I believe that BBB accreditation will become more and more valuable over time, especially in the Internet age, where people get scammed online left and right. However, I agree that some businesses will not benefit from a BBB accreditation as much. However, it may matter a lot to businesses especially online ones that are not well known brands or that belong to business segments that have serious credibility and trust issues. As soon as i have a problem with a company, I go directly to the BBB website to see if this company has had related problems.
Its like a second instinct. I trust they will be fair and I have also used their services in the past. I think they are a great resource. Angies List is the new BBB. Angies list is real, good, and honest. I have heard that they give out free memberships to consumers aka friends of the businesses they list. BBB is not pay for play. You can not be a member unless you meet certain points for a score, if you will. Hi and thank you for this excellent post and helpful comments.
I was contacted by the BBB this morning and was on the fence about joining. I think the inbound link from them has some value, but it sounds like they are shaking people down and manipulating ratings based on membership.
Because it it a well established company, consumers recognize the BBB symbol and — for the most part — trust in its rating system. That being said, there are more affordable alternatives available to small business owners. Hope this info proves helpful to small business owners trying to establish trust and build up credibility on a small budget. We have been in business for 5 years, have had over clients, and have 5 complaints.
Of those 5 complaints that are service related, we resolved 4 of them to the clients satisfaction. We have an F rating. I emailed the BBB and they informed me they advocate for members? He went on to explain that many things effect the ability of the BBB to lower a score. He told me that by joining he could help me. So in an unbelievable and unexpected result.
I asked him this. So instead I asked him to remove my score, as I am not joining he refused, so I did some research, have letters from all four clients saying they are happy, and am filing in Federal Court against them as I recorded my call.
They are a sham, and I plan to use my resources and press contacts to see their practices stopped. They are using Google placement and bad ratings as a way to get money from businesses. It is a total sham and if you need help filing etc I will stand by you. Its all about who you know and what your willing to pay. Not really needed anymore. All they provide is a means for someone to complain about you whether they are right or wrong.
The more you pay for membership the higher your rating. They may have had their time to be but not anymore. Save your money. Please comment your concerns Thanks Job Seeker. The BBB is kind of like Alexa rankings. Good write-up, David. The BBB has completely re-vamped their online business directory and it is now frequently showing up on the first page of Google results when people search for a small business name.
That alone is worth something. As a consumer, I am now informed properly about this BBB, and will look at their logo with disgust. As a consumer searching to select the best contractor to do a job on my house, you may be interested to know that I am now checking if BBB accreditation is a honest business!
They totally confuse me with their method of accreditation and by not replying to my questions. What is missing in reference letters is the follow up of a job. Is the contractor answering request to repair or fix problems appearing months later?
That is what I want to know. Because, if it does not it means that 1 it did not perform a good job on the first place, and 2 he disappear after he got the check. BBB is the only source on the web that I know who is looking at claims. But, I ask them to explain me how they provide grade to businesses which are not unaccredited, and give better rate to company with several complains pending.
They did not reply. Now, it may be informative to know that I am in NJ. So, I am now searching on BBB to see who is really beyond this. Several pros, and even some BBB officers, note that because younger Americans are buying houses later, they have less urgency to use the BBB to search for reputable remodeling help. These explanations, though, pale beside the indisputable fact that consumers now simply have far more choices when seeking recommendations about companies.
The BBB also lacks the advantage of more visual sites, such as Houzz, which give consumers design ideas that generate leads. In this competitive environment, the BBB must juggle three public relations balls: defending its turf, minimizing past missteps, and countering persistent misperceptions about its mission and purpose. Halfway across the country in Tulsa, Okla. And, truth be told, the incidents appear to be isolated rather than evidence of systemic corruption.
However, the operational autonomy that may have contributed to these aberrations may also be working against the BBB in its attempts to get the bureaus to act more like a coalition. Currently, each bureau operates independently, with its own management and budget.
