I’ve spent a lot of time on this podcast talking about how to run a better firm.
But I also found myself on the receiving end of exactly the kind of client experience you don’t want to be delivering.
In this episode, I want to walk you through what happened and why some of it might hit closer to home than you’d expect.
Listen below.
1:01 The advisor I hired was senior and knowledgeable. I brought her on for two things — peace of mind that my bases were covered, and proactive ideas throughout the year.
2:07 More than once, I turned to ChatGPT for answers on the exact questions I was asking my advisor. Not by choice — I was just getting more clarity from AI than from the person I was paying.
3:15 On top of that, several accounts were treated incorrectly, putting me at risk. I caught the issues myself. She fixed them, but that only added to the frustration.
4:06 Usually, an unhappy client means something could have been done better. Own it and don’t get defensive.
4:57 A hundred-page return with a two-line email and no context isn’t peace of mind. It’s paperwork and confusion, leaving clients to sort through it on their own.
6:58 Fewer clients, higher standard, significantly more per client. You can make the same money or more, while delivering the kind of experience people are genuinely willing to pay for.
7:56 I could catch the errors and push back. Most of your clients can’t. But don’t confuse that with acceptance — not being able to pinpoint a problem doesn’t mean they don’t sense something is wrong.
