My column in the August issue of the Angie's List Magazine:
Angie’s List members are passionate about a lot of things, but few outrank their devotion to the family pet.
Your demand for ratings on pet care led us to venture into the categories as far back as 1998, and when you get an entire Angie’s List magazine issue devoted to one area of service, you know it has arrived!
The enthusiasm also became the backdrop to one of our most infamous commercials — the one where the plumber takes his customer’s dog for a walk.
A ton of the reports we get include comments about how a service company treated the member’s pet, even when the work has nothing to do with the animal. We loved the concept and used a real report to create the commercial, which we thought would be well received.
It wasn’t.
Service companies hated it because they thought we raised the bar and now every customer would expect dog walking as part of the standard deal (seriously?).
A lot of homeowners hated it because they didn’t like the idea of a contractor letting the neighbor’s dog do its business on their lawn. One member told us, “He is walking the dog in a neighborhood of nice homes and he doesn’t carry a plastic bag to pick up after it. How irresponsible is that?”
I admit, we didn’t foresee that kind of backlash, but you know what they say — at least people were talking. And, of course, the animal lovers love it.
The commercial is still running, and we’re still getting feedback! I’m also looking forward to the feedback we get in the pet insurance category which was added to the List this month. According to a recent nationwide member poll, only 3 percent have purchased pet insurance, but I expect that number will grow as big box retailers enter the market and consumer awareness increases.
I’m anxious to see how much members pay for the policies and how much they save on treatment — is it worth it? Since debuting with groomers a decade ago, we’ve added animal and house sitting, boarding kennels, fencing, training, dog walking, veterinarians and, of course, my favorite pet category: pooper scoopers.
People laugh when I say I love that category, but I do. It’s one of the best services I’ve ever used, and Mr. Biscuits eliminated a chore I really didn’t enjoy (who does?). I’m not sure what our next pet category will be — we’ve had members request everything from pet acupuncture to pet whisperers — but I know they will continue to expand.
Let us know what pet services you think we should add next!
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