Angie's List Marks 10th Anniversary

To date the organization lists 89,000 businesses on its list.

Source: Inside INdiana Business

Press Release

With 10 years under their belt this month, the consumer advocates at Indianapolis-based Angie's List aren't sitting still. In fact, with more than 175,000 members across the U.S., they've just expanded into their 25th city - Seattle.

Even with this growth, though, Angie's List's success lies primarily in its ability to provide reliable information on local businesses, based on feedback from local members, says founder Angie Hicks.

"Whether you are in Indianapolis or Seattle, you are looking for reliable information to help you decide what contractor or service provider to hire," Hicks says. "The important thing about Angie's List is that we are able to provide our members with the information they need on businesses in their community."

In 1995, Angie Hicks started Angie's List as a way to help consumers get good information to help them make their hiring decisions. She knew that the frustrations she and her friends after getting lousy service from the companies they hired, were not unique. Angie used the Indianapolis-based Unified Neighbors as a model and set out door-to-door in Columbus, Ohio, recruiting members and collecting reports on the companies they hired. Angie's List quickly became a valuable resource for consumers not only in Columbus and Indianapolis, but in other cities as well.

Hicks says that with a more mobile society than in the past, homeowners and other consumers don't have the same networks their parents relied on when they need a contractor or other service provider. And, that's the need that Angie's List is meeting across the country.

"For so many consumers, looking for a service provider is a game of hit or miss, whether they are opening the phone book or searching the Internet," Hicks says. "Angie's List, though, takes a lot of the guesswork out of the decision making process for consumers and puts reliable, unbiased information at their fingertips."

Ratings found on Angie's List are based solely on detailed customer satisfaction reports submitted by members. Businesses can't put themselves on the list. Only members can put a business on the list by submitting a report.

"Whether it's a roofer or a wedding planner, being able to see what other consumers have to say about a particular business is important," says Hicks. "By seeing the details of what other members have to say, you can find a service provider with the expertise you need, as well as get information to help you know what to expect once the company gets on the job. It's really about getting information as quickly and efficiently as possible, so that you can make a good decision and avoid a bad experience."

Angie's List has been recognized as among the "Best of Indianapolis" and "Best of Milwaukee." Additionally, for the past three years, Angie's List has been named to Inc. magazine's Inc. 500 list of the nation's fastest growing privately held companies.

"The need for good service is a universal one," says Hicks. "No matter where you go, the best source of information has always been communication among neighbors. That type of grapevine can be difficult to establish. Our job is to deliver that."

Angie's List Facts:

Membership: More than 175,000 consumers across the U.S.
On the List: More than 89,000 businesses
Serving: 25 cities across the U.S., including: Phoenix, AZ; San Diego, CA; St. Petersburg and Tampa, FL; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Indianapolis, IN; Boston, MA; Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN; Kansas City and St. Louis, MO; Charlotte, NC; Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus, OH; Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, PA; Houston, Dallas and Ft. Worth, TX; Seattle, WA; and Milwaukee, WI.
Opening Soon: Los Angeles and San Francisco, CA; Washington, DC; Baltimore, MD; Portland, OR; and New York, NY.
Indianapolis Facts:
Membership: More than 36,000
On the List: More than 9,200 local businesses
History: Indianapolis chapter got its start as Unified Neighbors in 1974. In 1996, Angie's List bought Unified Neighbors and shortly thereafter moved the Angie's List headquarters from Columbus, OH, to Indianapolis.

Celebrating 10 years as a grassroots consumer organization, Angie's List provides its members with ratings on local service providers in over250 different categories. Angie's List serves more than 172,000 consumers from coast to coast in 25 cities, including: Phoenix, AZ; San Diego, CA; St. Petersburg and Tampa, FL; Atlanta, GA; Chicago, IL; Indianapolis, IN; Boston, MA; Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN; Kansas City and St. Louis, MO; Charlotte, NC; Akron, Canton, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus, OH; Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, PA; Houston, Dallas and Ft. Worth, TX; Seattle, WA; and Milwaukee, WI. Angie's List members receive a monthly magazine, which highlights buyer-beware warnings, along with articles on home maintenance and helpful hints. Members also have access to Neighbors in Action, a complaint resolution service. Member information and services can be accessed by telephone at 858-453-0770 or at www.angieslist.com.

Source: Angie's List