Growing up, I worked in a family restaurant – I am Greek American, after all. My father took a different approach and purchased a liquor store. In both cases, providing excellent customer service was the standard because that is the formula to success in business. 

But if that’s true, what the hell happened to excellent customer service? Lately, it seems harder to find than Bigfoot riding the Loch Ness Monster with a roll of toilet paper.

In business improv, this means having respect for the customers you are serving. Part of that respect – one that many in the accounting profession face – is the use of language that your customer understands. Yes, we’re all used to technical jargon at work. But the language of business accounting is a foreign language to those outside of the profession. Would it be very respectful to travel to a foreign country and expect everyone there to understand your language without issue?

CPAs need to understand that explaining financial information in plain English – and using stories to help clients understand – creates a strong competitive advantage in the marketplace. You want to be the firm that everyone raves about because you offer the kind of excellent customer service that everyone deserves – especially as it becomes harder to come by.