Accountants have a lot to focus on, no matter how relaxed their schedule is. Between double and triple-checking figures, ensuring regulatory compliance, managing software, and handling client relationships, sometimes things can go wrong for even the most meticulous of workers. In these cases, clients can choose to voice their concerns with a complaint. Client complaints happen for a variety of reasons and are made in a variety of ways. But if one thing is for certain, it’s that these complaints must be dealt with efficiently and tactfully. Otherwise, accountants risk a breakdown in their important client relationships and a negative impact on their overall professional reputation.
Fortunately, receiving a client complaint can happen to the best of accountants, and these complaints can be a force for positive change if they’re handled correctly. In this article, we’ll dive a little deeper into the reasons why clients feel the need to complain, how these complaints can drive positive outcomes, and exactly what you need to do to put a smile back on your client’s face.
Understanding Why Clients Complain
Though your firm may sort complaints into certain categories, there is no set list of reasons why a client may feel the need to complain about their accountant. Some clients will be willing to trust you and keep quiet during the process, while others will complain about seemingly standard practices.
At their most basic, however, complaints are what happens when a ‘promise’ you have made to your client is not delivered upon. These promises, both implicit and explicit, may include:
- Proper communication
- Consistent customer service
- Adherence to timelines
- Accurate filings
- Confidentiality
- Legal compliance
- Fiduciary duty
- Transparency and honesty
Clients expect you to keep these promises at all stages of the relationship. Should you fail to keep one of these promises, a complaint is the best way for a client to get their voice heard. As well as being heard, there are many deeper reasons why clients decide to complain. For example, they may have been frustrated with an accountant’s work for a long while, and need an outlet to release these negative feelings. They may wish to escalate the issue to a higher authority because they do not want to come under legal scrutiny as a result of their accountant’s mistakes. Or, they may feel they have been treated unfairly and unjustly, are considering legal action, and want to allow the firm or accountant to rectify the situation.
The Good and Bad Side of Client Complaints
This opportunity to rectify the situation is one of the best things about client complaints, as it gives you a chance to repair the relationship and keep the client on your side. Other benefits of client complaints are that they:
Promote Honesty and Discussion - Sometimes it’s tough for an accountant and client to speak informally, but this is often the best way to find out what the other needs and resolve issues. Complaints often require different methods of communication, and this openness helps strengthen the relationship overall.
Highlight Areas for Improvement - If several complaints focus on a specific shortcoming, you know you’ll need to dedicate more resources to rectifying a deeper issue. These insights can help improve your practice overall. Similarly, if you find clients consistently calling you up on a particular problem, it may be time to seek out training in that area.
Strengthen Your Customer Service - Once you’ve resolved a complaint and demonstrated a commitment to client satisfaction, you can adapt your customer service when dealing with new clients. For example, if a client has previously complained about the frequency of your communication, you can discuss in your initial meetings with new clients how often they want to be contacted. Over time, you can improve your customer service and apply it on a client-by-client basis.
However, if you know you’ve made a more serious mistake that’s resulted in a client or your practice coming under investigation, needing to apply for late filings, needing to pay fines, or having their reputation damaged, complaints, though expected, can be incredibly disheartening.
Remember that a complaint is always an opportunity, whether that be to prove yourself or improve your accounting as a whole. Dealing with mistakes as and when they happen can help avoid complaints, but if a client does decide to take things further, there are a variety of ways you can successfully resolve a complaint.
How Successful Accountants Resolve Complaints Effectively
Below is a step-by-step guide to dealing with issues from the moment a client makes a complaint to repairing the client-accountant relationship. Though these steps will need to adapt and evolve depending on the nature of the complaint, this is the general approach successful accountants take to resolve complaints tactfully.
