What is the Better Business Bureau?

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a private non-profit organization that focuses on enhancing trust in the marketplace. BBB strives to foster a marketplace where trust exists between customers and businesses. This organization ensures that an ethical marketplace is created where businesses maintain good codes of conduct. BBB was founded in 1912, it comprises of a total of 106 independently incorporated organizations in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. BBB gathers information about businesses, including feedback from the public, with which the BBB rating is done.

Why is the Better Business Bureau (BBB) Important?

About 400,000 firms or businesses have been accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The performances of these businesses are rated by the BBB using the information received from the public including reviews and complaints from customers. The aim of the BBB is to enhance a marketplace whether trusts exists, this means customers feel safe to transact with businesses. 

The BBB promotes an ethical marketplace by educating businesses on acceptable and desirable market practices. There are certain guidelines that BBB gives firms in order to maintain a good code of conduct while operating in the market. In certain cases, customers file complaints to the BBB about unethical business practices, while BBB resolves most of the cases filed, some are left unattended to by BBB but are handled by other regulatory bodies. 

There is a limit to cases that can be handled by the BBB. For instance, the BBB does not handle discrimination claims, complaints against government agencies, non-business-related complaints, complaints countering laws. A business can have been in operations for a minimum of one year can apply to be accredited by BBB. Such a business must embrace ethical practices and adhere to the rules and guidelines of BBB. BBB has at least 400,000 accredited businesses in the U.S, Canada, and Mexico.

How BBB Ratings Work

BBB rates businesses using the information retrieved about the business, public feedbacks, and complaints as well as customers review. There are two rating categories that BBB uses (either satisfactory or unsatisfactory) before the new rating system was established in 2009. With the new rating system, it is possible for a business to have no rating, especially if there is no information about the business. The number of complaints received about a business can greatly affect the rating of the business. There are 17 points of factors that BBB considers when rating businesses. Aside from these points, there are external factors that affect the rating of a company such as government impositions or disciplinary actions by regulatory bodies.