Jake’s List lets service businesses review customers for free

Jake’s List is rolling out a nationwide platform that lets contractors and other home-service businesses review customers before taking jobs. The Akron-based company says the goal is to balance a review system that has long favored homeowners and help businesses avoid costly bad fits.

Why it matters: - Jake’s List is targeting a long-standing gap in the home-services market: homeowners can review contractors, but service businesses have had few tools to evaluate customers before accepting a job. - The platform aims to help contractors reduce risk tied to labor, materials, scheduling, travel and administrative costs. - Jake’s List is offering customer reviews at no charge to participating service businesses.

What happened: - Jake’s List said it is continuing a nationwide rollout of its online customer-review platform for service businesses. - The company is based in Akron, Ohio, and says the platform is designed to let contractors research and review residential customers. - The rollout message to contractors is direct: service businesses can now review customers for free. - Jake’s List is seeking service businesses across the United States to join the platform.

The details: - The platform is built for businesses that work at customers’ homes, including HVAC companies, plumbers, electricians, roofers, landscapers, concrete contractors, remodelers, painters, flooring companies, cleaning companies, pest-control companies, restoration companies, tree services, pool companies, fencing contractors, handymen, pressure-washing companies, junk-removal companies, appliance-repair businesses and general contractors. - Participating businesses can review customer experiences and use customer information before taking residential work. - The review format uses simple Yes/No questions to capture whether the experience was positive or negative. - Jake’s List is intended to support both good and bad reviews, not just complaints. - The platform is framed as a two-way review environment: homeowners can review service businesses, and service businesses can review customers. - The company says the network is meant to grow as more contractors contribute reviews and more businesses use the information when evaluating potential customers. - Jake’s List also says its long-term goal is to create a nationwide resource for service professionals to share information about residential customers. - More information is available at jakeslist.com.

Between the lines: - The pitch is about leverage as much as information. Jake’s List is positioning customer research as a business tool, not just a complaint forum. - The company is trying to build a category that mirrors existing consumer review sites, but for contractors deciding whether to take on a job. - If the network gains scale, the value could rise quickly because contractors would be contributing and consuming the same pool of customer experience data.

What’s next: - Jake’s List wants more service businesses to create accounts and start documenting their experiences with residential customers. - The company’s growth plan depends on expanding participation so the review network becomes broad enough to inform job decisions nationwide.

The bottom line: - Jake’s List is betting that service businesses will pay attention when they get a chance to check a homeowner’s score before saying yes to the work.