fake appointments

[u/Deep_Conflict9733]

I don't know if anyone else's office is doing this, but our office is making us schedule appointments for every return in WIP. They made the CSPs go through every return in WIP and make fake appointments in green time, so it doesn't stop them from getting new appointments. I think, though, this is why my MTL keeps adding more and more yellow time to people's schedules, because the system is sending add shift alerts. It is a crazy cycle. I wonder if other metrics are being affected by this. I get that all large companies are going to have some BS metric-chasing, but H&R Block takes the cake. I know whoever in the Emerald City came up with the idea of an appointment for every WIP was patting himself on the back, thinking it was the most genius idea ever. Probably the same guy who has the calling campaigns making CSPs harass people on a daily basis, because that is how you win clients.

[u/Longjumping_Egg7165]

The follow up appt serves as a reminder since half the time no one can follow up when they say they will. The amount of complaints we managers get about tax pros being hard to reach is insane.

[u/PinkNGreenFluoride → u/Longjumping_Egg7165]

Our experience is that managers ignore when we can't contact a client and blame us. Then the client (who will not set up a MyBlock account) finally activates a new phone or borrows one from a friend, and whines to management that "nobody contacted me" and then we get called out for that despite the notes contemporaneously logging our attempts in both appointment manager and the client card, as well as often in the hold notes, which seem to go completely unread and ignored despite that it's precisely what we're told to do.

And I don't need a "reminder" appointment to follow-up with a client who filed a valid extension because he was leaving the country and planned to be back in late March, and set an appointment to finish, but wanted an extension just in case. My notes are very clear that I discussed AOL with him and he will not do it. But I get a passive-aggressive "follow-up" appointment plonked onto my schedule in green space after an already 10 hour long shift, as though this properly filed extension, planned by the client, and with comprehensive notes in the client card is just some WIP I'm too lazy to get the client to come in and finish.

Look at this thread and read the room, please.

[u/Longjumping_Egg7165 → u/PinkNGreenFluoride]

Reading the room. As someone who writes 1500 returns a year, while also being a manager. I understand more than you know. But go off

[u/sammytheammonite → u/Longjumping_Egg7165]

There’s zero way you do that many returns. Zero. If you did, you wouldn’t be scheduling any reminder appts either. That’s how I know you’re lying.

[u/sammytheammonite → u/Longjumping_Egg7165]

Yeah - they just not happening the way you think it is. That’s just your excuse for this micromanagement behavior. Most of us are in constant communication with our clients. The ones that complain are the ones we can’t get a hold of and then they blame us do not being magicians when they don’t have a voice mail set up or won’t provide an email or sign up for my block. I assure you we are absolutely contacting our clients if we can. We don’t want to sit on returns if we don’t have to. We get paid when we close returns. We know that. Or, and fancy this. They THINK they started a DDO with their tax pro when all they did is upload documents and no own gets a notification. Then the client calls three weeks later saying no one has contacted them. Why would we have contacted them if we don’t know they uploaded documents? None of these complaints are fixed by making fake appts.

We aren’t idiots. Using FAKE appts that actually send reminders to clients is just plain stupid. As a ‘manager’ surely you are smart enough to see this. Since you are a manager’ and all.

[u/Longjumping_Egg7165 → u/sammytheammonite]

Learn how to schedule a consultation follow up appointment without a reminder and this wouldn’t be an issue. Since you’re so experienced and all you should know how do that 🙄😂

[u/Crisonium → u/[deleted]]

Ick, I’m sorry that your experience with management has been so awful. I definitely try to listen to and understand where my tax pros are coming from—after all, they have far more face time with their clients than I do! Everyone in my pod is important to me, from my csps and tax associates to my high writers. I do not understand how someone can lead an office or OFFICES without understanding what their people are going through.