Good, bad, a con?
Couldn't find the subscription price without undue hassle....
They're advertising like crazy, so I figgered it's gotta be on par with
Colonial Penn's guarownteed acceptance life crap.... pennies a day....
yeah, A LOT of pennies a day....

And dat DirectBuy Club, which seems to have fallen by the wayside....
I got a free BBQ out of them somehow, still don't know how it happened....
I think the sales guy was hot for TheWife.....
Hmmmmm...... it's been a long time... I should go back, find out if he
still wants her.....
--
EA

"Existential Angst" wrote in
:

Good, bad, a con?
Couldn't find the subscription price without undue hassle....
They're advertising like crazy, so I figgered it's gotta be on par
with Colonial Penn's guarownteed acceptance life crap.... pennies a
day.... yeah, A LOT of pennies a day....

We use Anglie's list all the time. Every time we need a service (like
upholstering a couple antique chairs), a contractor (major bath remodel),
etc., we start there. You still want to get competitive bids, but it
weeds out a LOT of the bozos. Pricey, yes, but the peace of mind it
provides if you have much work done is worth it. Not everyone we have
used from the list was totally stellar, but all the work has been at
least better than average, and most of it has been excellent. I'm in the
Boston area, and there are a LOT of vendors to choose from, many of them
folks I wouldn't let in my house based on the reviews. You still have to
watch out for flaky reviews from people who clearly have weird
expectations.

The other nice thing is that good contractors rely on the List to bring
them business, and if there is an issue, they will play nice. If it
really gets messy, Angie's List will mediate a dispute.

Also, if you recommend the List to someone and they sign up, you get a
free 1 lb bag of M&M's... (hint, hint)

Doug White

On Sat, 08 Dec 2012 13:39:37 -0500, Existential Angst wrote:

Good, bad, a con?
Couldn't find the subscription price without undue hassle....
They're advertising like crazy, so I figgered it's gotta be on par with
Colonial Penn's guarownteed acceptance life crap.... pennies a day....
yeah, A LOT of pennies a day....

And dat DirectBuy Club, which seems to have fallen by the wayside....
I got a free BBQ out of them somehow, still don't know how it
happened....
I think the sales guy was hot for TheWife.....
Hmmmmm...... it's been a long time... I should go back, find out if
he still wants her.....

We use it, we like it, it's never steered us wrong.

--
Tim Wescott
Control system and signal processing consulting
www.wescottdesign.com

On 12/8/2012 1:39 PM, Existential Angst wrote:
Good, bad, a con?
Couldn't find the subscription price without undue hassle....
They're advertising like crazy, so I figgered it's gotta be on par with
Colonial Penn's guarownteed acceptance life crap.... pennies a day....
yeah, A LOT of pennies a day....


I have belonged to it off and on for a several years. (I let it lapse
once and missed it). They do seem to make the costs hard to find. I just
checked my account and it says my renewal will be $35 for a year. (Note
that I have the lowest tier - I don't have the "health" (doctor reviews)
or "classic cars" levels).

If you know anyone who is a member, they can give gift memberships
starting at $7.50. Or keep an eye on sites like Groupon and Living
Social; they periodically run half price specials on Angie's list. You
can also do (more expensive) month to month, and then opt out if you
don't like it.

I've used the list for a number of services. If nothing else, it gives
me an idea ahead of time of prices for some services, like if I'm
daydreaming and wonder how much a skylight would be. The businesses I've
dealt with all are very interested in keeping their good reports on AL,
and so are willing to work with the customers. Some offer discounts to
AL customers. AL also has "Big Deals" where businesses offer a big
discount on a particular service to members for a limited period of
time. (I haven't used that yet, but some of the offers are intriguing).

The list is only as good as the area and the people who participate,
since it's based on the customers' reports. So if it's a small
geographical area or if the customer base is small or doesn't submit
reviews, it might not be not as helpful.

(Oh, and if you're bored, reading the bad reviews can be entertaining...).

On Sat, 8 Dec 2012 13:39:37 -0500, "Existential Angst"
wrote:

Good, bad, a con?
Couldn't find the subscription price without undue hassle....
They're advertising like crazy, so I figgered it's gotta be on par with
Colonial Penn's guarownteed acceptance life crap.... pennies a day....
yeah, A LOT of pennies a day....

And dat DirectBuy Club, which seems to have fallen by the wayside....
I got a free BBQ out of them somehow, still don't know how it happened....
I think the sales guy was hot for TheWife.....
Hmmmmm...... it's been a long time... I should go back, find out if he
still wants her.....

