BBB Under Scrutiny

Link: http://www.bbbroundup.com

It appears that after four years of ignoring the warning signs, the Better Business Bureau may finally be due a come-uptance beyond their worst nightmare.

The firestorm started with articles around the country questioning the new grading system put in place by the BBB on January 1st.

David Lazerus of the Los Angeles Times quickly grabbed the spotlight with his piece about the disparity between the grades of world famous Spago Restaurant (B- and non-member)and little known Cafe Santorini(A+ and member). His column reiterated what many Los Angeles business owners have griped about for years....that the BBB gives good grades to its members and lousy grades to non-members, especially if the non-member rebuffs their high powered sales pitch for membership.

What makes all this interesting is that it was the BBB of the Southland, Inc. (Los Angeles, Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County) who spawned this albatross of a grading system. The CBBB (Council of Better Business Bureaus) likes to say they spent four years developing and testing this new system. They specifically ignored several lawsuits filed against the BBB of the Southland, Inc. brought by non-member businesses seeking redress for unwarranted bad grades, rather than investigate them. In a coincidence that is too strong to ignore, it is interesting to note that the Los Angeles BBB is the largest contributor of membership dues of any regional BBB office. The lack of due diligence displayed by the CBBB in rolling out their new grading policy makes it appear that CBBB's pursuit of ethics was not as strong as their pursuit of membership money.

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