The Better Business Bureau (BBB) was founded in 1912 as a resource to help consumers size up businesses’ performance and trustworthiness. The bureau has helped millions of people weed out disreputable service providers, but it is not foolproof. Here’s a closer look at how the BBB works—and what its limitations are.The BBB rates businesses on a scale from A+ to F, with D- being the lowest rating. To get this rating, the bureau looks at factors such as how long the business has been in operation, whether it has had any complaints filed against it, and how those complaints were resolved. However, there are several limitations to this system. For one thing, not all businesses are rated by the BBB; for example, small businesses or new companies might not have had enough time to rack up any complaints yet. Furthermore, some businesses might be able to resolve complaints quickly and without issue—meaning they would get a good rating from the bureau even if they aren’t actually very trustworthy overall. Finally, because of its reliance on customer feedback ,the ratings can be subjective and may vary depending on who is providing them .All that said, though there are some drawbacks to using BBB ratings as your sole source of information ,the bureau remains one of the best resources available for assessing business trustworthiness .When used in conjunction with other research methods such as online reviews or personal recommendations ,it can provide you with a more well-rounded view of potential service providers or charities.
