Decadence

[joanmcq]

I left the house to buy groceries today. I feel so decadent.

[jasdlm]

Ditto. Decadent and a bit guilty. I just got back from a Target run. My husband and son know that it's tax season, but for some reason, they still like to eat, wear clean clothes, and have a stock of toilet paper . I hate folding laundry and worrying all the while that I'm not doing a tax return.

[Jack from Ohio]

I am heading to Arby's to get some food. I will tough through the guilt to quiet my stomach!!

[Catherine]

We went to the range to practice for an hour tonight. Very decadent.

[mcb39]

I actually went out to dinner with my son.......that is quite unusual and also very decadent. Office in Home; clients calling all day; no respect for RTRP's weekend. Also had my hair done this AM (by a client) for free and another client sent me flowers. (He needed that split income return for the bank). Yes, very decadent day! Big snowstorm just started about an hour ago so should get some work done tomorrow.

[SFA]

I slept in this morning. Hangover from last night. Decadence for sure.

It was fun, but here I sit at midnight making up for it....

[BulldogTom]

I refused to answer the phone today, and after church I went for a walk with my spouse, tried the new Doritos Locos Tacos for lunch, cooked an amazing asparagus lasagna for dinner, and to cap it all off, watched a Julia Roberts chick flik with my wife. I am heading off to bed and will tackle the 4 tax returns I should have done tomorrow.

Tom

Hollister, CA

[jklcpa]

I had dinner at my mom's and broke away for an hour to watch The Walking Dead. I feel like one of those zombies on the show. lol Tomorrow I'll have a break while I take Mom to see her podiatrist.

[joanmcq]

I took a nap too! And bought chocolate. I'm living the high life baby! Judy, I know what you mean about zombies. But it's the clients eating our brains.

[RitaB]

Went to Walmart for groceries, then church with everything still in the car. After lunch, we wrangled a cow to give her antibiotics, and put a band on a calf (to castrate him). Hope you men aren't eating right now.

Made Thanksgiving dinner for supper, as my "little" kids are home from Tech for spring break. Chicken, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, turnip greens, rolls. It's our celebrate meal. (Hey Joan, I actually had a vegetable, yay!)

Also watched Walking Dead. Actually, the kids watch it, and I sit there with my hands over my eyes cause I hate it. They are like: "Mom. It's not even scary."

[kcjenkins]

Anybody that calls on Sunday should get $100 added to their bill.

[Terry O]

Anybody that calls on Sunday should get $100 added to their bill.

KC - -I have always worked out of my house - -and almost always answer the phone - -except when a client calls at midnight ( me thinking is was a relative in trouble) , and I would ask what was so darned important that they felt the need to call at that time ( or on a Sunday) - -they would reply "well - -you said - - call anytime!"

36 more days - - -

[Catherine]

Anybody that calls on Sunday should get $100 added to their bill.

I had one bozo lady a couple years ago call the office on -CHRISTMAS DAY- while we were eating dinner. I closed the office door, but you could still hear the phone ringing and the answering machine taking a message. No, the client (FORMER client, now) was not Jewish or Hindu or any other faith, AND she knew the office was in my house (right next to the dining room). Good grief.

No amount of money (that she didn't have anyway) can make up for that; she got fired. As I should have done long before except I was trying to hold off 'til after Christmas. Yikes; some people!

[RitaB]

I will only answer the phone between 8 - 6 Mon - Fri. I also never answer the 8 am call on Monday morning. That one is always a probem. lol. I just checked my answering machine, and it was a guy I finished a month ago wanting to know how much his refund was. You know, dude, if you had just come in when I called to tell you it was ready, you would know...

I honestly think I would lose my mind if I worked out of my home. I remember the call I got at home on Easter Sunday a few years ago. That guy never became a client. IF you know what I mean. Who does that????

[mcb39]

Lots of people do. Yesterday, one was a County Deputy who should know better. All the people who call have the day off; but you are not supposed to. I forgot to mention that I also took a nap yesterday (I was totally decadent yesterday). I asked hubby if he wanted me to unplug the phone, but he was bored silly on a rain and ice day and said that he would take the calls. Everyone needs something like yesterday and have no understanding for the fact that we lost nearly a month because of the forms; and I never mention the program problems. I actually figured a gal's taxes by hand this AM because I didn't believe the ATX calculation. ATX was correct and I am getting paranoid.

[NECPA in NEBRASKA]

I love my office phone with the "Do not Disturb" button. If I heard my phone 24-7, I would feel the need to answer it. I love that more of my clients will email me now. I hate when they call and don't leave a message if I don't answer. I feel like I should call them, if I saw it on caller ID, but then if I call them, they won't learn to leave a message.

[Maribeth]

I am heading to Arby's to get some food. I will tough through the guilt to quiet my stomach!!

Right with you there Jack. And oh my, it was so good!!

[JohnH]

Three comments on the phone problem.

1) Don't give any client your cell phone number. If anyone captures it when you call them, be sure to enter their name in your contacts so you can always send them to voice mail if they call you later.

