BBB Tip: Look for the Seal

Your Better Business Bureau recently launched a campaign titled "Look For the Seal" to encourage customers to actively check for BBB Accreditation when researching a business. This campaign includes commercials, online advertisements, and images that will remind consumers to properly research a business before making a decision. Wondering how this campaign will affect your business? Check out our tips below! 

Are you BBB Accredited?
Obtaining BBB Accreditation means that BBB has thoroughly reviewed your business and meets accreditation standards. Accreditation can help your business in a variety of different ways. Here are just a few.



Do You Have the Seal?
Once you've gone through the accreditation process, it's important to let the world know! Your BBB has a variety of different options to choose from, all of which are complimentary with your accreditation. All you have to do is enter your login information!

What about your website?
If  your business has a website installing the online seal will increase the likelihood that your business will come up in an online query. This works because BBB has a high domain authority and linking our website to your business review helps to strengthen the online presence as a whole!


Have you thought of a creative way to display the BBB seal? Show us! Post your photos on Facebook or Twitter.  Don't forget to tag us!

Checklist: How to Give a Performance Review

The performance review can be quite the nerve wrecking experience for the employee as well as the supervisor. As difficult as it can be to have this conversation with employees, it is necessary to make it as much of a positive experience for both parties. Here are some tips to make the review run as smoothly as possible:

1. Don't sideswipe your employees
• Your employees should never hear about a positive/negative performance for the first time in a review. As a manager, you should give regular feedback to your employees and use the formal review to focus on specific parts of their performance.
2. Remember that a performance review is about setting goals
• It is important to make sure that the employee has a clear understanding of what is expected of them. You should also work together to determine how these expectations will be evaluated to ensure that the employee can perform to the best of their ability. When setting goals it is also important to discuss the employee's career goals. It not only shows that you have an invested interest in the employee but it also 
3. Follow-Up
• While a performance review should be yearly, it is important to make a quarterly follow up to ensure that the employee is on track with the goals that have been set. In order for the review to be effective, the employer must check in periodically throughout the year.

The Truth About BBB and Uber: 10 Facts You Should Know

There is an old saying that you should never get into a fight with someone who buys their ink by the barrel. That should probably be updated now to say you should never get in a fight with someone who has a huge online following. But whether on paper, on air or online, sometimes the media get stuff wrong… even The New York Times.

In the past few days, Better Business Bureau got a tremendous amount of coverage in both traditional and social media; so much so that we were trending online. As the BBB national spokesperson, I should be thrilled about that. But I’m not, because the way it came about was due to some clever public relations and some less-than-stellar reporting.

Here are the facts:

• The rideshare company Uber Technologies has an F rating with Better Business Bureau. As they are headquartered in San Francisco, they are rated by BBB Golden Gate, one of 112 local, independent BBBs across North America.
• All BBBs follow the same rating system, which is explained in detail at a link that appears on every one of our 4.5 million BBB Business Reviews (all available for free at bbb.org).
• The specific reasons for the company’s rating are spelled out in their Business Review: “Factors that lowered Uber Technologies’ rating include: Length of time business has been operating. Failure to respond to 39 complaints against the business.” Details from many of those complaints are also available in the Business Review.
• On Thursday, October 8, 2014, a public relations agency that represents the Taxicab, Limousine and Paratransit Association put out a press release about Uber’s F rating with BBB. They did not consult with BBB before doing so and we knew nothing of the press release until it was distributed online.
• A blogger with The New York Times saw the release and did an article that did not mention the taxicab association as the source of the story (he didn’t contact BBB either).
• Within an hour of the article posting, I contacted the reporter by both telephone and email, highlighting four things that were wrong and asking that they be corrected.
  • The article said that Uber had received an F rating from BBB that day. Actually, they have had an F rating for quite some time. The only thing that happened that day was the PR agency’s press release.
  • The article said the rating was based on the number of complaints when in reality the rating was due to Uber’s failure to respond to some of those complaints.
  • The article said that BBB ratings have been “increasingly marginalized” compared to Yelp and other commercial services. In fact, research by Nielsen shows that BBB is trusted by consumers at a significantly higher rate than Yelp, Angie’s List and other for-profit review sites. Our trust scores are comparable with Consumer Reports.
  • The article said that “some branches” of BBB were accused of pay-to-play. In reality only one BBB, the former BBB of the Southland (Los Angeles), was accused and it has since been expelled from the organization.
• I pointed out to the reporter that other media outlets were likely to use The New York Times as a source and that his story should be as accurate as possible.
• The reporter responded to me via email and, after going back and forth several times, he said that he was “in transit” (it was by now the end of the work day) but would address the issue shortly. I never heard back from him and he never made any changes to the story.
• As I predicted, a number of other outlets reported based on The New York Times story. They not only repeated some of the original mistakes, but some took it a step further and said that BBB gave Uber an F rating due to surge pricing or due to the 90+ complaints filed against the company.
• A number of the complaints to BBB were about surge pricing. However, the F rating is not directly related to the nature of the complaints but rather to the lack of response from the company.

BBB Golden Gate has a meeting with Uber next week to talk to them about a better process for handling their complaints. This meeting was set up before the press release and ensuing media coverage. We are hopeful that Uber will work more closely with BBB in the future and will more readily respond to their customers’ concerns.

Other companies that have an F rating with BBB are urged to contact the BBB where they are headquartered to review best practices and, in particular, discuss improvements in customer complaint handling. BBBs are always willing to work with businesses seeking to enhance marketplace trust.

Working with BBB isn’t just about resolving complaints, it’s also about a business’s reputation – you never know who is going to be utilizing BBB for information.

- See more at: http://www.bbb.org/blog/2014/10/the-truth-about-bbb-and-uber-10-facts-you-should-know/#sthash.jeypQvVj.dpuf

Protecting Yourself From Future Data Breaches

Last month Home Depot confirmed its computer systems had been targeted in a recent data breach, and up to 60 million customers credit card information and PIN numbers were stolen. While you can't prevent cyber attacks on retailers, there are definitely some steps you can take to minimize your risk should a data breach occur.  

• Consider a new way to pay. Third party payment methods are much safer than swiping your debit card in the store. Third party services like these have your credit card information stored and do not give the retailer your payment information when you make a purchase. However, many retailers do not yet accept third party services so store valued cards or phone apps are another good choice as your credit card information is not exposed. 

• If you do choose to swipe your card in the store, it is safer to process the purchase as credit rather than debit. When you process a payment as debit you must enter your PIN into the key pad which then saves your PIN into the retailers data base. Hackers can do more damage with PIN numbers - like creating a second copy of your debit card and withdrawing money directly from your account. 

• Regularly check your credit card statements. By checking your credit card statements regularly, your chances of catching suspicious activity as it happens increases and you will suffer less damages. Thieves often make purchases in small amounts and then later begin to make larger ones.

• When the Home Depot data breach occurred many people reported receiving emails from Home Depot offering free credit monitoring. These emails were distributed by scammers looking to gain access to unsuspecting recipients personal information. If you receive an email making claims like this you are better off ignoring it. If the email looks credible you should only move forward after going straight to the source to confirm its credibility.