BBB Sends Businesses Back to School

n order to help consumers make better-informed decisions on where to spend their hard-earned dollars, Better Business Bureau today announced it will now assign letter grades to local businesses ranging from A+ to F. The letter grade system—which replaces a less-detailed scale of “satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory” — represents BBB’s degree of confidence that the business is operating in a trustworthy manner and will make a good faith effort to resolve customer concerns.

Consumers can research the grades of thousands of local businesses by reviewing BBB Reliability Reports™, which are available online and free of charge at www.bbb.org. In addition to noting the business’s letter grade, BBB Reliability Reports™ also include details about integrity and performance, such as the number of complaints a business has received, their response to complaints, and details on any government actions against the business.

BBB’s proprietary ratings formula takes into account 16 weighted factors, using objective information and actual incidences of a business’ behavior that have been verified and evaluated by BBB professionals. Specific issues affecting a business’s rating are described in detail in BBB Reliability Reports™. Ratings factors include:

· The business’s overall complaint history with BBB, including the number and severity of complaints to BBB from customers
· Whether complaints have been resolved in a timely manner or the business has demonstrated a good faith effort to resolve them
· How long the business has been operating and whether it meets appropriate competency licensing
· Government actions against the business related to marketplace activities
· Advertising issues evaluated by BBB
· Whether the business is a BBB Accredited Business and has committed to BBB standards

Rating factors also take into account BBB’s opinion as to whether business models and industries operate in violation of the law, misrepresent products and services, and are likely to generate trade practice concerns and/or have high levels of customer dissatisfaction.