Better Business Bureau: Old ally entering a new era

By Teresa McUsic

Special to the Star-Telegram

In a time when almost every buying decision is fraught with pitfalls, wary consumers are turning in record numbers to a 100-year-old free service for guidance -- the Better Business Bureau.

Last year, consumer inquiries at the huge national BBB database of 4.5 million companies jumped more than 20 percent to more than 124 million, according to the bureau.

Locally, that increase was even bigger -- up more than 30 percent to 877,330 at the Fort Worth bureau, which has served Tarrant and seven surrounding counties for 75 years.

The top categories of local businesses being researched included roofers, heating and air-conditioning services, home builders, plumbers, used-car dealers, foundation repair companies and auto repair services.

Tom Eastman, chairman of the board at the Fort Worth bureau, attributed the increase to the high-tech nature of the area and the bureau's iPhone app, which was launched in late 2011.

"More people are relying on their mobile apps to do everything," he said. "One way is to ask questions before you hire a business. How long have they been in business? What's their complaint record? We can instantaneously provide that information."

The Fort Worth bureau also added customer reviews of local businesses to its database, Eastman said.

The addition is part of a pilot project started in 2011 in which Fort Worth and a few other bureaus solicited reviews, akin to sites like Angie's List, Yelp and Google. The new service may go nationwide, Eastman said.

"There has been a huge explosion of blogs or sites that say they can do reviews," he said. "And that has helped our brand and identity. People still come to our source because it's free and they know they can trust us."

The BBB checks out every submission to verify that the reviewer was a client of the business. It also gives the business a chance to respond, Eastman said. Both review and response are put online at the same time.

"There's always two sides to the story," he said.

"It takes a lot of manpower to go through the reviews, but it produces a more balanced picture of the business."

The website has 1,850 customer reviews of local BBB-member businesses, 64 percent positive and 33 percent negative. The rest were neutral.

After reviewing the customer opinions, complaint history and other data, consumers can request a quote through the BBB from member businesses, to be sent by email or phone.

Besides reports, other services now available through the BBB include grade ratings (from A+ to F) and scam alerts. A blog and social media sites are attracting a new generation of BBB users.

Two new microsites -- BBB Smart Investing and BBB Scam Stopper -- also generated interest, as did the group's annual list of Top 10 Scams. All these services can be found at www.bbb.org.

The local BBB handled more than 10,600 complaints for its customers last year, Eastman said. Nationally, complaints totaled almost 1 million, up more than 6 percent from the prior year.

Complaints can be filed for free online or over the phone when consumers have a problem they cannot resolve on their own. Every complaint is reviewed by a BBB staff member where the business is located, and the company is given two weeks to respond.

Around 95 percent of complaints are resolved at this level.

The business and consumer work it out, which may help the business's rating or hurt it if the business refuses to cooperate.

For those that cannot be resolved, mediation or arbitration is offered.

Nationally, the BBB says, online-only businesses had about seven times as many complaints per business as brick-and-mortar retailers.

"When shopping online, it's even more important to take the time to know who you are dealing with," said Carrie A. Hurt, president and CEO of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. "It takes less than a minute to look up a company at bbb.org. Do that before you enter your credit card information and click 'Buy.'"

One area that saw improvement last year was the BBB Auto Line, which handled fewer lemon-law disputes (17,158, down from 17,367 in 2011).

"Automakers are making better-quality automobiles and improving customer service," Hurt said. "This positive trend has been going on for years."

This week, the national organization shut down the Los Angeles Better Business Bureau after an internal investigation found that companies could improve their grade ranking by paying for a membership.

Eastman said the Fort Worth bureau does not use that practice, which violates its ethical rules.

Last month, John Riggins, the Fort Worth bureau's president of 22 years, resigned to seek a smaller bureau or company to manage. Under his leadership, membership tripled and customer service expanded to online access.

"We went from carbon paper to cloud technology," Riggins said, referring to a system in which information is stored remotely and accessible through the Internet.

Eastman said the local bureau has formed a search committee to replace Riggins and hopes to hire a new president this summer.

"John will be missed," he said. "But we have one of the most superb staffs in the nation, so we are not in panic mode to find a new president."

Teresa McUsic's column appears Saturdays.

TMcUsic@SavvyConsumer.net

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