As we are sure you can understand, Ron’s unexpected passing on February 10, 2014 has devastated not just Holly, but all of us here at H & R Pye’s, as well as our many friends and clients. It is never easy to lose a loved one, let alone a person who is your partner in all aspects of your life – personal and professional. But it is tax season, and we must push our grief down and deal with the business at hand. As you know, we were closed for the remainder of the week following Ron’s death, but that does not mean we were not working. The task of moving close to 100 appointments scheduled for that week fell to Linda and Travis, who had to call client after client, telling them that sad news and rescheduling appointments, not just for Holly’s clients, but for Ron’s clients as well. You cannot imagine how difficult it is to say again and again “I’m sorry to tell you Ron passed away”.
That being said, we want to apologize right at the start for the delay in turn around of your tax return. All returns go through a two step checking process by the staff to be certain that the preparers have entered the income information (W2s, Social Security, 1099s etc. (if applicable) correctly. Unfortunately, it can happen that a preparer transposes a figure or places a figure in the wrong category, which is why we have the double checking process. I am finding that a number of our clients do not seem to be aware of this process. It is a process that has always been in place, but was done after you had left with your tax package in prior years. In 2011, when we were unable to file returns until mid to late February, we started the practice of double checking before we released the return to the client. This is our fourth year of this practice.
As Ron’s clients have been made aware, we have brought in Karl Keyser, a long time family friend to assist with his appointments this year. In addition, Holly’s sister, Cheryl, has expanded her duties as office manager to include tax preparation. Karl has been an accountant for close to 30 years; however, Holly has been reviewing his returns (as well as Cheryl’s) to be sure that they conform to the practices and policies of H & R Pye’s. Holly has been working every day, from 8 a.m. until 9 or 10:00 p.m to see her clients and to review tax returns prepared by Karl and Cheryl. All this while dealing with the loss of her husband and business partner. To say it has been difficult would be a great understatement.
We are behind this year not only due to Ron’s unexpected death, but we are also extremely short staffed as two of our three seasonal employees were unable to return this year, and as noted above, Cheryl’s time is divided between meeting with clients and running the office.
We understand that your taxes are your top priority; continuing to give you the best service possible is ours. Our staff is working long hours (10 to 13 hours a day) every single day of the week in order to move these returns along. We are doing the best we can under extreme circumstances.
We ask your consideration and understanding during this very difficult tax season.