Better Business Bureau

[Ron Lindeboom]

In my opinion, the BBB is of little value. I have seen cases — one after another, in fact — where sleezy operators who are downright despicable are listed as “No Complaints” by the BBB. I take them about as serious as promises made by politicians. It seems dues (and political contributions) are more important than the truth, from what I can tell. I wouldn’t join them for love nor money but that is just my opinion.

Your mileage may vary.

Best regards,

Ron Lindeboom

Creativity is a type of learning process where the teacher and pupil are located in the same individual.

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.
– Antoine de Saint Exupéry

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
– Gandhi

[Todd Terry]

Zero value.

T2

__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com

[Grinner Hester]

I can’t think of any benefits but being listed can be a handicap.
When I see a company throw money toward that, I see a company that has a need to. That’s a red flag to me.
The BBB creates better business as much as the IRS privides some sort of service.
If unions were created to protect the lazy, the BB was created to protect the guilty.

[Emre Tufekci s.o.a.]

BBB is useless and its also useless.

I’m sorry, I know I am repeating my self but BBB is so useless I thought it was worth mentioning twice.

Emre Tufekci
http://www.productionpit.com

[Mark Suszko]

The phrase I heard someone use was that all the BBB membership proves is that a member of the organization is good at paying dues to a dues-paying organization. That’s pretty cynical.

I would say that the BBB is another of those institutions that have been at least partly eclipsed by the huge number of consumer awareness sites on the internet. Where it once might have held high standing, whether you respect it or not, it is now one voice in a sea of other voices.

[Ron Lindeboom]

Me, I learned early on, Mark, that the organization seemed far more interested in hearing the side of the dues paying member than it ever cared about the consumer.

Over the years, I got cheated by a couple of companies that were members and they could have cared less.

I gave up on them many years ago. Long before the internet ever came along.

[Mark Suszko]

My point is, like them or hate them, they are not really that relevant anymore, so why bother joining.

[Ron Lindeboom]

I would agree with you 100%, Mighty Markie.

The BBB is definitely a group that has outlived its usefulness.

Ron Lindeboom

[Jeff Bonano]

I would prefer to have a list of client comments on how good their experience has been and how well I treated them, rather than having a BBB membership banner on my website or business brochure that I have to pay for.

If a client is upset, I think I’ll get more mileage out of resolving their situation and getting word of mouth out that I’m worth hiring even if something needs to get fixed.

And besides, as a consumer, I never notice if they are BBB members or not until they do me wrong. By then I’ve probably already paid for their services and have decided if I want to come back to do business with them or not in the future.

Jeff Bonano
http://www.bonanoproductions.com

“I want to have a cool quote at the bottom of my signature, just like everyone else on the cow forum!” -Jeff Bonano

[Mark Suszko]

You probably would also do better by consulting your state Attorney General’s office of consumer affairs. Not only do they take and publish people’s complaints, they sometimes go out and actually kick butt and sue/ close down the offending businesses.