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AN INVESTIGATIVE NEWS SERIES ON THE STANDARDS AND PRACTICES OF THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU START WITH TRUTH |
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V 1.1
March 2009 |
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| Accreditation
Ambiguities Membership implies certain privileges over non-members. As membership in the BBB is not free, it would seem more likely that the change in terms from BBB member to BBB accredited business was to eliminate the specter of favoritism that the word "member" implies. In fact the BBB acknowledges this point in their FAQ section: "The BBBs integrity is on the line every time we review and process a complaint. If we were to favor an accredited business over a non-accredited business in a complaint, such action would destroy our most valuable asset--the public trust that we have held for over 80 years."1 Additional ambiguity is evident in the non-standardized way in which different regional BBB offices refer to accreditation. The Chicago BBB describes Sears, an accredited member, as follows:   The Los Angeles BBB describes an accredited business, National Bartenders School, as follows:  The Los Angeles BBB describes an
un-accredited business, Touch Therapy Institute, as follows:
 Both of these accreditation
statements by the Los Angeles BBB (BBB Southland, Inc.) fail to mention
BBB in the accreditation notice. This omission is confusing to
say the least, and even worse, misleading, for one of the common uses
of accreditation has to do with educational institutes. In both
cases there is a strong implication that these schools are not
accredited academically. In fact, the National Bartenders
School is accredited with the
Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education (BPPVE),
school code 1925631.
Steve Cox, national BBB spokesperson, recently stated "there is no question that companies that are accredited (dues paying members) receive higher ratings"2 Yet, the Los Angeles BBB states that the fact that a company is not accredited "does not disparage the company in any way." Which is it? |
Also In
This Edition Better Business Bureau Grades Companies On Peculiar Curve Why do so many unaccredited businesses get significantly lower grades (than accredited businesses)? "I can't explain that," Steve Cox, a spokesman for the Better Business Bureau, and CBBB's Vice President, Communications, replied. "Clearly we need to do a better job in articulating what the differences are." The private, nonprofit Better Business Bureau insists there's no "pay-for-play" component to its new rating system. But a random search of the organization's database of about 4 million North American companies seems to show that the roughly 400,000 accredited businesses, even those that get numerous complaints, very often receive higher grades than unaccredited companies with spotless complaint records. From the Congressional Record: Hon. Corrine Brown Unfortunately, I have learned that we have within our country a private organization that with the appearance of being quasi-governmental and without any legal or regulatory oversight and control can libel and slander and tortuously interfere with a small business. They can do so with virtual immunity. This organization is the National Better Business Bureau and their franchise local Better Business Bureaus. When closely examined, however, one finds that there are Better Business Bureaus that arbitrarily and capriciously exclude and negatively classify those they don't like. They also frequently rate companies with terrible records as being satisfactory. We Compare BBB Ratings For Google and Yahoo! Through the use of actual screen shots, we take a look at the way the San Jose BBB grades two similar businesses, Yahoo! and Google. Adjusted for these usage figures, Yahoo!'s complaint total would be 3684 total complaints vs. only 423 complaints for Google. There does not appear to be any significant disparity between the severity of the types of complaints, although the BBB offers no clarity on the difference between an unanswered complaint and an unassigned one. The resulting grades are enough to make you wonder. Myths About The BBB In spite of these similarities, there is a marked difference in their business models. Consumer Reports is funded through subscriptions from consumers who are interested in their reviews of products. The BBB is funded by memberships paid for by businesses. This rightly or wrongly gives the appearance of a conflict of interest. It has been documented by more than one reporter that there exist many discrepancies between the 128 regional BBB bureaus in how they solicit money, how they treat consumer complaints, and how they grade businesses. |
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| New BBB Grading
System: Pass Or Fail? In January 2009, the BBB changed the way they ranked businesses. Instead of the decades old ranking of either "satisfactory or unsatisfactory," businesses will now be given an "A through F" grade. The change was implemented according to Better Business Bureau national spokesperson Steve Cox because, "Consumers want more than marketing spin or a few commercials about a business posted on the Internet, and rightly so, because given tough economic conditions, they literally can't afford to make bad buying decisions. These (new) ratings reports provide detailed insight into a business's track record and are based on our time-tested standards, in-depth research and the millions of consumer complaints filed with BBB."3 The new grading system uses a complex algorithm of 16 factors to determine a business' final grade. Altogether, the BBB evaluates and monitors more than 3 million local and national businesses and charities.4 Taking the BBB at its word that they in fact do in-depth research on all businesses in their data base presents an interesting conclusion if we assume such due diligence required a minimum of 8 man-hours per company graded to accurately make the transition to the new "A+/F" from the old "satisfactory/unsatisfactory" grading system. To evaluate these 3 million businesses would have required 12,000 man-years This equates to over 71 employees at each and every local BBB employed for all of last year, just to make this transition in grading systems. Since many BBBs have "only a handful of employees"2 it hardly seems possible. |
Quotes
Of The Day "Variables plugged into the (grading) algorithm include government actions against a business."2 Judy
Mills, President and CEO of the Southwest Missouri
BBB
"Your Connecticut Better Business Bureau is not a government agency and does not report on government actions."2 Howard
Schwartz, Connecticut
Business Bureau
Footnotes and References 1. BBB FAQ Chicago BBB report on Sears Chicago BBB report on Chicago Tribune Los Angeles BBB report on National Bartenders School Los Angeles BBB report on Touch Therapy Massage School 2. Hartford Courant 3. The Consumerist 4. BBB Statistics Previous Editions february 2009 |
| Editor's note: Neither I or this website have a problem with the Better Business Bureau. Indeed, there is a need for a consumer advocacy group that the public can turn to, and in most cases, the Better Business Bureau fulfills this role adequately. What we do have a problem with is the BBB's "A-F" grading system. It is demonstratively biased, based on hearsay, weighted in favor of dues paying members and offers no recourse when the BBB makes an error. It is obvious the Better Business Bureau does not now, nor ever will have, the resources to fully investigate the four million businesses in their database, much less grade them with any sense of accuracy. It's an impossible job, and to think otherwise is a mistake that the BBB should acknowledge so they can get back to their reason for existence--protecting the consumer. There's an old saying, "who will watch the watchers" and it applies here as the BBB has set themselves up to be above the law. We are simply here to help the Better Business Bureau do a better job so that they may properly serve the consumer, the business community and themselves. | |
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2009 bbbroundup.com. all rights reserved. |
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