Wednesday, January 30, 2013

That's not a good sign!

Posted by dkuehn at 11:59 PM
I saw an H&R Block ad on the metro today that said something to the effect of "On a scale from 1 to 10, our customer service is an 11!"

I'm not sure I want someone doing my taxes or financial planning if they are that innumerate!

6 comments:

  1. InjuredEJanuary 31, 2013 at 1:00 AM

    11 is a number between 9 and 10.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJanuary 31, 2013 at 1:54 AM

    In my radio market there is a commercial with Morgan Freeman speaking about the wonders of a tax refund. Personally, if I were to file I would do so such that my allowances were to have me owe a few hundred bucks every year, although a dead-even situation would be optimal. From an investment standpoint it makes no sense to get a refund unless you're getting credits and/or your deductions are such that they have outstripped your allowance calculations/changes throughout the year, otherwise you're losing out either in terms of interest for extending the interest-free loan to the government, or your stripped of the purchasing power over the annual term in most cases.

    I understand the want to use a service, because most people don't care about anything but the refund, and they certainly don't know (or want to know) a thing about how taxes work; it's a habit that they've been born into. But I personally wouldn't choose a company whose job is accounting, and their ad makes such a glaring oversight. Then again, it isn't the accountants that produce the ads, nor is it the accountants that contract and approve them, so these people don't see the contradiction, they just see the message. Unfortunately, it is an effective strategy in terms of marketing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Daniel KuehnJanuary 31, 2013 at 7:24 AM

      - For some reason I am still overrun by my baser psychology... I hate owing. I much prefer a refund even though I know that doesn't make sense.

      - re: "But I personally wouldn't choose a company whose job is accounting, and their ad makes such a glaring oversight." - are you talking about the Morgan Freeman one in this case? Hopefully you all know I'm being facetious with this ad.

      Delete
    2. AnonymousJanuary 31, 2013 at 5:10 PM

      No, I was talking mostly about the HR Block ad in that second paragraph. But like I said, that's just marketing, and it is quite effective even if it doesn't make sense.

      Delete
  3. MinJanuary 31, 2013 at 5:04 AM

    5 out of 4 doctors recommend . . . .

    ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. LordJanuary 31, 2013 at 10:47 PM

    Not even if it is in your favor? Might have a long term cost associated with it though.

    ReplyDelete

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