BBB Changes Its Business Ratings to A+ Through F Letter-Grade
Scale
Ratings Will Make it Easier for Consumers
to Find Trustworthy Businesses
Today,
Better Business Bureau (BBB) announced it will begin using an updated version
of its BBB Reliability Reports™, which will feature a revised ratings scale,
replacing the current scale of "satisfactory" and
"unsatisfactory" with a more detailed A+ through F letter-grade
scale. This exciting change will take place January 2009.
BBB
serving Mid-Western and Central Ontario
maintains a database of information on more than 20,000 businesses and is
providing these updated reports – online and free of charge – to help consumers
more easily and quickly identify and compare businesses based on BBB’s unbiased
evaluation.
"Consumers
want information that is easy to use and on-demand, and they also want the
ability to drill-down for details in some cases," said Ric
Borski, BBB President & CEO. "These reports offer the best of
both worlds by providing consumers with quick reference material for fast
comparisons and detailed data based on feedback and research measured against
BBB’s time-tested standards for marketplace conduct."
BBB’s
letter-grade concept was first developed a few years ago by BBB|Colton (Los Angeles), and has been tested by Colton
and several other BBBs (New Mexico, Santa Barbara, Asheville
and West Palm Beach).
That concept, with modifications recommended by a BBB committee, is the basis
for the approach announced today, and is part of BBB’s ongoing commitment to
make it easier for consumers to find trustworthy businesses. It is based on a
computer-generated formula that takes into account more than a dozen factors,
using objective information and actual incidences of a business’s behavior that
have been verified and evaluated by BBB professionals.
Issues
affecting a business’s rating are described in detail in BBB Reliability
Reports™.
Factors include:
- BBB experience with the
industry in which the business operates
- The business’s length of time in
operation
- Information on required
competency licensing
- Government actions against the
business related to marketplace activities
- Advertising issues evaluated by
BBB
- The number of complaints
to BBB from the business’s customers
- Complaints to BBB from the
business’s customers that are serious in 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 a good faith
effort to resolve them
- Whether the business has honored
commitments to BBB to arbitrate disputes and comply with arbitrator
decisions
- Whether the business has provided
BBB with background/operational information
- Whether the business is a BBB
Accredited Business
BBB
assigns grades from A to F with pluses and minuses. A+ is the highest grade and
F is the lowest. 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.
In
January 2008, BBB also changed the way businesses affiliated with the
organization were designated, from "BBB Member" to "BBB
Accredited Business." The "Accredited" designation
highlights the fact that a business has been thoroughly reviewed by BBB, meets
the organization’s high standards for integrity and reliability when dealing
with consumers and contractually agrees to continue to abide by these
standards.
Both BBB
Accredited Businesses, as well as non-accredited businesses in BBB’s database
will be assigned a letter grade.
The
combination of BBB Accreditation status and BBB Reliability Reports™ is a
valuable resource consumers can start with when they are looking for
trustworthy businesses.
About
BBB
BBB is
an unbiased non-profit organization that sets and upholds high standards for
fair and honest business behavior. Businesses that earn BBB accreditation
contractually agree and adhere to the organization’s high standards of ethical
business behavior. BBB provides objective advice, free business BBB Reliability
ReportsTM, and educational information on topics affecting marketplace trust.
To further promote trust, BBB also offers complaint and dispute resolution
support for consumers and businesses when there is difference in viewpoints.
The first BBB was founded in 1912. Today, 126 BBBs serve communities across the
U.S. and Canada,
evaluating and monitoring nearly 4 million local and national businesses and
charities.
Please visit www.bbb.org for more information about BBB.