Working for a man that only worries about lining his pockets and not his clients was rough enough, however after he fired me he decided to withhold my productivity bonus because his clients have not been paying him. The bigger part of that picture is they are not paying for a reason. He is over-billing, charging for every second they may text, call or email and not discussing additional charges before he charges them. Any CPA or decent human has enough ethics to treat their client better than this; especially if you intend to retain that client.
So, because he treating his clients poorly, being unethical, losing client and is unable to collect his receivables I not longer deserve my productivity bonus? It wasn't a normal bonus - I produced the work. Not only that but with three of us in the office I produced 70% of the billable work. At this point it isn't greed because we are only talking about $1,000, it is the principle that he can just decide not to give it to me. Bigger than that - I have seen him do it to others.
Secondly, I provided proof of my termination to the unemployment department and because Mr. Ex-Employer was able to lie - he won that also. Most of you know me already - I will appeal, again, not for the money because by time this is over there will be no need for it, but because it is wrong and again I have seen him do it to others.
I am in an unfamiliar place right now. I am not angry, I am not upset - I just want justice (I hope that isn't to strong of a word). I understand that employees sometimes cheat the system, in many ways. That is not the case here. I repeated my story multiple times, turned over all documentation supporting the truth and still one lie from an ex-employer can sway the decision.
Bottom line is that I am not going to give up on this one. I will continue to fight it. I have filed a complaint with the state of Texas on the withheld bonus. I have appealed the unemployment decision. I have contacted other ex-employees of his that are willing to stand up and say what happened to them as well. It is time that someone let this man know that you can't cheat people - not your employee and certainly not your clients.
Finally, the actions that bother me thee most are answering all the phone calls from his current and ex-clients. How do they find me? He made me put my personal cell phone on my business cards. I have had so many questions - most I can't answer for them and I feel horrible when I can't help. He is running a CPA office and is not a CPA. I can't tell you how many phone calls I have gotten asking if he is a CPA and why is he misrepresenting himself. He isn't a CPA, he is an engineer. Then there are client that have left him and he is holding their information hostage until they pay the LARGE final bill he has generated. They worst one? The clients that he still has not completed the work for and it has been sitting there since, at least, my last day - Jan 11th. I can't defend it.
This experience has given me so much insight on how I do not want to run my business. I am glad that I waited it out; learning from this instead of letting it paralyze my forward movement. My clients come first. Isn't that what we are here for - to help them build their business and understand their financial situation? Without them - I have no business. I am grateful to those who have shown me exactly who I don't want to be and what I don't want to do. Even a difficult experience can create a strong you.
