Shapiro & Co

Ron and Leah are great and have done my taxes for many years. I highly recommend them.
Jun 14th, 2022

This review is based on two years of experience. I initially used Tam Dang @Shapiro and Co. to do my elderly mom's taxes on the advice of our financial consultant. While I was struggling through my mom's unexpected and emotionally traumatic death, Tam never met a single deadline. His typical excuse was "Corporate deadlines". I take nothing away from his competence as as CPA, but neither can I vouch for his abilities. For example, while figuring my mom's taxes, it was me, not him, that explored the tax laws related to writing off medical expenses. Isn't that what you pay a CPA for? His negligence further added to the stress of my mom's passing. More specifically, my mom's taxes went un-filed for months and months with no communication unless I called him and left a message. This year I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and simplify my deceased mom's taxes as well as my own, so I asked him to handle some more complicated issues with a home sale. He told me in an email that he'd be done with the calculations on a Wednesday. One week later on the following Thursday, with no communication (or apologies) from Tam, the forms were still not done, so I called him on the phone (mostly you'll get his voicemail BTW). We agreed that he'd finish the following day. At 6PM (8 days late) the forms were still not done, so I called again to find out what the further delay was. Tam was singularly unapologetic. In fact, I'd call his response arrogantly offended that I was dissatisfied. I told him that when you tell someone that you'll meet a deadline and run into problems meeting that deadline, you should at least let them know. Silence. I also said that most people think that when you set a deadline on a business transaction, that means you'll meet it before close-of-business that day...not 9PM that evening. Again, silence. If he had at least been sincerely apologetic, this would have been easier to swallow, but he was militantly unapologetic. Angry at me...what? I've mostly seen this behavior in people that are incompetent and insecure as a means of compensating for their internal inadequacies. This is just too much. If you are an individual I'd advise you to steer clear unless you're happy with people that can't keep their word. Tam, (and his boss) don't care about individuals. They are too busy doing corporate taxes. This was the last thing I needed following my mom's death. So disappointing and hurtful.
May 24th, 2021