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June 25, 2008
Angies list
Has anyone used Angies list for renovation/demo work? Are the reviews trustworthy or could you do the research without the lists help?
Thanks
Comments
I really don't think one should pay to post or get a review... and that's just what you'll have to do on Angies List. She also gives better referrals to contractors that pay her to be put at the top of the "list".
Friends just started a more comprehensive review system that's free and untainted. Check it out it's called www.goodpeopleguide.com
Good luck
Posted by: guest at June 25, 2008 6:05 PM
Nobody uses Angies List in NYC anyway. I signed up and it was a waste of time. Nobody and nothing was on there.
Posted by: guest at June 25, 2008 6:30 PM
To 6:30
I did not find that to be the case. I signed up because she was giving a free trial for the New York City area, and found a lot of reviews. I found a few contractors on the list that turned out to be good.
Posted by: guest at June 25, 2008 9:51 PM
You might find some revealing commentary here:
http://www.houseblogs.net/community/comments.php?DiscussionID=139&page=1#Item_49
Posted by: Steve at June 25, 2008 10:21 PM
You should always, always do your research.
When someone posts a review any where, you have no idea who posted that review - friends, family members, etc.
Always talk to several contractors.
Always check for a valid license and current liability insurance.
Always ask for at least 5 quality references and call all of them. Stop by and look at their work, if they're close and the reference doesn't mind.
Always be there whenever work is being done so there are no surprises down the road.
Try ConstructionDeal.com - it's fast, free, and you can decide how many bids you want to get. Don't always go with the lowest bid because they have to cut corners to get to that price. Unless you want corners cut. Then, you're on your own.
Posted by: guest at June 26, 2008 8:46 AM
I love Angie's List, which I use to make my short list to get estimates. I find tons of references, and have been happy with the contractors I've found there. It's something like $30 a year--a great bargain, I think.
Posted by: curiositykilledthecat at June 26, 2008 10:53 AM
A reference to a contractor is still a crap shoot if you don't know the quality standards of the person offering the reference. Check out the work the contractor did for that person. It may not be up to your standards. Or it may have been a trivial handyman job. Or he may have a vested interest in getting his lazy brother-in-law a gig.
Posted by: Steve at June 26, 2008 11:46 AM
I used angie's list with great success. The last time was for an emergency bioler work. I needed someone at my building at midnight. yellow pages had a few who would come right away but I would have to pay $300 emergency fee plus parts and labor. My wife found someone from Angies list and he came right away and stayed at the building till 2am to finish the work (3 hours work in total). He charged me $80 for the job. A city inspector came in the next morning, gave the job a clean bill of health and all was fine. The bioler specialist even called after the inspection was done to make sure all was ok.
I highly recommend angie's list. (im a landlord)
Posted by: guest at June 26, 2008 3:28 PM
I guess angie's list is a mixed bag.
Posted by: Ysabelle at June 26, 2008 4:07 PM
I got my contractor off a referral from Angie's list and he turned out to be fantastic. I also got a painter and a plumber from my previous apt. from the site. Some categories have a lot more listings and reviews than others; I would only go with a referral that has several reviews (and that aren't all obviously posted by the same person).
Posted by: guest at June 27, 2008 10:52 AM
I really appreciate this question, because it's something I've been tempted to do myself.
I've been very leery, because you have no idea when you're paying for - I'm surprised that they don't have a small sample available for free. I don't know what it costs here, but it's up to $80 in some cities, and the more that's on there, the more expensive it gets. That's a lot to pay when you have no idea if you'll get useful results or not.
I've been contemplating the idea of sharing a subscription with someone else, and splitting the cost, so I'm interested to hear that some of you had good experiences.
Posted by: FishieFishie at June 27, 2008 11:35 AM
I quote from above..." You should always, always do your research"
Don't know who mentioned it before but I used http://www.goodpeopleguide.com to find someone to do work in my yard and came across Galway Bay. I was very happy with the references and their work.
Review sites are a tool to research... and a place to help out one another. So When you have the opportunity put up a review any insight on a contractor is valuable to your neighbor.
Posted by: guest at June 27, 2008 12:19 PM
Very interesting, all the negative comments on Housblogs.
For those of you who have seen Angie's List, is it essentially all positive - like Zagat's, with only the praised companies listed - or does it include workmen that people consider to be rude, incompetent, scoundrels?
