taxpayer asked me to CHECK her return

[dyne]

At 1 PM today, April 15, an elderly hypothetical woman who failed to come back to me this year called and left a message on my WIFE'S answering machine which said that she prepared her own tax returns this year and would like to come by for me to CHECK this return before she mails it. I had a man who came by every year for several years and asked me how to prepare various forms such as a schedule D, etc. He did not come back this year and I could not be happier! These people give us NO RESPECT and I do not want them as clients. From now on I have a new rule: I do NOT check returns already prepared and I do NOT help taxpayers complete in ANY tax return forms.

[Gretel]

Good for you, sounds like a golden rule. Sometimes it's hard to refrain from being helpful.

[Super Mom]

I had someone call me this morning and ask to check a return, I told them I do everything electronically and I would just complete the entire return in the computer if she wanted help. Hopefully, that's a nice way of saying "I can't work for free"

[Possi]

Check returns

I tell people that I check returns for free... in the off season!

A client from last year dropped hers off yesterday saying she has been struggling for a week to do this on her own but is so confused she decided THIS year, I should do it.

In other words, "I tried to not pay you a measly wage that I pay once a year for peace of mind and security and decided late in the game, that maybe, just maybe you are worth it after all. Here, I'll throw the dog a bone."

She is on extension with all the others who did the same thing.

[DaveO]

Yesterday a woman stops in wanting “help” on her return. She was carrying a big envelope stuffed full of all kinds of paper. I explained we were not taking appointments or starting returns but would be happy to prepare her an extension and meet with her next week. She ignored what I said and restated she needed help now. I repeated what I said and asked again if she would like an extension. She got in a huff and complained loudly about having to drive all the way out here if we weren’t going to help her. Guess she never heard of a telephone. She acted like I had just wasted 15 minutes of HER time.

[JohnH]

My answer is simliar to SuperMom's. I tell them my software does the checking and the skill is in knowing where to enter the info. So to check a return I have to do the same thing I do to prepare it, thus the fee will be the same as preparing it. That usually drives them off to someone else they can mooch off of. (or as Sir Winston would say, "someone off of which they can mooch")

[dyne]

JohnH: Thank you for putting it into words which I can use!

[Possi]

Change in Protocol!

I LIKE that, John! No more checking for free in my office! It's gonna be "load 'em or leave 'em!"

andthatsmyfinalanswer......

[geekgirldany]

When I first started out I had alot of the "will you check my return". Did it once... from then on I started saying "To check it I will have to prepare it and charge you for doing that". They take off or hang up after that. I sometimes add that Block will check.

[dyne]

Would you believe that elderly hypothetical lady called my wife at 9:50 PM tonight, April 15;
after I was asleep to ask NOW if I could prepare her tax returns. My wife had told me that the
old lady had prepared her returns herself but this turned out to be wrong. She wants me to
prepare her returns. One of my rules is that I do NOT prepare delinquent returns or returns
for those who have filed extensions. For years I did prepare such returns. She told me once
that she taught my next door neighbor who is a 76 year old retired female teacher.

[S T]

Your Up

Guess you are awake now!

Sandy

[Jiggers]

Phone calls at home

I always reply that I don't have the sufficient records at home to answer their questions.

I also tell them that they disturbed the wife's nap.

I had one show up at home on a Saturday morning while I was doing yard work and wanted information and help deciding if his wife should retire. He got mad when I wouldn't help and told him to come to the office on Monday with his wife. He didn't come back during tax season and he was a very long-time client. Didn't bother me, though.

I do not check returns for non-clients or ex-clients. I don't answer questions over the phone from them either.

[JohnH]

I don't get a lot of phone calls at home, but I consider even phone calls at the office to be a nuisance at times. I've found that migrating clients over to email helps immeasurably.

If someone calls & leaves a message, I'll try to get back to them the same day or the next day (unless it's truly urgent - I do make those sort of distinctions). However, if they send me an email I will respond instantly, even to the most mundane questions. Sometimes the response is the actual answer when it's a simple question. Other times the response is "I need to research that and I'll get back to you later."

In any event, my clients have come to know that they will get an answer or an acknowledgement almost immediately when it's an email. That gives them the satisfaction of knowing I'm at least thinking about their question. They also know that I'll respond in reasonable time to a phone call, but they have to wait until I can get to it. From the client's perspective, that's a powerful incentive to use email first.

For example, yesterday I got a 6-point email from a client who had just received their return. All were good questions and deserved thoughtful answers. I replied with answers to all but one of the questions and a promise to look up the other answer today, but that they should go ahead and mail the return as is. Here's the point -> I typed the reply while I was printing out an extension and some other notes on another return (thank God for dual monitors). No distracting phone call, but a happy client nevertheless.

Email can be a powerful time saver and an excellent means of client service with very little intrusion into your normal routine. I even respond to weekend or nighttime emails when it's convenient for me. Nobody has an expectation that their off-hours emails will be answered, but it sure does impress many of them when they get a fast reply to a Saturday or Sunday afternoon question. So getting them to think "email" first can free you up for more productive uses of your time and keep that darn phone from ringing inthe first place.

[BHoffman]

I love email and encourage my clients to use it. I can print it and keep it in the file. Can't do that with phone calls.

[dyne]

I gave in to that 90 year old sweet hypothetical lady and called her at 9AM this morning and scheduled an appointment with her at 11 AM. She appeared late and did NOT have her SSA-1099 OR her interest income statements of about $4,000 so she had to go the SSA and the bank to try to find out these figures. I told her to CALL me when she obtains this needed information.