BBB Under Scrutiny

Link: http://bbbroundup.com

Following is an internal BBB email regarding bbbroundup.com that was provided to me by my source in the LA BBB. Following their memo I have put my comments in CAPS.
Jimmie Rivers
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BBB PR: For BBBs - Investigative Web site Critical of BBB System
Cox, Steve scox at council.bbb.org
Thu Mar 19 10:54:02 CDT 2009

Colleagues,

Bottom Line: You need to be aware of a Web site call "bbb Roundup" -
http://www.bbbroundup.com/.

Background: Following is as much information as we have about the site at this time. We are continuing to research the site, and will provide additional information as it becomes available.

* The site is principally an attack on the BBB system - and
specifically cites some BBBs by name.
* The site specifically attacks BBB Ratings along the lines of
inconsistent/illogical grades, and not necessarily points for
accreditation (although that issue is raised in parts of the site)
* The site also specifically attacks our member-funded business
model
* The site also includes a host of other BBB system criticisms
that span a range of topics
* The site operator/editor uses the pseudonym "Jimmie Rivers" and
claims to be a former journalist
* The domain was privately registered on March 4, 2009
* The Web site is hosted abroad in Singapore/Australia
* The site lists a 310-497-4806 phone number which is in Santa
Monica, CA - the number appears to be a cell number from Sprint

Assessment: While it's always concerning to see public criticism, the
value and credibility of this site is greatly diminished by the use of
the pseudonym and inability to verify sources. Essentially the site is
not legitimate or transparent: its creator is unwilling to publicly
disclose identifying information and, for this reason, I do not expect
mainstream or legitimate digital media to use or reference the site.

This said, we will certainly be keeping a close eye on the site to track
whether the site is being marketed in any way (to this point, it is
not), and whether the site is gaining any traction in online
communities.

Media Relations Guidance: This site represents one of those issues that we must literally communicate with "one voice" on. With this in mind, I would ask the following:

* If questioned about the site by any media, please refer them to
me for comment.
* Recommend you inform your Boards of the site's existence - i.e.,
let's ensure our internal audiences are aware of the site, but ask them
to consider such information confidential and not for external audiences
* Please do not personally publicize the site to any external
audiences - i.e., do not distribute any press releases attempting to refute comments from the site - and do not refer to the site in any interviews. Use caution in forwarding electronic messages concerning the site - once you forward something, you lose the ability to control where the message may go from there.

We'll provide more information as it becomes available.

Steve

Stephen A. Cox | Vice President, Communications

Tel: 703-247-9311

Fax: 703-525-8277

Email: scox at council.bbb.org

www.bbb.org | Start With Trust

Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc.

4200 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 800

Arlington, VA 22203

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THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ATTACK AND LEGITIMATE CRITICISM. MY GOAL IS NOT TO BRING THE BBB DOWN, BUT TO HAVE THEM ELIMINATE THE SENSE OF IMPROPRIETY THAT PERVADES THE ORGANIZATION AT THIS TIME. THOSE IN PUBLIC SERVICE MUST BE HELD TO A HIGHER DEGREE OF ACCOUNTABILITY THAN THE NORM, AND IT IS HERE THAT I BELIEVE THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU FAILS. (IT IS NEVER TOO LATE TO REFORM GUYS!)

I FIND IT ODD THAT THE BBB CHANGED SOME OF THE MORE ILLOGICAL GRADES (DISNEYLAND AND LA TIMES GRADES CHANGED FROM "F" TO "A" IN PARTICULAR) WITHOUT INFORMING YOUR BBB OFFICES THROUGH THIS EMAIL. THIS IS FAR FROM BEING TRANSPARENT TO YOUR REGIONAL BBB OFFICES. FEAR NOT HOWEVER, WE WILL GET TO THE ALGORITHM AND THE HOW VARIOUS ASPECTS OF BUSINESSES ARE JUDGED BY THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU IN FUTURE SEGMENTS.

TRUE. I DO FIND THE MEMBER BIASED GRADING SYSTEM UNFAIR. HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF THE STUDENT NEXT TO YOU HANDED THE TEACHER A $100 AT THE BEGINNING OF A TEST? DO YOU THINK THEY MIGHT HAVE A BETTER GRADE ON THE TEST THAN YOU WOULD IF YOU DIDN'T ALSO COUGH UP $100?

YOUR COMMENTS ABOUT "JIMMIE RIVERS" AND OFFSHORE HOSTING, ETC. ARE ALL TRUE AND DONE FOR A REASON. AS STATED IN SEVERAL PLACES ON THIS WEBSITE, I STARTED THIS SITE WITH MY EYES WIDE OPEN, KNOWING I WOULD BE A TARGET OF THE BBB AS THIS INTERNAL EMAIL PROVES. THERE IS NO LAW SAYING I HAVE TO MAKE MYSELF AN EASY TARGET.

