Getting Bad Clients off the Bus

A number of years ago I was at a restaurant and ordered a double-cut pork chop as an entrée.

When the waiter arrived at my table I noticed his had his thumb squarely lodged in the center of the meat.

When I angrily asked him why he was doing that he sheepishly replied, “I just didn’t want to drop it on the floor again.”

As you may have surmised by now, it didn’t really happen that way but that vignette always provides a decent laugh or two, and to a larger point touches on the subject of service – or more specifically bad service.

Most CPA practitioners that I know usually categorize their clients in different tiers – whether it’s a rating of A, B or C, or numerically, they know which ones reside at the “gold” level and those whose return on investment in both time and fees more resemble scrap metal. 

During my 15 years either covering the profession or consulting within it, I’ve probably sat in on nearly 100 presentations dealing with some aspect of client service – how to manage it and perhaps more importantly, when to rid yourself of those clients whose ROI is, shall we say, more than a bit below acceptable levels.

You know which ones I’m describing, those clients who flood your outlook inbox with emails demanding to know the status of a certain project  - or tax return – as well as cram your voice mail to capacity. In addition, once the engagement is finished they quibble incessantly about the invoice, which ultimately, will do little to boost your realization rates.

It’s one thing to dote on a high maintenance client whose fees average in six figures annually, it’s another to spent hours fighting with a bullying $400 tax cheapskate.

Jim Collins, the author of the blockbuster “From Good to Great” speaks to “getting the right people on the bus, getting the wrong people off the bus and putting the right people in the right seats.”

That can apply to both a management team or client roster.

Another presenter once advised an audience, “Hire slowly but fire quickly.”

Again, it’s interchangeable.

So after the 1040 frenzy dies down, it might be prudent to review your client roster and determine which ones need to be escorted off the bus. And when you make that decision, become very un-CPA like and do it quickly – as opposed to the glacial pace in which most accountants operate - before you get one more aggravating email or phone message.

Not to mention waiting endlessly to collect your fee.

And if for some reason you miss complaining about bad service, I’ve got a few restaurant recommendations for you.