LIBERTY TAX SERVICES Zero Franchise Fee Offer

Liberty Tax Franchise is promoting a Zero Franchise Fee offer.  Their Email newsletter solicitation is below.

What do you think?  Is it a great deal? The text reads:

“Owning a Liberty Tax office is now more affordable than ever. With some franchise fees  totaling more than $40,000, Liberty Tax Service is offering No Franchise Fee.  Liberty’s No Franchise Fee Offer helps reduce the initial costs associated with  purchasing a franchise and gets you on the path to owning your own business.

“Franchise Fee is $0. Territory must be an un-owned, undeveloped territory. Franchisee will pay a $2,500 refundable security deposit. Security deposit is refunded upon the completion of 5 year franchise agreement or the sale of territory. Territory must be opened by 1/8/2012. Offer expires 12/31/2011. Available in select areas…”

Here’s the email offer:

Last Chance – Zero Franchise Fee

ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE LIBERTY TAX FRANCHISE? WHAT DO YOU THINK? SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

LIBERTY TAX: Are Liberty Tax Franchise Owners Living Their Dreams?

Liberty Tax is looking for dreamers.

Liberty Tax is looking for dreamers willing to invest their savings, retirement accounts and/or home equity and a good portion of their time and energy into a Liberty Tax franchise.

Liberty Tax is recruiting hard for dreamers – They are even willing to waive the $40,000+ franchise fee. (See email ad below, left)

But are Liberty Tax franchise owners really living the American Dream of business ownership… being their own bosses… controlling their own destinies?

Does the portrayal of the Liberty Tax franchise in the recruitment materials match the reality as reported by current and former Liberty Tax franchise owners?

We’ve included excerpts from a current Liberty Tax franchise ad, and asked Liberty Tax franchise owners to share their thoughts below.

“At Liberty, Dreamers are Welcome.”

In a franchisee recruitment page currently running on Franchise.Com, Liberty Tax describes their target franchisee:

“At Liberty, dreamers are welcome.”

“dreamers who want to work for no one … but themselves”

“have big dreams.”

“forward thinkers”

“dream of success.”

“Possess a passion.”

“Won’t accept average.”

“an exclusive group”

“No Tax Experience? No Worries.”

“motivated”

“prepared to jump in with both feet”

“people who have that fire in their belly and a desire to succeed”

“Liberty franchisees are CEOs”

Who they’ll be as Liberty Tax franchise owners:

“embracing proven marketing plans, working seasonally and connecting through cutting-edge social communications.”

“high profile.”

“you’ll have a proven system to follow that was 40+ years in the making”

“have access to more than 600 years of managerial experience, tax industry expertise and street-savvy marketing.”

“work really hard for 3 ½ months then spend the rest of the year pursuing other interests… Go on vacation. Raise alpacas. Learn to yodel…”

What they’ll get as Liberty Tax franchise owners:

“we will give you every bit of training you need—and then some. We’ll start with a week-long session at our corporate office in Virginia Beach, VA; follow it up with online and printed manuals, traditional and non-traditional training methods, webinars, onsite training, off-site training, conference calls and newsletters.

“Hewitt shares his insight with his franchisees, as a hands-on CEO, hosting conference calls, seminars and personally answering his e-mails.”

“A seasonal workforce keeps overhead lower than nearly any other industry.”

“No inventory. No worries about inventory loss.”

“Competitive advantage, population trends, traffic counts, visibility and more”

“Our team of experienced Site Selectors works one-on-one to locate, negotiate and sign the perfect location for your Liberty Tax office.”

“You will be in business for yourself with a very powerful partner ”

“We have nothing to hide.”

On the Franchise.com ad, Liberty Tax states “We have nothing to hide.”  So we invite Liberty Tax franchise owners to share whether the Liberty Tax franchise has enabled them to live their dreams and control their own destinies.

How well does the Liberty Tax marketing materials reflect the reality of the opportunity?

Do you think that recruiting “dreamers” with an emotional appeal to their egos and self-image is a wise, long-term strategy?

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

LIBERTY TAX Boasts Growth in Tax Returns & Revenue

(UnhappyFranchisee.com)  Liberty Tax kicked sand in the faces of tax franchise competitors Jackson Hewitt and H&R Block by boasting strong systemwide sales growth for the just-completed tax season.

Here is the Liberty Tax company news release, posted on Businesswire.  Feel free to share your views about the health of Liberty Tax, Jackson Hewitt and H&R Block in the comments section below.

