Getting rid of SJD, looking for Glasgow accountant reccomendations

[simonsjdaccountancy]

You are obviously extremely upset for which I sincerely apologise. Can I just make a few points?

1. We have 9000 clients, 8 offices and 150 staff - we make mistakes sometimes. I post on here in my own name and offer out my email address freely because I am genuinely passionate about providing the best possible service. If I wasn't I'd simply hide behind a nickname, ignore them, or use a PR company to offer meaningless platitudes.

2. I've spent 15 years building my company up to a point where we have on the whole an excellent reputation within the marketplace. That is the reason I will absolutely litigate against anyone posting libellous remarks which you did in your OP. Would you appreciate your customer naming you on a popular and public forum and accusing you of something untrue?

3. My email address, along with a photo of me, is quite clearly on our site, here:
http://www.sjdaccountancy.com/about/.../our_team.html

4. The reason we have one man in charge of Scotland and 7 for the rest of the UK is because that is how the spread of clients is.

5. The staff are not authorised to make refund payments to clients because I don't fancy the idea of having dozens of people having access to our bank account.

6. If you feel a refund is in order, again, please email me with specific details and I'd be happy to look into it for you.

Originally Posted by jmcdglasgow

1. It has been raised with your company (which you could know by now), but I refuse to spend time waiting for replies, and answers that I feel don't address the original concerns.

2. You posted to me along the lines of, and I am of course paraphrasing: "I'll help you, but I'll litigate against you if you say anything else I don't like." I find that an odd approach to customer service.

3. Let me be entirely clear, the reason I haven't contacted you is twofold, mainly because I am resolved to move away. You must understand that by the time someone gets so angry that they post on forums, they have already gone past the point of reconcilliation. Why has it taken however many emails and a forum posting to get to the point where you then reveal your email address (apologies if you've given it on this forum before, but I do not spend every waking hour trolling these boards)? Why is it not on the 'Contact Us' page. Why are your staff not authorised to issue the so called "personal Guarantee" pledge 1 refund when there is clearly a violation? When I asked whom I should make a complaint to the question was ignored. The other reason is your veiled legal threat. I have no time for bully tactics. Maybe this is why none of your other customers contact you either.

In my opinion, no one expects their accountant to be all things, and it seems that some people will continue to use accountants that they probably shouldn't, but I do expect a minimum of service and respect as a customer. I'm trying to run a business, and I pay someone else to deal with the accountancy. When I find that I spend a larger portion of my time chasing up accountancy matters or asking for advice which is not given, or is given weakly then I feel it's time to move.

I think there's an apparent problem in having one man in charge of an area the size of Scotland and yet seven regional managers in England. How can you ensure quality is being maintained? Who's watching the shop while you're on this forum?

There's no underhand sabotage tactics here, I'm just a p!ssed off customer who's had enough. All I'm trying to do is concentrate on my business and pay specialists to deal with some of the technical aspects. I don't know who I'm going to move to, god help me I even may take on this aspect of my business myself, because it may cost me less time in the end.

[welshman213]

Simon,

A quick reply to say many thanks for helping me out.

I was surprised how quickly you got back to me and extremley happy with the resolve you provided for my questions.

Guys if you have a query, please let Simon try and help before bitching, especially if you have not given them a chance to defend themselves in the first place.

Thanks

John

[TheBigYinJames]

Originally Posted by welshman213

Simon,

A quick reply to say many thanks for helping me out.

I was surprised how quickly you got back to me and extremley happy with the resolve you provided for my questions.

Guys if you have a query, please let Simon try and help before bitching, especially if you have not given them a chance to defend themselves in the first place.

Thanks

John

I suspect the point is the same old 'Watchdog' complaint - sure things move when you get a hold of the right person and threaten to go 'public' - but using the standard mechanisms to get things resolved doesn't seem to be working for some of these guys. I think people would be more impressed if Simon admitted there were problems and promised to sort them out, and then did so, rather than claiming everything was hunky dory and anyone who says different is a trouble maker.

[jmcdglasgow]

Originally Posted by simonsjdaccountancy

You are obviously extremely upset for which I sincerely apologise. Can I just make a few points?

1. We have 9000 clients, 8 offices and 150 staff - we make mistakes sometimes. I post on here in my own name and offer out my email address freely because I am genuinely passionate about providing the best possible service. If I wasn't I'd simply hide behind a nickname, ignore them, or use a PR company to offer meaningless platitudes.

