Anyone Try Angie's List? (appointed, house, contractors) - City-Data Forum

cokatie · 04-16-2012, 11:11 AM

I've heard about this site for awhile, but since there is a fee involved in joining I wanted to know if any of you have used the site or heard from your neighbors/friends/family of their experience with it.

While I've been proactive and have immersed myself in home repair chores since moving back to LI to look after my parents and their home, there are just a number of jobs that are WAY above my limited skill set and would need a professional. I'm a huge fan of the customer reviews at Amazon, but somewhat skeptical of reviews on sites like Yelp. I just don't want to get taken for a ride and end up with a poorly done job.

Thanks for any feedback.

BigBlue53 · 04-16-2012, 06:22 PM

My co-worker swears by it. For a small annual fee it might be the best $$$ you spend.

mambwe · 04-16-2012, 08:00 PM

I've always been curious about it myself. Looked for a promo code and found one "SPRING". I signed up for the year. It is only $17 for the year. I think a month was $8. These prices are with the promo code. I've been looking through it for 15 minutes. So far, so good. Basically, you pick a category and you get a list of contractors with reviews. A lot to choose from.

kayo_michael · 04-17-2012, 04:42 AM

I wonder why nobody uses Yelp.com? It's free.
I am leaving a review of the guy that did my floors. HE. WAS. AWESOME.

mambwe · 04-17-2012, 06:07 AM

I use yelp all the time. Mostly for restaurants and food related things. Never tried it for contractors. I'll take a look. But I guess the idea behind Angie's list is that since there is a subscription fee there won't be any unscrupulous reviews.

OhBeeHave · 04-17-2012, 07:01 AM

We have had a few clients review us on Angie's list. In fact it was a client that signed us up -- I hadn't given any thought to becoming a member until then.

The reports I see list the homeowner's name, address, category of work, services performed, completion date, hire again, approximate cost, year house built, description of work, member comments and then a letter grade.

I do use Yelp for dining and have written reviews on it, too.

rh71 · 04-17-2012, 07:42 AM

why not ServiceMagic.com? I just got someone from there contact me RIGHT AWAY and did my fence for a great price. Combine that with tons of good reviews for them = win.

The service is free and after rating the guy I was able to upgrade to pro for free anyway.

I found the site so helpful I even told the company who built my 2nd floor to get registered on there.

redrunner+2 · 04-17-2012, 11:18 AM

I subscribe to Angie's list. I like it except when they call you to ask if you have used X service. I just prefer not to get phone calls. Other than that, it has been great.

LIGuyandGal · 04-17-2012, 11:55 AM

I signed up for Angie's List about 6 months after I bought my first house. I got a discounted subscription for the first year but after that it went up to the normal price of about 50 bucks for the year.

I can say that I have yet to be disappointed with the contractors and tradesmen I have used through Angie's List. I have yet to actually use them for any medical recommendations.

I did use ServiceMagic once and was happy with the work done by the contractor I hired; however, I have heard after the fact that they only post the positive reviews of their services. I think a good site would allow both positive and negative comments be posted. At least Angie's List allows the business who performed the work to respond should a user post a negative comment.

kayo_michael · 04-17-2012, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mambwe

I use yelp all the time. Mostly for restaurants and food related things. Never tried it for contractors. I'll take a look. But I guess the idea behind Angie's list is that since there is a subscription fee there won't be any unscrupulous reviews.

You are right. Yelp is behind angie's list because not everyone thinks to review contractors on Yelp. Afterall, it was established as a food review site.

But now you can review pretty much any business (even non food related), so by reviewing the contractor services I receive, I hope it starts to catch on for the rest to follow. Long Island isn't very active on Yelp to begin with, so it's a tough thing to gain traction on.