BBBs Grade, Rating and Complaint Pitfalls: What Lurks Below The Surface At The Better Business Bureau

With over 80 years of public trust and an untarnished image as a consumer protection tool, the non profit BBB (Better Business Bureau) has silently transformed itself to a “pay to play” business promoter.

Both the individual consumer as well as the business owner should examine the new ratings with a fine tooth comb (of both self and competing businesses) and press the BBB to increase grading transparency and accountability.

BBB New Rating Scale

At the beginning of 2009, the Better Business Bureau announced that it would utilize a new rating scale (grading business with an A to F), incorporating 16 elements as follows:

1. Type of Business
2. Time in Business
3. Competency Licensing
4. Complaint Volume
5. Unanswered Complaints
6. Unresolved Complaints
7. Serious Complaints
8. Complaint Analysis
9. Complaint Resolution Delayed
10. Government Action
11. Advertising Review
12. Background Information
13. Clear understanding of business
14. Mediation/arbitration
15. Accredited Business status
16. Revocation

What may seem like a straighforward “grade school” scale rapidly becomes complex and varies greatly at the hands of local, not national, Better Business Bureau chapters.

To complicate the interpretation further there is no published, itemized grading of how businesses are individually accessed.

Media reports have swirled with accusations that the Better Business Bureau favors fee paying businesses. These reports are seemingly with merit as “accredited business status” is blatantly factored into the 16 point grading scale.

BBB Complaint Resolution Status

Adding to the complexity, local BBB’s handle complaints (often at a clerical level) and are fully empowered to deem the resolution status. Resolution status definitions often vary amongst the local bureaus and remain on the business record for three years.

According to Alison Southwick, Media Relations Manager for the Council of Better Business Bureaus, complaint resolutions should be defined as follows:

• Resolved – means that the business took appropriate steps to resolve the issue and the consumer was satisfied.
• Unresolved – means that the business did not take appropriate steps to resolve the issue and the consumer remains dissatisfied.
• Administratively Closed – means that the company took reasonable steps (in the opinion of the BBB only, not the consumer) to resolve the issue, but the consumer remains dissatisfied.

BBB Definition of Settled Complaints

The BBB touts its success and reports a 73.3% complaint settlement however, after dusting off the statistical fluff, the settled complaints are boosted by the BBB own partiality, assessment and outcome decision, not the consumers.

When asked about the number of “settled” reports listed on the BBBs own national site, Ms. Southwick reported the following:

• In 2008, 73.3% of complaints received were closed as “settled”. Of the complaints closed as settled, 21.7% were administratively closed which means that the BBB felt that the company took reasonable steps to resolve the issue (an assessment entirely in the hands of the BBB, not the consumer) OR the company was willing to enter into mediation or arbitration but the consumer declined (only available to fee paying businesses).
• Also in 2008, 23.4% of complaints were closed as “unsettled” which means the company did not respond to the complaint OR did respond to the complaint but not to the satisfaction of the consumer nor the BBB (again assessment of “satisfaction” is entirely in the hands of clerks at the BBB). The remaining 3.3% of complaints were closed as unpursable, which means BBB could not contact the company, often because it is fraudulent or went out of business.

Questions Regarding Practices At The Better Business Bureau

When presented with the following questions, Ms. Southwick declined to comment and insisted that a BBB spokesperson address these. She stated that she would try to have a spokesperson address my inquiries in writing (there was no response, to date, from this spokesperson):

1. Can you supply a 2007-2008 Annual Report? If not, when will it be available? (The last annual report listed online is for the year 2005).
2. Do you offer arbitration and/or mediation to all consumers registering a complaint or only to those whose complaints are with an accredited BBB business? (it has been reported that only businesses paying for accredidation will be offered arbitration/mediation through the BBB (another point on the rating scale)).
3. When did the BBB start the accreditation program for businesses, what fees have been required for this? (These fees have been reported to range from hundreds into the thousands dependant on business size).
4. If a consumer sees a complaint listed against a company they would like to do business with, can the consumer see the details of the complaint? (To date, only the deemed resolution is available to the consumer).
5. Has the BBB amended any of the new rating scale criteria since its recent inception? Have you recognized any issues that are in possible need of change and/or amendment in your new rating scale?

In order for the Better Business Bureau to regain both consumer and business trust, the BBB needs to unveil its per business, itemized grading; grading that impacts not only the bottom line of businesses but also the ever fleeting consumer dollar.