Why our accountants are never off duty; Service please…!

It was my birthday recently and to celebrate my family decided to treat me to dinner. I had been given the choice of where to go and had done quite a bit of research online and chosen one of Edinburgh’s top restaurants.

My birthday fell midweek and our table was booked for 8pm. We arrived on time and were shown to a table in the bar for a pre-dinner drink and peruse of the menus. Unfortunately it took twenty minutes for our drinks to be served and then a further ten minutes before we were given the menus. By this time my teenage son was getting pretty hungry. To be fair I was really enjoying my cocktail.

Our dinner order was finally taken and we were eventually shown to our table in the restaurant just after 9pm. The restaurant was busy – impressively so for a Wednesday night, but I noticed that only one or two tables were actually ever eating at the same time. The rest of the tables were waiting to be served or for their plates to be cleared away.

The waiters were very pleasant and attentive regarding our drinks and finally, just as my son had completely given up all hope, our starters were served around 9.30pm. The food was absolutely delicious but by then it was too late for us to properly enjoy it. Things did not get any quicker and we finally left the restaurant at 10.45pm and no we definitely did not linger over coffee as there was not time for any!

So in a nutshell whilst the food and drinks were first class and the staff were lovely we won’t be going back as the service just took far too long. Worse still since then I have told all my friends about this experience and said to them to spread the word. This may not be fair based on one visit – but it is reality. I may yet write a review on TripAdvisor which will spread my view on this restaurant even further.

When I came to work the next day, as well as being tired from an unexpected late night, the experience was obviously still fresh in my mind and reminded me just how important the service that we give to our clients is and how quickly a reputation can be gained or lost.

It goes without saying that as a firm of accountants we do take great pride in our reputation for excellent service. Our staff are well qualified and attend regular training courses to ensure that their technical knowledge is kept up to date.

However in addition to this we take the time to remind ourselves at every internal staff training session that the need for speed is also very important to our clients. We therefore strive to deliver a quick turnaround so there is no wondering and waiting to know how your business is doing or how much profit you have made or how much tax you will have to pay.

So if your current accountant is not living up to your expectations, no matter how nice they are, why not give us a call and see what we can offer you. As well as an excellent service we promise you a fast turnaround time for your accounts, tax return, book-keeping and payroll etc. There is nothing to lose by making that call. We offer a free initial meeting and are happy to come to see you wherever and whenever suits you best.

At Johnston Smillie we aim to provide all our clients excellent customer service throughout. If you feel we could help you, please contact Anne Melville on 0131 317 7377 or <a href=”anne.melville@jsca.co.uk”>anne.melville@jsca.co.uk</a> and she will ensure you are connected with the most relevant and available member of the team.