BBB Under Scrutiny

Link: http://www.bbbroundup.com/LosAngelesBBB.html

Today we debut the first in a ten part investigative series that delves into the standards and practices of the Better Business Bureau of the Southland, Inc., better known as the LA BBB.

For years the BBB operated under the guise of the consumer's best friend, an advocate for the little guy. At the beginning of this year, the CBBB (national BBB organization) chose to adopt the Los Angeles BBB letter grading system of businesses which replaced their previous Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading system.

Reporters around the country were quick to catch on to the inequities in this letter grading system (something Los Angeles small businesses knew about and suffered through for years)and branded it a pay for play system.

Just how ridiculous the LA BBB claims that not being a member in no way disparaged a business were brought to light when it was revealed that Disneyland and the Los Angeles Times both had "F" grades by this reporter. Quickly, quietly, and in the dead of night, the letter grades of these two businesses were upgraded to "A" grades, but the damage to the BBB's credibility had begun.

Now, after months of research, interviews and correspondence, bbbroundup believes it has the goods. In our ten part series, we will attempt to show the dishonest, deceptive and unethical methods employed by the LA BBB as it pursues the almighty dollar, regardless of the damage it inflicts on honest, hard working, small businesses in the Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties of southern California.

Read the first installment now.

Link: http://www.bbbroundup.com

Dear Senator Boxer,

I recently noticed that you have a link on your website to the Better Business Bureau in the consumer services section of your website at http://boxer.senate.gov/services/consumer/bbb/

While I don't doubt that you have the best interests of the consumer at heart, I find your referral to the Better Business Bureau troubling as it only perpetuates the myth that the BBB is a government agency.

You may not be aware of the storm that is brewing over the controversy raised by the new BBB grading system. If you, or someone on your staff, were to spend ten minutes getting the facts about the BBB from http://bbbroundup.com I feel confident that you would want to disassociate yourself from the Better Business Bureau as quickly as your webmaster could implement the changes.

Additionally, since you are a Senator from the State of California, and the Los Angeles Chapter of the BBB is where this new grading system was first implemented, I think there is even more reason for distancing yourself from the BBB.

In today's economy, the small business will likely provide the cornerstone for economic recovery and to force the small businessman to not only combat the economic challenges but the documented liable and slander of the arbitrary grading system envisioned by William G. Mitchell, CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Southland, Inc., is as unfair as it is unreasonable.

Richard Blumenthal, the Attorney General for the State of Connecticut is currently questioning the Better Business Bureau's new grading system), an action that has led to the BBB of Connecticut to take down grades for more than 52,000 non-BBB member businesses in the state.

My sources tell me that Randy Roach, from the Orange County, California District Attorney's office is currently looking into the Los Angeles Chapter of the BBB.

When a company such as the Better Business Bureau can operate without oversight, and feel free to liable and slander legitimate, honest small businesses with arbitrary grades, and then hide behind the curtain of free speech while proclaiming that these opinions are objective fact, something needs to be done.

At the very least, we are asking you to take down the link on your website to the Better Business Bureau, at least until such time as they correct their approach to grading businesses and start relying on fact rather than opinion. We think it appropriate that more severe steps be taken, especially from one such as yourself who holds public office, including advising the Better Business Bureau to stop grading non-member businesses, and to justify their not for profit tax exempt status given that they are in essence an advertising agency, serving their members and not a community oriented consumers rights advocate.

Sincerely,
Jimmie Rivers

Editor's Note: This letter was sent to Senator Boxer's office on March 18th with a notice saying I would not publish this letter until Monday, March 23rd to give her time to respond. Monday has come and gone with no response from the Senator, so as promised, I published it.

Link: http://www.bbbroundup.com

Better Business Bureaus around the country were burning the midnight oil and up at the crack of dawn. Their purpose was not to rigorously defend the American public from malicious businesses but to cover up their own tracks. While they seemed fascinated with this site (some forty BBB visits in the last 24 hours), that does not appear to be the reason for the activity. Instead, the LA Times no longer sports an F grade, it now has an A and has mysteriously shed five unanswered complaints. Somehow Disneyland also transformed from a F grade to an A grade overnight, while simultaneously gaining one additional complaint.

