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      AN INVESTIGATIVE NEWS SERIES
    ON THE STANDARDS AND PRACTICES   
    OF THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU
       
         START WITH TRUTH


  V 1.4  Feb 2010
BETTER LATTE THAN NEVER

Starbucks F
 starbucks 2
Here's the Starbucks Grade BEFORE BBBroundup pointed it out.
 Here's the Starbucks Grade AFTER BBBroundup pointed it out.

Nice to see the BBB is reading us.  Nicer still to see that they are reacting.  Still think Starbucks deserves a better grade than a B-.  But the big questions are these:  1) Why did the BBB have the F in the first place.  2)  Why doesn't the BBB admit their algorithm is totally broken and stop giving out inappropriate grades?  Or at least mention somewhere on the reliability report that the previous grade was a mistake and the new grade reflects the BBB's revised opinion of Starbucks reliability?  3)  Does the math seem fuzzy to you?  It does to me.  How can one week see four less complaints with fewer complaints closed in the last year? 

More examples of Goofy Grades are in the works.  They make the Starbucks Grade almost seem legitimate.
Editor's note:  There is a need for a consumer advocacy group that the public can turn to, and it used to be that the Better Business Bureau fulfilled this role adequately.  No longer.  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.  If they refuse to reform, then they must bear the consequences.
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