Posted by: FishieFishie at June 28, 2008 12:37 PM
I joined Angie's List because I am about to buy a home in Brooklyn and know no one for referrals. There are plenty of bad reviews posted. Some companies have straight A's and some are mixed and I have seen one deck building company from Staten Island that had over 40 reviews, almost all positive.
Posted by: premadas at June 30, 2008 3:07 PM
To add more to above post...I have seen companies with D and F reviews. If the company has a string of bad reviews, I think they are taken off the list. I had one company bookmarked for possible use and when I went back to a few weeks later, it said this company can no longer be accessed through Angie's, but there was no reason why.
Posted by: premadas at June 30, 2008 6:07 PM
Last year 2007 we found Angie's list while looking for a contractor to upgrade our brick home. We needed to replace the wood on the eaves. We found a contractor that Angie's list highly recomended. They were unreal. They had almost no tools to work with! I even had to loan them ladders,nails,etc. After they left (4 weeks later) the vinyl they installed started to fall down the very next day! I found another contractor in the Yellow Pages. After the $4,550 we paid the first contractor it cost another $3,000 to replace everything. At least I get to warn others to be careful, and look at other work a contractor has completed. A rep from Angie's list did e-mail me to ask what our problem was. I sent him pictures of the work, along with our phone #. Never heard from him again. C.B. Kings Mountain,NC
Posted by: guest at July 2, 2008 8:47 AM
You should not have to pay for Angies List, use Cragislist.
Or if you want to purchase a Tungten Ring go to www.tungstenfashions.com
Posted by: guest at July 10, 2008 9:57 AM
Workpost.com is a new, free service that allows contractors listed in their directory to respond to negative reviews.
Membership in the Workpost Directory is optional, contractors can opt-in or out of the directory at any time.
If a client wants to negatively review a contractor, the client can provide information relevant to the work that was actually done (or not done) and fire away. But once a client has initiated a negative review, the contractor can respond, explain the situation and perhaps review the client as well.
Posted by: guest at July 25, 2008 3:33 PM
how good is angies list coverage in the cleveland area? i just spent 15 minutes searching and can't find any detailed info for the area. i turned up a map which shows coverage but it doesnt show my area. annoying
http://gabwith.us/angies-list-regional-coverage-by-city/
Posted by: poipoi at August 21, 2008 3:26 AM
how good is angies list coverage in the cleveland area? i just spent 15 minutes searching and can't find any detailed info for the area. i turned up a map which shows coverage but it doesnt show my area. annoying
http://gabwith.us/angies-list-regional-coverage-by-city/
Posted by: poipoi at August 21, 2008 3:26 AM
Wikepedia reports than Angies List is nothing more than A GLORIFIED YELLOW PAGES.
ALTHOUGH YOU MAY HAVE SOME LUCK - and IT IS STATISTICALLY POSSIBLE THAT YOU MAY - you will have wasted your money as the ratings are NOT a bit reliable -- THIS IS MY OPINION BASED ON MY RESEARCH and on my experience.
BEWARE: cancelling your subscription to Angies may become a nightmare. If you don't see A CANCELLATION BUTTON ON THEIR WEB SITE you may be in trouble. To cancel your subscription, you may to WAIT FOR HOURS, put up with someone on the other line whose interest is to keep you a member, and end up getting taken for a very unhappy ride.
Google search "angies list complaints" - see what you find.
One more thing: CONTRACTORS DO PAY TO BE ON TOP OF ANGIES LIST. IT'S NOT FREE, thus this is not a consumer-oriented bureau. But if it makes you feel better, go ahead an join. It may relieve your anxiety and make your wallet a bit lighter.
BUYER BEWARE!
Posted by: fedupwithangieslist at November 13, 2008 1:35 PM
As to: the contractor can respond to a bad review:
Not always so. Many responses are deleted not to offend the paying subscriber. I know, I went through this.
Remember the Golden Rules: "the one who pays makes the rules." This is particularly true here. You have to pay to post a comment. You have to pay to be on top of the contractor's list. If this is not a racket, what is?
With Angies, contractors who pay have the upper-hand. Customers who pay are also given preferential treatment.
You pay nothing, you are nothing. You don't even exist.
You try to cancel, you are dead meat.
Posted by: fedupwithangieslist at November 13, 2008 1:45 PM
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