Read previous posts here about LIBERTY TAX.

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Liberty Tax’s Preliminary Tax Season Results Show Solid Sustainable Growth

Company Has Responded to Changing Industry Landscape

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Liberty Tax Service has demonstrated the ability to respond to a plethora of industry challenges and regulations during its most recent tax season and reports solid growth in both tax returns and revenue for the just-completed tax season. Throughout this decade, Liberty Tax Service has demonstrated significant gains in an industry formerly dominated by tax giant H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) and, during the 21st century, Liberty has grown by more tax returns than both Jackson Hewitt (NYSE:JTX) and H&R Block combined.

Liberty Tax Service prepared 11% more returns through April 19, 2011, compared to the same time period in 2010. System wide revenues increased 12%. The Company continued to offer competitive choices, allowing its growing customer base to choose between professional services in brick-and-mortar locations, and do-it-yourself online tax preparation with its eSmart Tax product at www.esmarttax.com.

In 2011, change proved to be another of life’s certainties, and the major tax players were faced with challenges of offering tax settlement products after the IRS cancelled the direct deposit indicator. The IRS also began phasing in increased regulations of tax preparers and their credentials. With a tax preparer certification process in place since 2007, Liberty Tax Service was poised for stricter IRS standards for tax preparers.

“We have rolled with the punches during this tax season. Tax preparer certification benefits not only the consumer, but the credibility of the tax industry and our collaborative effort to fight fraud. Liberty’s continued ability to offer customers the range of filing and tax settlement product options they expect has been another factor in our success this year,” Liberty Tax Service Founder and CEO, John Hewitt, reflected. “In addition, our execution and preparation paid off.”

Aggressive marketing coupled with a strong commitment to customer service have been key factors in building a successful brand in fourteen years. Since 1997, the Company has grown from 119 offices located in Canada, to over 3,800 throughout the U.S. and Canada today.

About Liberty Tax Service

Liberty Tax Service is the fastest -growing retail tax preparation company in the industry’s history. Founded in 1997 by CEO John T. Hewitt, a pioneer in the tax industry, Liberty Tax Service has prepared over 8,000,000 individual income tax returns. With 42 years of tax industry experience, Hewitt stands as the most experienced CEO in the tax preparation business, having also founded Jackson Hewitt Tax Service.

The Liberty Tax Service franchise opportunity is #1 in the tax franchise category of the 2011 Entrepreneur “Franchise 500.” Liberty Tax Service is the only tax franchise on the Forbes “Top 20 Franchises to Start.” Each office provides computerized income tax preparation, electronic filing, and online filing through eSmart Tax. Other services include audit assistance, a money back guarantee, and free tax return checking.

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WHAT DO YOU THINK?  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

LIBERTY TAX Scam Exposed by Franchise Owner

Liberty Tax franchise owner Tami Woestemeyer didn’t make it through her first season without being targeted for a tax refund scam.

Thanks to her quick thinking and the alleged scammer’s overly flamboyant ways, Woestemeyer helped expose the scam that specifically directed at Liberty Tax franchise locations.

How the Liberty Tax Scam Worked.

According to the Colorado Springs Gazette, the alleged scammer is 50-year-old Randall Heath.  Heath was booked into the El Paso, Texas County jail on Feb. 2 on suspicion of 23 counts of money laundering, theft, identity theft, forgery and giving false information to a pawn broker.

According to police, Heath used stolen identities to obtain refund anticipation loans from several Liberty Tax Service offices

Since mid-January, police say, Heath has been using stolen identities to try to get loans from several Liberty Tax Service offices. .

The identities had been obtained by a break-in at a home that contained records from a defunct business that contained its clients’ personal information.

Heath allegedly used the stolen information to create fake driver’s licenses and phony W-2s for each of the identity theft victims.

He then used the phony W-2s to apply for seven $1,500 loans from different Liberty offices as well as a $50 bonus for filing taxes with Liberty, for a total of $10,850.

At some of the Liberty Tax offices, Heath asked for the loans to be deposited directly into a bank account and asked for a check for the others.

According to Woestemeyer, the social security number checked out and his picture ID appeared real, so she initially processed the scammer’s paperwork.

Ain’t no Cure for Stupid, Mr. Heath
If Heath hadn’t over-acted and made some stupid mistakes, he may have been home free.

But over-act he did.  Heath arrived at the Liberty Tax office in cowboy boots, cowboy hat and vest, gold chains, and flashy jewelry on his fingers.

