I blame the Internet and Government

[Crazy Dazz]

So sick of whingers who want something for nothing

I used to be in Professional Practice.
Years of training, post graduate qualifications, ongoing professional development, and several decades worth of collective expertise, but people would expect us to give out free advice.
Then come tax time, they bring some pile of chicken scratchings and proclaim "see, I've done most of the work myself, all you need to do is lodge it."
Like me rolling a shell into a mechanic, with the engine in pieces in the boot, and saying "I've already done most of the work, just need you to finish it off."

And then, to top it all off, think we should only charge $50 an hour because we should work for peanuts, have no overheads, and all the ancillary crap done by support staff should be free.

Not to mention, that nomatter how little they agree to pay, I am still obligated (legally, ethically, professionally, and institutionally) to complete the work to the required standard.

And here's the thing. We had clients who were large enough to employ part-time bookkeepers, and even those large enough to have full-time accounting staff, and in those cases literally all we did was dispense current tax advice, make a few tax adjustments and lodge returns. The irony was that those clients understood the costs and were happy to pay.

In part, I blame the government. We've allowed ourselves to be sucked into this ludicrous situation where we give the biggest portion of our money to the government, who then wastes most of it, but in return gives us lots of stuff for "free." We're so used to free school, free doctors, and heavily subsidised everything else, that we get completely gob-smacked when actually expected to pay for a service.

The internet is also a problem. In so far as how it warps peoples attitudes.
There's plenty of free advice out there, and if you have a problem with your car there's a bunch of us prepared to help with troubleshooting. And that's great, more power to everyone. I'm happy to hand out free advice, including tax advice, because its nolonger what I do for a crust, and I do it in my free time.
But FFS understand the difference between forums and the Real World. Don't take your car to a workshop and expect a mechanic to diagnose your problem for free.
Yes there are plenty of guides on "how to change your X" and if you have the tools and the ability to follow the guide, you can DIY for the cost of parts. If you can't, don't expect a professional to do it for next to nothing.

If you need a flu-shot, you can go to the pharmacy and get it done for $9. If you need brain-surgery, you will need someone a good deal more qualified.
So yes, if you want to take your car to a nice shiny Dealership, with free cappuccino and loan car, for every ailment, then expect to pay top dollar.

And whilst on a similar subject: If you're going to DIY and want cheap parts, then sure you can find everything cheaper on eBay or Alibaba. You can buy from a guy in China, with negligible overheads, generally no stock, no inventory costs, no gst, no warranty, and it will get here in a month or so. If you expect your mechanic to provide a part on demand, DON'T expect it to be the same price.
Also understand that whilst yes, most things are "made in China" these days, there's still a huge variance in quality. If you want genuine parts, or even a recognised "brand name" that you can return for a replacement if it fails inside a couple of years, then be prepared to pay more than for "Good Tek Happy Brand."