How does a guy get on that list? Do I have to join and pay up to put myself on there?

I have never known any other contractor ever speak about it does it work?

Why would anyone ever pay to find a contractor?

If your a member can you please add me, anyone? see...your making me cry already......

It's simple.Just go to angies list.com,join (free),and put in your info.Previous customers can go to Angie's list and post ratings on the work you do for them.
Didn't cost me a dime

O heck, companies don't have to pay.....they tried to charge me last time, I guess I tried to sign up on the wrong page. Thanks!

I'm curious as to how Angie can sort through bogus reviews. I can have some friend of mine say that my work is phenomenal. Which it is

Or like another guy mentioned on another site, your competition can say bad things about you. Does not sound very good for installer/contractors. So why is it displayed here?

I have heard several contractors online say it was great for them as far as recruiting new clients. However, that is how they marketed their company (through Angie's List and sites like it). They were comfortable with getting 20% of the projects they quoted. I am a small time contractor and depend solely on word-of-mouth. I don't have time to be on site and running all over the place quoting projects I probably won't get. One of my clients posted me on Angie's list because they liked our work so much and wanted to do us a favor which was nice of them. However, I got a few calls over several months which all turned out to be bogus leads. They were real people who were curious about how much a particular project was going to cost. Naturally, since they had no connection to my original client, they had no qualms about wasting my time measuring and writing up the estimate. They weren't evil people, they just thought my mission in life was to quote projects and not actually do them. We are a low volume high end operation so Angie's list didn't work for us. When I go to measure a floor, I have a 50% probability of getting the job because it is a direct referral from a trusted friend, family member, etc. If your running a low cost, high volume company then it is probably a good fit. You can definitely get on it for free. The worst that's going to happen is your name gets out there and you waste a few trips giving estimates to people who aren't going to use you. Hope this helps.

Thanks Verhine, I'm hearing ya on those wasted trips. Key to that is good screening on the first calls. You gotta sk them if they are serious about installing hardwood and throw them some serious numbers. That scares off alot of tire kickers and box store shoppers.

Whats it going to cost...probably around 10 bucks a ft total unless you have some serious floor prep = more, and then some species cost even more. Floating, gluedown, floating subfloor with solid nailed down? Lots of variables.

I also think it's good to give some baseline estimates over the phone. When someone asks me what i charge, I tell them .Then if they say they found someone to do it for less, I wish them luck and say "have a good day'. Saves me a trip.

I can't speak to how some contractors have used services such as Angies List as a "marketing tool". However, I would completely agree that a contractor should be up front with people and provide them with legitimate estimates as this saves everyone time and effort. As far as why anyone would pay to find the names of contractors, the whole concept is based upon the idea that one will be able to (hopefully) secure a REPUTABLE contractor. I would certainly pay a few bucks "up front" to avoid heartaches at the end of a project!

IMO...Angies list does not assure homeownes a "reputable" contractor. As is being "licensed" doesn't assure a reputable contractor. I personally know people on Angies list, and other trade lists, as well as state licensed contractors, that I wouldnt let in my home.

I couldn't agree more and is precisely why I used the term "hopefully". Similarly, just because a physician is licensed, it doesn't imply they're not a "quack". My point was that utilizing some sort of referral type group (as part of one's overall search for a contractor) has the potential to help one find a "qualified" contractor.

I understand your point as far as trying utilizing a referral system. Ofcoarse referrals are the lifeline of any business. Although there are many pontential games that go on with these "lists", and their referral systems. I would recommend a person does their due diligence, beyond that point. "Qualified" is a word that is open to interpretation. What are a "lists" qualifiactions to deem that a person and or business is qualified, to even be on a list ? Looks to me that whatever someone says under your listing is the gospel? Are they qualified? IMO there's quite a bit of grey area with these lists, and don't compare to the "traditional" referral system.

Bill...question...Are you affiliated with Angies ?