I'm a 5-Star Certified Angi (formerly Handy) Pro with !00% positive feedback. That's because I care…read moreabout my customers. I was taught at a young age by my dad how to work with my hands, good values, integrity and good service to customers. Unfortunately on many occasions, I have been faced with situations where Angi's services and policies fall short of promises made to customers, and forced me (The Independent Contractor / Expert) to either make it right, or ask customers for more money than what was quoted for the job, or, if they refuse to pay, leave the job. (Angi support says, "I am under no obligation to stay if the customer refuses to pay.")
One customer recently purchased a kids bunk bed from an Angi partner; Target, Wayfair, Walmart, or Costco, etc. for about $600, and this included $492 for assembly. The job assignment required two "professionals", to show up for 2 hours, but I was the only one who did.
Here's where it gets complicated: Out of $492 that the customer pays, I get $38.50. (Hard to believe?) Also, we get paid for our time, not per job. $38.50 is for 2 hours worth of work. That means if the job takes longer than what is estimated, which often happens, it puts us in a compromising position to have to ask the customer directly for more money.
In this example, had the other guy shown up, everything would have been OK for the customer, but now, in order to get it done, so the customer could have a bed for her kids, I had to extend my time another 2 hours (cancelling other jobs) and request Angi for more money. All I can say is asking Angi to do what's right, is ridiculously hard, and time consuming (unpaid time) and a bit like pulling teeth from a crocodile.
They refer me back to "the customer" (You guys) to ask for more money. And sometimes when I have done this, especially when I was new, it puts me in a very awkward situation. (In the end, after much to do, I stayed on this job, finished it up, put my best work into it, and got another $38.50 for the additional two hours. And a tip from the customer.) But this is one of many incidents, where the "machine" breaks down and I had to collaborate with customers to get paid from Angi for the rightful pay for hours I spend doing the work. Angi, from my observation, really does not care about either of us in that process any more than an packing machine cares about the meat it's packing. It's a machine. (It works. But there's no heart or humanity, or soul, especially when the system breaks down.)
Customer's frequently lament about trying to cancel or reschedule jobs, and it doesn't get done and I show up when they had cancelled and that's when they tell me about their experience; an overall lack of / poor customer service. (That is another Angi outsource.)
I have so many more stories... I have done over 100 jobs, and I think you get the point. Not everything about Angi / Handy is bad. Like other 'gig economy' business models, it gets people who would not ordinarily meet in the same local area to meet. And that's a good thing. And it gets people like me with a valuable skill set, active and doing something constructive, between jobs and other sources of income. And, most of the other "Pros" I've met along the way are good guys.
(I have not met anyone from Angi.) What Angi calls "certified" is not much of an assurance of anything honestly, except to give the perception to the customer that there's some sort of "vetting" going on. As I said earlier, it's a machine, backed by legal ease, and at the end of the day, they have no clue who's entering your home.
One thing I will say in closing is that the economy created by Angi and it's partners huge price differential between what it charges it's customers and what "Pros" actually receive is not a healthy one. (Notice I said, "between jobs" above. That's because when you add in the cost of travel and tolls and parking to the already very low rates that Angi is paying it's "Pros", you realize that if this was a "Professional's" only income, they would be at or below poverty level in the United States.
It is like the outsourcing of our manufacturing base to third-world countries for so many products in the United States. But the standard of living of these people at that low income level is something we don't give a second thought to.
The problem is when you invite people who are willing to work at such a low income level into your home; some who could be desperate for paying the rent, supporting a family, may have an addition, etc, there could be consequences. Especially as inflation rises and the economy falters. Consequences which Angi is protected against from a liability standpoint, just like Big Pharma cannot be prosecuted for adverse reactions to a vaccine, but your home and your family is not protected from. The machine protects itself.
I do recommend Angi to customers in the hopes that they find an honest handyman and create a long-term relationship with them.