1) Turn off the ringer on the office phone and let everything go to voice mail, unless you're in the mood for interruptions.

2) Do everything possible to encourage them to switch to email. I know, some won't. But in my experience even the older clients are more likely to use email if you take the initiative (except for the very elderly). Seniors embrace email even more than young people these days, because the younger people are more oriented toward texting.

I will usually find some reason to send a client an email after they drop their info off. Maybe I need to confirm a birthdate or to ask some other innocuous question. That puts my email address in their contacts, and all they have to do is click "reply" to send any questions they may have at any time. That usually gets them forever off the phone.

Personally, I respond to voice mails the end of the current day or sometime the next day. But I will respond to an email within minutes, even if only to say I read their question and will need to get back to them later. All my clients know this. Once clients understand that phone messages may take a while but emails get a rapid reply, they will make a rational decision about how to communicate with you. People don't always need quick answers - they just need to know you're aware of their question and maybe giving it some thought. That saves your valuable time to give quick responses to questions which actually do command priority.

Following the above, who cares when they contact you? It can be Christmas day, Sunday, middle of the night - makes no difference. I have night owls who send me emails at 2 am. Next time I turn on the computer the message is patiently sitting there. The client gets it off their mind and I can respond at my leisure.

But what is really impressive to the client is when they send an email question that requires a simple answer at 8 or 9pm on a Saturday or Sunday while I'm sitting watching TV. If I have time to shoot a quick response from my phone I'll do it. Clients almost always convey their appreciation for the quick response, and not a one of them has ever expected me to be as timely the next time they sent a question. When it comes to communication, we live in a world that is vastly different than it was even 3-5 years ago. I view technology as a friend which can relieve a lot of stress - it just needs to be managed.

[kcjenkins]

Well, I should confess that I once called a client at 2:30 AM to ask him a question, so I have to forgive clients sometimes. Of course, I did not do it on purpose, I was working late, as many of you know I often do, being a night owl type. I got to the point that I needed just one small bit of info to finish, and without thinking about looking at the clock, grabbed the phone and called him. When he said "Hello?" I fired off my question. His "NOW????" response made me look at the clock! Need I say I was embarrassed? He teased me about every year after that

[jainen]

>>Very decadent<<

Sunday? I went to my son's engagement party! Last son--first daughter! Meeting the other parents is great fun, you know. They tried to tempt me with the margarita machine, but I saw that J. Lohr 2006 cabernet. In the end the result was the same anyway. Very decadent.

[Lion EA]

My daughter came by this weekend (Penguin Plunge on Saturday that hubby attended to support her) and was at church Sunday, so I took her out to lunch while hubby had to go into the City. A nice restaurant, and I had sangria. Came home expecting to nap for an hour, but didn't sleep so watched a bit of TV. Hubby brought home Chinese food for dinner. Still managed to complete an S-corp before finally getting to bed before dawn.

Hubby's out stocking up on dark chocolate to get me through the rest of tax season!

[gfizer]

Yesterday I went to church, came home and spent the day painting my foyer and stairway. May not sound like fun but it was something I WANTED to do for a change. Today I spent the biggest part of the morning looking at cabin rentals online for my 25th wedding anniversary coming up in May. It can't get here soon enough! I will pay for my selfish pursuits tomorrow!

[RitaB]

Don't give any client your cell phone number. If anyone captures it when you call them, be sure to enter their name in your contacts so you can always send them to voice mail if they call you later.

I got a text from someone today, I have no idea who: "Hi, Rita! Please don't tell me we owe this year."

You got it, whoever you are, I won't tell you. Probably another one who thinks I finish returns and let them collect dust for a while since I don't really need to be paid.

Evidently, it is somebody who captured my number last year. I do like to text people if it's late to tell them their return is ready. I refuse to answer my cell phone if I don't know who it is, and I never enter a client's information. That works, too. Hahahaha.

[joanmcq]

I use my cell as my business phone. And it charges upstairs in my office while I am downstairs sleeping. Can't hear it! I've also converted many of my clients to email, and I do get back to them sooner, and unlike that phone call, I can fire off a question at 3am. They tease me about the time stamp, and I reply: that's why I don't see anyone before 1pm!

[Kea]

Joan - Sounds like we have the same work schedule.

After getting tired of clients calling me at 8:00 AM - especially when I'd worked until 2 or 3 AM the "night" before, I finally decided to address it in my New Year's cards. I put in there that my office hours were from 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM and to keep phone calls to those hours. If they want to reach me outside those hours, please send e-mail. It's worked for most people so far, but there have been a few morning calls. It seems better than last year - so far.

I, too greatly prefer e-mail to phone calls. And, yes, they have been time stamped at 2 & 3 in the morning. Clients do have my home / office # as well as cell. I list the cell on my cards first, so most use that one. I have learned the wonders of turning the phone to vibrate at night! Ringer on home phone is off in the bedroom, but I can hear the extensions in other rooms of the house. Argh. I usually let it ring - but it's still annoying.