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The problem with Angie's


Marc

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Building any marketing campaign around social media, AL, Yelp, or whoever, is dangerous.

I've got a review on AL from a guy that isn't even a customer; never did a job for him, talked to him, or anything. They asked me to submit a proposal for a reserve study on a condo building, I sent out my standard proposal form (sent out dozens/hundreds no problems), and the next thing I know there's 3 people in the condo association writing lousy reviews of "my work". I wrote a a very tame response indicating I never worked for them which AL won't publish.

Yelp is the worst. It's an extortion racket.

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I have not paid anything to Angie's list but I have some good reviews. I have booked a half dozen inspection jobs and three architecture projects over the last year and people told me that they read about me on Angie's List. Now I get calls asking for payment to be on the top of the search but I don't think it will make a difference.

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Building any marketing campaign around social media, AL, Yelp, or whoever, is dangerous.

I've got a review on AL from a guy that isn't even a customer; never did a job for him, talked to him, or anything. They asked me to submit a proposal for a reserve study on a condo building, I sent out my standard proposal form (sent out dozens/hundreds no problems), and the next thing I know there's 3 people in the condo association writing lousy reviews of "my work". I wrote a a very tame response indicating I never worked for them which AL won't publish.

Yelp is the worst. It's an extortion racket.

My experience with Angie's List has been different. I do not pay to advertise on Angie's list and never have, but I have been fortunate enough to have enough clients leave positive reviews that it has benefited my business greatly. I did have a situation recently where the seller of a home which I inspected recently left a negative review. Apparently she thought that multiple 1/2" wide cracks in the brick veneer on an 11-year-old home were normal. Angie's List removed her review without question because it is their policy not to allow reviews by people who didn't actually hire the service provider.
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People use Yelp and AL. I got about 15 jobs from those review sites last year and might have a half dozen or more this year.

They are relentless at getting placement dollars from any business who gets a review on their sites. Yelp wanted $4,000 from me to get 400-500 prime placements for one year or something like that. When I declined, the agent got nasty and rude. I don't talk to anyone any longer but the calls and emails don't stop.

I notice Yelp is not in the business of making businesses look bad and hide most of the negative reviews in the "not recommended reviews," section at the end. That is where I find all the 1 star reviews for my competitors who advertise on Yelp. Most folks don't look at this.

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People use Yelp and AL. I got about 15 jobs from those review sites last year and might have a half dozen or more this year.

They are relentless at getting placement dollars from any business who gets a review on their sites. Yelp wanted $4,000 from me to get 400-500 prime placements for one year or something like that. When I declined, the agent got nasty and rude. I don't talk to anyone any longer but the calls and emails don't stop.

I notice Yelp is not in the business of making businesses look bad and hide most of the negative reviews in the "not recommended reviews," section at the end. That is where I find all the 1 star reviews for my competitors who advertise on Yelp. Most folks don't look at this.

Interesting. I have never been contacted by yelp. However, I have had several people leave (positive) reviews there that were sent into the purgatory known as "not currently recommended". The only commonality I can find is that all of them were left by people who didn't previously have other reviews on yelp. Apparently that makes yelp suspicious.
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In fairness, AL has me as one of the highest rated HI's. I get jobs from them. They also pester me relentlessly to pay huge dollars for big ads, which I don't understand at all. Why pay? I just got a little freaked when they posted that review from the condo HOA that never hired me.

One thing I've started noticing is a bit of arrogance on the part of AL'ers....they're kind of uppity and a little attitudinal, like "hey, I got the secret info on who's good, don't try your sales pitch on me, and I'm going to tell you how it's going to be because I've got the real info..." sort of thing. I don't like it.

I got some scary yelp stories. I wouldn't give them a dime. As soon as you let them in the door, they're like a virus.

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I dropped my AL membership (or is it really a subscription) due to this fact. I don't like them telling me they are unbiased at the same time they are selling higher positions on the search I do. Just seems to be a poor way of doing business. Plus, it's difficult to get out of AL. You need to call after this date but before another date or they will auto-renew your membership. When you call you get the hard sell before they "let" you cancel.

I like to think of myself as a level headed consumer, and I know there will always be a few "nut-job" reviews about anything. My habit is that when I see a negative review I check other reviews from that person. Usually you will find that they have a history of negative reviews or that this review is their only one.

The web has given us (the consumer) great power in finding service providers. You just have to take the time to properly vet the results you get. Unfortunately many think that by paying AL they don't have to do the vetting at all.

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I haven't had any issues with A.L. and aside from the emails I don't get calls from them, unless their using an "unknown" or 800 number - I never answer those. I was a member of the BBB but then I got a taste of how they're run and I ran. Now I don't line anybody's pockets.

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