He claimed that he worked for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, though his W-2 wasn’t from the agency. 

(At another Liberty Tax office, Heath allegedly “handed over a W-2 claiming an Alaska state tax. The problem: Alaska has no state tax… Heath returned an hour later with a corrected W-2.)

Initially, Woestemeyer processed his paperwork anyway, but her suspicions grew after she thought back on an offhand-comment he made.  She called several other Liberty Tax locations and all had reported seeing the odd, bejewelled cowboy.

That’s when she called police.  When Mr. Heath returned to pick up his check, they were waiting to add steel bracelets to his fashionable ensemble.

Warning for Liberty Tax owners:  The next guy might not be so dumb.

Police seized $17,000 in a bank account Heath allegedly set up under the name of one of the identity theft victims. In addition to tax fraud, police suspect Heath attempted to use victims’ personal information to to pawn gold jewelry and try to obtain financing from a local used car dealership.

But what’s scary is that if he had not overplayed his hand with the rhinestone cowboy from Homeland Security routine, he might have continued to get away the scam.

So Liberty Tax preparers be warned:  Make sure your customers are who they say they are, especially if they have Alaskan W-2s.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

LIBERTY TAX Mascot Arrested, Jailed

Liberty Tax mascot Lady Liberty was arrested and jailed in Lancaster, PA last Friday.

According to Larry Alexander’s story in the Lancaster Intelligencer Journal, Joseph A. Shevock, 43, has worked as the local Liberty Tax mascot since the last week in December.

Friday, Lancaster police received a tip that the man dressed up as the Statue of Liberty at the corner of Prince & King streets resembled a wanted forgery suspect named Joshua Dennison.

Police detained Shevock on suspicion of being Dennison.   In the process of determining that Shevock was neither the suspected forger nor the one true Lady Liberty, Lancaster police discovered that the Liberty Tax mascot was wanted in Cambria County on burglary charges.

Joseph “Give me Liberty or Give me the Cambria County Slammer!” Shevock was remanded to the Lancaster County Jail and awaits extradition.

Joshua Dennison, a man with the dual misfortune of being wanted on forgery charges and resembling a man dressed as Lady Liberty, is still at large. 

“WANTED: your poor, your wretched, your huddled masses… Immediate openings!  No background check!”

A bronze plaque on the Statue of Liberty includes the words “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore… Send these, the homeless…”

These words seems to have been quite inspiring to the Liberty Tax human resources department, especially when it comes to hiring Liberty Tax mascots. 

Unhappy Franchisee has long questioned the marketing strategy of placing the integrity of a national brand, upon which franchisee livelihoods depend, into the hands of nearly anyone willing to wear a silly clothes and crazy foam headgear.  Just because it works for Green Bay Packers fans doesn’t mean it’s a wise move for a financial services company.

Jacqueline Gonzalez, the supervisor of the office that hired wanted fugitive Shevock, acknowledged that Liberty Tax does not require background checks for the mascot job. According to the LIJ, “Applicants supply references, go through an interview and orientation, and then are given a trial run. If they do well the first day, they are given more hours.”

One wonder what would constitute not doing well the first day?  Holding the Liberty Tax sign askew?  Failing to keep the torch of liberty burning bright?

Is the age of mascot profiling upon us?

The Lancaster police are delighted that they apprehended a wanted man by randomly detaining a Liberty Tax mascot.  And they are actively on the lookout for another wanted man who reportedly resembles a Liberty Tax mascot.

It would be natural for law enforcement to now conclude that they should detain and do a warrant check on every 40-something man dressed like a Statue of Liberty.

Liberty Tax franchisees would be wise to do a little extra investigation on their mascot personnel, at least to be sure they have no outstanding warrants and aren’t listed on the sex offender registry.

They would also be wise to pack, not wear, their Lady Liberty costumes when travelling by air.

The age of mascot profiling may be upon us.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

TAX FRANCHISES: Biggest Winners & Losers of 2010

TAX FRANCHISES: Biggest Winners & Losers of 2010      Learn which tax prep franchise chains have grown – and which have declined -  in the past three years. Read more

LIBERTY TAX Offers Franchise Test-Drive Opportunity

Liberty Tax has unveiled its latest franchisee recruitment promotion, a try-before-you-buy program it calls the hands-on “Franchise Boot Camp.”

