Could the Better Business Bureau be going the way of The Pony Express? It was new technology ---the telegraph back in 1861 --- that ended the Pony Express brief run. Did you know the company existed less than two years?
Could social media be the technological lynch pin in the future of the BBB?
Kodak, one of the founding members of the BBB has resigned from the organization saying its services have become "redundant."
Let me ask, when was the last time you filed a complaint with the BBB? Had a complaint resolved? Checked on a business to see if anyone had filed a report, or felt better about a business because they were a BBB member?
How often do you see an advertisement with a business displaying the BBB logo?
In a social media environment how relevant is an organization like the BBB? eBay members work as their own community -based BBB. If a shopper or seller is unreliable or dishonest on eBay, the community will know . Is it really that long until the eBay model dominates rather than the more introverted BBB model?
At one time, dissatisfied consumers either filed a complaint with the BBB or they contacted their local consumer reporter. Today,when a consumer has a complaint about a company that they feel has not resolved fairly they can blog about it or give someone a bad referral on eBay.
In the spirit of full disclosure and transparency, I was once one of
those consumer reporters. It was the days of orange Royal manual
typewriters, pink telephone message pads, and companies that thought
being green had to do with how much money they were raking in. I would routinely call the BBB to see if they had complaints on file of busineses that I was investigating. I don't remember them as being the best of sources.
In explaining its decision Kodak says,
“We ultimately decided to resign our membership because we were extremely unhappy with the customer service we received from the local office of the BBB,” Kodak said in a statement, describing the branch’s Web site postings about the company as “consistently inaccurate.”
“The presence of a third-party organization between Kodak and our customers is bureaucratic and unproductive,” it added. “In fact, Kodak’s customer service and customer privacy teams concluded that 99 percent of all complaints forwarded by the BBB had already been handled directly with the customer.
“Our commitment to our customers is unwavering. That will not change. What has changed is that, for us, the BBB’s customer complaint process has become redundant."
.
The Better Business Bureau sees things a little differently.
Eastman Kodak Company has advised the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB) that it is resigning its national membership in the wake of expulsion proceedings initiated by the CBBB Board of Directors. Kodak has refused, for many months, to accept or respond to consumer complaints presented to the company by the Better Business Bureau in its headquarters market. “Every member of the BBB system is required to make a good faith effort to resolve consumer complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau. To do otherwise, is to abdicate their commitment to helping advance trust in the consumer marketplace, the key focus of the BBB,” said Steve Cole, president and CEO of the Council of Better Business Bureaus.
Ultimately, it will be the member businesses that will determine whether the BBB is still vital. Bloggers are finding this story a big ho hum. So far, it isn't even registering on technorati. If a major corporation resigns from the BBB and no one cares-- what does that tell you?
Image credit: Kansas Collection Books
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