Phone Numbers

[erchess]

I got a call from a client asking that I return the call but according to the recording I get when I call the number it has been changed or disconnected or is no longer in service. As the message the client left me mentions, he is the son of another client. He didn't mention that he is their grown son or that they know he is my client but both are true. He also did not specifically give me permission to ask his parents to help me reach him. May I do so anyway? Naturally I won't reveal anything to them about why I am trying to reach him but they will know that my only connection to him is as his tax professional.

[DTS]

Call

I think the phone co. can do a search for you to see what # the call came from. Having said that, if this guy can't give you his correct #, why bother?

[erchess]

Caller ID

My voicemail captures the phone number from which someone calls and it was the number he gave me. He called me on Friday after I was through working and I didn't retrieve the message until Sunday. At some point in between he lost service to that number.

The reason I care is that he is an existing client and I feel an obligation to do all I can to contact him. There is also the little matter that he or his parents will pay me for helping him out.

[David1980]

It's possible his phone will get paid up & start working again. I know people on prepaid plans often fail to notice when they run out of money. You could also try sending him a letter - assuming you're in the same area it's probably next day delivery to him.

[DTS]

Payment

Yes, good idea to have parents pay his bill. I did not think of the phone bill not being paid.

[erchess]

Letter

He has moved and I don't have his new address even though he moved long enough ago that forwarding has expired. Good idea otherwise though.

[kaimana]

I ask my clients for their cel phone number and an email address.

[erchess]

TY for all the ideas

He finally called me back and this time I used the number captured by my voicemail to call him back. It was different from the numbers he gave me on this call. He said he doesn't know his number but he thinks it is this, that, or the other but it isn't any of them. He didn't even have the prefix right. I must have been mistaken on his earlier call when I thought the one number he gave me was the number my voicemail captured.

Even though it's moot now I am still confused. If I know for sure that clients A and B are family and that each knows the other is a client can I call A and ask for B's contact info or ask A to relay to B a message to call me? I think this is only the second time in my career that I have known that two clients were related to each other. Of course I have always been in heavily populated places where fewer than half of the residents were born there. I know some of you serve only a handful of extended families because that's all that live close enough to you to use your services.

I am by the way fishing for a "by the book"" answer including possible penalties and also an answer to the question whether there is any way I would get in trouble for it as long as I didn't offend either client which in this case I would bet my life and the lives of everyone I love that they wouldn't.

[newbie]

I got a call from a client asking that I return the call but according to the recording I get when I call the number it has been changed or disconnected or is no longer in service. As the message the client left me mentions, he is the son of another client. He didn't mention that he is their grown son or that they know he is my client but both are true. He also did not specifically give me permission to ask his parents to help me reach him. May I do so anyway? Naturally I won't reveal anything to them about why I am trying to reach him but they will know that my only connection to him is as his tax professional.

I ask my clients for their cel phone number and an email address.

She probably asks the same information of her clients but this isn't her client.

I would not call the parents, like DTS said if this guy can't give you his correct #, why bother? Once had an client that was disabled and he needed to get info to me, I mentioned that I call his Dad to pick up the info to which he said NO, I don't want my Dad to know anything about this!

[Jiggers]

Can't remember????????????

He finally called me back and this time I used the number captured by my voicemail to call him back. It was different from the numbers he gave me on this call. He said he doesn't know his number but he thinks it is this, that, or the other but it isn't any of them. He didn't even have the prefix right. I must have been mistaken on his earlier call when I thought the one number he gave me was the number my voicemail captured.

Clients that don't know their phone number, or act confused about it, probably can't get their tax information correct either.

I would be cautious of this one!

[taxxcpa]

Phone number

When someone calls me, they speak slowly and distinctly until they leave their telephone number which they rattle off like an auctioneer--totally incomprehensible.

I will replay it several times and try to determine what it is, occasionally succeeding.

[Jesse]

If I know for sure that clients A and B are family and that each knows the other is a client can I call A and ask for B's contact info or ask A to relay to B a message to call me?