Bureaus are free to tailor programs and advertising to their local markets, including those that derive from the Council. But some bureaus are more financially viable and proactive than others, and this fragmentation poses challenges for the BBB. Many remodelers insist that the organization needs a strong national marketing effort in order to have greater meaning for consumers and businesses. Many others wonder if the BBB would be more relevant with Millennials and Gen Xers today had it jumped onto the social media bandwagon sooner.
While still short of a national campaign, many bureaus are working hard today to raise their profiles with the public. The BBB St. Louis celebrates its th anniversary this year and has seen its Accredited businesses increase to 7,, from 5, five years ago. The bureau has not been reopened. In the lawsuit it filed in June, the BBB claims he illegally used the nonprofit's funds to pay for personal expenses -- including his mortgage, pool cleaner, credit card bills and "to support a hidden gambling habit.
While not all bureaus have had such scandals, CNNMoney analyzed hundreds of complaints filed with state attorneys general across the country and interviewed dozens of consumers and business owners who have their own problems with the organization.
Like the pinball machine salesman who says his rating fell to an F after he canceled his BBB membership and says the organization is like "a mobster telling me to pay. In order to keep their BBB accreditation and stamp of approval, paying companies must resolve all complaints -- one of the most heavily-weighted factors that goes into a company's rating. The BBB says complaints are deemed resolved if a company addresses the issue or makes a "good faith" effort.
Yet many member businesses are able to close complaints with generic letters and responses that consumers say clearly don't address their problem, while some non-members struggle to resolve complaints at all, CNNMoney found. This is often just a drop in the bucket for a major national company. While there's no way to know whether she lost business due to the F rating, she believes it cost her customers and hurt her reputation.
The BBB says that they always attempt to notify all businesses of complaints. But Kok says the complaint about her company was sent to an old address and nearly three years passed before she learned of it and realized her rating had dropped. In contrast, CNNMoney found multiple examples of the BBB taking extra steps to notify its paying members of complaints sending multiple letters, calling the businesses and even using certified mail to ensure they were received.
Even for non-members who are notified of complaints, it can be nearly impossible to get them resolved -- which is a major factor affecting a company's BBB rating. One business complained to the Florida attorney general that he repeatedly tried to resolve a few complaints but couldn't even log into the BBB's computer system -- despite notifying the BBB about the issue.
Meanwhile, a yacht salesman said his company's rating was destroyed by a complaint against a completely different company. And a marine surveyor, whose business was plagued by an unresolved complaint, says BBB salespeople told him it would be easier to address the issue if he was a paying member.
Grades on the BBB's website can fluctuate wildly on a regular basis, making it impossible for consumers to get a reliable reading on a company. Google's grade, meanwhile, has been on a rollercoaster -- changing from a C- to an A- within weeks, and plummeting to an F by the time of publishing. A number of factors can cause big changes in grades, according to the organization. If a company quickly resolves a pile of complaints, its rating can improve immediately.
If a government action is taken against a business that the BBB deems serious enough, a rating can plummet. The BBB told CNNMoney that its rating system is "dynamic" and that newer complaints and recent government actions have a bigger impact on a grade and these black marks drop off entirely after three years -- which can also suddenly boost a grade. The BBB wouldn't comment on CNNMoney's findings and a spokeswoman noted that the more than A-rated companies slammed by government regulators represent a fraction of the millions that the organization rates.
Of the roughly 30 companies the BBB was asked by CNNMoney to comment on, the vast majority have since had their pages altered: Some have had alerts about government actions added, and more than a dozen had their grade lowered or removed entirely. Moreover, not all businesses have BBB accreditation, which can cost many hundreds of dollars per year. Businesses without this accreditation are less likely to communicate with consumers through the BBB versus those who have a paid membership. And just because a business is responding to you through the BBB doesn't necessarily mean that you'll get anywhere.
Satisfactory membership in the BBB generally involves the paying of a membership fee and responding to consumer complaints in a timely manner. There are no stipulations that a business do anything to resolve a complaint or address the complaint a particular way.
Some consumers report that responses from companies through the BBB are often short and do nothing to address their issues. Of course, every situation is different. Some consumers have successfully arbitrated through the BBB and others have seen satisfactory complaint resolution.
0コメント