As a consumer it can be hard to know which companies you can trust without doing some digging, and having some good old fashioned faith. As a small, start-up business, too, it can be hard to get the customers you need to thrive because, in this world, if they haven’t heard of you they may assume you are a scammer. The good news is that the Better Business Bureau can help in both cases. The BBB is a service which has, for the last 75 years, worked on building trust in the marketplace by giving consumers a symbol they can trust, and businesses a clear way to earn this seal of approval.
Protecting Consumers
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is well known in the USA and Canada as a source of assurance when it comes to businesses, services and even charities. Much like the Federal Trade Commission they protect consumers from scammers and bad business ethics, and are a non-profit, non-governmental organization. The BBB will help you to ensure that your money is going to the right people, and that you’re only supporting legitimate companies who operate to the Better Business Bureaus high standards. You see once a business is certified they are not bullet-proof, so to speak.
The Better Business Bureau seal of approval is so potent and coveted specifically because of the stringent protocols the BBB puts in place; if a business fails to uphold their high standards of practice their rights to use the BBB logo will be revoked. These standards include privacy protection for consumers, honest advertising and, of course, a more general honesty about the products they sell and their business practices. For example, a company would be expected to be honest about which of their products are organic and which are not.
The BBB does not only monitor those companies who have met its standards, however; they collect information on all businesses of note. What’s more the Better Business Bureau can help you to process a complaint against a business whether they are accredited or not. All you need to do is contact your local BBB and file a complaint. They will forward this complaint to the company and begin resolving the issue on your behalf. The Better Business Bureau claims to resolve 70% of the complaints forwarded.
