Whether you’re dining at a restaurant or you’re in line at the department of motor vehicles, receiving poor service is always a hassle. But, when poor service comes at the hands of a mechanic, contractor, or other professional who you’ve entrusted with the care of your car, home, or loved ones, it can be disastrous. This is why it’s important to research and make sure you find the right contractor before hiring them to work on the things that matter to you the most. In addition to finding a professional that suits your price range, schedule, and job needs, you should always read consumer reviews.

If you already have a local professional in mind, a quick Google Search may be all it takes to get the review information you need. But, if you haven’t yet found a professional, online reviews may do a better job of helping you connect with the professionals with the best reputations; rather than the professionals that are merely nearby, or listed early in an alphabetized directory.

Here are 10 of the most popular online review sites nationwide:

Warning: Although these are trusted review sites, you should still keep an eye out for fake reviews. Here are some ways to spot a phony review:

   1) The minority report – The review that seems the most popular, most liked, and comes up first in the list does not reflect the overall feedback regarding a company. Never rely on just one review.

   2) Disregard the extremes – In general, people don’t actually love or hate a business interaction. So, reviews approaching such extremes may be biased.

   3) Vague language – Compare a user’s review of another service along with the one you are looking for. If they’re both vague and have the same ‘cut and paste’ language, then they are most likely fake reviews. Trust your gut.

Check out this blog for more information in discarding fake or biased reviews. If it’s a really big job, you should also ask to speak to one of his or her references personally just to make sure.

Of course, it would be much easier to get a complete picture of businesses in your area if you could read thousands of online reviews, social media interactions, and other critical information in mere seconds.

With TalkLocal, you just enter what you need, where, and when; our software collects business ratings and reviews from across the web and connects you with up to 3 top-rated professionals in about 90 seconds. That way you can compare quotes, verify availability, and do research only on the professionals that want to do business with you.

So, if you’re still looking for that right contractor, let TalkLocal find them for you.

Author’s Note: All website descriptions are from Crunchbase and the Franchise Opportunities Journal.

This entry was updated on Monday, December 7th, 2015 at 2:37 pm. This entry was originally posted on Wednesday, July 22nd, 2015 at 4:50 pm and is filed under services, talklocal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.