Rather than correct the problem, this instant transformation of these two company's grades only underscores how laughable the new BBB grading system is. After all, the LA BBB has been grading companies for four years, so why did it suddenly dawn on them that they had misgraded two companies? More importantly, why stop there? I guarantee you there are many more inappropriate grades out there because the Better Business Bureau does not take the time to do their due diligence.

More importantly, both the LA Times and Disneyland are big companies, they can take the hit of a F grade. For the small business, an unwarranted F grade can mean the difference between staying in business or going down the tubes. Since, by their actions, the BBB has already acknowledged that they are capable of giving businesses unwarranted F grades, they need to bite the bullet and take down all grades for non-member businesses until they can get them right.

Right now, their actions have the odor of a grade fixing scandal. After all, if their grading algorithm is so wonderful how could it be so far off, and why were these changes done, not to the algorithm, but to individual businesses in a blatantly subjective manner? My advice to the BBB is that this grading system issue is not some pimple that can be covered up with some cosmetics, rather it is a cancer that is eating at the heart and soul of the Better Business Bureau.

p.s. Welcome back Miami BBB, glad to see you got your website working again.

Link: http://www.bbbroundup.com

I was out of town doing my investigating all day. Got home late evening and was blown away when I checked my traffic logs. The visitor count was through the roof, and the site is a big hit with the Better Business Bureaus!

I counted visits, often multiple visits, from the BBB offices in Colorado Springs, Austin, Denver, Woodland Park, Dublin, Toledo, Miami, New York, San Diego, Longview, San Antonio, Pleasant Grove, Maumelle, Wilmington, Brooklyn, Knoxville, Ridgeland, Port Neches, Milwaukee, Honolulu, Nashville, Charlotte, Placentia, and my personal favorite, Bat Cave, North Carolina. We also enjoyed multiple visits from the CBBB (National BBB Office) in Arlington, VA.

Based on the number of times the About Us and Contact Us pages where accessed by BBB Offices, there is a huge interest in who I am and how to get hold of me--though as I write this I have received not one email or phone call from any BBB office or representative. (There was one blocked ID phone call but they didn't leave a message.) An optimist might think that all this means that the BBB is in a state of internal discussion over the pay for grade issue, or perhaps tweaking some of the grading disparities I've brought to light, but the realist in me says they are trying to figure out a way to make me go away.

Read more »

Link: http://www.bbbroundup.com

Journalism at its best not only finds the story, but through the story it causes social, political, or economic change. George Gombossy of the Hartford Currant is an excellent example of all that is right with journalism. He was among the first reporters who didn't swallow the CBBB's Kool Aid about their wonderful new grading system. (A system that was developed by the Better Business Bureau of the greater Los Angeles area some four years ago and was the subject of several lawsuits and numerous articles questioning its validity.)

His article of January 31st, "Better Business Bureau new rating system: quick but has little meaning" brought up a point that no other journalist has made..."The bureau does not have the staff to analyze properly the millions of complaints it receives each year, much less keep track of 4 million companies and give them nuanced ratings. For instance, the bureau in Connecticut has only a handful of staff members to deal with tens of thousands of complaints."

On March 12th, George scored another home run in his story, "BBB new rating system: BBB quietly revises controversial changes" which included the news that "Connecticut officials said that 52,000 businesses in the state no longer have ratings. The bureau is now providing letter grades to only 26,000 businesses, of which 3,365 are accredited members." This is when it's fun to be a journalist, even if it's not your story, when your story causes a wrong to be righted, or at least take steps in that direction.

Now, the Connecticut Attorney General is asking questions of the Connecticut Better Business Bureau and this story only promises to get hotter. Personally, I can't wait for George's next column on the BBB.

Meanwhile, our story is starting to gain traction here in Los Angeles; so much so that we will be adding a new section to bbbroundup.com on BBB Southland (the greater Los Angeles Better Business Bureau.) Just a short post today, mainly wanted to send kudos to George and let those who've contacted me know their information is leading me where I need to go.