He asked our prices (which are lower than most legitimate Process Serving Companies) and gasped…… “Why should I hire you when the Sheriff’s cost less?!”
He didn’t give me time to respond before he hung up. If I’d had the chance I would have explained to him that the Sherriff Department is good if the person or entity you are trying to serve is always there at the address, does not mind being served and you have plenty of time to get them served.Firstly, the Sheriff’s Department no longer uses Deputies to serve process. They are all unarmed civilians. I’ve seen many cases where papers did not get served because the gate was locked, no one answered the intercom or had a dog in the yard. I've even seen cases where the Sheriffs would not serve a Private Mailbox..... Which can be done legally.
As a service for the Courts, The Sheriff’s Department is required by law to provide for the service of process for the public. This service is provided at cost. So the level of service you get is also minimal. After dropping off your process, a clerk types it up and sends it by messenger to the proper civil office to be served. It is then sorted by area to be served. It is then divided up into smaller areas where it stacks up until there are enough papers for that area to justify a run. If it’s a Home Address, the Sheriffs will make two hits in the morning before 8:00 AM. If no one answers……. Your papers go into a stack that waits for enough papers to justify an evening run.
I know this because my partner and I worked for the Sheriff’s Department for over 28 years. When we weren’t working in the field serving papers, doing eviction or levies…. We were working in the civil office or in the courts. When working in the field as Sheriffs, we were very limited in how much effort we were allowed to put into a case. We had quotas and logs to prevent us from investigating or making extra hits.
Private ProcessServers have their reasons to do a better job.
1. Profit Incentive. Private Process Servers have a profit incentive. We know if we do a good job we’ll get more business and make more profit.
2. Reputation. Maybe it comes from years in Law Enforcement but we hate it when the bad guy gets away.
3. Better service. We know you have other choices.
4. Investigation. If the person or entity you are after has moved, we will knock on doors, ask neighbors, and talk to the manager or building management to see if they have any info. We can do forwarding address checks and computer searches for your target. The Sheriffs won’t do that.
5. Stake Outs. We don’t work in a uniform (which causes many people to not open the door), but if we find someone who just won’t open the door for anyone, we can arrange a Stake Out. We try to catch them coming or going at the proper times so as not to spend excess time and resources.
6. Thoroughness. We take pride in getting it right. We often catch papers that are missing pages or forms. We can’t give legal advice but we can let you know when we think there may be a problem.
7. Attempts. We tell Clients we’ll make four or five attempts, however, if we think we’ve just been coming at the wrong time…….. We’ll keep trying.
8. Ultra Rush. We know it’s important for your papers to get served quickly. With our Standard service, we’ll make the first attempt within 72 hours. Rush Service within 48 hours. And Ultra Rush…. The same day (or next day if received in the evening).
9. E-mail. You can e-mail or fax your documents to us and pay with a credit card. You can’t do that with the Sheriffs.
At AMBUSH PROCESSSERVICE we think it is important to build trust with our clients and attorneys. We have worked hard to build this business and to serve professionally and successfully. Our name rides on each Document we serve.
