Better Business Bureau

[Onouris]

Is anyone here an accredited member of the BBB (USA)?

I'm trying to decide if it is worth it or not to join up as an accredited member... being able to use their logo on my advertisements would be a plus for client's to see... but I'm not sure if it is worth the dues. I just hit my one year mark, so now I'm eligible.

Anybody have first-hand experience? I have a rep visiting me tomorrow afternoon to talk to me about the process, but I'd like feedback first.

I tried searching the forums for "better business", but you can imagine the huge number of unrelated results, and "bbb" is too short to search for. Sorry if it's a repeat, then just ship me a link.

 

[callthatgirl]

I said no to BBB, seems that people can quickly google your business and find good/bad reviews just as quick. Angie's List almost has more credibility it seems.

I had the BBB call me and scare the crap out of me 2 years ago. A strong message, "Lisa, this is Paul from the BBB, please call us back, we need to discuss a few things with you"



I called him back, only to push a sale on me! I told him to NEVER leave scary BBB messages again! I was worried that someone put in a bad report.

Then he called me again that next year with the same message. I gave up.

 

[14049752]

We've been BBB accredited for a little while now. It's totally not worth it. We were just talking about how we're not going to renew our membership next time around.

 

[vr6rafal]

how much is a BBB membership! Is it annually?

 

[14049752]

Our annual membership was about $350 per year. I don't know if that's priced by region, or anything like that.
(Also, I seem to recall different levels of membership. We went with the least expensive. They also charge you to use the logo online.)

 

[rapidcom]

They tried to push it on me, same kind of call the callthatgirl got, for $500 per year!!!

 

[Paul Rodgers]

BBB is a joke. When I get calls from companies like that I just block their number.

 

[stro]

There was a recent 20/20 show (news program in US) talking about what a croc they are: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w6Oick8x48

The only time I hear of the BBB one time every few years when I have some irate customer come after me threatening to "turn me in to the BBB" because they are blaming me for some problem with their computer.

 

[callthatgirl]

I thought when I got up and running that it was a big deal, then I found out it was $500 to get on it, I said no way. That was in 2008! Trust me, if you get a bad rap on Angie's List, that's way worse than the BBB.

I luckily got an A+ on Angie's from a client, but still have only one referral from it and I'm on the good list. I think all these directories are just for advertising money.

I find no value, referrals, networking and social media are my three strongest.

 

[Appleby]

I am not a member but they tried to call and scare me into a year or two ago. Actually they've done it more than once now that I think back. I had considered it, but after their scare tactic ploy I told them no way.

They called and this very serious sounding man says he's from the BBB and they've had a call about my business and they are doing an "investigation". OH CRAP! I figure same idiot or competitor has lied about me or something since I had no unhappy customers, to my knowledge. He starts asking me all about my business and such and why I'm not a member of the BBB etc and I finally say, "look what was the complaint about?". "Oh it wasn't a complaint, just a call seeking more information about your business." WHAT?! I was pretty ticked they had intentionally tried to scare me like that.

Then the guy quotes me some high price....I can't remember $500-$700 or something. I say no thanks and he sort of tries to bully me. "Well you do realize that we can never recommend you when people call us and lots of people call us, especially older people who are likely your computer customers, blah blah blah. We have to tell them that you've declined membership to our organization and haven't allowed us to determine if your business practices are sound, blah blah blah." I finally get him off the phone and I honestly figure he might try something shady and setup a fake complaint against me for not joining. Seriously, it was sort of like talking to the mob.lol

So anyway, some time (days, weeks?) go by and another BBB guy calls and asks why I'm not a member etc and they want me to join and the price is only $350. I ask him why the last price as so much higher and he can't come up with an answer. I ask him if this is a "sale price" and he says no. So I ask him why when I'm tried to get scared into buying a membership the price is high but when I'm not, it's only $350. Weird. He didn't really like where I was going and I nicely told him no thanks.

I haven't heard back from them thankfully.

 

[Onouris]

Thank you all very much for this information, and especially the informative video. =)

 

[lassenpc]

You can certainly run your business without it. However, it doesn't hurt to have it. I think we pay the top tier $450/yr.

Been an accredited member for 4+ years. Basically it gives you the right to use the BBB logo on any print / web advertising. So when a new potential client is comparing different computer shops, I do feel our BBB enrollment does give us a slight advantage, as far as *trust*; not one other computer company over 90 miles / in this county has it. I have had customers mention 'Oh, I see you're with the BBB'. Is my ROI really worth it? Hard to track that one, but, meh, I think so.

 

[BostonGeek1]

well we all know that the BBB doesn't do any kind of background checks or evaluations; Quite frankly they're an extortion scheme. So the ENTIRE conversation boils down to

1. Are you the kind of person to allow yourself to pay to make customers think you're 'a legitimate business', even if it really doesn't mean anything.

