Rondout Legal Services

I’ve Kissed A lot of Frogs

By: Kim Letus

As process servers go, I have definitely kissed a lot of frogs. Only problem is, hardly any of them have turned into a prince!

When you operate a process serving agency, there will, of course, be times when you need to foster relationships with new process servers.  It can be difficult to find experienced servers.  Even when you do, many of them have developed bad habits or have a lackadaisical mindset that just doesn’t work for me.

A good process server is a rare breed.

I’m often contacted by individuals who have had either very limited exposure to process serving work or none at all, but having watched Pineapple Express or served two subpoenas per month for a local attorney, are convinced it would be the perfect job for them. They initially have very little idea of the actuality of process serving, and go into it with wide-eyed enthusiasm. More often than not, I find myself having to correct the notion that the best way to serve a paper is to dress like a pizza delivery person and put the paper in a pizza box. I have, on occasion, and lacking better options, decided to give several of the more promising of these prospects a shot. Most of the time they end up running screaming from the building after getting a taste of the reality of process serving (or occasionally after only riding around with a server observing actual process serving), burning rubber as they pull away from the curb in a profuse sweat and breathing a sigh of relief a block down the street.

But every so often, one clicks. The truth of the matter is that a good process server has to be willing to do what it takes to get the job done.

For a good process server this includes:

1. Fitting the odd schedule required of a process server into your life. Early mornings, late evenings and Saturdays are the norm, not the exception, not to mention changing your plans to accommodate a rush service.
2. Dealing with all types of people, including ones that are verbally abusive, and remaining calm, impartial and rational, even when those you’re interacting with are being anything but. This includes standing your ground and reasoning with folks who aren’t inclined to be particularly reasonable under the circum­stances. Eliciting enough co­opera­tion to serve or close out the paper will save a server a dreaded trip back to a problem address and further interaction with difficult persons there.
3. Traveling large distances to outlying areas only to find unnumbered addresses or addresses numbered out of sequence, or nobody at home after traveling 40 minutes straight up a mountain for a single paper. Part-time residences are in abundance in the counties I service, and most of those homes are in very rural areas, so this is a regular problem. Believe it or not, this is the primary complaint lodged by new servers in our rural area.  I have actually found servers with extensive experience in urban process serving who have not lasted serving in this area, citing the excessive travel.
4. Ability to drive in the snow and dark, often on unlit, winding, rural back roads.
5. Following instructions as to statutory requirements and service requirements.
6. Making good notes, paying attention to detail and adhering to time frames.
7. And, of late, being tech savvy and able to comply with clients’ technical requirements, such as GPS tracking and mobile apps. Of course, the technical aspect of the job is becoming more and more prevalent.

All of this makes me eternally grateful for the servers I’ve found that have stuck. Thank you, my princes. You know who you are. You are so appreciated.

And none of you remotely resembles a frog!