Angie's List Tops 1 Million Members
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Indianapolis-headquartered Angie’s List (www.angieslist.com) has topped the 1-million member mark.Angie’s List Founder Angie Hicks attributed the continued growth despite the recession to consumers wanting to get the most out of every dollar, as well as to the company’s expansion into health care ratings.
“We’ve seen great interest in consumers wanting to learn about and share information about their local health care providers, but more importantly, they’re looking for a trusted resource for every spending decision they make,” Hicks said. “Everyone is worried about finances these days. We’re helping consumers make the most of virtually every hiring decision they have whether it’s the best local plumber, mechanic or dentist.”
Angie’s List, launched prior to the online explosion of consumer review sites, is among few online sites that charges membership fees to consumers, and is further differentiated by prohibiting anonymous reporting. The company has a multi-layered structure designed to maximize accurate and reliable information, including:
Prohibiting anonymous reporting;
Limiting members to reporting only once on each, specific hiring experience;
Alerting service providers (free of charge) to reports so they know what's being said about them
Encouraging companies to respond (free of charge) to reports so members get both sides of the story;
Dedicating specialized staff and proprietary technology to screen all reports for adherence to company policies or suspicious trends; and
Helping members and service providers resolve differences through the Angie’s List Complaint Resolution Service.
Hicks and business partner Bill Oesterle started Angie’s List in 1995 in Columbus, Ohio. Hicks, at the time the company’s only employee, went door-to-door signing up members and collecting reports to get the start-up company off the ground. By the end of the first year, Angie had signed up about 1,000 members and was offering consumer reviews in a handful of home-related categories.
The company now offers reviews in more than 425 categories of service, including about 150 health care specialties. About 40,000 new reports are collected from consumers across the country each month in the various categories.
Angie’s List is where thousands of consumers share their ratings and reviews on local contractors and companies in more than 425 different categories. Currently, more than 1 million consumers across the U.S. rely on Angie’s List to help them find the right contractor or company for the job they need done. Members have unlimited access to the list via Internet or phone; receive the award-winning Angie’s List magazine, which includes articles on home improvement and maintenance, consumer trends and scam alerts; and they can utilize the Angie’s List complaint resolution service. Get more information about Angie’s List at http://www.angieslist.com View the latest Angie's List News Releases in our Press Center and read Angie’s blog at http://www.angiehicksblog.com.