Automation can send the wrong message.
By Ed Mendlowitz
The CPA Trendlines Practice Doctor
QUESTION: I have an automatic email response and some clients and contacts criticized me for it. I am overloaded during tax season and this takes some pressure off of me. Here is the automatic email response I am sending out:
THANK YOU for your e-mail. Please accept my apology for this automated response. During tax season, most of my work days are scheduled with appointments and calls. I most always reply to emails and phone calls as soon as I can, usually the same day. Replies are slower during the months of February, March and April. Thank you for your patience.
ANSWER: That’s terrible!
MORE PRACTICE DOCTOR Q&A: 12 Must-Knows for Niche Markets | When Fees Don’t Keep Up With Cost Increases | Lowballing and Why It (Usually) Doesn’t Work | Why the Average Fee Doesn’t Matter | How to Apply Value Pricing to Bundled Services | 6 Ways to Take a Client Beyond Tax Prep | 10 Do’s and Don’ts for Making Small Business Clients Happy | Client’s Difficult Daughter Balks at Bill | 10 Ways to Get New 1040 Clients | Tax Return Reviewer Ticking and Tying | 23 Reasons Clients Really Need YOU for Taxes | 5 Time Management Tips for an Overworked Accountant | Complaining Client? No Wonder! | Pricing, Billing, Costing: Don’t Blame Clients
You are running a business and tax season is just one part of it although concentrated into a highly intensive, pressure-filled period.