Better Business Bureau Controversy

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) was founded in 1912 as a non-profit organization designed to monitor advertising and retail trade and advance market place confidence. The actual concept was to keep business files on business, research and scams, to report them to local authorities. Every business organization, no matter the size or scope will benefit have a set of rules and guidelines that the company must follow. The association received controversy with its rating system, even though it has been credible resource for consumer by providing ethical information regarding business ( Farell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell, 2013). The Better Business controversial past included reports of alleged pay to play schemes which awarded business satisfactory ratings to business that paid their membership dues. Latter the letter grading system replaced satisfactory and unsatisfactory to many of the business that paid their membership dues. The BBB helps consumers find out if the complaint about a specific firm or organization as well as information regarding to contractor’s licensure and competences (Consumer Research Magazine, 1996). For many consumers, the Better Business Bureau has been authoritative objective source was on whether or not the business was trustworthy. But the consumer has to also look at who is the Better Business Bureau to the Better Business Bureau. Many organizations were able to bump its own ratings from an F to an A basically by paying the company money. Maybe it has to do with the fact that the BBB was exposed by both ABC and a 20/20 investigative report as a for-profit corporation that rewards companies that pay the BBB with higher ratings. A woman with a tiny antique store only had one resolved

Jun 1996, Vol. 79 Issue 6, p34.2p

Masnick, M. Criticize The Better Business Bureau... And They 'll Pull Your Accreditation.

O. C. Ferrell, John Fraedrich, Linda Ferrell Cengage Learning, 2013 Business Ethics 9th