I've tried using it a couple times. Seems hit and miss too me. On
the Classic car side it was worthless.

Existential Angst:

Here's a free way to get excellent work done for a reasonable cost:

Save your old yellow pages phone directory each year when you get a new one instead of tossing it in the recycle bin.

That's because when a guy realizes that he's doing the same job as his boss, not learning anything new any more, and has already made all his mistakes on his boss's customers, then he'll often want to go into business for himself instead of continuing to work for a wage.

And, that guy will know that he has to have his new company name and phone number in the yellow pages because that's where 99% of his business is going to come from.

So, by comparing the listings in this year's yellow pages to that of last year's, you can find out who all the new companies that have just started up in your town or city within the past year. And, ususally the people that start those companies will recognize that the safest way to ensure the success of their new company is by doing great work and offering excellent service at a reasonable price so that they keep every customer they get, and they get new customers by word-of-mouth advertising.

You're always going to get better results when the guy doing the work for you WANTS to do the best job he can because he knows that's what's going to make his company busy and successful.

In a few years, that guy will have hired some other people to help with the increasing workload, and it won't be the same. That's cuz the hired help knows they get paid exactly the same whether they do a good job or a great job. So, they do a good job.

It's called "pride of ownership". A landlord will plant flowers in the front yard of his apartment block to make it look nicer, but no caretaker is going to create extra work for himself by planting flowers that he'll have to water once a week. A landlord will clean up any messes he finds in his building. A caretaker vacuums the hallways once a week. If someone spills laundry detergent in the hallway, it stays there until the next time the caretaker vacuums. When you own something, you take better care of it. And the owner of a company takes better care of it by providing better work and service to his customers.

On Dec 8, 10:07*pm, Doug White wrote:
"Existential Angst" wrote :

Good, bad, a con?
Couldn't find the subscription price without undue hassle....
They're advertising like crazy, so I figgered it's gotta be on par
with Colonial Penn's guarownteed acceptance life crap.... * pennies a
day.... yeah, A LOT of pennies a day....

We use Anglie's list all the time. *Every time we need a service (like
upholstering a couple antique chairs), a contractor (major bath remodel),
etc., we start there. *You still want to get competitive bids, but it
weeds out a LOT of the bozos. *Pricey, yes, but the peace of mind it
provides if you have much work done is worth it. * Not everyone we have
used from the list was totally stellar, but all the work has been at
least better than average, and most of it has been excellent. *I'm in the
Boston area, and there are a LOT of vendors to choose from, many of them
folks I wouldn't let in my house based on the reviews. *You still have to
watch out for flaky reviews from people who clearly have weird
expectations.

The other nice thing is that good contractors rely on the List to bring
them business, and if there is an issue, they will play nice. *If it
really gets messy, Angie's List will mediate a dispute.

Also, if you recommend the List to someone and they sign up, you get a
free 1 lb bag of M&M's... (hint, hint)

Doug White

We have a similar thing over here in the UK.

One problem is that competitors put in bad fake reports so distorting
the facts.
Similar thing with hotels too.

Eventually the whole thing becomes worthless.

"Existential Angst" wrote in
:

Good, bad, a con?
Couldn't find the subscription price without undue hassle....
They're advertising like crazy, so I figgered it's gotta be on par
with Colonial Penn's guarownteed acceptance life crap.... pennies a
day.... yeah, A LOT of pennies a day....

And dat DirectBuy Club, which seems to have fallen by the wayside....
I got a free BBQ out of them somehow, still don't know how it
happened.... I think the sales guy was hot for TheWife.....
Hmmmmm...... it's been a long time... I should go back, find out if
he still wants her.....

I'm surprised somewhere in the ad it doesn't say - just pay separate S&H.

On Sat, 8 Dec 2012 23:58:59 -0800 (PST), harry
wrote:

On Dec 8, 10:07*pm, Doug White wrote:
"Existential Angst" wrote :

Good, bad, a con?
Couldn't find the subscription price without undue hassle....
They're advertising like crazy, so I figgered it's gotta be on par
with Colonial Penn's guarownteed acceptance life crap.... * pennies a
day.... yeah, A LOT of pennies a day....

We use Anglie's list all the time. *Every time we need a service (like
upholstering a couple antique chairs), a contractor (major bath remodel),
etc., we start there. *You still want to get competitive bids, but it
weeds out a LOT of the bozos. *Pricey, yes, but the peace of mind it
provides if you have much work done is worth it. * Not everyone we have
used from the list was totally stellar, but all the work has been at
least better than average, and most of it has been excellent. *I'm in the
Boston area, and there are a LOT of vendors to choose from, many of them
folks I wouldn't let in my house based on the reviews. *You still have to
watch out for flaky reviews from people who clearly have weird
expectations.

