How do you refer someone if you don't know anyone?

Many years ago, we would simply look in the phone book, some of us looking for the biggest ad, or the most colorful ad, or the ad with the most pictures. In today's Internet world, well, I don't even have a paper copy of any of the five yellow page directories for San Diego County. I could do an Internet search, of course, but inevitable a search on "San Diego plumber" brings up a gazillion bazillion entries, and to click on the returns only to find a dead link or a page load sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo slowly can really put a damper on things.

So I have created my own list of personal referrals. There are two ways to make it onto my list:

1. I've used the service at least three times and have had no complaints about the quality of the work, the price, or the bedside manners of the service provider.
2. I've had at least ten other people recommend the service provider to me.

What do I do, though, when I have no service provider? I'm not going to go back to the search engines! Been there, done that. Instead, I keep a paper copy of the "Done Right Directory" and know the links to their web site and the Angie's List web site. Both directories have pretty stringent requirements to be listed in their directories. There might be others; if there are, I hope a reader will let me know. I like to have lots of resources.

Of course, I also have my "Never-Use-While-I'm-Still-Alive List." It's extremely difficult to get on my Never-Use-While-I'm-Still-Alive List," so if you happen to make it, trust me, you really won't be getting off of it during my lifetime. You really won't. I'm passionate.

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