According to an October 4, 2010 company press release, “Prospects will be put through Liberty’s franchise operational paces and paid a salary. After operating an office, the candidates can apply this newly gleaned experience to purchase the office, or finish the job with no further obligation.”

The Liberty Tax press release continues:

“In response to the economic climate and financing obstacles of opening a franchise, Liberty Tax Service announces a new ‘Franchise Boot Camp’ program that puts prospective franchisees through the paces of owning a tax franchise while they collect a salary to run the office. Candidates can choose to ‘enlist’ for seven weeks of extensive franchise operational training and real-time management responsibilities of running a retail store front during tax season.

“’The approved candidates will receive in-depth instruction on marketing, management, hiring, budgeting, tax preparation and other aspects of running a Liberty Tax office. After operating an office, the candidates can apply this newly gleaned experience to purchase the office, or finish the job with no further obligation.

“Liberty Tax will accept applications for ‘Franchise Boot Camp’ at recruiter(at)libertytaxemail(dot)com.

“’This is a win-win for both parties: our approved candidates can try us before they buy, and Liberty Tax has a report card on their ability to run a successful tax office before they enter our franchise ranks,’ commented CEO John Hewitt on this inaugural franchise training program.

“Residents of California, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin must comply with the specific state applicable presale registration and disclosure requirements.”

What do you think?  Is the Liberty Tax “Franchise Boot Camp” an innovative, risk-free way to enable franchise prospects to make more informed decisions regarding the Liberty Tax franchise opportunity?

Or is Liberty Tax “Franchise Boot Camp” simply another slick franchise sales ploy meant to turn employment seekers into Liberty Tax franchisees?

WHAT’S YOUR TAKE?  SHARE YOUR OPINION WITH A COMMENT BELOW.

Company rebuttals, clarifications or statements are always welcome.  Contact us at UnhappyFranchisee[at]gmail.com.

LIBERTY TAX FRANCHISE: Praise from 1st Year Owner

The Liberty Tax franchise opportunity has both its supporters and its detractors, neither of which are shy with their opinions. 

As of this writing, two UnhappyFranchisee.com posts have 60+ comments on Liberty Tax and founder John Hewitt:

LIBERTY TAX SERVICE Franchise Complaints

Are LIBERTY TAX SERVICE Franchise Owners Happy?

We received a recent comment from a “Mario” who claims to be a first-year Liberty Tax franchise owner.  Mario states that he converted his existing business to Liberty Tax and his numbers shot up 40% this year after converting our business to Liberty.  According to Mario, “We are first hand proof that the system works.”

Here is Mario’s posted comment.  What do you think?  Share a comment below.

2010/05/11 at 5:12pm Mario wrote:

“The problem may lie in the people making these postings. I am a first year franchisee of Liberty. We converted our existing tax practice into a Liberty Tax and are very satisfied with their support and service. Owning a business is not for everyone. As an owner of up to 5 business at any given time, I have to work harder than most people who have jobs. I don’t complain about that, I am happy to work harder because my family and I are the ultimate beneficiaries of the hard work and long hours. People who have jobs and work for others mostly work harder for the benefit of their employers with no real job stability or appreciation. If you like working 9-5, owning a business or a franchise is not for you. If you don’t want to risk the money you are investing, owning a business or a franchise is not for you. Keep it in a savings account earning 1/2 a percent per year interest. There are no free rides. If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. Liberty provides an excellent system and backend that if executed properly, works. There are over 2000 franchisees in the Liberty system. Most are very happy and profitable. Obviously the ones that are unhappy and/or didn’t preform well in their endeavor have posted here. Is the system perfect? Absolutely not. Is it much better than opening up a business on your own (as I have done many times both successfully and unsuccessfully)? It absolutely is.

“John Hewitt successfully founded and ran Jackson Hewitt which was sold for hundreds of millions of dollars. Liberty Tax is the fastest growing tax franchise ever. He has over 40 years experience in the tax industry. With that comes some people who weren’t a good fit for franchising, or for the tax industry or for owning a business in general. You have seen their postings above. Take them with a grain of salt. If you are interested in franchising with Liberty Tax, inquire with Liberty and you will get a chance to talk with John Hewitt himself. Opportunities like that are rare. He is a hands on CEO with a wealth of information and knowledge that he isn’t afraid to share (to his franchisees). If you have questions about the postings above, feel free to present them to John directly and he will give you the other side of the story which is not represented here.