The other nice thing is that good contractors rely on the List to bring
them business, and if there is an issue, they will play nice. *If it
really gets messy, Angie's List will mediate a dispute.

Also, if you recommend the List to someone and they sign up, you get a
free 1 lb bag of M&M's... (hint, hint)

Doug White

We have a similar thing over here in the UK.

One problem is that competitors put in bad fake reports so distorting
the facts.
Similar thing with hotels too.

Eventually the whole thing becomes worthless.


The Brits do that too with their crime reporting. If 10 burglaries
occur in an apartment building..its marked as (1) crime


Gunner

The methodology of the left has always been:

1. Lie
2. Repeat the lie as many times as possible
3. Have as many people repeat the lie as often as possible
4. Eventually, the uninformed believe the lie
5. The lie will then be made into some form oflaw
6. Then everyone must conform to the lie

harry wrote in
:

On Dec 8, 10:07*pm, Doug White wrote:
"Existential Angst" wrote
innews:50c3895a$0$24781$
:

Good, bad, a con?
Couldn't find the subscription price without undue hassle....
They're advertising like crazy, so I figgered it's gotta be on par
with Colonial Penn's guarownteed acceptance life crap.... * pennies
a day.... yeah, A LOT of pennies a day....

We use Anglie's list all the time. *Every time we need a service
(like upholstering a couple antique chairs), a contractor (major bath
remodel), etc., we start there. *You still want to get competitive
bids, but it weeds out a LOT of the bozos. *Pricey, yes, but the
peace of mind it provides if you have much work done is worth it. *
Not everyone we have used from the list was totally stellar, but all
the work has been at least better than average, and most of it has
been excellent. *I'm in t
he
Boston area, and there are a LOT of vendors to choose from, many of
them folks I wouldn't let in my house based on the reviews. *You
still have
to
watch out for flaky reviews from people who clearly have weird
expectations.

The other nice thing is that good contractors rely on the List to
bring them business, and if there is an issue, they will play nice.
*If it really gets messy, Angie's List will mediate a dispute.

Also, if you recommend the List to someone and they sign up, you get
a free 1 lb bag of M&M's... (hint, hint)

Doug White

We have a similar thing over here in the UK.

One problem is that competitors put in bad fake reports so distorting
the facts.
Similar thing with hotels too.

Eventually the whole thing becomes worthless.

It's one of the things you pay for. I've seen free review services go
down the tubes like that because there's no way to monitor them, or
provide a way to fight a bad review.

Angie's list seems to do a pretty good job of screening reviews.
Companies that care about their reputation can contest bad reviews, and
if it turns out to be a scam, I suspect the scammer will get blacklisted.

Doug White

Ashton Crusher wrote in
news
On Sat, 8 Dec 2012 13:39:37 -0500, "Existential Angst"
wrote:

Good, bad, a con?
Couldn't find the subscription price without undue hassle....
They're advertising like crazy, so I figgered it's gotta be on par
with Colonial Penn's guarownteed acceptance life crap.... pennies a
day.... yeah, A LOT of pennies a day....

And dat DirectBuy Club, which seems to have fallen by the wayside....
I got a free BBQ out of them somehow, still don't know how it
happened.... I think the sales guy was hot for TheWife.....
Hmmmmm...... it's been a long time... I should go back, find out if
he still wants her.....

I've tried using it a couple times. Seems hit and miss too me. On
the Classic car side it was worthless.

A lot depends on the area they serve, how long they've been there and how
obscure the category is. They've been in the Boston area for over 10
years, so there's real data on companies in the more popular categories.

Doug White

On Sun, 09 Dec 2012 15:48:20 GMT, Doug White
wrote:



It's one of the things you pay for. I've seen free review services go
down the tubes like that because there's no way to monitor them, or
provide a way to fight a bad review.


I've used Service Magic a few times. It's free for the consumer, but
the contractor pays for the referral, even if doesn't get to bid the
job. Does the contractor pay Angie too?
Reviews are fine if there are enough of them, but the last few jobs
I've had done I didn't even look at them for some reason. Not real
expensive jobs, and I've had good luck with contractors.
A couple were referred by family, and the others were the first ones
who showed up, even when I had subsequent cheaper bids.
I have a theory that the first one to show has hustle and good
business sense. That theory wasn't "pre-existing" but has come about
from the results. Not sure it's true, but seems to be.

