The Better Business Bureau

1043 Words3 Pages

For almost 100 years the Better Business Bureau has offered many different Services and Programs that are essential to control a trustworthy relationship between a business and the customer. The BBB is offered in 50 States and 12 provinces, and was founded in 1912. The BBB currently has a total of 400,000 North American businesses that are accredited by the BBB. The BBB is a non-profit organization that focuses mainly on advancing marketplace trust. There are 128 independently incorporated local BBB organizations in the Canada and the US, coordinated under the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) which is situated in Washington D.C.
The role of the BBB is to help resolve customer’s complaints. Customers must attempt to resolve their situation independently before they involve the BBB. Once the BBB is involved, they use a 3 step communication technique. The first is conciliation; The better business Bureau sends out a copy of the complaint to the company for review and a reply. After a 3 week deadline, the BBB awaits reply to see if the situation has been resolved. The second step is Mediation; This step offers help and guidance in resolving a mutual resolution for both the customer and the business. The third is Arbitration; This is an informal process where both parties must agree to a binding decision. The arbitrator will allow each party to present their respective sides and introduce relevant evidence. The BBB has a 70% success rate for solving customer complaints.
The BBB has numerous functions, but the main objective of the BBB is to connect buyers and sellers with marketplace trust. The BBB has its own set of Accreditation Standards and Standards of Trust that each business must meet. Not all businesses are eligibl...

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...ery beneficial for both, customers and businesses. I think having the “News Centre” helps out a lot of people by posting alerts on the recent scams taking place in Canada and the US. The alerts will help lower the amount of identity theft that is happening in the world.
I have also learned that the automotive trade is in the top 3 for service for complaints, and top 10 for customers inquiring about automotive service businesses. I didn’t realize that a business had to pay fees to be in the BBB, and pass a set of regulations to be eligible.
The BBB is a reliable source for information, and I believe we are grateful to have such an exceptional service.

Works Cited

www.ottawa.bbb.org www.bbb.org Dave Roos, Male, How Better Business Bureaus Work, (2011), http://money.howstuffworks.com/better-business-bureau1.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Better_Business_Bureau

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