The Truth About Angie’s List

So there I was, getting ready to do a big bathroom renovation. Working as my own general contractor, I knew I would be hiring some professionals, including a plumber, tile installer, etc. So I joined Angie’s List.

At first, I thought it was fantastic! First of all, it was less expensive than I’d anticipated. (A few dollars a month, even paying on a month-by-month basis.) I was impressed with how detailed the reviews were, and used it to research companies before hiring.

When it was time to move forward, I hired a company, Project Services, for my HUGE plumbing job. And when I say huge, I am not kidding. We paid them $4500. to install a spa shower system, 3/4 inch “home run” pipe to the master, and a new, tankless hot water heater. At first all went well. However, we came to find out that they installed the entire shower system incorrectly! Unfortunately, there was no way of knowing this until AFTER everything was tiled and we installed the knobs and controls.

Their suggestion that they first come look at it 9 days later was unsatisfactory to me, especially since they’d told me they were very familiar with the system, and the plumber was sarcastic with me when I informed him of what the Moen representative had advised for installation. “I’m the plumber, and I do these all the time,” he said, then went ahead and did it incorrectly.

Long story short, this is an article about Angie’s List, not the plumber. I put in a complaint with Angie’s List, which did result in their immediate contacting of the company, and the plumber rectifying the situation much faster. (It is still not “installed correctly,” but they were able to rig it so it works.)

Okay, so what’s the problem with Angie’s List? After it was resolved, I went to update my negative review about Project Services to say that it had been rectified and found that the entire thing was deleted! When I asked my claims representative about it, I was informed that it is Angie’s List’s policy that if the contractor has rectified the problem, YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO POST A REVIEW WITH ANY GRADES LOWER THAN AN A OR B!

Now don’t get me wrong… I was planning on improving the grade from the straight Fs I’d originally posted. But A or B? Um, no way! The guy was sarcastic, nasty, they had to rip open my walls, they sent an electrician (who said he sucks at sheetrock) to repair the sheetrock, etc.

So in my opinion, I now hold very little value when I see a company that has all high grades. Will I still use Angie’s List? Yes I will, because the detailed reviews can be helpful. But now I will take it with a grain of salt instead of thinking, “Oh look, this company has NO negative feedback!”

Hope you find this article helpful! And if you’d like to see photos of my lovely new bathroom, here they are!