The Better Business Bureau (BBB), founded in 1912, is an organization based in the United States and Canada. The BBB states its purpose is to act as a mutually trusted intermediary between consumers and businesses to resolve disputes, to facilitate communication, and to provide information on ethical business practices. On their website, they list their core services as:
- Business Reliability Reports
- Dispute Resolution
- Truth-in-Advertising
- Consumer and Business Education
- Charity Review
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Contents
- 1 History
- 2 Dispute Resolution
- 3 Consumer and Business Education
- 4 Charity review
- 5 Criticisms
- 6 External links
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History
The inception of the Better Business Bureau has been credited to the court case initiated by the government against a number of firms, whose number included the Coca-Cola Company, in 1906, after the Pure Food and Drug Act had been written into law. As a result of the trial (the legal charges had been determined to be unfounded) Samuel C. Dobbs, sales manager of Coca-Cola Company and later its president, took up the the cause of truth in advertising.
In 1909, Dobbs became president of the Associated Advertising Clubs of America, now the American Advertising Federation (AAF), and began to make speeches on the subject. In 1911, he was involved in the adoption of the “Ten Commandments of Advertising", one of the first codes of advertising developed by groups of advertising firms and individual businesses. Similar organizations in succeeding decades, such as the National Better Business Commission, Inc. of the Associated Advertising Clubs of the World (1921), and the National Association of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. (1933) merged to become the Association of Better Business Bureaus, Inc in 1946 . This association functioned until 1970 when it was merged into the Council of Better Business Bureaus.
The Better Business Bureau name and torch logo are federally registered trademarks. Use of the logo is limited to the Member Identification (MIP) logo for printed materials and is not for online use. Online use members must join the BBBOnline Security Seal program.
Dispute Resolution
Companies that join the BBB pay a membership fee and are asked to meet and maintain requirements of membership of the BBB. Members who agree to the BBB dispute resolution procedures may identify themselves as BBB members.
Dispute resolution procedures are regulated by the Council of the Better Business Bureaus. All BBBs are required to be members of this council; there is no such thing as an independent Better Business Bureau. At a local level the bureaus are governed by a board of directors. Though all bureaus are regulated by the Council, the Council is controlled by local BBB representation.
Consumer and Business Education
Video Series
The video arm of the BBB, established in 1995 by Platypus Productions, Inc., develops video content, online resources, and educational tools for consumers. The BBB Video Series (BBBVS) produces video programs based on the list of inquiries and complaints compiled by the BBB each year. BBBVS consults with national organizations and interviews industry experts during the production of each program to verify their information is current and accurate.
The BBBVS distributes these videos through the public library system. To check to see if a library near you carries the BBB Video Series visit the BBBVS's official website.
Titles in the video series address such topics as: identity theft, home contracting, traffic safety, car repair, corrective eye surgery, buying an RV, fraud, and childcare. Online tools such as the collision organizer Collision Wizard, and other free consumer resources are also available from the Better Business Bureau Video Series.
Charity review
Through local BBBs and the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, the BBB reviews local and national charities. Their goal is to help donors make good decisions about charitable giving and to foster the public's trust in philanthropy. In 2001, the National Charities Information Bureau and the Council of Better Business Bureaus Foundation merged to form the BBB Wise Giving Alliance (WGA), a nonprofit charity watchdog. The W.G.A released the Standards for Charitable Accountability in 2003.
Criticisms
The Better Business Bureau, or BBB has been said to be less effective in complaint resolution than governmental consumer protection agencies. As it is not a governmental agency, the BBB's capabilities are confined to reporting bad, or allegedly bad, business practices to the public and the proper authorities.
The BBB is also criticized because their revenue comes from members, raising questions about its objectivity on handling disputes and complaints. Their method of dispute resolution is also dubious, as a simple acknowledgement of a complaint is enough to consider the matter resolved.
Also of note, not all industries or companies are handled by the BBB. Some companies and professions the BBB won't take complaints against include: real estate firms, public utilities, and physicians.
External links
- Better Business Bureau official website
- BBBOnLine official website
- BBB website for the Greater Toronto Area
- BBBvideo.com
- Better Business Bureau News and Information
- Rip Off Report on BBB Criticism from BBB users plus some rebuttals from BBB employees.
- ConsumerDiary.com: The Better Business Bureau Myth
Category: Business organizations
