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How Can I Improve My BBB Rating?
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It's FREE and EASY!
Recently, the Better Business Bureau's rating system has come under question, as there is confusion about how BBB ratings are issued. The big question is, "Do I have to pay money to improve my BBB rating?"
The answer is NO - it's FREE and EASY!
Every business report that has been issued a BBB rating contains information explaining why the business has earned that rating. Most of the time a company simply needs to provide BBB with background information, such as when they began business, who owns the business, and what type of products and services they offer. Other companies may need to respond to and resolve customer complaints or eliminate a pattern of customer complaint - a simple rule when serving the public. A few may need to substantiate their advertising claims - we all expect advertising to be truthful, right?
Consider this, BBB updated its BBB Reliability Reports to help consumers more easily and quickly identify and compare the reliability of businesses based on BBB's unbiased evaluation. Previously, BBB awarded businesses with either a "satisfactory" or "unsatisfactory" grade, which did not provide as much insight as a letter grade. The new BBB rating system relies on an A+ through F letter-grade scale. The grade represents BBB's degree of confidence that the business is operating in a trustworthy manner and will make a good faith effort to resolve any customer concerns.
The ratings system relies on a proprietary formula that takes into account many factors based on objective information and actual incidences of a business's behavior that have been verified and evaluated by BBB professionals. The specific factors include:
- BBB experience with the industry in which the business operates
- The business' length of time in operation
- Whether BBB has information that the business does not have required competency license(s)
- Any known government actions against the business that are related to marketplace activities
- Any advertising issues found by BBB
- The number of complaints processed by BBB from the business' customers
- The number of complaints processed by BBB from the business' customers that are of a serious nature
- Whether the business has responded to complaints received by BBB
- Whether complaints have been resolved in a timely manner or the business has demonstrated it made a good faith effort to resolve them
- Business' overall complaint history with BBB
- Whether the business has honored any commitments to BBB to arbitrate or mediate disputes and comply with arbitrator decisions or mediated settlements
- Whether BBB has sufficient background information and clear understanding of business
- Whether BBB Accreditation was revoked because the business failed to comply with agreed BBB standards
NOTE: BBB ratings are subject to change on a daily basis based on changes in a business' BBB file.
If your company has a rating that you are not satisfied with, BBB would like the opportunity to help you improve that rating. CLICK here or Call 615.242.4222 to get the ball rolling. And remember, it doesn't cost any money to earn a good reputation or a good BBB rating - a good BBB rating is only EARNED through dedication to integrity, honesty, and taking care of customers.
ABOUT BBB:
The BBB of Middle Tennessee, Inc. was founded in 1961 as a non-profit Tennessee organization serving 38 counties in Middle Tennessee and 7 counties in Southern Kentucky. The first BBB was founded in 1912. Today, BBBs serve communities across the U.S. and Canada.
Serving as the 'ethical gatepost' of our communities, BBB fosters and promotes ethical business practices and self-regulation standards that build consumer trust in the marketplace. BBB services include business reliability information, complaint resolution services and consumer and business educational information. In 2008 BBB Nashville handled over 4.0 million services requests via our web site www.Nashville.BBB.org.
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