One of my favorite customer service stories comes from a large global coffee shop:

A customer waits patiently for their beverage at the pick-up side of the counter. Their name is called out and they grab their drink. They take the much anticipated first sip but are quickly disappointed and explain to the barista, “I don’t taste any vanilla in my vanilla latte.” The barista looks at the order slip and confirms it does not say vanilla and quickly responds, “Well, did you order vanilla?”

The point of the story isn’t whether the customer ordered vanilla but rather did the barista have the soft skills training to handle the situation that would inspire the customer to keep coming back? In this case? Probably not.

The 2017 Forbes article, “Thanks A Latte: How To Fix A Customer Service Failure, Per Starbucks, Marriott and Me,” outlines Starbuck’s customer service recovery sequence – LATTE.

Listen to the customer
Acknowledge the problem
Take action and solve the problem
Thank the customer
Explain what you did

As CPAs we are known more for our technical skills than our soft skills. I regularly remind myself to apply the LATTE sequence in serving clients and working with our team. Good customer service and the development of soft skills doesn’t happen overnight. It requires a commitment to lifelong learning and going outside of the accountant’s stereotypical comfort zone—regularly.

Our firm does not have a prescribed customer service recovery sequence, but we do have access to training that helps hone our skills.

In November, WSCPA past and present board members had the opportunity to hear AICPA President & CEO, Barry Melancon, share his thoughts on the future of the CPA profession. According to Melancon, one of the ways that the CPA profession needs to evolve is to provide higher-level customer interaction, such as working with tax clients on robust “life planning” that goes beyond tax return preparation.

Mastery of this will likely require a greater focus on building stronger relationships—the kind of relationships that are built and maintained by those who have mastered soft skills.

The Washington State Board of Accountancy (WBOA) recently acknowledged the value of soft skills in our profession by revising the continuing professional education (CPE) rules to allow for 60 non-technical credits per CPE reporting period, effective January 1, 2020. Examples of non-technical subjects provided by the board include leadership, personal development skills, and practice development. (If you haven’t heard about these CPE rule changes, visit www.acb.wa.gov for details.)

So how can we take advantage of the new CPE regulations and polish our soft skills?

Engaging Topics

The WSCPA continues to produce a variety of non-technical CPE. A few highlights include:

Breaking Free of the CPA Box
www.wscpa.org/box 

Emotional Intelligence: The Critical Factor in Success
www.wscpa.org/emotion 

Don’t Let Conflict Derail Your Relationships
www.wscpa.org/conflict 

Women’s Leadership Summit
June 2, Lynnwood Convention Center
www.wscpa.org/summit

Learning Beyond Formal Training

Learning goes beyond test results or training hours completed. As with all learning, the best way to retain what you learn is hands-on application. The WSCPA offers a variety of opportunities for applying and strengthening soft skills. Consider joining a chapter board, resource group, or committee. WSCPA networking and special events, which are held around the state in each chapter area, also offer comfortable and fun environments for connecting with other professionals.

Take advantage of the plethora of resources available and reimagine what and how you and your teams will learn. Our profession will continue to deliver technically-sound advice to keep businesses growing and thriving. Our regulators are creating the model for us to improve the delivery of these services. As you determine where you can invest in your soft skills and how we take care of our clients and teams, remember soft skills cross and are valued by all industries.

We are all good at solving problems. Learning to gracefully resolve issues builds lasting relationships. Now let me remake that drink.

Cheers.

Amanda O’Rourke, CPA, is Partner with Greenwood Ohlund LLP CPAs in Seattle and chair of the WSCPA Board of Directors. You can contact her at amanda@greenwoodcpa.com.

This article appeared in the winter 2020 issue of the Washington CPA Magazine. Read more here.

Additional articles about the new CPE Rules.
CPE Rule Changes Effective January 1, 2020, fall 2019 magazine p.20-21
Play the 2020 CPE puzzler!, winter 2020 magazine p. 26-27.