Consumer confidence is notoriously difficult to build but astonishingly easy to lose. Over the last century, the United States government has been enacting legislation to protect consumers from disreputable and fraudulent business practices. At the same time, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) has been actively promoting honest industry principles in the private sector.
History of the BBB
The Better Business Bureau can be said to have stemmed from a wave of false advertising scandals and court cases that occurred in the U.S. at the turn of the 20th century.
As large populations of people moved from rural areas into the city, food producers were faced with the challenge of transporting food from remote farms to urban markets. They turned to unscrupulous means to keep their food looking fresh, including using hazardous preservatives such as formaldehyde.
Animals were slaughtered in revolting conditions and meat processing plants were exceptionally filthy and unsanitary. At the same time, quack medicine was widespread. Charlatan doctors sold unvetted concoctions laced with drugs and alcohol that showed little therapeutic results while causing numerous addictive and detrimental effects.
In 1906, the U.S. government enacted the Pure Food and Drug Act, a groundbreaking consumer protection law that would later lead to the establishment of the Food and Drug Administration. The Pure Food and Drug Act aimed to prevent adulterated or mislabeled food and drug products from being manufactured, transported, or sold.
In 1911, the case of the United States vs. Forty Barrels and Twenty Kegs of Coca-Cola was filed under the Pure Food and Drug Act to pressure the company to remove potentially harmful amounts of caffeine from the Coca-Cola formula. Although Coca-Cola won the judgment, the company voluntarily reduced the amount of caffeine in its products.
At this time, the advertising industry was moved to denounce dishonest business practices and embrace truth in advertising. Samuel Dobbs, the President of Associated Advertising Clubs of America, advocated for an honest advertising industry. He was responsible for the adoption of one of the first codes of advertising in the country.
In the succeeding decades to come, several other organizations such as the National Vigilance Committee (1912) and the National Better Business Bureau of the Associated Advertising Clubs of the World (1921) would continue to guide and elevate advertising efforts across the U.S.
These organizations would go through mergers and name changes to finally form the Council of Better Business Bureaus in 1970. This umbrella entity encompasses hundreds of national corporations, over a hundred local BBB offices, and hundreds of thousands of small local businesses throughout the country.
How the BBB Works
The Better Business Bureau is a nonprofit organization that is not affiliated with any government agency. The main bulk of the work of the organization is to gather information on local businesses or charities and publish unbiased reviews. By doing so, the Bureau hopes to assist consumers in making educated choices.
To remain unbiased, the BBB does not recommend or endorse specific businesses. Consumers seeking more information about a business can check how it rates on the BBB website. The BBB rating system has an A+ to F letter-grade scale which is calculated based on 17 factors including incident reports that go through objective verification by BBB experts.
The rating score represents the level of confidence that the BBB has that the business will behave in a trustworthy and responsive manner. Consumers can find out which businesses have given satisfactory responses to customer complaints and which businesses have a history of poor customer service or inferior product quality.
BBB offices also help to handle consumer complaints. If a person is unhappy with the service that they received from a particular business, they can contact their local BBB and file a complaint. The BBB will then contact the business and attempt to achieve an acceptable resolution. According to the Bureau, they resolve 70 percent of consumer complaints.
BBB Accreditation
Although BBBs are non-biased, businesses can apply to be accredited by BBB. A significant 70 percent of consumers feel that they are more likely to choose an accredited business that displays the Better Business Bureau seal. However, there are stringent rules that businesses have to meet to qualify for accreditation.
First of all, the business must have the proper licenses and certifications, a proven record of ethical operation, and no pending government action. They must also receive a minimum of a B rating. In addition, the business must commit to working with the BBB to continuously improve its marketing standards and practices.
The business must ensure that all advertising is honest and transparent. They must accurately represent the costs and limitations of their products or services and have their terms, conditions, and policies clearly displayed. Even if there is a mistake in promotional material, the business must be willing to honor its promises.
After upholding truth in advertising for over a hundred years, the Better Business Bureau has become a trusted consumer resource. Because the BBB is fundamentally neutral, consumers can receive independent and objective information, and make their purchase choices with confidence.