“Goto Jackson Hewitt’s website and goto their investor relations section and listen to their conference calls and look at their financials. Better yet, search them on Google News and you will see that they are on the verge of failing. Then do the same on Liberty’s website. You can see the financials posted (even though they are not a public company, they still release their financial performance). You can listen into John Hewitt’s investor conference calls. He has a wealth of information about the tax industry as well as competitors H&R Block and Jackson Hewitt. During recent years, Liberty has increased market share each year while it other two national competitors (H&R and Jackson Hewitt) have lost market share and their client base. Don’t let a couple of disgruntled franchisees sway your decision before getting all of the facts so you can make an informed educated decision about joining a great company like Liberty Tax Service.

“Our numbers were up 40% this year after converting our business to Liberty. We are first hand proof that the system works.”

More posts and discussions on the Liberty Tax franchise:

LIBERTY TAX SERVICE Franchise Success Story

LIBERTY TAX: Should Franchisees Call Customers Crackheads?

LIBERTY TAX SERVICE: Unhappy Franchisees Need a Reality Check

Are you familiar with the Liberty Tax franchise or other tax franchise opportunities?  What do you think?  Share a comment below.

LIBERTY TAX SERVICE: Unhappy Franchisees Need a Reality Check

Franchisee “Joey Black” claims that the unhappy franchisees (and ex-franchisees) of Liberty Tax who vent here are “over the top” and in need of a reality check.  What do you think? Excerpts highlighting his main points follow the full text of his comment, below.

Here is Joey Black’s comment, posted on LIBERTY TAX SERVICE Franchise Complaints:

The comments here from people who did not make it as Liberty franchisees are frankly over the top. I spent $70k on each of the offices I’ve started, and that was it. Why someone would expect to spend three times that is beyond me. People complaining about the royalty are particularly suspect. Jackson Hewitt charges more, and H&R Block charges its frachisees a whole lot more. Same for the ad fees. And this year, Liberty gave back half of the ad fees to the franchisees to spend on marketing materials. They paid for my yellow pages ad. They produce all the ad copy, graphics, etc.

But none of this was hidden when I signed the contract. It was all right there. And what franchise business doesn’t charge royalties and advertising fees? And interest on notes you’ve signed? Didn’t you read what you were signing? Again, it’s all there in the contracts you sign. Good grief, at least complain about legitimate things. Otherwise you end up looking worse than you’re trying to make Liberty look. You didn’t know what the interest structure was on your note, but you wanted to do peoples’ taxes?

Now, most people who fail as franchisees are people who are not suited to own their own business. And they could be identified up front, but Liberty will accept your money and sell you a territory if you can fog a mirror. They pretend theirs is an exclusive club and you’re lucky to be let in, but that’s a lot of hype. They have a large tax department to support franchisees, software development, technical support, operational support, marketing, etc. to the idea that most of the company is the legal department is ludicrous. I know their VP of legal and corporate counsel. It is not a big department, but yes, they are very willing and eager to litigate. You need to know that going in. That’s why it is important to talk to real franchisees, both current and former, successful and unsuccessful. I make good money as a Liberty franchisee, but I have had to learn what is real and what is BS. They leave me alone for the most part, which is all I want now that I understand the business.

Yes, the franchised business is harder to sell than Liberty would lead you to believe. Yes, buy one and run it for a year before buying multiple units. Yes, 12% is a very high price to pay for money. If you have to use Liberty’s 12% money you probably should not be going into business. Most financially sound people don’t have to pay 12% to borrow money. Yes, many of their Area Developers are useless and you just want them to stay out of your way but they are your only conduit to the corporate office for support sometimes. You have to deal with that. And yes, if you are profitable at all, just a little bit, in your 2nd tax season you’ve done very well. If you have to have profit to sustain yourself in tax season #2 this is not a business for you. These things are true. But there’s a lot in this thread that is not true for most Liberty franchisees. A lot of it is failure looking for something to blame.”

Joey Black’s Reality Check:  Main Points

Startup costs:  “I spent $70k on each of the offices I’ve started, and that was it. Why someone would expect to spend three times that is beyond me.”

Royalties & Fees:  “Jackson Hewitt charges more, and H&R Block charges its frachisees a whole lot more. Same for the ad fees.”

Advertising:  “…this year, Liberty gave back half of the ad fees to the franchisees to spend on marketing materials. They paid for my yellow pages ad. They produce all the ad copy, graphics, etc. “

Due diligence:  “…none of this was hidden when I signed the contract. It was all right there.”

