is on the line. A few extra dollars you may have to spend is a lot cheaper than the loss of your reputation, or your client.
    
3. Charge rea$onable rate$ so that there is enough in the fee that will enable you to find a quality process server, not necessarily the cheapest one. Quality comes at a price. Leave enough room for you and the other person.
    
4. Be knowledgeable about the rules pertaining to service of process so that you may impart correct information to the person who will be serving the process, whether it is an employee or an independent contractor.
    
5. Provide concise, clear instructions to the process server. Using the NAPPS Request for Service form helps you do that.
    
6. Intervene quickly when you see that an assignment is not being handled the way you want it to, even if this means giving the assignment to someone else at a cost to you. Most of the complaints I hear about bad service is that a person continued to seek results from a person who had already demonstrated poor service or lack of response. Circumvent the poor service provider, get someone else to do it, and accomplish your client’s mission.
    
7. Inform your client promptly when you encounter difficulties with a particular service. Be candid about the problem, explain what you are doing to correct it, do it.
    
8. Attend professional meetings so that you may meet other process servers face to face and get to know them. I have found that it is very difficult to treat unfairly, or be treated unfairly by someone you have met, broke bread with, and have established a relationship.
    
9. File grievance complaints. If you and the bad service provider are members of a professional association, and you feel that you have a grievance, file it. The industry will best be served by dealing with bad service providers and dead beats quickly.
    
10. Let others know about your bad service experience. This not to say that you should disparage, defame or slander another process server but, if there is a bad apple out there, share the information.