Angie's List is a site set up for consumers to review service industry professionals so that you can see for yourself if they do good work, show up on time, or have run off with someone's money. After a customer has reviewed the person or company, those companies are given copies of the reports and are allowed to respond to the reviews giving you two sides to the story.
In addition Angie's List members can only report on a company once every 6 months so that reviews are honest and not stacked for or against. As well the sites staffers look for irregularities or red flags in reporting. According to the site: Occasionally, we can catch service companies reporting on their own businesses. Those companies are reprimanded and the reports are promptly and permanently removed from the List.
In addition to home repairs the also offer Auto, Professional service reviews such as event and wedding, as well as accountanting and lawyers.
Sadly, Angie's list isn't free so it seems as if it would work best if you were doing large or extensive repairs on homes, or if you had just moved to an area and needed service providers it would be very helpful. Costs range from $6.95 month, or you can purchase up front a year at 53$ or two years for 95$.
Check out AT:SF's post about it here.
If you have used Angie's list we would love to hear your stories, since we're not signing up we can only see bits of the site from the outside perspective.
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Comments (5)
Any advice on dealing with really nosey service people? The type who ask if you're married or living alone, about the provenance of a piece of furniture or art, that's where I'm having the most trouble. I can find people to do the work, the problem is finding people who don't creep me out, because having them in your home can make you feel a little vulnerable. I'll start with Angie's List but, in the meantime, any tips are appreciated.
Angie's list has been a real gift. Having been thoroughly burned by a window company I really appreciate being able to check out what other people are saying about service providers I am preparing to hire. The monthly fee is a small price to pay for the security I feel in having the list to turn to, and knowing that it isn't skewed by advertising dollars.
Angie's List has definitely been worth the money to me. I've been a member for several years and have saved time and money from using companies on the list. The experiences I've had with hiring from the list have been positive. The companies return your calls, come out when they say they will and do quality work. Well worth the small annual fee.
There are so many people out there ready to take advantage of the next poor victim to fall into their trap. I’ve had and witnessed many of these situations and Angie’s List is a great tool to outwit the scammers out there. Sure it costs money, but the fee is well worth it. If I have a problem with a company I can call Angie’s List and they’ll deal with the problem for me. Every time I call I can talk to an actual person – someone who knows what they’re talking about. Angie’s List has saved me time, money and effort when all said and done and is worth the money.
Why do people think they should get something for free? I have been an Angie's List member for a while and can tell you that the info is well worth the small fee. In fact, I bet I have saved more money from the companies I have found on Angie's List than I have paid in fees. You just can't find this much good info on companies anywhere else. So I guess you can be cheap and take your chances with the big ad in the yellow pages or you can pay a few bucks and get the real scoop before your committed.