Trust

At http://www.checkthetrades.com/ we like to call ourselves the online directory of businesses you can trust.  Which begs the question: why can you trust the businesses we have listed?  There are several reasons:

• We actually go out and meet the business owners or managers and get to know them.  A business cannot be listed by simply filling out an on-line form like many general directories.
• Every listed business has signed our Code of Conduct: http://www.checkthetrades.com/home/code_of_conduct, this is very important to us.  There is a right way and a wrong way to treat people, we want to ensure things are done the right way.
• We collect lots of information from each business which is presented on their listing; they sign off on this information as being true and accurate
• We get references from each one and then call those references to verify them

We take the process of certifying new listings seriously.  Afer all, if we didn't we would be just another directory and not the directory of businesses you can trust.

You can see our full certification process at: http://www.checkthetrades.com/home/certification
and a fuller explanation on how our process works at: http://www.checkthetrades.com/home/how_it_works

The internet is a very busy place!

The internet is a very busy place these days.  We are bombarded with choices and information everytime we do a search, and all in milliseconds.  That is why I think consumers appreciate value added directories like checkthetrades.com.  We provide useful, accurate and independent information about a wide range of businesses.  If a consumer is looking for a particular type of business, say an electrician, they can check out several good ones at checkthetrades.com, saving them the time of selecting multiple different websites.  It really isn't all that helpful to go to a general directory and be presented with only basic contact information for a large number of companies.  Getting quality information like references, qualifications, insurance etc. on a handful of businesses is a much better way to reduce the risk when hiring a new business.

Enhanced Website

We are really pleased at Check the Trades to have our new website launched.  We think it will be even easier to navigate than the old one and does a better job of explaining to consumers how we are different from other directories.  Our tag line "We Check You Choose" says it all.  We do a thorough check of all listed businesses so consumers can be well informed about each listed business and then make a choice on which one they want to use.  Be sure to take a look at the new How it Works, Certification and Code of Conduct pages as well.  If you have any thoughts on the new site; good, bad or otherwise we would love to hear from you so leave a comment.  Thanks!