I booked a Quickbooks learning course as suggested when attending my initial interview but when I showed up for my appointment I was told I needed a computer. I was not told upon making and confirming the appointment but I was okay with that and talked to Angie to reschedule. Since I had a desktop computer she told me that she could come to my house. I asked her if it would be more expensive that way and she said no. I asked her if it was still $70 and she said yes. She told me there would be no extra charges. I told her I would be willing to bring my desktop up to the office if it was going to be more expensive and she so no it should be fine.
When Angie came to my house she was very nice and friendly and we even discussed how, since I am a start up business I need costs to be low so she consciously kept our appointment right at an hour because she knew that's what I could afford. She did not mention at any point during our hour that her travel time would be additional and charged by the hour although I liked Angie very much.
When I got my invoice from Sonja and saw the hours and the total, I called immediately because I was confused. I told her what I was told and she offered to talk to Angie to see if she could get the price lowered or work something out. This was not my suggestion but hers. I told her if I need to pay the full bill that is fine, I do not expect anyone to work for free, I will just need to pay it in payments. She said I can do that but to hold off because she was going to see what she could do for me.
Then Susan called me to talk to me about my bill. She said she was told I had questions about my bill but they did not inform her why. I told her the charges were $100 more than expected and I started at the beginning and told her about not having a computer and my discussion with Angie. She then said, and I quote, "hold on, let's back up, I don't think your business is in the right place if you're worried about $100. We charge ..." and she started telling me the prices The MB Group charges for tax returns. How DARE she tell me MY business is not in the right place because of $100. No matter what business you run $100 is a lot of money and is a big deal! Even if my business is too small to afford your services there is still a better and nicer way to say this to a person than how she told me. The $70 was not too much for me and if I had known the hours charged started when Angie left her house I would have brought my computer to your office so I could have saved on the extra expense - that just makes for good financial sense. I told her that "yes, I know how much you charge for tax services" so she then proceeded to tell me, and I quote, "I just wanted to make sure you were informed because we have better things to do than to have to worry about billing charges." Apparently, according to Susan, she has much better things to do than to deal with me, a client that's been told one price for a service and then charged more than double for that service!
I was fine with paying this bill albeit upset with the price. I was trying to inform her about the miscommunication of the price so future clients would not have that happen to them. There are many easy ways of fixing this error. Of course, a reduction of the bill would have been welcomed but this was not my intention which I informed Sonja and Susan. I am a start up business and my bill going from $70 to $180 is a big deal. I do not expect people to work for free but I do need to be informed when the price will be that different. She did not have to disrespect me and insult me because she does not want to have to "deal" with me. I love Trey Bayne, he was wonderful to work with and I regret not being able to use him but I cannot use or recommend a company that has people who treat customers this way. read more
