10/22/2010 8:04 AM (PST)

James,

The rating a Better Business Bureau assigns a company is determined by a scoring algorithm that includes such elements as its type of business, length of time in business, compliance with competency licensing requirements, complaint volume, complaint history, seriousness of complaints, complaint response behavior, whether or not the business has committed to our standards, and our experience with the industry that the business is in (some are more problematic than others).

TrustLink reviews are not factored in to the BBB Ratings, the Ratings and Reviews are offered separately as two distinct and unique perspectives on the company that a potential customer can use to make an informed decision.

10/22/2010 4:30 PM (PST)

Also ask all the A & A+ rated BBB companies in your particular city, county, State, if they paid for their membership with their submission to the BBB and compile in an Exel Document. If they did not and still received a A to A+ rating please make sure that others know that fact by posting that data. Because if those with poorer ratings which are below A & A+ whose company had met all the qualifications of the ratings did not pay their membership fees with BBB then this fact must be made known as well for the consumer. My late mother was head of consumer affairs on the Board of Education in the State of VA where I grew up. She taught me that 'Asking questions makes sense and proof of truth in business is a consumer's right to know' Now isn't that right and might it be a reason for the BBB to have influential power in their ratings? If everyone would do this same process in their city and it might help clear the water of concerns.

10/22/2010 5:05 PM (PST)

The BBB's motto is 'Start with Trust' Well you can START by posting your metrics online including the algorithm. I've done some research on the BBB's rating system and what I'm finding does not look good. Here are links to investigative reports on the BBB rating system, particularly how paid members are rated. Los Angeles Times article titled "Better Business Bureau grades companies on a peculiar curve - Paying the BBB to be listed as an accredited business appears to have instant benefits in the agency's ratings." http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jan/21/business/fi-lazarus21 More, http://bbbroundup.com/LeadStoryAp09.html I use to be a consumer that trusted the BBB, now I'm not so sure. Thanks Ecost for opening my eyes.

10/25/2010 10:11 AM (PST)

James,

The matrix to the BBB rating system is already posted for public view at each company report by clicking Rating Explaination to the right of the company rating.

http://www.la.bbb.org/BBBRatingsOverview.aspx