How to Read a BBB Report
Knowing and understanding the importance of correctly reading a BBB report
The Better Business Bureau, or better known as the BBB, is a non-profit organization that operates as third party overseer of businesses. Many of you reading this have a high regard for the BBB and this is warranted. The BBB has done quite a lot to protect you, the consumer, from frauds and scams.
However, the BBB is far from perfect. There are flaws in the system; and if you know about these flaws you can better arm yourself against the fraudulent companies out there. And knowing how to read a BBB report is your first tool.
While you should definitely look at the BBB as a source of great information about a company it should not be regarded as the be-all end-all of any decision.
One of the best tools that the BBB gives us, is the BBB report. It is full of a lot of useful information and if one really utilized this report to its maximum there would be a greater chance of success with the company.
So lets take at look at the BBB report.
What report grade really means:
This the first thing that you see when you look at the BBB report, and like I said this is where many of you end.
Normally, you just take a look at the rating and call it good, only to find out that the company was not good at all, and this is why you need to know how to read the report.
What the rating means is that the company has fulfilled its obligations to the BBBs specifications. As you will see later on, that does not mean that the company is a good one.
What is the difference between accredited and non-accredited businesses:
One of qualifications is whether a company is accredited or non-accredited. An accredited company means that the company has a paid membership with the BBB. A non-accredited company means that it does not have a paid membership with the BBB.
The BBB is completely voluntary. One can elect to be a member or not. No company can be forced by the BBB to follow its standards or guidelines. So a non-accredited company chooses not to be a member, but it still may follow its standards and guidelines if it so chooses.
But, to get the better grade with the BBB you must be a member.
Different types of complaints and which ones you should be concerned with:
There are many kinds of complaints that one can file with the BBB about a company. They can range from a company not fulfilling is warranties to being rude; from breaking things to out-theft and fraud.
Here are a few complaints that one moving company has gotten with in the last 12 months (an yes they have an “A-” rating…you be the judge.)
- Billing and Collection Issues
- Customer Service Issues
- Delivery Issues
- Guarantee and Warranty Issues
- Selling Practices
- Service Issues
Between the “Customer Service” and “Service Issues” this particular moving company has had 6 complaints filed against them in the last 12 months.
What this means is that 6 people have objected to the way they had been treated by this company to the point where they felt it was necessary to complain to the BBB.
That is significant. You should be aware of this. It does not look like this company treats its customers very well.
They only had 1 incident with “Selling Practices”. That could mean that this company sold this particular customer a little too hard, or it could mean that they fraudulently misrepresented themselves. The BBB does not tell us this, but based on the above complaints it would not be hard to deduce the latter.
You have to look at all the complaints together and then make a decision on whether this company is a good company or not.
What a complaint resolution really means:
Resolution of a complaint does not mean that the complaint was resolved at all. It only means that the company that received the complaint made an effort, no matter how slight, to resolve the complaint.
Let me explain. Lets use the example from above. The company received several service issues complaints. So a customer said that they were rude. For this to be resolved with the BBB, the company only has to acknowledge the complaint with the BBB and agree to work something out.
Now, if this customer does not respond back after a certain amount of time the BBB automatically “resolves” this complaint. The customer may not even be happy…doesn’t matter. In the eyes of the BBB the complaint is resolved.
Or the customer doesn’t agree with the resolution the company proposed, then after a certain amount of time, it too, is resolved in the eyes of the BBB.
In both cases the customer may not feel that the case was resolved in any manner or form and still be ticked off. Doesn’t matter with the BBB; it is resolved.
Here is the actual definitions that one BBB uses:
COMPLAINT CLOSURE TYPE DEFINITIONS
RESOLVED
Response from company addresses disputed issues. Consumer has verified (either orally or in writing) that the complaint has been settled to his/her satisfaction or consumer has not verified that the complaint has been settled, but has not contacted BBB again to indicate dissatisfaction or to request further assistance.
UNRESOLVED
Consumer indicates (either verbally or in writing) that the company’s response to the complaint does not settle the matter and the BBB believes that the company’s response does not adequately address all the issues or make a good faith effort to resolve the dispute.
ADMINISTRATIVELY CLOSED
The BBB determined the company made a good faith and reasonable effort to resolve the issues, although the complainant was not always satisfied with the outcome.
NO RESPONSE
Company failed to respond to BBB after receiving the complaint.”
Look at the second half on the “resolved” definition and the definition of “administratively closed” to see further clarification on what I had said above.
So just because the company has “resolved” all of its complaints does not necessarily mean that it made the customer happy.
Averaging out the complaints with the size of the company:
In my example above of a real and factual moving company I pointed out that this company had 11 complaints filed against them within the last 12 months. That is a lot complaints.
But this company is a large company that has a large volume of business. So you have to look at the number of complaints that a company gets against the size of the company.
For example, a used car dealership that sells 5 cars a month and gets 10 complaints a year versus a used car dealership that sells a 100 cars a month and gets 10 complaints a year. Which would you rather use. Me, personally, I would take the large used car dealership.
Every company is going to get a complaint at one time or another. It is inevitable. So look at the size of the business versus the amount of complaints and that will give you a better determination of the company that you are dealing with.
In the case of the moving company above; yes they are a larger moving business but the number of complaints against them is still above industry norms. Something else to consider.
Using the BBB to validate the companies address:
To be an accredited company with the BBB you must provide your company’s information like the owner, its address, phone numbers, and the time that you have been in business. This is all very important stuff when looking at the company you may use. Of course a non-accredited business still may give this information to the BBB as well.
The info that is given to the BBB is usually verified by the BBB as to be accurate.
So in the case of a moving business for example; if you find a company on the internet, and they give a different one than what is listed with the BBB you may be dealing with a scam.
This is also useful information to have as then you can drive by the company you may wish to use and see how their premises look and the neighborhood that they are in.
You may find that the company is in a bad part of town and you would not feel safe going there. Or you drive by and see that the building is in disrepair. Having that address prior to using the company is very useful.
Most BBBs also have the address linked to both Google and Yahoo maps.
I believe in the BBB in general. I think it is a great organization. But I don’t believe everything they have to say. There are flaws with their system, and it is open to corruption and manipulation. However, with that being said, it has a lot of useful information like the BBB report, which by having the information I have given you here, you are now able to read between the lines and to get the full grasp of a company. Of course you can always call the BBB to get more information, and I have found them to he very helpful.
Use the BBB and its reports, but avoid making any decision about any company without thoroughly reading their BBB report and consulting others information sources.
Like G.I. Joe would say, “Know before you go. Because knowing is half the battle.”