Difficult communication online

For this assignment I wan't to describe a few emails that I have exchanged with a customer of the accounting office I work for. Technically my title for the accounting firm is Office Administrator. However, I work for my mother (the accountant) and I am the only other staff in the office, so yes technically I am an Office Adminstrator, but I do many tasks such as cleaning, running errands, and customer service. Our firm during tax times prepares tax returns for both individuals and corporations and during the peak times are very busy. During this time we prepared a tax return for the person in which I was emailing. I sent the first email to inform the customer that their tax return was ready. Normally when I send these emails I also let them know if they whether they will receive refunds or if the owe taxes to the taxing authorities. I also attach an invoice for our work and let them know the terms of payment and delivery times. It is sort of a form letter because I email most customers the same way to inform them that their tax return is complete. So I sent the first email, shortly after I sent it over I got a response from the person that explained that he could not afford this tax bill, and that our firm must have prepared it the returns incorrectly, and that he would not pay our bill. He demanded that I sent him back the information that he had brought to prepare the return. I thought about it for a moment and decided to send one back asking if he would come in personally to pick it up so that we could discuss the return that we had prepared. In the second email I told him that I was sorry that he was unhappy but before I sent back the information I would like him to have a conversation with the accountant who had prepared the return. His response was simply, "Just mail me the information." In this weeks readings in Wood and Smith came to mind when reading their example of flaming. The email felt as though it was a flame, but I was sure that he was not angry at me but angry about the tax bill. The email surprised me so I took all the emails to the accountant and she offered great advice, "why don't you call him." At that point I decided she was right. I gave him a quick call to let him know that I would be glad to mail him the information and I was very sorry that he was unhappy. On the phone I opened a discussion with the customer about the return. I mentioned to him that I was worried that maybe we had overlooked something (however I was sure that we hadn't) and that we would be glad to fix it for him for no price before completing the filing of the return. I just needed him to point out what it was that we were missing. Once I mentioned that we would make adjustments to the tax return if he could show us what we had missed, he gave us a second chance. I scheduled some time with the accountant for their review of the return. In the end we hadn't missed any of the information he had brought us, however the accountant was able to talk to him about ways that he could pay the tax that was more reasonable to him. She also explained that she would like to talk to him about his business and tax strategies after tax season. He was very pleased.

In review of this communication I decided that the main problem the man had with my emails was the fact that I delivered the information so formally. He would have preferred a phone conversation in order to discuss the tax return. In the past I had thought that email would be the best way to give customers this information as they would receive it the fastest rather than playing phone tag with them. However after this particular customer I decided to try something new. I have divided the refund customers from the ones who owe taxes. I send emails to the refunds and I personally call the ones that owe. This has become a great way to open a conversation about visiting us in off season to talk tax strategy. This change in the way I communicate with customers helps them so that I am available to answer questions about the bill. The reality is that many people have emotions when it comes to taxes. It is always hard to predict how a tax payer will react to a tax bill. Therefore it is easier to be ready for their questions and help them if they have an issue.

I guess in the long run you could say the exchange of emails helped me realize how the clients may react. However at the time I was very frustrated by this exchange.

Emily