2. I've spent 15 years building my company up to a point where we have on the whole an excellent reputation within the marketplace. That is the reason I will absolutely litigate against anyone posting libellous remarks which you did in your OP. Would you appreciate your customer naming you on a popular and public forum and accusing you of something untrue?

3. My email address, along with a photo of me, is quite clearly on our site, here:
http://www.sjdaccountancy.com/about/.../our_team.html

4. The reason we have one man in charge of Scotland and 7 for the rest of the UK is because that is how the spread of clients is.

5. The staff are not authorised to make refund payments to clients because I don't fancy the idea of having dozens of people having access to our bank account.

6. If you feel a refund is in order, again, please email me with specific details and I'd be happy to look into it for you.

1. I've never met you, but if you are genuine then you are to be commended.

2. This is unbelieveable. Are you telling me that you built your companies reputation by stalking forums and threatening anyone who has something negative to say against your company? You can't litigate against word of mouth, and it seems to me your own legal tactics will do just as much if not more damage to reputation than some goon on this forum. In my own defence, I keep very detailed audit trails and as such would have the necessary evidence to back up each and any of my claims in turn (except for any Royal Mail third party incidents). I'm not interested in escalating this into a tit-for-tat, however.

3. It's my own cognitive dissonance that prevented me from finding that part of your site, then. When I want to complain, I go to the Contact page. I don't wonder what the makeup of the team behind the company is.

4. Then maybe it's time to look at that issue and ask the question why is Ken replying to customer emails at 04:30am or 03:13 in the morning after?

5. Sure.

6. I do, but I'm not interested in a pyhrric victory. I just want to move and get on. A part of me also feels, in the same way that I might not complain about my meal after the first course in a restaurant, that it's better just to eat up and get out. Don't misunderstand me, it's a major pain to have to find a new accountant and change, but that's just how bad it's been.

Having just taken a quick scan of your previous posts, you're definately a stand out for being so active with your customers, and I'm sad that my experience has been less than sterling. But I really think that you may be doing more damage to yourself with the offhand "Who was it, I'll have them sacked immediately" and "I'll have you in court" attitude. I don't want you to sack anyone or take me to court, just tighten up the customer service side. If you really are at 98% customer satisfaction, then underhand agents on this forum aren't going to disuade people, as word of mouth is deeply important (I was reccommended to you by a colleague, who was with the Central office). It seems, from what I've read historically, that your company does very well and I wish you all the best, but perhaps you should recognise there is an issue with your Scottish operation and at least take that on board, rather than be so litigious?

Thanks to those who have posted reccommendations, I'll check them out.

[jmcdglasgow]

Originally Posted by TheBigYinJames

I suspect the point is the same old 'Watchdog' complaint - sure things move when you get a hold of the right person and threaten to go 'public' - but using the standard mechanisms to get things resolved doesn't seem to be working for some of these guys. I think people would be more impressed if Simon admitted there were problems and promised to sort them out, and then did so, rather than claiming everything was hunky dory and anyone who says different is a trouble maker.

That's hit it on the head for me. Why should I have to come on this forum to then find out that Simon is on the board to then find out he'll deal with my complaint? Each regional office should own the issue and resolve it, in my opinion.

[jmcdglasgow]

Originally Posted by jmcdglasgow

4. Then maybe it's time to look at that issue and ask the question why is Ken replying to customer emails at 04:30am or 03:13 in the morning after?

That sounds a bit kinky... just to be clear I mean the day after you email...

[jmcdglasgow]

Originally Posted by welshman213

Simon,

A quick reply to say many thanks for helping me out.

I was surprised how quickly you got back to me and extremley happy with the resolve you provided for my questions.

Guys if you have a query, please let Simon try and help before bitching, especially if you have not given them a chance to defend themselves in the first place.

Thanks

John

It's funny because you could be used as a counterfactual argument against Simon's agents of sabotage theory!

[Likely]

Quick get the pop corn..

[jmcdglasgow]

Simon - I'm sending you an email with details. Then you can verify the claims I am making.

[Alf W]

Stop being an arse 'weegie boy. Mistakes happen and you've got the main man offering to help. So what if it took eight weeks to do the final accounts. How much of a hurry are you in to pay your Corporation Tax anyway?

I think SJD are great and I've never had a single problem with them (that was 30% off the fees, wasn't it Simon?).