I just got off the phone with the Better Business Bureau. They called to ask if I wanted to become a member. I thought about it for a second and couldn’t think of a single reason I would want to. The guy might as well have been trying to sell me encyclopedias or typewriter ribbon. (Poor guy sounded pretty defeated, too.) Thinking about it more, I can’t even remember the last time, before today, that I even thought of the BBB. I can see a use for a service like the BBB pre-Google. But today?

If I want to find out about anything I google it first. If folks have had a bad experience with a company they talk about it online. It’s all right there, thousands of real first-hand customer experiences waiting to be considered. And it’s not just restricted to online companies either. I can’t think of the last time I saw a company I patronize mention BBB membership. I didn’t even know what the BBB logo looked like until I clicked around their website a little and found their “Seal program” (their “give us money to display our logo on your website” program).

Over the Summer, David Wallace at searchengineguide.com wrote, “This leads me to wonder how much credibility consumers actually place in BBB valuations. It would seem to me that businesses should have much more concern over what people are saying about them online."[1. Has The Better Business Bureau Outlived Its Usefulness, July 23 2008] I agree.

With so many different ways for customers to praise or criticize a company or product from personal blogs, to forums, to reviews on Amazon, to Twitter, business owners are surely infinitely more concerned about their Google ranking and their reputation on social networks than any BBB report. The recent Twitter/Motrin fiasco is a great example. The Motrin website was offline all night Sunday and came back up on Monday with a public apology on their front page. Can the BBB do that?

I run honest businesses and treat my customers fairly and with respect and have an excellent reputation in exchange. I’m confident that there’s nothing the BBB could add or take away from that—for me as a business owner or for consumers looking to find out more about me or my businesses.

When was the last time you used the BBB to check out or complain about a company?

Comments

1. egon on 2008-11-17 17:36:46 wrote: I had a problems with a company that refused to deal with my complaint. I called the BBB and in less than a week, the company processed a refund. This happened within the last year or so..

2. Phil on 2008-11-17 20:25:15 wrote: Even back in the pre-Internet days, I never thought to use the BBB. I think my mom did once, circa 1977.