09/25/2005
The Better Business Bureau of the Southwest is the second BBB in the nation selected to test a substantially revised reporting system. Our new reporting system responds to national surveys of consumers and businesses that found users of BBB reports expressed the need for more company information. Our new reports will give them that and more.
One of the most significant changes will be in the company rating. Whereas our present system rates the company only as satisfactory or unsatisfactory, based primarily on our complaint experience with it, the new system assigns a company one of 11 ratings, anywhere from AAA down to F, taking into account much more about the company. The factors used to determine the new rating will include the company's type of business (whether legitimate or not and with or without complaints), how long it's been in business, how many complaints it has generated and how serious the complaint allegations are, whether it is licensed, if required, and whether it is a Bureau member. An algorithm will evaluate and weight these individual factors to determine a composite score that results in the company's letter grade.
Some of the additional information that is available to consumers in some cases includes more specific information about complaints. For example, an inquirer could access the company on our website www.bbbsw.org (which is completely new) and view a grid showing summaries of the complaints and the company's responses. The consumer could then access full details of any complaint.
One of the advantages of providing more information is that consumers can disregard the Bureau's assigned rating and use the information to make their own determination.
Businesses will benefit from the business of customers who are better informed about the company with whom they're doing business, too. In the case of less-than-reputable businesses, additional information about their operations and business practices will further the Bureau's efforts to steer customers to those that are reputable and reliable.
Of special interest to businesses also is the opportunity consumers will have to post blogs. Whatever comment consumers make, positive or negative, the company will reap first-hand information about how consumers view their products and services and what they can do to improve them. Blogs will not be used in rating the company and will be accessible only to the company.
In the Los Angeles Bureau's tests of the new system, wherein consumers are given the new rating for the company they called about, their responses have been very positive. We invite comment from our members as well on the new system.
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