2. Would you flat out pay money to make more money (you can see it that way)

3. Or do you say no to extortion and do business the hard way, but on your own terms.

 

[agile]

I recently received one of these strange calls as well. Something along the lines of, "Hello this is Julie with the BBB, we need to speak with the owner of the business, please return my call at xxx-xxx-xxxx."

I just figured it was some sort of sales call and now I know from this thread that that's exactly what it was.

Never called them back and have not heard from them since.

 

[Appleby]

While I've made my feelings clear on the BBB, I will admit that they have and still have a very good reputation amongst consumers, especially older people. I have a feeling that there are people who would automatically choose a business that has a BBB logo over one that doesn't, knowing nothing else. So do they have a value? Sure. As Lass says, it's hard to really know what your ROI is on a BBB membership but I'm sure it probably ends up paying for itself and I don't blame a business for being a member, just for show, if nothing else.

It's just not something that I see being a huge benefit to me in my little town.

 

[ljtechservices]

If you want to Pay-to-Play, join a referral group like BNI.
the individual members of each group vet each other.
I've become associated with several business folks in my area that have not only given me good referrals but have taught me things about business that i didn't know before.

 

[emsbronco]

I quit membership in the BBB after I had a dispute with a larger company (one of the largest yellow page publishers). I went through the complaint process with the BBB and had my complaint dismissed. When I pointed out the numerous violations of the BBB Code of Ethics that the YP publisher did, I was told by the head of my regional BBB that they do not take recommendations from BBB members and they woudl not followup on my complaint and recommendation for review of their membership. He also refused to tell me how much the other company paid the BBB, but he did say they paid much more than me.

 

[JAG Computers]

There was a recent 20/20 show (news program in US) talking about what a croc they are: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0w6Oick8x48

The only time I hear of the BBB one time every few years when I have some irate customer come after me threatening to "turn me in to the BBB" because they are blaming me for some problem with their computer.

I just watched the video. That is despicable. I will not be signing up with them under any circumstances.

 

[Sondor]

When the housing market was booming, I'd work home-shows for a friend of mine one weekend a month at various places in S. California selling outdoor kitchen islands.

The islands ranged in price from $5k-$15k. We asked customers for half down, and half on delivery, but would settle for $1k down. That's a good chunk of cash to ask from somebody who just happened to stumble on your booth.

The space rent was $3k, the home-show vetted us, and we had ~$75k worth of islands on display, but some folks still questioned our integrity given the environment we were selling in.

It was wise of them to do so. There were another 6-10 companies selling similar product at these shows who did not exactly have the best reputations.

We joined the BBB and immediately had an 'A' rating. We then printed out all the other vendor's ratings and complaints we knew of who also sold in SoCal. All of them had plenty of complaints and an 'F' rating.

That print out (laminated and presented in a nice binder) resulted in us closing several otherwise unattainable sales at the first show we used it in. We easily grossed an extra $50k from that first show alone.

What I'm trying to demonstrate is that if you are in a high-margin industry, or one with lots of shady competitors it can really pay off. For the average computer shop, probably not.

IMHO, the BBB is a racket. Just consider the pros/cons as they apply to your individual situation before ponying up hard earned dough.

 

[BryanVest]

When the housing market was booming, I'd work home-shows for a friend of mine one weekend a month at various places in S. California selling outdoor kitchen islands.

The islands ranged in price from $5k-$15k. We asked customers for half down, and half on delivery, but would settle for $1k down. That's a good chunk of cash to ask from somebody who just happened to stumble on your booth.

The space rent was $3k, the home-show vetted us, and we had ~$75k worth of islands on display, but some folks still questioned our integrity given the environment we were selling in.

It was wise of them to do so. There were another 6-10 companies selling similar product at these shows who did not exactly have the best reputations.

We joined the BBB and immediately had an 'A' rating. We then printed out all the other vendor's ratings and complaints we knew of who also sold in SoCal. All of them had plenty of complaints and an 'F' rating.

That print out (laminated and presented in a nice binder) resulted in us closing several otherwise unattainable sales at the first show we used it in. We easily grossed an extra $50k from that first show alone.

What I'm trying to demonstrate is that if you are in a high-margin industry, or one with lots of shady competitors it can really pay off. For the average computer shop, probably not.

IMHO, the BBB is a racket. Just consider the pros/cons as they apply to your individual situation before ponying up hard earned dough.

Yeah in a tech repair environment I do not see any advantage to joining the BBB. However if you are in the high-margin sales with shady competitors as Sondor stated then it would be worth it. However, that's about the only situation where I can see it as justified.