Where do I begin? You don't actually get to meet with your accountant. You pass your paperwork through a window to a very harried secretary who's borderline rude. He tells you to bring $295.00 when you return. (Yikes...) I try to add that my last years' return was filed married jointly and "Nope nope nope nope nope, nope. I don't care. Nope."
Felt really weird and I wish I'd followed my gut.
When I returned days later, I was floored because the return was substantially less than I'd expected. I quietly asked if there might be some information I'd neglected to provide, and that there might be something I hadn't considered, etc. Window-man flips thru the paperwork and pronounces everything in order, and since I've obviously made some huge error somewhere I feel the tears come; I ask when or if I'd be sitting down with or meeting the accountant at any point. "Nope." All of a sudden one of the accountants came charging down the hallway toward us, snatches the paperwork from window guy and barks "What's the PROBLEM HERE?!" I try to explain that "in a similar past-return I" and was cut off. This man was incensed and yelling he didn't care about my past experience, did I think I was special? He yelled "I pay taxes, HE pays taxes, you think you don't pay taxes? You must be SPECIAL! If you don't want this, go NOW!" etc. I asked "Sir, why are you yelling?" (I'd been quiet, respectful and only expressed confusion and hurt.) He was actually half-bent at the waist and screamed " I. AM. NOT. YELLING!" I asked, could I just, for my $300, sit down with you for a minute so you can explain it to me?
He said that would be $200 an hour extra. I was so, so stunned by all of this I couldn't help that tears came down my cheeks and could barely whisper. I asked, can I just pay for this and take some time and look it over for a minute before I send it?"
"No. It's going electronically or it's not going. Are you signing it or not?"
I signed it.
I'm astonished even hours later. I realize that the last tax days in April must be a nightmare for accountants. But now I see why you'll never get to meet these tax-guys or do anything but sign and pay top dollar, and quite possibly have someone go postal on you in front of everyone if you ask ANY question.
During super-stress on the job, I can almost understand and maybe forgive condescension, or curt answers, or maybe impatient or harried behavior.....as long as it's PROFESSIONAL and a tiny bit respectful.
This was so bizarre I wish I'd thought to record it in my IPhone, but I was too blown-away to even think of it.
It may have been a fluke, but do you want to chance it? And you don't ever meet your tax preparer unless he comes out by chance and has a virtual melt-down for your having the audacity to ask if there could be some error or something I forgot to include?
This was unlike anything I'd ever experienced on a professional level. Still shaking! read more
