The Better Business Bureau (BBB) was founded in 1912 and allows businesses to become dues-paying accredited members. In return the BBB allows its members to use its logo and arbitration services. The BBB gathers information about businesses and uses that information to vet the business. The main point of the BBB is to help consumers identify businesses that they can trust.
Currently the BBB uses a grading system from A to F, like the one used in school. A+ is actually the highest rating you can have. Businesses are evaluated against the BBB Standards of Trust. A rating of A+, which we have, is extremely difficult to maintain because it means that all conflicts are resolved to the satisfaction of the customer. Click here for details on the rating system.
In a moving business, this is tough. The more people you move the more opportunity there is for something to go wrong, a broken lamp, missed deadline, etc. The key to customer service is not having an impossibly perfect record, but rather how you deal with the inevitable complaints.
The A+ rating means that the company with it has excellent customer service and is good about positively resolving all conflicts.
Besides rating businesses, the BBB has a blog and is on a number of the more popular social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter. The blog has all kinds of interesting information on products and the dangers consumers face today. You can find their blog here.
Sometimes the BBB issues warnings about scams going on in different parts of the country. The moving industry is a tough business and there are always some scams going on in different parts of the country. Taking your time to look at the BBB blog, or doing a Google search on moving scams can alert you to a scam running in your part of the country. However, the best way to avoid being scammed is to move with BBB accredited movers. Don’t be fooled by low cost movers, especially ones that do not have licenses. Those types of movers are guaranteed trouble.
Here is an old warning to give you a taste of what bad movers do to you.
Another thing to notice in the article is that you can get kicked out of the BBB for bad behavior. This is one of the reasons the BBB is a trusted organization and a good indicator of the quality of a business.
If you want more information on scams, the BBB has a page dedicated to giving you that information: Scam Alert. You can even subscribe to their email alerts.
Here is a link to the West Florida Better Business Bureau.
West Florida BBB on Facebook.