- Have a Dedicated Complaints Policy
A dedicated complaints policy will allow you to glean as much information as possible from your client, and explain to them exactly how the situation will be dealt with. If you take complaints directly, be sure to ask as many questions as possible to get to the bottom of any issues. If complaints are taken online or over the phone to a complaints handler, you can request the information the client has provided or chat with your regulatory authority about it. Either way, make sure you record client complaints and the process you’re taking to rectify the situation in writing and always keep them in the loop.
- Acknowledge the Complaint Professionally
If a client’s complaint wasn’t made directly to you, it may be worth asking your regulatory authority, supervisor, or legal representative whether you can reach out to them. You can acknowledge the client’s issues and apologize that the situation came to a point where they felt it necessary to escalate a complaint above you. However, it’s best to remain calm even if a complaint against you is very emotionally charged and a little below the belt. Remember, you should aim to repair the relationship and reaffirm your positive reputation, not do anything that could tarnish these things further.
- Action an Investigation and Take Accountability (if necessary)
If your firm has the infrastructure to perform investigations internally, take immediate action to examine and analyze the behavior that led to the complaint. The investigation will need to determine the root cause of the issue, decide if any errors were made and which individual was at fault. If a complaint is being investigated by a regulatory body, you will need to comply with all their information/interview requests. If necessary, be prepared to take accountability for your actions or the actions of your team members.
- Propose Solutions and Collaborate with Your Client
Once the investigation is completed, be sure to share the results with your client and talk them through the process you undertook. Then, you can propose practical solutions to your client. Your client may already have suggested some form of compensation they feel will be sufficient, so be sure to collaborate with them to find a solution that works for you both. Seek their input on your next steps and ask for their agreement to a particular solution in writing.
- Implement Corrective Measures and Follow-Up
Now is your chance to repair the relationship with your client and, hopefully, keep them coming back. Let them know what changes you will be making to ensure the issues they complained about do not happen again. For example, you may seek to correct errors in financial reports and input a policy of peer review, or you might complete a personal training plan to improve your customer service or timetabling. Once some time has passed, it’s a good idea to check back in and make sure the client is still satisfied with the chosen solution and the way their complaint was handled. This will hopefully demonstrate your commitment to an ongoing relationship, and help you deal with complaints efficiently in the future.
Conclusion
Most accountants will receive some kind of complaint during their careers. Whether this is simply a bad review or a serious report to a regulatory authority, there are common ways to help ease and rectify the situation.
Understanding why clients complain can help you determine how best to deal with them and how you should move forward. Generally, client complaints come as a result of a broken promise, whether spoken or unspoken. Don’t forget that complaints do not have to be completely negative. They present accountants with great opportunities to evaluate their performance and employ necessary changes. In many ways, a complaint from a client can strengthen the relationship in the long run, as it will promote open and honest communication between the two parties.
When dealing with a client complaint, be sure to record everything in writing. A dedicated complaints policy, be it your own or your firm’s, will ensure there is a set procedure you can follow. It’s best practice to acknowledge the client’s frustrations, before launching an investigation and discussing possible solutions that work for all parties.
If you receive a client complaint, see it not as a setback but as a chance for you to excel and prove why you are the best choice for your client. Embrace complaints, respond professionally, and use them as a stepping stone to a more successful approach. With this attitude, you will find complaints do not detract from your reputation but bolster it.
Sources
- https://www.theaccountancy.co.uk/small-business/top-5-tips-dealing-complaints-6728/
- https://www.cpapracticeadvisor.com/2014/03/04/how-accounting-firms-should-handle-client-complaints/14522/
- https://www.marketingdonut.co.uk/customer-care/customer-complaints/techniques-for-dealing-with-customer-complaints
- https://quickbooks.intuit.com/in/resources/accountants/dealing-with-difficult-customers/
- https://www.revechat.com/blog/importance-customer-complaints-business/
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2021/07/22/why-customer-complaints-are-essential-for-your-business/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwk1959IvFc
- https://www.superoffice.com/blog/customer-complaints-good-for-business/
- https://leadershipconsulting.com/psychology-complainer-deal/
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