Angie´s List Review

Finding a professional in any area is hard. At the beginning, Angie’s List solved a need for those who were not ready to tackle their own DIY projects. To help people who had problems installing appliances and doing home repairs, Angie’s List was started. It was originally a call-in service where a homeowner could find a reliable plumber, woodworker or electrician.

Eventually, more and more interested parties began using Angie’s List to look for various service providers in their area. From here, the website was created and has grown to 3+ million members. Additional service areas were added, such as health care services and automotive repair providers.

Angie´s List Pros

Finding a professional in any area is hard. In the beginning, Angie’s List solved a need for those who were not ready to tackle their own DIY projects. To help people who had problems installing appliances and doing home repairs, Angie’s List was started. It was originally a call-in service where a homeowner could find a reliable plumber, woodworker or electrician.

Angie´s List Cons

There are some very good options across all of the service areas on Angie’s List.  The larger it grows; it can be harder to distinguish real reviews from possible inflated ones.

Angie´s List Bottom Line

If you find yourself in a new city or just at a loss of who to call for your next service or house project, Angie’s List provides an excellent resource directory to begin finding a contract professional. The localization filters help to find someone close to your home who specialized in a variety of services and the consumer-driven reviews help you to assess other experiences so you can make an educated decision on which professional to go with. It is a great place to find a service professional.

History of Angie’s List

Large warehouse-type home improvement chains, such as Lowe’s and Home Depot, realized that many consumers lacked the skills or tools to install products the stores were selling and needed contractors to help them. Home Depot Home Services and Lowe’s Home Services began offering installation and repair services for which they would subcontract the work to local contractors.

Angie’s List began as a local service consumers could join, get names of businesses and people to do different types of services and provide ratings of contractors and service businesses in the local area. Originally started as a call-in service, it eventually expanded to the internet where membership reached more than 3.2 million members who paid to be able to access the names and ratings of contractors. Auto repairs and services were eventually added along with health care services.

Angie’s List Is NOT Part of the IHSS

Angie’s List is not part of the In-Home Supportive Services Program. The IHSS program provides financial assistance to pay for services in the home. You must be disabled, blind or older than 65 years of age.

Services available under the IHSS program include:
• Housecleaning
• Preparation of meals
• Food shopping
• Personal care services, including bathing, grooming and nursing services

IHSS programs generally work through a social services agency at the state or local level. A social worker might be assigned to determine eligibility for the program and the types of services required.
What Can Angie’s List Do For You?

Hiring a contractor or moving into a new community and needing a physician can be a hit or miss proposition. You really don’t know how good the services will be until after they are completed, and the problem is that by then it’s probably too late to do anything if the services are not what you expected them to be.

How Does Angie’s List Work?

By using Angie’s List, you can read a service provider and read reviews from other people who have used that particular business or professional. It’s like getting a recommendation from a friend. If you call the provider and schedule the service, you can let the Angie’s List community know about your experience, both the good and the bad.

Angie’s List uses a letter system to rate providers. Rated from a high of A through a low of F, consumers can focus their search on a particular rating, so you can search exclusively for A- and B-rated providers and see their reviews to help you to make your selection.

Providers are rated based on the following:
• Price
• Quality
• Professionalism
• Punctuality
• Responsiveness

Using the ratings to sort through the options available allows you to save time by eliminating those providers whose ratings are lower than you want them to be for the provider you want to hire.
Example Services Available

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