Clients We Love To Hate

[Black Bart]

Instead of worrying about spots, Shakespeare should have said "Out, ****ed client!"

I thought it might be interesting for us to list our most annoying clients and our pet peeves about them.

This thread was inspired by a witty comment my doctor made some years ago about an unpleasant mutual client whom we both quite thoroughly despised. He said "I would simply love to refer Mr. X to Dr. Kevorkian."

[Black Bart]

The sick client

Guy showed up yesterday, tells me almost everybody in the family is in bed with some kind of virus and that he (cough-cough) probably will be too, but first he wants to get his income tax off his mind. And yeah, the doc told him it's contagious, so he's going to stay in for a few days just as soon as he (hack-hack -- no handkerchief -- breathes/coughs in my direction) gets these taxes filed (certainly doesn't want to take a chance on giving it to anyone).

[myerstaxes]

I just fire them

I had enough of impossible employees during the last 19 years of my IRS career in management...So I do not have the patience or tolerance for impossible clients...I tell them we are not a good fit (in so many words or less) and fire them...My more recent firing of a client was a lady who climbed all over my desk when she came in to review her completed return...I mean literally, then she wanted to stiff me for my fees, saying she thought that they were another figure...Mind you I had to do two states, moving expense, rental property set up etc for her...Anyway, she finally paid my fees...A year later she called me to say that IRS was sending her notices for some stock she sold that "I" did not include on her return...Well, she was asked all the questions, given an organizer that addressed stock sales etc...So I told her we needed to get the basis, and send in the info to IRS...Mind you during the entire conversation she was screaming at me, that I had made the mistake...That she had given me the data...I responded to the IRS, she owed a lesser amount...and after that she asked me to file an extension for her, as she could not get her stuff together for the 2006 filings...I told her I would mail her an extension, and for her to go elsewhere...No body, I mean NO BODY gets to scream and holler at me!...She tried to apologize, but I suspect that it would happen again...So in the famous words of you know who..."YOU ARE FIRED"!!!

[geekgirldany]

For various reasons I do not get into the office until 12 to 1 pm. I work until 10pm. I've found it works well for those that need to come in late after their job. I tell customers my hours every year. I get the following:

"are you part time. you only come in the afternoon"
"do you work another job in the morning"
"why are you not in the office during the morning"
"I called at 9am and you were not in"
"boy you have it good. you have banker's hours"
"you work whenever you want to that must be nice"

Also I get people who call and fill up my answering machine with hang ups. I had one person call today every 30 minutes from 9am until 2pm. Had another say "are you going to call me back or what". That is because I did not call him back the day before.

Another good one is when I have a new customer walk in wanting a estimate of what refund they may get. I stopped that long ago after they would just walk out when they didn't like what they heard.

Sick people coming in. They know they are sick but insist in walking around spreading their GERMS. I sometimes think I need to pull a Michael Jackson and wear a surgical mask around. Use pilers to pickup their papers.