Today we left work early to run some errands in Jonesboro. We had to stop by the courthouse to get some things signed, and to do this Michelle brought a lot of required documents (you know, passport, drivers license, pay stubs, checks, etc). We joked that even with all of this, they'd still find a way to say "sorry, you need more". Government clerks love paper; or, if they don't, they have this firm belief that their boss, whom they've never seen, eats it for breakfast and so they hoard it, dreaming of raises.
Sure enough, they wanted more paper. And we needed it quick, because, you know, these people go home promptly at 5pm.
We rushed home to find some bills that were one year old so that they could verify our address. It's a miracle we had them, honestly. An hour later and we were almost done.
They sent us on our way in search of a notary. We ran to Bank of America and pulled in at 4:20. They were closed. They were there but they were tired, done for the day. One guy sounded pretty pissed and I echoed his sentiments. He had left work early, and would need to do so again.
We ran to Washington Mutual, a few miles away. They keep decent hours, and in turn we keep a decent amount of money there. (I'm reducing my Bank of America account to $1 as soon as possible). WaMu didn't have a notary and sent us to Publix, next door. Their notary was on vacation and they sent us to the FedEx store. That worked, finally.
I had a very similar experience getting my drivers license as well as my vehicle registration (in that case my check had my name and my wife's, so it wasn't good to them).
If it were possible to have someone do this for us, it'd be a great business; someone to act as a buffer for poor customer service.