Chennault Joseph CPA

They do good work and never had any problems with the work they do, They know how do do trust tax returns which is very important.

Chennault & Totah have been my tax preparers for coming up on a decade. They are old-​school CPAs of the first water, seasoned and effective tax experts. It is extremely hard for me to imagine what it’s like to approach them as a new customer, but as an old and satisfied one, I can only say that I sleep very well at night knowing Joe and partner have my back.

I never even got to talk to or find out about Mr. Chennault’s services because his receptionist is so rude and inefficient.
I called to make an appointment with Mr. Chennault after he was recommended by one of my parents’ friends («Mr. Chu»). I called and they would not make an appointment; I had to yell because the receptionist said she couldn’t hear me (my phone works with everyone else I talk to). She asked who referred me and I gave them Mr. Chu’s name. She said someone would call back to make the appointment. I then called back daily for the NEXT THREE DAYS, each time giving the same woman the same info and yelling to be heard each time.
On the fourth day, I got a call from yes, the same woman. She AGAIN asked me who referred me and, for the fourth time, I told her Mr. Chu. She said she has no client with that name and that Mr. Chennault is not accepting new clients at this time because he is soooooo busy.
As I had already made an appointment with H&R Block by then, I said that would be absolutely no problem and hung up.
Don’t waste your time with Mr. Chennault. Save yourself the hassle.

Joseph Chennault provided very poor service. The service from his Receptionist, who is also his wife, was truly unprofessional and just plain rude. I pity that man who has to deal with her everyday.
Here’s the story of my experience:
A family friend had referred my boyfriend and I to him because we had recently purchased a house and wasn’t sure of the different tax changes. My first impression of the place wasn’t the best because the office was dark and dingy. As he assessed our Tax documents, he stated that our tax was fairly simple and agreed to charge both my boyfriend and my tax service as one bill. A month later I receive in the mail two separate invoices for $ 200 and $ 175. My initial reaction was that this must be a mistake because he said he’ll charge us one bill. I decide to e-​mail him because at our meeting he ensured that he would respond quickly through e-​mail. A week passes and no response. I finally decided to call but of course it was just his voicemail. I left a message and waited a couple of days. Still no response. I called again and left a second message. He finally calls me back a week later and says the two invoices aren’t a mistake — the fees were correct. Despite thinking that he was overcharging, I decided to pay the fees and just switch to a different CPA next year. That same week I receive a late payment notice for an additional late fee. I thought, how could he charge me a late fee when he was the one who did not respond??? I gave him the benefit of the doubt and called the office to check if the notice was sent out prior to our conversation. This is where the idiotic wifey came into the picture. She answers the phone and the conversation went something like this:
Me: Hi. I had left a message yesterday about the late notice I received.
Wife: What late notice?
Me: It was the notice you sent me a few days ago.
Wife: Ohh, Yes. I received the message. It’s passed 15 days so we charge a late fee for late payment.
Me: I understand, but I had a question about the original invoice and Joseph didn’t get back to me until a few days ago.
Wife: He said he gave you guys a discount already. If Joseph provides a service then you should pay.
Me: I understand, but I’m not arguing about the service fee. I’m arguing about why the late fee was charged when I had a question about the bill and was waiting for Joseph to get back to me.
Wife: My husband is very busy and expensive. He charges $ 175 per service.
Me: So I can’t ask a question about the invoices? You don’t think that you can ever make any mistakes?
Wife: No, we don’t make any mistakes.
(At this point, I was getting furious because she was being unreasonable)
Me: Okay fine, I’ll pay the late fee. Thank you for your business and have a nice day.
(I told my boyfriend what happened and told him to deal with her instead.)
Needless to say, his conversation with her went the exact same way. She judged us based on past experiences with her clients.
She wouldn’t listen and she went on to attack us for complaining, and finally hung up on us. How stupid can you be to hang up on new clients who would potentially become long-​term customers? We decided to not fight it and just sent them the check for the full amount owed.
That will be the first and last time I’ll ever work with him. Not worth my time or money.