Angie’s List is a company that aggregates consumer reviews of local service companies and which have been described by the New York Times as a way to “capture word-of-mouth wisdom.”Angie’s List is unique, however, in that it charges consumers to see reviews,reflecting their belief that charging consumers “adds credibility to the information.” Based in Indianapolis, Indiana, the company was founded by Bill Oesterle while Angie Hicks worked as an intern in 1995. The company modeled the list after Indianapolis’ Unified Neighbors.Angie Hicks, who earned an MBA in 2000, went door-to-door in Columbus, Ohio signing up members and collecting ratings on local contractors. In 1996, Angie’s List purchased Unified Neighbors and relocated the company from Columbus to Indianapolis. As of January 2007, the company serves 124 U.S cities and provides reviews of companies in more than 250 categories. 2008 brought the addition of the medical industry to the List, including doctors, dentists, hospitals, and insurers.
Angie’s List grades companies using a report card style A through F scale using consumer reviews. Revenue for Angie’s List comes from fees paid by its members and from advertising. It claims to only accept advertising from companies that have a “B” rating or higher. Not all reports submitted by members are used in establishing a company’s rating as Angie’s List employees “are skilled at picking out would-be saboteurs” who would distort a company’s rating by submitting a negative review.
Angie’s List comes in handy for anyone who moves to a new location and hasn’t made the connections to refer them to various service providers. If you’re looking for a good mechanic, plumber, contractor or even a birthday party clown – Angie’s List should be your first stop.
Related posts:
{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Angie’s list is a great way to find contractors who are recommended by other people, but unfortunately, it’s a little too easy to fake reviews. Angie’s list runs into problems with both contractors faking positive reviews of their own site, as well as unethical contractors faking negative reviews of their competitors.
You’re better off looking for (shameless plug here) contractors who have chosen to pool together their advertising dollars, and fairly compete against each other. It’s a different model, sure, but there’s something to be said about trusting peer-to-peer reviews and acceptable standards over homeowner-review generated sites. That’s just my 2 cents