I am by the way fishing for a "by the book"" answer including possible penalties and also an answer to the question whether there is any way I would get in trouble for it as long as I didn't offend either client which in this case I would bet my life and the lives of everyone I love that they wouldn't.

Not a "by the book" answer, but if a poll were conducted, personally, I would not call A or ask A to relay a message to call you.

When someone calls me, they speak slowly and distinctly until they leave their telephone number which they rattle off like an auctioneer--totally incomprehensible.

I will replay it several times and try to determine what it is, occasionally succeeding.

How true, my pet peeve is the need to listen to a long winded message several times just to get the phone number! That is why whenever I call someone I first say my name and phone number and again my phone number very last.

[Nashville]

One Contact Number

There is ONE CONTACT NUMBER to reach me. Period. Often my wife will have to take the call but she will track me down.

Some customers try to call me at the phone number of another client. If this happens I may not get the message for a month. Maybe never.

To an ever-increasing degree, all the enhancements of modern communication is serving to strangle the communication, rather than help.

This guy doesn't even know his own phone number? Entirely possible. I keep a cell phone in the car, and I don't even know the number because I never call it. Guy called my wife and asked me to call him back. When she asked for a return number, he replied "No problem. He has my calling card."

I do have his card. There are three land-line phone numbers, two cell phone numbers and three e-mail addresses. Took me DAYS to track him down. Of course, I left a message on all his voice mails. Another modern device to enhance communication, but has turned into an endless swamp of obligations to return calls to people so your company can lay off their receptionist.

E-mail? One lady made an appointment by e-mail instead of calling. Took us eight days of e-mailing back and forth to discuss various times convenient for both of us. When doing tax work, imagine sitting down at the computer to beat the March 15th deadline for three corporations -- then the first thing that hits you are two dozen e-mail messages that you have to answer. Clients even use e-mail to ask complex tax questions.

These modern gidgets and gadgets are great, and they DO serve a purpose. E-mail, for example, is great for communicating information and sending attachments with valuable data. However, the basic purpose of communications is to talk with, or otherwise engage a second party. Communications should not just be a morass of hurdles or confusion.

[JohnH]

I'll have to agree with you and disagree with you on some points. It is true that some people overload themselves with multiple phone numbers & email addresses and it becomes harder to get in touch with them. I think in many cases they want to look so busy that they get overwhelmed and can't keep up with their own technology.

Yes, email can become cumbersome if the client doesn't know how to use it efficiently. But in my experience, those clients who are inefficient email users are even worse at one-on-one communication, so at least you have a written record of exactly what you told them in response to the information they provided (or failed to provide). Email also gives both parties the opportunity to reflect on the subject at hand before responding, so I think it enhances communication for the most part. There are exceptions, but I'll choose email over phone conversation 90% of the time, and the more complex the situation the more useful it becomes.

I'm like you in that I tell people to call me at one number if they want to be sure and reach me - my office phone. If I'm not there, they need to be sure and leave a message. My local phone company has a feature which I love - it calls my cell phone whenever a message is left on my office voice mail. I think that is a feature all voice mail systems should offer. If I take the call, it will immediately begin playing the message without my even having to say anything (useful when you're somewhere that you can't talk but are free to listen). If I don't take the call it will just store the message until I call in to check messages.

I carry a blackberry, have a separate cell phone in my car, plus a "back door" line in my office, and a home phone number. So they may see any of several numbers on their incoming caller ID if I call them. They are welcome to take a chance and try a call back, but if I don't answer and they really want to leave a message, the office phone is the way to go - it will track me down in short order if they will just simply leave a message.

You make a valid point about telling clients how to reach you. Regardless of how they may choose to organize themselves, it's important that they know exactly how to reach you, and that it remain simple.

[taxxcpa]

E-mail

If someone asks me a question about something I haven't checked on recently, I would much rather that they e-mail me rather than call and ask me to answer off the top of my head.
By writing, it gives me time to think. Also when I answer I can spell out the details so that they don't miss anything like they could if I give them a long-winded answer on the phone.