Should I Pay To Have My Business Registered With The Better Business Bureau
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) has been around for decades to help consumers avoid the companies with bad reputations. The BBB provides an invaluable service by maintaining records available to callers who have specific inquiries, and the information is provided for free.
Complaints can be made either by phone, using one of their local websites, and even by mail if you request that the forms be sent out to you. However, keep in mind, that even though the BBB advertises itself as a type of mediation facility for bad service and final problem resolution, they don’t actually do much at all other than write a few letters to the company in question and ask them to pay attention to a particular consumer complaint.
I have to admit that I do tend to check with the BBB if I am considering using a new company for some reason (I recently checked on an electrical contractor and a local car dealership, both with very surprising results). However, that’s pretty noteworthy all I expect from them.
As a business owner, however, I was surprised one day by a very ubiquitous phone message from someone at a local BBB office. “Please call Miss Flanagan at the Palm Beach Better Business Bureau office at your earliest convenience.” Obviously I thought I had an issue with a client!
That was disturbing in itself, since this has never happened to me, yet I was even more disturbed when I heard the real reason they asked me to contact them! They wanted me to buy an annual membership to be a “certified member”.
I then learned it would cost me almost $400 a year for this, and the benefits I would receive in return just didn’t seem worth this fairly hefty stamp tag. They offered a listing for my company on their website, with a link to my website. Then they promised that if anyone ever called to complain about my business or services they would contact me “immediately” as opposed to doing this when they had time.
I was also told that I would need to adhere to a specific list of ethical guidelines and they would send representatives to my office and review my business practices to assure themselves I was safe of their BBB label (and of course worthy of my $400 annual membership fee…).
The longer I listened, the more perplexed I became. I told Miss Flanagan that I couldn’t imagine paying any money at all for this type of service since this was supposed to be a consumer driven organization. And I further explained that I didn’t need anyone to check on my business practices, review my code of ethics, or edit my website for infractions of their business practices.
I then asked that if someone did call the BBB to complain about me, would they still acquire the complaint and act as a mediation service if I did not pay the membership fee. I was assured that they would indeed mild record the complaint, and that I would still be able to file a response that must be kept on file as well.
Personally, I see no reason to hand over $400 to the BBB when my life and my business don’t seem to benefit at all. Frankly, I’m amazed that so many slight business owners do buy these memberships. Is it simply to have the BBB emblem on their website?
Now – back to the electrical contractor and the car dealership that I checked on … both had some serious consumer issues, yet were paid members of their local BBB. Makes no sense to me!
Related Posts
Filed under Small Business Phone Service by on Oct 1st, 2011. 