June 14, 2005

OAKLAND, Calif. - (June 14, 2005) - ValueStar, the Bay Area's best-known publisher of consumer ratings of local service businesses, today announced plans for its much-anticipated re-launch in the San Francisco Bay Area later this summer. In preparation for the re-launch, ValueStar has begun accepting applications from quality-focused service businesses in the Bay Area for admission to the ValueStar Customer-Rated Program, which offers qualifying businesses a listing in the printed ValueStar Report and on the ValueStar.com website, license to use the well-known ValueStar seals in sales and advertising efforts, and service guarantees and loyalty rewards for customers who participate in ValueStar's feedback program.

"I've talked with numerous owners and managers of Bay Area service businesses in recent weeks," ValueStar President & CEO Lou Morsberger said, "and they're all excited by our re-launch, which is real testimony to the impact ValueStar has had over the last 10 years helping quality-focused businesses in the Bay Area stand out from competitors. By publishing directories of service businesses that receive highly favorable ratings from confirmed customers and by letting those businesses display the ValueStar seal, we've helped more than 2,400 Bay Area businesses attract more customers and increase their sales. Our research shows that among Bay Area consumers, ValueStar is clearly the best known program for rating services in the entire region, so when a business becomes ValueStar Customer-Rated it carries a lot of weight with consumers."

David Ehrlich, ValueStar's Director of Sales, emphasized the new "pay-for-performance" feature of the new ValueStar. "We charge a nominal fee to determine a service provider's eligibility and initial customer rating, after which we only get paid for business we help drive to that service provider. With ValueStar, you don't have to guess about 'cost per thousand impressions' or 'cost per click' as with so many directory programs---with us, you only pay when we can demonstrate that we influenced specific transactions on your behalf. And it's all very convenient and very easy to get started."

Mike Kelly, ValueStar's VP Operations, described the company's unique, credit card-driven means of surveying customers. "After we confirm a business' credentials-including insurance, licensing, legal standing, credit status-we do a phone survey of recent past customers. If their feedback shows a business meets our standards then we admit the business to the program. But we don't stop there-feedback is gathered on an ongoing basis, submitted by ValueStar Consumers when they transact with a ValueStar Customer-Rated business, as tracked by our Real-Time Ratings system. ValueStar Consumers who have enrolled one or more of their credit cards are automatically sent a survey every time they use their credit card with a ValueStar service business. And they get benefits for responding to those surveys-a $1,000 money-back guarantee and ValueStar Rewards points, in particular. That lets us gather feedback reliably, it let's us know the impact we're having on ValueStar businesses, and it lets us charge service providers only when we generate revenue for them-it's truly a win-win proposition."

About ValueStar
ValueStar is a leading publisher of online and printed local service directories providing confirmed consumer ratings of service businesses and professionals. ValueStar evaluates local service companies on a range of factors and uses a proprietary system to gather feedback from actual consumers. The company is owned by Service Ratings, LLC and headquartered in the Washington, DC, area, with operations in Oakland, Calif., which service consumers and businesses throughout the Bay Area.

For more information, go to www.ValueStar.com.