For those of you that dont know, Angies List is a website that grades contractors and other services. However, in order to see Angies List, you need to be a member. Members of Angies List pay around $7.50 per month.



So the big question is, is it worth seven fifty per month to read online reviews of local contractors and health providers? In my honest opinion I have to answer yes and no.

If a person already knows their service provider and they have no complaints, they should continue with the service provider and base their judgment on their personal experiences and not on written reviews of others. However, if a person is venturing into unknown territory, paying seven bucks to find a good service provider has the potential to save them a lot of money, not to mention a big hassle.

Personally, I am not going to hire someone to do a big job unless I have references. Getting references from the service provider is a worthless gesture because they are not going to give you the number of someone who they didnt do a good job for. You can ask around at work who the best service providers are, but most of the time you are going to be recommended to see someones uncle, cousin, or brother. By being a member of a website that offers unbiased criticism of service providers, you will have a better piece of mind when you hire someone for a big job.

Is that piece of mind worth seven dollars and fifty cents per month? I would have to answer yes to that question. When I hire someone for a service, I want them to do what they say they are going to do, and charge me pretty close to what the estimate was. I also want them to complete the task on time, and show up when they say they are going to be there.

The services that are reviewed on Angies List are graded from A to F. Because this is a scale that anyone who went to school is going to be familiar with, it makes it easy to judge whether or not the company under review is a good service provider. If one person out of twelve is unhappy with a service, that company receives an A. If ten out of twelve people are unhappy, the company receives an F and should be avoided.

Is being a member of Angies List a bulletproof guarantee that you will be happy when you hire a service provider with a good grade? No, it is not, but you chances of hiring a good service provider will improve dramatically. We believe so…especially if you are planning to spend a lot of money on remodeling, home repairs or a medical procedure. This is like using Consumer Reports before you make a purchase, but instead of reading reviews on the best plasma screen TVs or personal computers, you are reading real reviews of local businesses in your area.