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JJ Ramberg

JJ Ramberg is the anchor of “Your Business,” MSNBC’s weekly show on small business. In addition to her extensive television reporting experience, Ramberg has a background as an entrepreneur and co-founded GoodSearch.com. She has an MBA from Stanford Business School.



Staying off the Better Business Bureau’s bad-boy list

Posted: Tuesday, May 13, 2008 2:24 AM by Eve Tahmincioglu
Filed Under: , , ,

Savvy consumers and small firms owners are increasingly checking the Better Business Bureau’s list of businesses before they make a purchase or decide to partner with a company.

That’s bad news for small businesses that some how end up on the BBB’s bad-boy list.

OK, it’s not actually called a bad boy list, but if your company ends up in the BBB’s data base with an unsatisfactory rating you can bet you’ll probably lose at least a few sales as a result.

The BBB has reliability reports on about 4 million businesses and of those about 24 percent have an unsatisfactory rating, says Alison Preszler, a spokeswoman for the organization.

So how do you keep from ending up with a “F” on your BBB report card?

I’ve talked to many a small business owner that complained to me that they should never have gotten an unsatisfactory rating in the first place; that the customer who complained just wanted more than they paid for.

If this happens, Preszler says, “I’d encourage them to take the time to sit down with their local BBB and discuss why they have an unsatisfactory record and what the company can do to change that status.  In some cases, it would mean taking a look at complaints and making an effort to resolve the issues with complainants. In other cases, it might mean making a change in company practices; for example, if we received a lot of complaints from consumers regarding contract disputes, we might ask the company to take further steps to ensure the consumer fully understands the terms of the contract they are signing.”

For the rest of you who want to make sure you never get on bad rating, she offered a list of tips to stay on the right side of the BBB:

Respond to complaints.
Companies need to promptly respond to complaints filed with BBB, and make a good faith effort to resolve all such complaints in accordance with generally accepted good business practices. Typically, if a company doesn’t respond to two or more complaints, it will have an impact on their rating with BBB.
 
Fix any underlying causes of a pattern of complaints.
Sometimes, a company will say, “But we responded to all of the complaints, why do we still have an unsatisfactory rating?”  That’s when we explain that it’s not enough to respond to complaints if there is an underlying cause for a large number of grievances.  If a company is continually misleading consumers, it isn’t enough to keep saying “Sorry!” The company needs to take steps to stop the practice that is leading to so many angry customers.
 
Adhere to standards of advertising and selling.
Here is our code of advertising at the national level.
It’s a bit lengthy but the basic gist is BE HONEST!
 
Consistently Do Good Work.
BBB Reliability Reports are a reflection of the company’s quality of service as well as their customer service. A company that does shoddy work or provides a poor product will likely have more complaints filed against them with BBB.
 
Sounds logical, no?

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Comments

from my experience with the bbb, the complaints generally come from a customer "who wants more than he or she purchased." then the bbb will ding me for sticking to my customer policy. however, paying the bbb a yearly approximate membership fee of $500.00 can turn a "f" grade to an "a". i think that's called extortion. therefore, i don't care for the bbb.

carl (Sent Sunday, May 18, 2008 9:59 AM)

Staying off the Bad Boy List has been easy: in the 100 years my firm has been in business we have never been investigated by the BBB; honesty is our best quality.  With this in mind, I went to their site this morning, found the branch for my area, and surveyed their list of “BBB Accredited Businesses” in my field.  The fact that my business was not listed begs the question: How does one get on their accredited list?  This is, as you may suspect, a rhetorical question.  In fact, I have been approached twice in the last three years by a telemarketer representing an organization he says is the BBB.  He had one pitch: purchase a membership and my firm would be listed in their directory.  

Now, as I survey the situation, perhaps it would be better to put more emphasis in squeezing the budget than delivering good service to the people in my community.

M. S. Jones, La Center, KY (Sent Sunday, May 18, 2008 12:13 PM)

I had a customer complain about me because she paid for her first appointment and I invited her back a second time for free due to tecnical difficulties (that were resolved). She was unhappy with how her baby was performing for the FREE appointment and requested a refund for what was a free appointment.  Some people will never be happy.

Maria Christopoulos, Fairfax, VA (Sent Wednesday, June 18, 2008 10:29 PM)

In the past 2 years I have received several phone messages from the BBB asking to call them ASAP(in an ominous sounding voice).

I used to take these calls seriously, until I found each time that they were merely trying to sell me a membership.  

I had to tell them to remove me from their call list.

It is really sad to see an organization designed to promote "better business" behavior use such reprehensible sales techniques.  

Just out of curiousity, to whom do you report on the BBB?

John Somerville (Sent Wednesday, July 23, 2008 2:29 PM)

I used to think BBB was a real benefit. I checked on a company on their accredited list and in good standing when I bought a automobile warranty only to find out the company went into bankruptcy a week after. Once the company filed for bankrupcy BBB made it seem like they did not exist and did not show the numerous complaints against them. Having "no" complaints translates as they are a good company especially for elderly people that feel the BBB is a "real" watchdog. If you ask the BBB about the reputation of a company in bankruptcy you will not get an answer. I agree with the first comment above that its called extortion to be on their accredited list. So when BBB calls me to sell it I take the time to explain this to the sales representative. Translation We canceled our membership with BBB and We will not pay for the fake accreditation.

Phoenix, AZ (Sent Tuesday, August 05, 2008 8:59 AM)

Better Business Bureau ratings are just one factor that should be taken into account when researching a business.

Greg, Vista, California (Sent Tuesday, October 28, 2008 9:34 PM)

The BBB is the biggest scam in the world. Your rating is solely based on the amount of money you pay them. If you are not a member, your rating will be "D" or "F". I got an "F" rating with no complaints.
A business affiliate was asked for and paid thousands in cash bribes so the BBB would be fair with them, and they still got an "F" rating.
They should all be in jail, and not be reporting on which businesses are good and bad.

John Doe, Palm Springs (Sent Thursday, February 26, 2009 7:39 PM)

I agree to all of these conversations above. It can never be determind unless we can track each sale and ask each customer if they checked the BBB before buying. I can tell you that there are people who hold your rating over your head as well. If you are a member (which I refuse to be) They harass you and threaten to give everything they ask for or else, to the customers wo you sell a wholesale, unassembeled scooter witha free helmet and they complain to the BBB that the helmet did not arrive exactly when the scooter did when they were told items would ship seperatly. It seems "stupid glue" happens to all sorts of good businesses out there and the BBB simply cares for those who spend now 500.00 annually to be a member of thier non-government agency. We have a competetor who has the same track record as our biz and they somehow have an A+ and us non-members have an F? What happened to A-,B+,B,B-,C+,C,C-,C,D+,D,D-??? There is no possible way when the BBB states 24% of the biz reported have an F that statistically means somthing is wrong with thier system. Or is it since its only a negative reporting system the only biz on there are those who have mostly bad customers. Very sad to see. And yes, did you know you cannot complain about the BBB on the BBB. Whom do you report a complaint about the BBB prectices to?? Id like to know.

J Gonzales (Sent Tuesday, April 28, 2009 11:47 AM)



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