What keeps me going.

I work for the Virginia Department of Taxation in their Customer Service section taking phone calls and responding to written correspondence. I make no secret of my employer's identity, though when people ask me what I do I have developed a habit of ducking or holding up my fingers in a sign to ward off evil curses. It is all too often a thankless job and people tend to approach you as if you were the enemy.

It needs to be done and people are willing to pay me for it. I do not object to this, but some days the job is a massive headache. Yesterday was one such day. We occasionally get people who refuse to listen to the sound advice they are given and who instead want to argue with you, as though you were the reason they are in their predicament. The caller I had was all that and then some: they complained about how long they were on the phone and what a hassle the process was.

Boiling that last sentence down for emphasis: they made things more difficult than they needed to be and complained that things were difficult. Days like that make you seriously consider why I do what I do.

I told you that story so I could tell you this one.

As I mentioned above, part of my job involves taking incoming phone calls. One such phone call I received in April. It was from a taxpayer who had filed tax filings with us that hadn't been processed and he was trying to determine why.

Without going into too much detail and boring people, I will only explain a little bit of the problem: this person's filings involved a Net Operating Loss (NOL), a special tax issue for which there are rules beyond the normal ones that have to be followed. Virginia NOLs are not a subject that is easy to understand at first glance; consequently very few people in the section I work in know how to file or resolve NOL problems.

I do, and I promptly began guiding the taxpayer on what to do to solve the issues at hand. Cut to a month later: the taxpayer had sent us what we needed and I'd done most of the work to ensure that everything got processed correctly. The refunds the taxpayer was filing for were on their way to him, albeit reduced a little bit (they had to be).

The taxpayer turned out to be very impressed with my service and very greatful for my assistance. He wrote a complimentary letter to my boss and sent a copy to me, a copy to his tax preparer, and a copy to Governor McDonnell. The text of the letter is listed below, though I had to edit it - names changed to protect the innocent and not get me fired and all that.


Dear [Brian's Boss]:

This letter is to commend Mr. Brian Sears of your staff for his timely and effective response to a complex, multi-year net operating loss (NOL) problem we incurred as a result of the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme.

My wife and I inherited a Madoff account two years ago from her deceased mother. It was my wife's intent that the funds be left to our children and grandchildren. You can only imagine the impact Mr Madoff's downfall had on our family when it became known that his entire operation was a fraud.

Once the IRS had provided guidance, our accountants [So 'N So] prepared what they believed were the proper NOL filings for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Our original submissions were intended to recover state income taxes paid the years of [Times Before the Present]. These papers were filed in September 2009.

When we did not hear anything by early 2010, my accountant [Mister Mister], and I began calling the Customer Service Contact Center. The people with whom we spoke were very helpful, but it was clear that there was a great deal of confusion surrounding the actual carryback years for which we could file. As well, it appeared other papers still needed to be filed.

Enter Mr. Brian Sears. He, apparently, was a specialist in the analysis and processing of NOL filings, and he knew immediately what needed to be done. First, he confirmed that we needed to refile for years [Such] and [Such]. Also missing from our file was [Tax Document Q]. At every step of the way I received a call from Mr. Sears, advising me of the receipt of materials and of the next step that he would take.

This morning I received a telephone call from Mr Sears. In it he advised me that he had completed processing of our claim and was sending it forward for payment. He apprised me of the fact that the amount claimed for [Year X] was reduced somewhat based on his calculations and that he would provide us with a complete explanation of his analysis. He was patient, professional, and thorough in his review on the telephone.

I was, and always have been, impressed with Mr. Sears' demeanor, knowledge, and professionalism. Clearly he is an exemplary employee of the Virginia Department of Taxation and an asset to the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Please convey to Mr. Sears my wife's and my deepest appreciation for a "job well done."

Sincerely yours,
[Taxpayer Identity #39 Not Found]


Included also in my copy of the letter was a small envelope with a sticker that read "Thanks a Million". The contents included a fake $1,000,000 bill and a note reading "Don't quit your day job!"

I will be corny here and say the letter made me feel like a million bucks.

Honestly? I doubt Governor McDonnell is going to track me down and shake my hand. This letter's not going to get me a promotion, or a pay raise, or any real material reward. But the reactions aren't really the reason I keep at it. I know it's hard to think of gratitude as a side-effect but that's really the case. I do my job because in the process of doing my job I help people. I help them solve problems they cannot solve themselves.

I help a couple who got bamboozled out of the savings they'd intended to pass on to their children recover a little something that replaces what they lost.

Sure I get paid for doing my job. I do it well because anything worth doing is worth doing well. But helping people who need it in ways few others can? That's priceless.

So now you know what keeps me going in the trying times where I do what I do. How 'bout you? What inner reservoir do you tap into when dealing with the non-good, the bad, and the ugly?

PS: Liz of The Peripatetic Kitchen blog has been posting recently after a hiatus of a few months. Her posts are really great and if you don't already read her stuff, it's a great little view into the kitchen of a vegetarian/vegan. Her recipes are delicious and she has great pictures that'll make your mouth water. If you've never checked her out, DO IT. You can find her latest blog offering at The Peripatetic Kitchen