So about a week ago I got my W2 in from my former job and got giddy. In all of my years filing taxes I have always gotten a return. A very nice return if I say so, but a lot of it comes from Earned Income Credit and the Child Tax Credit from my daughter. Anyways I was told that because now I own my own business, it would help if I were to go to a CPA because they could help me get the best return possible. I called a recommended local guy earlier last week and he was telling me all of this stuff to get and how I should total everything up before I got there so that him and I don’t have to go through paperwork. Now while this might seem like a smart idea to some it doesn’t sit too well with me. If I am doing all of this work on my own then why don’t I just do the taxes my own damn self? Isn’t that what we pay them for?
Since Chris and I will be using our returns on putting deposits down with wedding vendors I asked the guy how long it would take for everything to be processed etc. I was informed that we don’t actually go through the paper work during our meeting and that he gives the information off to some other dude in the office and that it takes about a week to then go and file. After that it would be an additional 8 to 15 days for me to get my direct deposit tax return. I am an impatient person and I want my money ASAP. I then asked what his fees were and I was told that it would be 300 and that it couldn’t be taken out of my return so it had to be upfront.
300 buck up front! Sheesh!
When I was at my meeting last Wednesday my Director, Lori, told me that since I started so late in the year that going to H&R would be fine for me because of how little paperwork I have accumulated so far. Cool! H&R……
I’ve had my taxes done by them for awhile now and I even did them by myself last year online (I tried that this year and knew that if I did try with all the extra stuff that I would have screwed up and probably have been audited. No bueno.)
So yesterday I tell Chris that we should probably go to file my taxes today and he says OK. I start getting my papers together and start adding stuff up. Once I was done with that it was already about 11:30 in the morning. I looked on Google Maps the closest location and gave it a call. I was told that the earliest appointment could be at 2 but I asked if I could come in earlier since we had a lot of errands to run that day. I wasn’t fibbing about that either. We did have a lot to do.
Ok.. 1 o clock appointment with some lady whose name I can’t even begin to spell. We got there at 12:30 and I went in checking to see if maybe I could be seen early. I was told that the lady was scheduled to start her shift at 1 o clock so Chris and I went across the street and got some drinks at Starbucks, went and filled up his tank with gas, and after all of that it was around 12:50. I go back inside thinking that maybe this person is normal and gets to their shifts early, but alas I was wrong.
1 o clock came around and nobody was to be found. Instead Chris and I got the chance to sit on some rather uncomfortable chairs for a long time. After awhile I asked Chris what time it was and he let me know that it was about 15 after 1. 15 minutes late to their own job and 15 minutes late for my appointment. Seriously. At 1:20 I see some grotesquely dressed woman come through the front door. I turned to Chris and said “Watch that be her.”
10 minutes later we were at 1:30 and I finally had it. I went up to the front desk thingy and asked this lady how much longer it would be. She went back to check and told me that she was almost ready for me. No… she wasn’t. She had her pink thingy wrapped around her, was holding her purse in her hand, and was jibber jabbering with another girl that worked there.
I then told the lady that I was going to leave. Since the people there work on a commission of some sort she asked if I was sure since she was ready. I didn’t want to be rude but I was getting cranky and I really hate waiting. I was about as nice as I could be and I said: “I know this isn’t your fault, but I don’t feel confident having my taxes done by somebody who can’t show up on time to their own shift.” She understood and went to check and see if there was somebody else who could see me.
When she came back out she was accompanied with an elderly man who was really nice. Poor guy was eating lunch and I told him not to worry about it. I love food and won’t dare interupt somebody enjoying their tasty spoils. He said that he had availability at 3 o clock but it was too late for me. I wanted my stuff done already! He then asked about next weekend but I told him that we need the returns ASAP for wedding purposes. The front desk lady checked some of the other H&R Block locations in the area and told me that if I was to go to one right up the street that I could be seen right away.
Right away…..
We drive there and I saw only 4 work stations. 2 were occupied and the other 2 lacked an employee. A lady who was with clients came up and asked if I needed anything and I told her that I needed my taxes to be done. She informed me that she had just started with a couple and would see how far along the other person was. She came back to me only to say that he or she too had just started so it would be about an hour or so to wait.
To wait….
My patience at this point is already shot. It was after 2 and I should have had my taxes filed at this point. I then called ANOTHER location and this is how it started….
I was at first told that the soonest appointment could be at 5 but then was told that if I had all of my paperwork ready that I could be seen right away depending on how long it would take for me to get there. Chris and I were already on the road so we turned around with the quickness because I was on a mission at this point.
After we got to the location off of Herndon and Fowler everything was fantastic. I didn’t have to wait, the guy was nice… hell, everybody was nice. They even found ways to make my costs to them cheaper. They saved me money and found ways to get me a bigger return!
The main lady that was working there, not too sure if she was a manager or not, asked me about what had happened so I told her everything and she let me know that she would be talking with the manager of that location about what had happened and would make sure that the “Oh I’m so late” lady would be taken care of. I know that made it sound like the Mafia would be called on her, but I highly doubt she is going to wake up tomorrow with a horses head in her bed. At most she will have some disciplinary action taken against her.
My return came to $3,900 and I was pleased as punch.
Now I get to do this all over again next year! YAY!
– She Who Has The Last Word
