Chapter 5 part 3
Scientists today are probably working on an algorithm or mathematical formula that will explain and categorize love. I wish them well. Several of our children have used online dating services. Which rely on algorithms to some extent. My beloved has told me that she has used online platforms to scrutinize erstwhile boyfriends. Me, I have never had any truck with such fiddle-faddle. But then again, I am not such a big believer in premortal arrangements that inevitably lead to a couple meeting and marrying. I guess, if I were pressed, I’d have to say I think the best way to find love and companionship is on the wing. Marriage, in my uninformed opinion, is the biggest gamble in the world. It also gives you the biggest jackpot in the world. By miraculous circumstances, which I believe are providential, I staked everything on a beautiful woman. My Beloved. Up at the old funeral home in Tioga. And I lost everything. The shirt off my back. But then I won it all back again, in spades. “In spades” is no longer politically correct. It refers to the game of birdge. But it suits my situation perfectly, so I'm using it. If you want to sue me for it, join the line that’s already formed.
Some people think they can program their life. That there’s an app online through the internet of things that will tell them what to think, tell them what to do, tell them what to not eat, tell them when to get up. Tell them who to vote for and tell them when to go to bed. But to paraphrase W.C. Fields: “Anyone who hates apps and bitcoin can’t be all bad.”
I don’t know exactly how My Beloved reacts to such old codger crankiness. Since she herself has been intimately involved with many different programs online while working as a tax preparer for H&R block this year. She has spent the last four months online preparing taxes for the kind of people who eventually wind up walking around wearing nothing but a barrel. You pay taxes with money and money is almost as interesting to most people as sex. So we will change formats. Change gears, so to speak. With a Q and A session with me and My Beloved. I am the Q and she is the A.
Q: How did you first get involved with H&R Block?
A: I was looking for work. Many applications had gone out to many people. Marie Olson responded to my application and the rest is history. Marie Olson, I later learned, is a supervisor over the Provo District in corporate H&R Block. That district covers the geographic area between American Fork on the north to Santaquin on the south and west of the Uinta Mountains, east of the Tooele Mountains. She is responsible for hiring assistants and Customer Service Persons for the various offices which require them. I was hired as an assistant to the busiest tax preparer in the district. Marie and I got along famously from the first time I met her. Her familiar manner was comforting to me. She felt a kinship with me as well and we have been friends ever since. She is my boss and I do anything she wants. She is always good to ask if I can do things instead of assume that I will be available if the time is different than what I signed up for.
Q: You once told me, in fact you have told me several times, that you do boring well. Is that part of the attraction for doing taxes for others at H&R Block?
A: Nope. As an assistant to a tax preparer I could use the skills I had learned and acquired from the various offices I had been a part of. Using different programs and understanding the nuances of upgrades as well as limitations in programs helped. I had learned to scan many confidential documents and save to files. I had learned to work with a spreadsheet and manage accounting there. I understood about state tax and federal tax and Medicare and the percentages for each. All this is boring to someone who is not interested in bookkeeping or accounting. Yet these are the nuts and bolts of the organization for whom I work. I don’t consider this boring work. My job was to do whatever the tax preparer needed whether scanning, or data entry, or creating a document, or answering emails, or making phone calls, or setting appointments. I learned many of the finer points of the company well before I took the course for tax preparing. If I had not been introduced to the company this way it would have been a shock to enter the workforce of H&R Block after I took the class to be a tax preparer. The course is designed to educate a person about tax laws. It is not designed to teach you how to work the data entry software for H&R Block. There are several programs in which to work for keeping records at H&R Block.. Each has a purpose and the corporate team is always working on upgrades for better service to clients.
If there is a time that something is boring to me it’s most likely that it is tedious. Something that is tedious to me is very interesting to someone else and visa versa. I’m getting better at telling people no if it is going to be tedious beyond repair for me.
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We take a break here to pull a pan of french fries out of the oven . . .
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Q: Can you please describe for our readers a typical H&R Block Program that you are familiar with?
A: I’m not sure what you mean.
Q: Well, then, describe for us what you do for clients.
A: I do many things. If I lead with a question “How may I help you today?” and not assume that I am doing their taxes, I get various answers that quickly allows me to help their situation. It can be anything from looking at a letter from IRS to sorting out their receipts for tax deductions on a small business. Of course the most frequent duty is to prepare their taxes for federal and state 1040 submission to IRS. The submission of federal and state income tax reports involves using the secure company program which has a direct line to IRS. It’s one-way so that if we submit the information we have access to what we submit. We don’t have access to IRS records if we have not submitted to them.
Q: Thank you for that explanation, dear. What do you consider to be the best part of working at H&R Block as a tax preparer.
A: People. Everyone is different. Everyone has a story. They come to H&R Block once a year and tell what has happened in the year. If the tax person is new to them they get to tell their whole life story in the 50 minute interview time. I like to find connections and comment about what I notice.
Q: if you could change anything about your work at H&R Block what would it be?
A: People. Some people are naturally fearful, drama prone, complaining, expecting and assuming. I do my best to assuage the fear and drama. Complainers need to have someone listen so I do. Those with unreasonable expectations I can usually refer to another more experienced tax pro. The assuming ones usually make an ass of you and me before we’re done.
Q: One last question. What kind of personality and talent do you think are needed to succeed as a tax preparer at H&R Block.
A: You need to be the kind of person who will connect with the people you serve. You will want to be able to remember things so you can help in various situations because not everyone is the same. The laws are constantly changing so keeping up with them is another skill but the company helps with that as they require and provide annual class work to update you on new tax law changes.
