The Tax Man

After a short gig of being an insurance salesman (see last post), and after a seasonal job of been a computer geek (which I really am one), I found a job listing for a full time tax preparer. In the past I had worked for a business that offered electronic filing years ago (not tax preparation, just electronic filing) and I got some experience with taxes from that. Since then, besides doing my own and my kids taxes, I have prepared taxes for about dozen people, mostly friends. Since I knew something about taxes, at least personal taxes, I applied to the job listing.

A few weeks later I got hired, provided that I complete and pass the training class for a basic tax preparer. The course was free and so was the test. I took the course and passed the test a few weeks later. I figured I knew more that I thought as the test was easy.

Tax season didn’t start till January so I had a few weeks to wait. Fortunately, I will still doing the Geek thing part time. January came around and I started at my new job. It was only for 4 months, till April 15^th, but heck, it was a full time job. I was ready to prepare taxes!

The company I worked for recently opened a couple of offices in this area. I was at their satellite office about a mile from their main office. We had two tax preparers there at all times plus a receptionist. We were ready.

So, we waited for customers and waiting. The boss (at the other office) said we were advertising, but I didn’t see anything. “Didn’t you see our commercial on TV?” Nope, when was it on? It was on which station? I did see our one and only big billboard, but still no customers.

After a few weeks the other tax preparer was sent out to post fliers around downtown on the billboards and around the college. The fliers had a coupon on it for a discount on tax preparation but nobody came in with that coupon. I questioned the logic of passing the fliers out on the local college campus because the campus offers a program for free to help students do taxes. Why would they pay us to have their taxes done when they can get them done for free elsewhere? So, every afternoon he left me there, waiting on customers. Did I mention we had gone though a couple of receptionists so far? Most didn’t show up half the time and one never showed up, called in sick just about every day.

So, there I was, feeling like the Maytag Repairman, sitting there waiting for taxes, by myself. I did have tax returns to prepare, as we had a few dozen sample returns to practice on. And I did practice, practice and practice.

A few weeks later, we are now getting to our busy part of the tax season, we lost a receptionist, we were not getting another, and they put a door buzzer in so that we, the tax preparers sitting in the next office and cannot see the door, will hear somebody coming in. On top of that, they cut our hours.

Well the schedule kept changing and the hours kept getting cut and we didn’t have any customers, except one, which I prepared the taxes for, so they decided to close this office.

One day I was sitting at work waiting for customers, as I always do, and working on practice returns, my boss walked in and said, “We are closing the doors today. You can stay till 5pm, close the office, and deliver your key tomorrow at the other office.” She walked out. No, thanks for working here or we are sorry we had to let you go. No nothing. Just finish up and get out.

My short career of a tax return preparer was over.