"Existential Angst" wrote in message
...
Good, bad, a con?
Couldn't find the subscription price without undue hassle....
They're advertising like crazy, so I figgered it's gotta be on par with
Colonial Penn's guarownteed acceptance life crap.... pennies a day....
yeah, A LOT of pennies a day....

And dat DirectBuy Club, which seems to have fallen by the wayside....
I got a free BBQ out of them somehow, still don't know how it happened....
I think the sales guy was hot for TheWife.....
Hmmmmm...... it's been a long time... I should go back, find out if he
still wants her.....
--
EA

Angie's List has worked just fine for me for some 15 years (Cleveland area).
There used to be just a few listings in each category; now there are dozens.
I like the fact that you can call Angie's List and talk to someone who can
pick out the listings and rating information for the local businesses too.

Tomsic

On Sat, 8 Dec 2012 13:39:37 -0500, "Existential Angst"
wrote:

Good, bad, a con?
Couldn't find the subscription price without undue hassle....
They're advertising like crazy, so I figgered it's gotta be on par with
Colonial Penn's guarownteed acceptance life crap.... pennies a day....
yeah, A LOT of pennies a day....


Along with the "Colonial Penn's guaranteed acceptance life ins"
commercials, they keep having a commercial for a talking blood glucose
meter. In the commercial they say "You dont have to prick your finger
anymore". I think they should follow that commercial with one for
Viagra which says "You dont have to finger your prick anymore".

On Sun, 09 Dec 2012 15:48:20 GMT, Doug White
wrote:

harry wrote in
:

On Dec 8, 10:07*pm, Doug White wrote:
"Existential Angst" wrote
innews:50c3895a$0$24781$
:

Good, bad, a con?
Couldn't find the subscription price without undue hassle....
They're advertising like crazy, so I figgered it's gotta be on par
with Colonial Penn's guarownteed acceptance life crap.... * pennies
a day.... yeah, A LOT of pennies a day....

We use Anglie's list all the time. *Every time we need a service
(like upholstering a couple antique chairs), a contractor (major bath
remodel), etc., we start there. *You still want to get competitive
bids, but it weeds out a LOT of the bozos. *Pricey, yes, but the
peace of mind it provides if you have much work done is worth it. *
Not everyone we have used from the list was totally stellar, but all
the work has been at least better than average, and most of it has
been excellent. *I'm in t
he
Boston area, and there are a LOT of vendors to choose from, many of
them folks I wouldn't let in my house based on the reviews. *You
still have
to
watch out for flaky reviews from people who clearly have weird
expectations.

The other nice thing is that good contractors rely on the List to
bring them business, and if there is an issue, they will play nice.
*If it really gets messy, Angie's List will mediate a dispute.

Also, if you recommend the List to someone and they sign up, you get
a free 1 lb bag of M&M's... (hint, hint)

Doug White

We have a similar thing over here in the UK.

One problem is that competitors put in bad fake reports so distorting
the facts.
Similar thing with hotels too.

Eventually the whole thing becomes worthless.

It's one of the things you pay for. I've seen free review services go
down the tubes like that because there's no way to monitor them, or
provide a way to fight a bad review.

Angie's list seems to do a pretty good job of screening reviews.
Companies that care about their reputation can contest bad reviews, and
if it turns out to be a scam, I suspect the scammer will get blacklisted.

Doug White


About 2 or 3 years ago I saw reviews on the internet reviewing Angie's
List and I think the consensus was like 50/50. The gripes were about
how they policed the reviews and prevented fraudelent ones. I haven't
followed up on this so I don't know if this is still true.

I use HomeAdvisor (formerly Service Magic) currently and it seems to
be okay so far but they have had problems and got sued by some of
their business clients. I wasn't aware of this till one business
client of theirs told me on the phone. It's on the internet too.

Oh, now you did it. I'm going to have to go to
confessional twice this week. I'm laughing so
hard. Uh, er, I didn't say I was hard. Nevermind.
I didn't prick the right word. I mean, I wrote the
wang thing. Oh, fk it all, I hope you got the point.
Hey, lets go back to home repair, and electric
power deck screwing or something?

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
..

wrote in message
...

Along with the "Colonial Penn's guaranteed acceptance
life ins" commercials, they keep having a commercial
for a talking blood glucose meter. In the commercial
they say "You dont have to prick your finger anymore".
I think they should follow that commercial with one for
Viagra which says "You dont have to finger your prick
anymore".