When “Last Minute” Becomes a Pattern
It was another late evening at S&Co. The office was
winding down when Pooja glanced at the clock , 5:12 PM, and sighed.
“Let me guess,” Dhawal said, looking up from his screen, “Mr N?”
Pooja nodded. “Full data dump. Emails, WhatsApp, half-scanned
invoices. And a message ‘Please file today, urgent.’ Same story.”
Srini leaned back in his chair. “We’ve been here before. How
bad is it this time?”
“Not bad,” Pooja replied, “just incomplete. And we’re expected
to fix, reconcile, and file in a few hours. Again.”
Jagruti, who had been listening quietly, added, “This isn’t a
one-off. It’s a pattern. Every month, same delay, same urgency, same
expectation.”
Dhawal chimed in, “And if anything goes wrong, it becomes our
liability.”
Pooja continued, “We’ve sent reminders, always. We’ve
explained cut-offs. Even offered a checklist and a timeline. Nothing sticks.”
Srini nodded slowly. “I’ve personally spoken to several times.
Every time ‘This won’t happen again.’ And yet…”
Prajkta walked in, overhearing the last line. “Are we still
taking his calls today?”
There was a brief silence.
Jagruti broke it. “We need to be clear. This isn’t just about
inconvenience. It affects quality, increases risk, and stresses the team. We
can’t run a compliant practice on last-minute firefighting.”
Pooja agreed. “GST filings aren’t just uploads. There’s
validation, reconciliation, and judgment. Rushing increases the chance of
errors; wrong ITC, mismatches, notices later.”
Dhawal added, “And it sets a bad precedent. Other clients who
follow timelines end up subsidising this chaos.”
Srini looked around the room. “So what are we saying? One last
warning? Or do we take a call now?”
Pooja was firm. “We’ve already given multiple chances over
several years. If we continue, we’re indirectly accepting the behaviour.”
Jagruti nodded. “We should disengage - professionally,
respectfully. Give him time to transition, but draw a line.”
Srini exhaled. “Alright. Let’s draft it.”
Pooja pulled up a note. “We’ll state that due to repeated
delays in receiving data, we’re unable to ensure timely and accurate
compliance. Hence, we won’t be in a position to continue the engagement from
next cycle. We can offer a short handover window.”
“Keep it factual, not emotional,” Jagruti added.
Dhawal smiled faintly. “And maybe today, we log off on time?”
Srini allowed himself a small smile. “That’s the idea.”
As the team dispersed, the mood felt lighter. Sometimes, the
most professional decision isn’t about retaining a client - it’s about
protecting standards.
Question: At what point does accommodating
a client start compromising your own discipline?