People who come in once a year to get a $200 tax return and then think that entitles them to 3 or 4 hours a year of free tax consultations over the phone really annoy me. People who then act surprised and irate and refuse to pay the bill when we actually charge them for our time annoy me even more. And when they have the nerve to say, "You've never charged me for phone consultations before," even though I can find evidence of already charging them one other time in the last six months in less time than it takes me to blink REALLY annoy me. (Wow, that last sentence wore me out.)
And you know it must bother me because I'm venting about something that happened YESTERDAY!
So, if you do business with an accountant, attorney, engineer, architect, etc. remember that time is how they make their money. Some of them may not mind giving you a little pointer here and there for free, but if you need detailed and involved advice or services, don't expect them to just give it to you. Most people don't walk into a hardware store and expect the employees to let them walk out with a couple hundred dollars worth of merchandise. So why do you expect professionals to give you a couple hundred dollars worth of free advice?
BTW, the conversation in question was at least the fourth time I'd had the same conversation with this client and we did give it to her the first two time. Arghh!
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