Franchisee failure:  “…most people who fail as franchisees are people who are not suited to own their own business.

Sales hype:  “Liberty will accept your money and sell you a territory if you can fog a mirror. They pretend theirs is an exclusive club and you’re lucky to be let in, but that’s a lot of hype.”

Franchise support:  “They have a large tax department to support franchisees, software development, technical support, operational support, marketing, etc. to the idea that most of the company is the legal department is ludicrous.”

Litigation:  “…they [the  franchisor] are very willing and eager to litigate [franchisees]. You need to know that going in.

Profitability:  “I make good money as a Liberty franchisee, but I have had to learn what is real and what is BS.”  “if you are profitable at all, just a little bit, in your 2nd tax season you’ve done very well. If you have to have profit to sustain yourself in tax season #2 this is not a business for you.”

Financing:  “12% is a very high price to pay for money. If you have to use Liberty’s 12% money you probably should not be going into business. Most financially sound people don’t have to pay 12% to borrow money.”

Area Developers:  “…many of their Area Developers are useless and you just want them to stay out of your way but they are your only conduit to the corporate office for support sometimes.”

Blaming others:  “…there’s a lot in this thread that is not true for most Liberty franchisees. A lot of it is failure looking for something to blame.”

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

LIBERTY TAX: Should Franchisees Call Customers Crackheads?

On the post LIBERTY TAX Service Complaint, all you need is cash! complained that when she went to her Liberty Tax Service after receiving a call her refund would be ready, she and others arrived to find the doors locked.  The delay, she claimed, made her default on payment commitments. 

  When she complained to the franchisee and demanded a refund of her fees, she claims she was told “YOU MUST BE A CRACK HEAD B$%&@ FOR WANTING YOUR FEES BACK.”

While calling customers “crackheads” probably isn’t recommended in the Liberty Tax Service customer service manual, commenter Ed was unsympathetic.  Ed wrote:

Ok, a couple things stood out in this post that I have to reply to. It appears everthing was done great all the way up to the point of picking up your check on Saturday.

First of all the office manager is not the cause of your collection from what I see. We have all been there before, at least most of us, and we are down to the last second to pay and if everything lines up correctly and everything in the universe is alligned we will be able to pay a bill. If the post man failed to deliver your check that day would he be responisble and would you want to sue the post office? Yes you should of got your check that Saturday from the way it sounds but if you would of filed 2 weeks earlier you also would have gotten the bill paid. If it was such a crisis and you were getting a refund why didnt you file earlier? Then the bill would of been paid in plenty of time and there would of been no collection. So I do not see where the tax office is to blame for your collection. You have to be willing to take responsiblity for your actions and realize that if you would of acted in a timely manner you would not be in collection.

Now if the office said they were going to be open and wasn’t then there is a problem. It sounds as if there is a customer service issue and I see every reason for you to be displeased about that. Now, when there is a customer service issue I think the first thing we need to remember is calling a company that has wronged you and berating them usualy is not a good way to get what you want. I can only guess but it appears that some things were said by you before the manager told you to “call any lawyer you want”. I could be off base a little but that comment would make it appear you threatened legal action when you called. If so, that is a huge lesson to be learned. I am a business owner and as soon as someone threatens legal action I shut down and tell them that the conversation has ended and that our attourneys can now speak because we no longer have anything to talk about.
Never threaten a lawsuit unless your serious because it does no good. Business owners hear that so many times and it does not scare them and you are not doing yourself any favors as a consumer.

Lastly this was the office manager who was rude to you and if I was in your shoes I would of politley ended this conversation with her and attempted to contact the owner. Once again if your plan is to call and berate people and expect them to give you what you desire then you will most always be dissappointed. If I am upset at a company and I want some action I go by this simple rule. If what I want is action then I give them every opportunity to give me what I want by being professional. If I want someones head and I am just mad and want to “go off”, I realize that I probably won’t get anything except the peace of mind of “going off” and letting them know how I felt.

Yes there is a huge customer service problem with what happened to you but its just that a customer service issue. I think there is just as big of a problem of a customer trying to blame items that were not the companies fault on them in an attempt to make the story look better and more in the customers favor. Also at the end you talk about ongoing poor customer service at Liberty Tax which confuses me a little. You said the taxes and the preparer were great?

There is no doubt there was bad customer service that took place here. I also think the situation was handled incorrectly by both parties.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?  SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.

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