Client received a tax refund scam e-mail. Recognising it as a scam he sent it + the attachment to me with a comment "what do you think of this ??"
My response over the phone, to which he has taken exception was " you're a dickhead " Was I wrong ????
Replies (41)
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silence is golden
While you may not be wrong, you have perhaps voiced a truth which is better left unsaid?
Nobody wants to be called a [***]. It hurts all the more if it comes from someone they have hitherto respected.
Were you wrong in your assessment? No
Were you wrong to express it? Yes
A Tad Harsh
Whilst you are clearly annoyed at his actions I suspect he did it with good intentions, to let you know of a HMRC scam that is going around. IE trying to be helpful. It is easy just to hit the delete button. I am sure he will not do it again though.
Out of interest did the email damage your computer?
I usually find it best practice not to call the people that pay me "dickheads". Very amusing though, I must say.
to which he has taken exception
It looks justified given that the relationship with the client is professional - more so built against the backdrop of some 10-20 pages!!!
.
One assumes that the OP opened the attachment and is now frantically running every virus scanner under the sun across his network.
On the plus side, its a good test of those never tested disaster recovery plans.
To be fair I think a fair number of us would have accidentally open an attachment sent by a client.
No so many then swear at said client, but hey ho.
but be careful
if you are a member of one of the accountancy bodies. I do vaguely remember seeing a report of a member disciplined for such matters a while ago.
So . . .
You call client a [***] and client apologises and takes you out to lunch.
Sounds like a good result for you, but not such a good one for mankind.
Idiot client & accountant
Sounds like you both deserve each other, complete unprofessional conduct by a so called accountant.
Oh dear
I suppose I echo the sentiments of the majority in saying that you were not wrong, you were absolutely correct in what you said but you probably shouldn't have vocalised your opinion. In saying that, he was a [***] and you got a free lunch. Make sure he realises that it is not a tax deductible expense though!
exception
I would take exception to being called a [***]. Particularly if I was a paying customer.
Can't believe you got lunch out of it!
Not now Bernard!
Laughed out loud when I read this post.
Personally I would have called him a dick head after I'd put the phone down.
Richard Head? At Uni we preferred to ask the Porters at the Students Union building to call over the tannoy system for our friend Mike Hunt to come to reception.
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Richard Head? At Uni we preferred to ask the Porters at the Students Union building to call over the tannoy system for our friend Mike Hunt to come to reception.
The preferred one where I trained was to write a note and leave it on the desk of the naïve first year that a Mr C Lyon had rung and asked to be rung back: the number given was of course that of the local zoo.
Lunch Tax Deductible?
Isn't the clients half of the meal tax deductible? After all that couldn't be considered entertaining.
I agree with most of you, this was very unprofessional.
As a trusted advisor you don't want to create an air of unapproachabilty, the client may have felt embarrassed and apologised but what if next time they have something important to discuss and they hesitate to contact you?
Explain or just insult …
Did you go on to explain the implications of his actions or just insult him - i.e. your machine & all your clients were at risk & how would he feel if he had opened an email from you that infected his machine ... etc ...
Instead of just ‘shooting from the hip’, sometimes explaining is even more effective because the client then realises for himself that he has been an idiot rather than losing face by being directly insulted
Nevertheless, very unprofessional conduct, however satisfying it may have been
Niche
The client acknowledged that they knew it was a scam and accepted my criticism. My clients know that I always tell it as it and do not pussyfoot around. It doesn't seem to have hurt the practice as I get a lot of recommendations
Have you made masochism your niche?
Purpose of question then?
Since you apparently have a client base who are happy for you to subject them to personal abuse without consequence, why did you ask the question?
For that matter when did willingness to be abusive (which is what people always mean when they say they "tell it like it is") become viewed as a positive trait?
Scam or not
You have have misinterpreted "tell it like it is" By that I mean that if the client is being silly I will tell them where and how they are. For anybody even a client to send a scam e-mail to a business is gross stupidity and deserves a telling off - I could have made it a lot stronger as I didn't consider it funny
I recently signed up for email notifications from HMRC and I also recently did my own tax return. I have been getting those fake emails from HMRC for quite a while so I know the one I just got is also a fake and nothing to do with my recently submitted tax return and even arriving same day as a genuine HMRC email did. But you know not everyone is up to speed with these things. Not everybody works in an office and knows the dangers of scams and viruses, it is no excuse to mock and abuse people especially your clients.
its the way you tell em obviously Bernard
depends on how you say it , sometimes its not a bad idea to give people a gentle nudge ... compared to you some of the people above say extraordinary things in a most extraordinary way , mines a large one burp
Wow
Worked out well for you it sounds like but I would never swear at a client, no matter how much they may or may not deserve it. Need to stay professional.
at least you didn't...
...yell *f@?k* down the phone at a tax partner in your Firm (whilst a very junior tax dogsbody)!!! Unfortunately, as I reached for the ringing phone, I knocked over my cup of boiling hot (no milk) coffee and as the phone reached my ear, and my mouth reached the microphone, the scalding liquid reached my legs and other delicate areas.
I was very (VERY) aplogetic when I explained the circumstances to him, and got away with some sniggering and a *thank god it wasn't a client*... it was 25 years ago now and I still shrink in horror thinking about the potential for disaster...
:-)
@Bernard
I'm surprised that so many think that clients are next to God and should be treated with total deference instead of normal individuals with the usual shortcomings capable of being bollocked
Time to stop digging. You're beginning to sound like a [***] ;)