Hi! It’s me again, Sara Lou! Someone asked me the other day how Angie’s List has changed over the 6 years I’ve been with the company. Really, not much. The business has grown but our company values have always remained constant. We are all about honesty here at the List, and we try to convey that in all we do. Other values include:

• Have fun or quit. (This came from another company, but I love it.)
• Don’t become complacent in your routine, in your job or even in your office location. We are always going to change.
• Use your pen up before getting a new one. Seriously. If you want to have more than one pen at a time, bring an extra from home. (This also applies to post-it notes.)
• Don’t gossip - it’s bad for morale and totally unproductive.
• Don’t make a complaint without a suggestion for a solution.
• Don’t shoot down an idea just because it’s different from yours.

Our company functions have gotten more organized since I started and a little cooler, too. OK…a lot cooler. We thought the human bowling ball (aka: The Ball of Death) we rented for the “Angie’s List Olympics” four years ago was pretty amazing… but it had nothing on the Hog Roast / Soap Box Derby we just had a few weeks ago (visit http://www.billoesterle.com/ for photos!). That’s mainly because it’s pretty awesome to see 300 employees who may or may not know each other take an abstract concept and a tiny budget and make it into something beautiful or funny or fast. In a word: GREAT!

My name is Sara Lou, and I have worked at Angie’s List for six years in all kinds of customer service roles. I helped start up our Help Desk for member issues, worked with all of our in-bound member services groups, and most recently have been working with service companies in our CompanyConnect and our Advertising Account Management groups.

The company had just gone through a big growth spurt when I came on board (to 45 people) and had just made a major technology upgrade (an interactive website). On my first day I was proudly shown to my first desk here - a banquet table with a brand new computer and a stapler on top and a somewhat dilapidated file cabinet shoved underneath. (The file cabinet was kindly donated by one of our members.) I’ve had many desks at Angie’s List, but I’ve been back at a table (a little newer than that first banquet table…) with file cabinets shoved underneath it for the past two years and I love it. Our company culture has always been very strong, and I imagine that a lot of the values that existed back then have been guiding principles since day one.

One thing that has remained pretty constant at Angie’s List is Angie. She’s done almost every job here (or the root task of what now may be a whole department). Sure, she’s had a couple of addresses, she’s had different hair cuts, she’s gotten married and had kids… but she’s still here every day (ok, not today) helping the place grow, member by member.

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Hi! My name is Susie, and I have been with Angie’s List since September 18, 2001. My interview was the morning of September 11, 2001, so that day changed my life forever for many reasons. My primary position is Contract Administrator, but I am also known as the Birthday & Service Anniversary Gift Administrator (sounds like a lot more fun, doesn’t it?!?) Well, it is and it’s a job I take very seriously.

Here’s how it works: On the day of an employee’s birthday they receive an email letting them know they need to come by my desk for their surprise. They get to choose their surprise from the “Birthday Treasure Chest.” How many people can say they have one of those at the office? These fabulous gifts include kaleidoscopes, wooden board games, and silly stress balls. Service Anniversary Gifts are a much larger production. On the anniversary of an employee’s start date, I go to the employee and give them the “official” appreciation speech and present them with their gift of appreciation – usually spinning wheels, fuzzy dice, and of course the much sought after rubber chicken reserved for when you pass the five year milestone with the company.

I love doing this part of my job because the employees are so genuinely happy and I get to convey just how much Angie’s List appreciates their dedication and service to our members. Being the Gift Administrator always makes my day a good one!