I was going to title this review "eating my own dog food, and loving it", but I wasn't sure anyone would get it. If you haven't noticed, I'm one of the wild-eyed lunatics responsible for Judy's... More

I was going to title this review "eating my own dog food, and loving it", but I wasn't sure anyone would get it. If you haven't noticed, I'm one of the wild-eyed lunatics responsible for Judy's Book, so I always get excited when the idea works the way I think it should. Case in point: my wife and I are in the middle of a real estate transaction, and one of the issues we've been working to resolve is the resubmission of a septic easement that was misfiled by the previous owners (thrilling stuff, I know). Anyway, turns out that this filing requires my signature to be witnessed by a notary. This is not something I need every day, and I don't really know where to start looking. My answer -- and what I mean by "eating my own dog food" -- is to rely on Judy's Book. Getting help from my local community (and offering help in return) is what Judy's Book is all about. And getting a recommendation for an out-of-the-ordinary need -- like finding a notary -- is a great test of how well Judy's Book works. So I posted a question two days ago on the Seattle site, asking for referrals for a notary in North Seattle. And nothing happens. I wait a day, then a day and a half, and I'm starting to be a little disappointed. And then, out of the blue, from a new member I've never heard of who isn't a friend of anyone I know, I get this very specific recommendation for Notary One. Turns out the guy who recommended them went to college with the founder, and they're a new notary service that makes house calls. So far so good, right? But what if Notary One turns out not to be that great. So I send an email to Scott Krager, the president and founder, asking him how his service works. Minutes later I get a reply, and (a) Scott's as nice as he could be, (b) a big part of his service is that he comes to you (and not the other way around), and (c) he's available TODAY and will meet me in a couple of hours. Now I'm really getting excited, because this is EXACTLY how I want Judy's Book to work for everyone. And to top it all off, Scott shows up precisely on time, he notarizes my document, and he tells me about his business - which is a startup itself, and a great idea. So not only do I get my business done, I meet a really interesting person who I never would have met if it hadn't been for Judy's Book. So anyway, sorry for the long rant, but I just love it when this idea works - and it's starting to work. And if you need a great notary who comes to you, call Scott - he's a super-nice guy and he'll do a great job.
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