BBB Under Scrutiny

Link: http://www.bbbroundup.com

I must confess that when I first started this project I vastly underestimated the scope of work and the effort required. Writing this series on the Los Angeles BBB has been revealing. It has stirred passions in me that have lain dormant for far too long. The reverence given Jimmie Rivers by small businesses when he returns their calls is a heavy burden, because I know the pain and frustration they are feeling. Most of all it is the frustration. I have heard, with unerring consistency, that in the Los Angeles BBB territory, once you get on their radar you are screwed. Complaining drops your grade. Payment improves your grade, as long as you haven’t complained. They rule by fear, not from a position of trust, but one of extreme distrust.

My original thought was to develop and investigate a ten part series on the Los Angeles Better Business Bureau. Today, marks the 9th installment of this ten part series. Recently, a number of developments have occurred that indicate this story will continue to be expanded upon in the months to come.

The 10th installment of our investigative series into the LA BBB will publish next week. In it, I will offer some suggestions to make the BBB relevant again and how they can restore their tarnished brand. By then, I should have a clearer idea of where the story will go from there.

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

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.