Different faces of the IRS

[equinecpa]

I had to call the practitioners priority line at the IRS for two different reasons yesterday and boy did I deal with two different faces of the IRS.

The first individual worked within the corporate division and could not have been more pleasant, wishing me a wonderful weekend after he had resolved my problem etc. He then had to transfer me to the personal division.

It was about 4:45 when he transferred me and they picked up at about 4:58...I thought to myself I hope this agent doesn't want to leave at 5:00-evidently she did. I had to fax in my 2848 so I waited while she came back. She gets on the phone and said I had better read the rules for completing a form 2848. I was totally taken aback. I said pardon me Maam..but I have completed lots of these in the past, what is the problem. She said she couldn't tell me but had to refer it to some insufficient 2848 division. And then asked me if there was anything else she could help me with? I was dumbfounded and said no...and went to look at the 2848. I checked everything it looked OK, until I got to the 2nd page - I had forgotten to SIGN it....the witch could have told me that and let me refax but NOOOOO she wanted to go home. I should have got her badge # so I could complain about her rudeness.

Ah well...one good one bad, 50% success I think that's pretty good when dealing with the IRS lol.. we'll see how my luck runs on Monday when I send in the signed 2848.

[JohnH]

I find that about 90% of my calls to IRS are conducted with pleasant, professional people. The other 10% are the ones who give the agency a bad name with taxpayers and practitioners. These types are usually easy to spot in the first couple of sentences, so when I think I have one of the 10% on the line, I find some reason to end the conversation. Usually I'll apologize and say I just realize I don't have some document key to the discussion and that I'll need to locate it and call back. I figure that my odds of getting a more pleasant person next time are pretty good.

In your case, it sounds as though you flushed out the character of the person in the first 30 seconds. You're probably fortunate that you hadn't signed the POA. If it had been in order, things would have probably gotten much worse as the conversation continued.

[equinecpa]

You know John....what you say is very true. I think I'll do what you do in future...and find a reason for ending the phone call...I just hate to hang up after waiting on hold for 30 minutes...but I'm sure that hanging up would have no doubt been the best thing to do with this women...I know she wouldn't have tried to resolve my problem.

[WhiteOleander]

I had a similar experience the last week of the season. I have a client who is a sweet little lady that is 95 y.o. and very hard of hearing. She couldn't remember how much she had sent for ES payments or when she sent them. So, since it is hard for her to get to the office, etc., I decided to call the IRS to get the info rather than send her home to get her records.

The first agent at the IRS was very harsh. She had no patience with my client trying to answer the questions to ID her over the phone. But, I could hear my clients answers and she was answering correctly. My client handed the phone to me and the agent said she couldn't answer the questions. I asked her what she needed to repond to. The agent said she couldn't tell me because I would tell my client what to say. Agent told me my only option was to get a POA and call back.

Well, I thought, this ain't my first time at this rodeo. I called back and got a different agent. He was very kind and was able to get all the questions answered (again). When I got on the phone with him after the ID process, he laughed and said "We made it through. How can I help you?"

I understand that they need to follow their procedures to insure the privacy. But, I don't understand the payoff of frustrating a 95 y.o. that only wants to know what she paid in.

[JohnH]

And to be fair, the person who was acting very harsh may have simply been having a bad day. Maybe the last taxpayer they spoke with was insulting & rude and they were still smarting from that last interaction. There are some people out there who just know how to push other people's buttons.

On the other hand, maybe the person is a first-class jerk with a huge inferiority compex, enjoying that little bit of power they are exercising over others. Maybe that's the only enjoyment they have in life.

In any case, it's best to get away from them as gracefully as possible and move on to the true professionals. After all, this isn't about emotion or anyone's self esteem, it's about getting the job done with the least amount of hassle for everyone.

[BHoffman]

Same as JohnH, I find a polite way to end the call if there is someone nasty or confused on the other end. Hardly ever get that when calling the Tax Practioner hotline. The corporate people there are especially good. For some reason, calling later in the day also seems to make a good difference.

[Gretel]

It sure makes life easier not to insist on getting a problem resolved right then and there. It's a good policy to insist on speaking with helpful people and also to insist on being friendly. No need to yell at anyone even though sometimes hard to follow through. Better hanging up and calling back.

Yesterday I had an unpleasant experience with QB support. Normally I call the line for the ProAdvisor, which I am a member of since years. They all were in a meeting, so I had the choice to hang up and wait until Monday or to talk to the regular crew. Since it was a simple question I decided to be connected to support.

1. It took 20 Min. for someone to pick up.
2. Besides regular identification, she also wanted to know my license no. which I refused to give, since I thought this to be ridiculous.
3. After she spend 10 min. checking out my ProAdvisor account she told me that I don't have a valid subscription, which is not true.

At this point I finally stopped trying to go through the wall with my head and told her (I wished I would have done this more friendly - after all she is only doing her job) I would call back on Monday.

I should have accepted the first NO and wait until Monday instead of getting upset and making her upset.

[ChEAr$]

Very rarely have I ever had an unpleasant experience with IRS personnel. Only two maybe in 35 years. The first was a female revenue agent who demanded I give her a copy of taxpayer's prior year tax return which i didn't think I had the authority to furnish.
The other was with a female staffer at Holtsville, NY service center who had absolutely no sense of humor and thought I was 'funning her." She became downright hostile after that.

When the practioners' hotline was first instituted and was more locally based (district level) the three ladies we had in Birmingham went out of their way to help. So once at our state seminar I invited them to our meeting for luncheon. Of course only two could come since one had to remain on duty. A good time was had by all and they were glad to meet a bunch of EA's with whom they had spoken in the past.

Now I know that the IRS used to have a good/bad list of preparers long time ago, and that they are supposed to have ceased this practice, but sometimes I kinda wonder if they really did.

[geekgirldany]

Maybe I was getting local people too when I first started having to call because it really seems to have changed over the past 3 years I would say. I have had a few times where the person at Tax Prac would not help and just had to hang up and call again.

I'll have to say though they are not as bad as calling the atlanta office regarding state matters. One hour wait to get transferred to someone else for another one hour wait. I finally started calling the Athens office. Limited staff lately because the job cuts but I can usually get someone very good to talk to.

[taxea]

In all the years I have had to deal with the IRS I have come across only one person with the "wrong attitude". I kept her name and ID in case I ever encounter her again. When I do I intend to let her know I have no desire to work with her and will call back. I think we should report the rude ones...they truly are few and far between but they certainly are in need of an attitude adjustment.

[thomtax]

Cannot understand

Usually, I have good results. But, last week I got one that spoke english so poorly that I could not understand half of what she said. I thought I had gotten a center in India. I had to hang up and call back to get someone that spoke a language I could understand.

LT

[geekgirldany]

I got one that had a french accent. I have a good friend in Montreal that speaks french and english so I am use to the accent. Just had more trouble understanding him.