Luz Mery Felipe
English Composition 2
February 24th, 2020
Word count: 1190
A Discourse Community I am Part Of
A Discourse Community can be defined as “ a collection of people or groups that work towards a common goal through communication.” For my discourse community I chose my job at H&R Block because we all share interest in the same field: Accounting and Business but at the same time because is where I spend most of my time getting to know how everything works and how I can improve what I already know.
When I started this job I was not sure if I was going to fit in because I had no experience dealing with people but my coworkers were really supportive, whenever I was stuck on something they helped me and I never saw a look of disappointment on their faces. Seeing how united they all were stood up to me from the very first day, the way they treat each other like family and always having each other’s back made things a lot easier for me and when I realized I was already a member of this family.
As a company, our goal is to prioritize the client and make sure they receive an excellent service from the moment they come in till the moment they get out. We want them to feel at home and trust us with everything no matter how silly they think it may sound we make sure they don’t get out of our office with any doubts. As one of the largest Taxes Company in the United States our main goal is to get our clients the largest refund legally possible and pay the minimum legally possible as well.
Moreover, every job has conflicts to deal with and we are not an exception, as a Tax Professional the main conflict we face everyday is when a client is being audited, since I’m new at this they think is my fault or I put something incorrectly which is definitely not the case, however I always try to help them as much as I can and offer myself as their representative with the IRS or State, when I see things are getting out of my control, I ask for help or transfer the case to the Tax Professional that has more experience. If I was the one who made the mistake I take full responsibility of the repercussion my mistake may bring and do everything I can to fix things.
Additionally, one way we communicate with each other is by having a meeting at the end of the day, where all of us share how the day was where even the minimum detail matters like if a client did not seem very happy while I was explaining everything, seemed tired of waiting or did not find the price of their taxes fair, we have to let the manager know so he can reach the client to see how we can improve our service. Throughout the day, whenever we feel stuck on something we call one of the Tax Preparer and ask for help. In addition, on weekends since I’m one of the first one to get to the office, I text my others coworkers when one of their clients have arrived or I try to help them by starting all, the process if the clients let me of course.
Sunday, Feb 16, 9:42 AM
Paola Pena: Hi Jose, sorry to bother you, one of your clients is here and does not have time to wait, he asked me if I can help him, I just want to make sure you are okay with that.
Jose Felipe: Good morning, of course no problem, I’m almost there but you can start entering all his information on the computer, if he wants me to finish it I’ll do it.
Paola Pena: No problem! I’ll let them know you are on your way.
Jose Felipe: *thumbs up*
Subsequently, we communicate with the outside world by phone. At the beginning of the Tax season we call our clients to see if they would like to set up an appointment with us, they also call us when they have a question or something about their refund is not right. Another way we contact with the outside world is by Email where clients send us their documentation or check up with us on how their Taxes are doing. Lastly, we send letters to clients when they haven’t finished Taxes or paid for the service we provided.
The language we use may vary depending on the people we are around, if there is no Spanish speaker in the moment we only Speak English to each other so the customer can understand everything we are saying. However, most of the time we speak Spanish since it is our first language and we feel more comfortable, I guess it is easier for us. But as I said before, the language we use will most likely depend on the clients language. If we have both kind of clients in the office, we will avoid talking to much.
It should be noted that the requirements for this job may vary, in your case as a Front Desk the first requirement for this job is to be 18 or more, after that you will need to have experience with customers as a cashier or something similar, being Bilingual is very important especially in our office since we are in a Latin area. Lastly, being responsible is key because we are dealing with very sensitive information and it is our job to make sure that every document is where it belongs, and if it was left for a certain person, make sure that person get it as soon as possible.
In my case, as a Tax Professional the main requirement is to have done all the necessary courses with our company, be over 18 and have all the necessary skills like communication, mathematics and Critical thinking to work with us, that is why you always see me studying, I want to make sure that I can answer all the doubts a client might have and at the same time the ability to understand everything they bring to me.
In conclusion, what really makes us a discourse community is our love for what we do, how all of us are always trying to learn new things so we can give a better service but overall how we are always there to help the other at any moment. In addition, when I started this job I was so insecure about taking it, I feel it was a lot of responsibility and at some moment I would not be able to handle it but as you can see I’m here, trying my best to not mess up everything and meet my client’s expectations. I would say that one of the best decisions I have made so far is taking this job and showing myself what I’m capable of.
Work Cited
Felipe, Jose. “Re: Work.” Received by Paola Pena, 16 Feb. 2020
Pena, Paola. Personal Interview. 24 Feb. 2020
Wilson, Katie. “Discourse Community”. GXB genre across borders. DrupalTM , n, d. Web. 20 Feb, 2020.
https://genreacrossborders.org/gxb-glossary/discourse-community
Got it!