Published: 01-06-09
BBB Will Use a 16-factor Formula – Making it Easier for Consumers to Find Trustworthy Businesses
Austin Texas - January 6 2009 - On January 1st BBB launched improved versions of its BBB Reliability Reports™ which include a more detailed A through F letter-grade. These new grades better represent BBB’s degree of confidence that the business is operating in a trustworthy manner and will make a good faith effort to resolve any customer concerns.
BBB provides reports on more than four million businesses all online and free of charge at http://www.bbb.org/. New letter-grades are prominently displayed on business reports to help consumers more easily and quickly identify and compare the reliability of businesses.
In the past BBB Reliability Reports™ only stated whether a business had a “Satisfactory” or “Unsatisfactory” record a fairly black and white assessment in a gray marketplace. An outfit that is scamming consumers would have an unsatisfactory record but so could a legitimate company that was delivering on the promised goods but was taking too long to process rebates.
Because a simple pass/fail or satisfactory/unsatisfactory grading scale does not provide enough information BBB Reliability Reports™ now include a letter grade: from A down to a lowly F. BBB provides reports on more than four million businesses all online and free of charge at http://www.bbb.org/. The new letter-grade ratings system provides a way for consumers to more easily understand a company’s track record for customer service and integrity. And it is an even better way for BBB to point consumers toward trustworthy businesses and communicate exactly why some companies in the area don’t make the grade.
“Consumers want more than marketing spin or a few comments about a business posted on the Internet and rightly so because given tough economic conditions they literally can’t afford to make bad buying decisions” says Carrie A. Hurt President and CEO of BBB serving Central Coastal and Southwest Texas. “BBB’s improved reports provide detailed insight into a business’s track record and are based on our time-tested standards in-depth research and the millions of consumer complaints filed with BBB.”
BBB’s proprietary ratings formula takes into account 16 weighted factors using objective information and actual incidences of a business’s behavior that have been verified and evaluated by BBB professionals. Ultimately a letter-grade rating represents BBB’s degree of confidence that a business is operating in a trustworthy manner and will make a good faith effort to resolve any customer concerns. Specific issues affecting a business’s rating are described in detail in BBB Reliability Reports™.
Ratings factors are:
The type of business and its business model
• How long the business has been operating
• Whether the business has appropriate competency licensing
• Total volume of complaints filed against the business
• The number of unanswered complaints
• The number of unresolved complaints
• The number of serious complaints
• An overall complaint analysis
• The number of complaints with delayed resolution
• Government actions against the business
• Any advertising issues found by BBB
• The extent of background information available to BBB for evaluation
• The extent to which BBB is able to develop a clear understanding of the business
• Whether the business has honored any mediation/arbitration commitments
• Whether the business has attained BBB Accredited Business status
• Whether the business has had its BBB Accreditation revoked
As part of its strategy to build trust in the marketplace in October 2007 BBB also changed the way businesses affiliated with the organization were designated from “BBB Member” to “BBB Accredited Business.” The “Accredited” designation highlights the fact that businesses have been evaluated by BBB and have contractually agreed to meet and uphold BBB’s high standards for integrity and reliability when dealing with consumers.
“Consumers from all walks of life want to do business with reliable companies whether auto repair shops home improvement contractors mortgage counselors or online firms” adds Hurt. “BBB has been providing information people can trust for nearly 100 years and combined BBB Accreditation and letter-grade ratings are valuable new resources consumers can start with when they are looking for trustworthy businesses.”
BBB is also continuing to encourage consumers to always look for the BBB Accredited Business seal in store fronts on websites and on reliability reports. BBB believes that the combination of BBB Accreditation status and improved BBB Reliability Reports™ with letter-grade ratings are powerful and valuable resources for consumers.
Both BBB Accredited Businesses and non-accredited businesses in BBB’s database will receive a letter grade as part of their report.