ACTUALLY, I HAVE BEEN STRAIGHT UP AND FORTHRIGHT. I AM AT LEAST AS TRANSPARENT AND LEGITIMATE AS THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU IN THEIR DEALINGS WITH THE PUBLIC, THE PRESS AND BUSINESSES. ALSO, I HAVE QUERIED THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU DIRECTLY AS TO WHY THEY CHANGED THE GRADES FOR DISNEYLAND AND THE LA TIMES FROM A "F" TO AN "A" AND HAVE YET TO RECEIVE A RESPONSE. THE BBB KNOWS MY EMAIL AND PHONE BUT HAS CHOSEN TO HIDE RATHER THAN COME FORWARD. IRONICALLY, I'M PRETTY MUCH FOLLOWING THE MODEL ESTABLISHED BY THE BBB IN HOW THEY DEAL WITH BUSINESSES WHO ARE NOT MEMBERS. NO WONDER THEY DON'T LIKE IT. BY THE WAY, GEORGE GOMBOSSY OF THE HARTFORD COURANT HAS TAKEN UP THE STORY. LET'S SEE IF MORE "MAINSTREAM OR LEGITIMATE DIGITAL MEDIA" START JUMPING ON THE STORY.

STEVE: YOU HAVE MY EMAIL AND PHONE NUMBER. I'M HAPPY TO DISCUSS THINGS WITH YOU ON THE RECORD OR OFF.

JIMMIE

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

On January 1, 2009, the Council of Better Business Bureaus launched their new Letter Grade system nationwide. Many in the press were quick to call it pay for play grading system. I don’t disagree. However, nobody has gone to motive yet. In other words, we in the media have pretty much known all along the BBB members get preferential treatment from the BBB. So the pay for play was in some sense of the word, a dressed up rehash of old news. The Letter Grade system just made the preferential treatment more obvious, and so became a story.

But I had the thought that if it truly is a pay for play scheme, where’s the money? Show me the money. Let me follow the money. They say that numbers never lie. Truly they don’t. Thanks to several sources and the Freedom of Information Act, I have numbers, lots of numbers.

The Letter Grade system that the BBB launched in January was based on the Letter Grade system and algorithm developed by the Los Angeles BBB in 2004. The numbers will show that the Los Angeles BBB increased their revenues from member dues by over 40% (or $4 million) in the first four years of using the Letter Grade system. From 2006 through 2007 the rest of the BBB offices had zero growth in member dues revenues. During the same period, the LA BBB experienced a 14% increase in member due revenues. So, is that the smoking gun? You tell me. The complete report on behind the numbers of the BBB Letter Grade system is here.

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

I admit it. I'm old school. I'm a child of the 60's. I know where I was when both Kennedy's and Martin Luther King were killed. I thought the war in Vietnam an abomination. I voted against Nixon even though the alternative was pathetic. But I never joined a protest march or signed a petition because nobody was offering a viable solution. Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out was not a viable solution to me. Love Everyone was not a viable solution to me.

If you've been reading bbbroundup to date, you're no doubt aware that I have issues with their new letter grading system. I have issues with their complaint handling process as well which will be dealt with in upcoming articles. I also have issues in particular with the BBB of Southland, the greater Los Angeles Better Business Bureau. I've never had any personal encounters or problems with them, but I have witnessed first hand their inconsistencies in treatment of similar businesses, and have encountered a lot of fear from the businesses I've talked to. The vast majority refuse to go on record as they are afraid of retribution from the LA BBB. I've come across numerous horror stories posted online about the Los Angeles BBB while doing my research. It's pretty clear that the LA BBB is the rogue cowboy in the outfit. Oddly enough, in normal circumstances, I'd root for the rogue cowboy--I like people who shake things up....but in this case, I think there is an element of malice and greed that is beyond acceptable.

On the one hand, I'm discovering evidence of things being rotten in the Los Angeles BBB in particular, and by turning a blind eye the Council of Better Business Bureaus has involved themselves in the rot as well. But, as I mentioned in the beginning, I'm the kind of guy who looks for solutions. Things are still percolating, but the outlines and definition is beginning to emerge on how to right the Better Business Bureau. I believe it possible for the Better Business Bureau to learn from the current criticism that I and other journalists have been making public and emerge a stronger, more meaningful, more relevant, more worthy organization that can contribute in far greater ways that previously. I am on the record as saying I don't have a problem with the Better Business Bureau. That doesn't mean that I don't think some of the things they are currently embarked on are misguided and wrong because I do. It doesn't mean that I don't think there's room for improvement because I do. But I firmly believe that the Better Business Bureau has the capability to be an enormous resource, far, far greater than they've ever been with a few adjustments and modifications. The current plan is to offer solutions in the 9th report in this series. It is my hope that the Better Business Bureau will put away its pride and arrogance long enough to listen and consider. Let's see what happens in the weeks ahead.

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.