When something goes wrong, do you know what it is?
Mar11Written by:
Thursday, March 11, 2010 10:15 AM 
I have dealt with my accountant Frank for around 20 years. I started with my personal tax returns and over the years it's evolved into my personal stuff and my business stuff. When I asked them for a quote for my new business tax return, I didn't receive a quote. This new business Younique Business is owned with my business partner Yee Wah, so I thought it was the prudent thing to do as I wanted to do the right thing by her. Admittedly we were late, very late so my accountant's staff member told me that lodgement was due the very next day. I asked again for a quote but she asked me to forward all the paperwork so she could get started, which I did. Only that afternoon I received a quote after asking again. This quote was around 3-4 times what Yee Wah said her accountant would charge. I did the only right thing which was to inform Yee Wah,who then suggested that we use her accountant instead. I rang mine to tell them of this decision. They informed me that that was fine but that they had worked on the file all afternoon! When I heard this, I asked if there was something we could do. But I was assured that all was fine and I could take that job elsewhere. Later that afternon I received an email stating the file had been deleted! Meanwhile I had been waiting to get in touch with the Principal Frank but to no avail so in my mind nothing could be salvaged as all the work done had been deleted!
The next morning Frank called. I told him about what had transpired with his staff and the deleted file and that I had phoned the other accountant as I figured there was no road back from there. He was very concerned but we agreed after a couple of phone calls to move forward. Now I want to continue dealing with Frank. He's good, I trust him and he knows my financial situation. Like I said to him after 20 years we have both invested a lot into the emotional bank account. Looking back it is crystal clear to me all the points where things went wrong.
- When I asked for a quote (for the first time in 20 years), they needed to be alert to this and ensured I got one immediately.
- After giving me the quote, they should have waited for the Ok before starting work.
- Once the work had been done without the Ok and I had come back asking if anything could be done, they should have thought about how to salvage some income rather than delete the file. Some clients may feel embarrassed and move on. They don't want to lose clients in a situation which was totally preventable in my mind.
Frank and I have an understanding. People are human so all relationships, professional ones included, are all about give and take. I will continue to deal with Frank's firm but the point of this story is when something goes wrong, can you see where it went wrong so you know how to avoid it again? And if something does go wrong, can you salvage something or do you throw the baby out with the bath water either in frustration, anger or lack of longterm thinking? In coaching there's no failure, only feedback so do you look for feedback in every situation?