I have used Angie's List for a few recent jobs, if for nothing else, a yellow pages of businesses with at least some feedback attached. I'm aware of potential, if not clear, risk of bias, but I struggle finding other alternatives that have both quantitative and unbiased feedback.
And unfortunately, I've not had much luck historically going off word of mouth.
Nothing consistent. Part of the problem is that a lot of local contractors and businesses still somewhere around 1995 in term of technology. And it's probably even worse when you get even a short distance away from urban centers. I actually find the Yellow pages can still work better than the alternatives. If someone only has 2 reviews they might as well not have any.
And unfortunately, I've not had much luck historically going off word of mouth.
Has anyone else had any luck with alternatives?