No process server can guarantee a service will be completed and anyone who does make such a guarantee will soon be enlightened by the real world. However, there are at least two honest ways a server can guarantee his work.
The first is known as “No Service – No Fee.” Some very large companies make this type of guarantee and are able to stand by it over time. These companies are primarily located on the east coast in the New York and New Jersey areas. They usually set their fee schedule in such a way that their fee for completed services makes up for whatever losses they may suffer when they are unable to complete an assignment. Few process servers in Washington use this type of guarantee and no further time will be spent on it here.
The second is known as “Best Possible Attempt.” Under this arrangement the process server guarantees to make the best possible attempt to serve the documents within the parameters set out by the client. It recognizes the fact that not all service assignments can be successfully completed but that it is possible to make an attempt. Most process servers, or the company(ies) for which they work, offer this type of guarantee to their clients. It requires a high level of performance from the server but does not leave him empty handed if the service cannot be completed due to circumstances beyond his control.
A High Level of Performance
Professional servers require themselves to make every reasonable effort to accomplish service or to be able to supply their client with a detailed Declaration of Attempts describing their efforts to do so. Following is a description of many of the characteristics which make up a diligent effort to accomplish service.
Days of the Week
Service should be attempted on several different days of the week. In many circumstances it is especially useful to make one or more attempts on Saturday, Sunday, or both. It makes no sense to attempt a service on the same day of the week for 3 weeks in a row.
Hours of the Day
Good diligence requires that attempts be made at different times of the day. If you’ve made three attempts for three days in a row, all at 2 p.m., all that has been established is that the target is not there at 2 in the afternoon. Attempts should be made in the morning between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m., in the central part of the day between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m., and in the evening between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. Be warned that it is very easy to make several attempts on the same assignment within a very tight time frame (between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. for instance) before you realize you’ve done so. This is usually a problem resulting from an effort on the server’s part to create an efficient route by maximizing the number of assignments to be attempted while minimizing the amount of time it will take to do so. Professional servers are aware of this problem and make efforts to alleviate it by regularly reviewing their assignments and changing their routes.
Contacting Neighbors
Most neighbors, when approached in a friendly and non-threatening manner, will provide information about a service target. By contacting neighbors within the first three attempts, a great deal of time, mileage, and effort can be saved. For example, instead of making 5 attempts, at various times of the day and on different days of the week and becoming frustrated in not being able to find a service target at home, contact a neighbor and you might well learn the target is on vacation or has moved to a new address.
Exactly what is said to the neighbor about what you are doing should be carefully weighed. Some people will answer questions without giving it a second thought. Others will want to know who you are, what you are doing, etc etc. The former are easy because they simply answer your questions and feel good about being helpful. The latter can actually make your work harder through some sense that they are protecting the neighborhood. Which ever type you encounter it is generally wise to release as little information about yourself and your task as possible without being antagonistic.
Observe Your Surroundings
A lot can be learned by paying close attention to the service target’s home, property, and neighborhood. For instance, suppose you are approaching a single family residence. As you are driving down the street pay attention to the following:
- Is the target residence in any way unique when compared to the other homes in the neighborhood?
- Has the lawn been mowed recently?
- Are there vehicles parked on, or in front of, the residence?
- Are there items of personal property visible? These could be tools, lawn or patio furniture, play things, or just plain junk and garbage.
- How is the residence kept? Is it neat and tidy or is it messy and trashy?
- Is the garage door open or closed?
- Is there water running?
- If it has snowed recently are there tracks in the snow? The same question can be asked if it has been raining and the driveway or walkway is dirt or gravel instead of concrete.
- If it is raining is there a dry spot to indicate a vehicle may have left recently?
- Are there lights on inside the residence?
- Can any sounds be heard emanating from inside the dwelling?
The list goes on. It is difficult to say which piece of information is going to be important so it is therefore incumbent upon the process server to pay attention to as much as possible and to draw reasonable conclusions from the information at hand.
Peg the Door
Many professional servers will carry a box of tooth picks in their car. When no one answers the door a tooth pick can be inserted between the door and the door frame in such a way that it will fall out the next time the door is opened. This tells the server whether or not someone has passed through that door between two consecutive attempts.
Leave a Card
Leaving a card in the door with a note asking that someone call you lets you know someone might be there. If you’re close you can go there immediately. Some servers are adept at talking people into allowing themselves to be served.
Documentation
Proper diligence requires more than simply knocking on the door. It requires planning and forethought. It also requires proper documentation. This is one area in which many process servers fail at their jobs. They don’t take the time to properly document their efforts.
Therefore a server may have done an excellent job of performing the necessary diligence to support a client’s use of some type of alternative service but is unable to provide the needed details weeks or months after the work was performed. Without complete documentation made at the time the work was done the server leaves himself or herself with empty hands.
There is a lot of truth in the old saying “If it isn’t in the file it didn’t happen.”
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This is a rough diagram of a typical courtroom in the state of Washington. Courtrooms vary a great deal from city to city and county to county but they all have the same basic structure.
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