Why Better Business Bureau Complains Can Kill Your Business?
The Better Business Bureau, or BBB, attempts to provide a service to the public by accepting and cataloging complaints from consumers about specific businesses. Unfortunately, the complaint system can sometimes do more harm than good especially from the perspective of the business owner. Here are some reasons why BBB complaints can kill your business. Consumer Check the BBB First One of the ways that BBB complaints can kill your business is by driving potential customers away. Consumers today are told constantly to check the BBB for the status or rating of your business. This means people who have never interacted in any real way with your business will look at the BBB site and make judgments based on what is seen there. Consumers who see complaints might be inclined to skip your business and move on to a competitor with no complaints. Anyone Can File a Complaint for Nearly Any Reason BBB complaints can harm your business because just about anyone can file a complaint for nearly any reason. The complaint is logged regardless of the content. The validity of the claim is not really assessed by the BBB unless there are exceptional circumstances. This means anyone
from a disgruntled former employee to your competitors could file a false complaint in an attempt to scar your business with the bureau. Understanding Complaints Is Not Simple The reality is that the BBB complaint system is not easy to understand. Most consumers want something short and easily digestible when looking for ratings. If a consumer goes to the BBB website and looks up a business, then that person could be confronted with a confusing screen listing complaints, complaint types and closed complaints. Additionally, some complaints could be labeled as administratively closed. Consumers might not understand what all of this means. The result could be that consumers disregard the fact that all complaints are closed or resolved and simply think the fact that there are complaints is enough to avoid your business. Complaints Remain Visible For Years Complaints with the BBB could do lasting harm and eventually kill your business because they remain visible for years. The BBB website will list all complaints that were filed against your business for three years. Not all consumers will realize just how long of a time that is. A busy or active business might have dozens or more complaints over the span of three years. Even the closed and resolved complaints remain visible. This means a single complaint can harm your business for years to come. Roman Temkin is an entrepreneur from NYC who has a background in real estate development.