Who Protects You From The Better Business Bureau?
We first joined the Better Business Bureau in late 2005. I’m
not sure why we did. I guess it was for the plaque. I’ve always liked the concept
of the BBB, so I figured it would be cool to join the membership.
Unfortunately, all we really got out of it were quarterly sales calls asking
for more money for special opportunities to promote our business in the BBB’s informational
materials (aka advertising). The salespeople were nice, but it never made sense
to do, so we always declined.
When I received the renewal invoice from the BBB this year,
I decided not to renew. After all, they wanted over $100 per employee for
membership and there were no benefits that would really help our business. I
could also use the time ordinarily spent dodging sales calls restocking our
fridge with soda.
Within a month of our neglecting to renew, I received a
voicemail asking me to call them to discuss our membership cancellation. Wanting
to support the BBB, I called them back and left a voicemail thanking them for
everything but making it clear that we were not renewing.
They continued to call us, and one day I decided to put an
end to it. We spoke for a few minutes where I confirmed—without doubt—that we
were not renewing this year. They made a bunch of offers regarding discounted
renewal fees, etc, but I made it clear we weren’t interested. Finally, I
conceded that they could email me more info in case I wanted to change my mind
(in their words).
A few weeks went by, and we didn’t receive anything. Life
was good.
Earlier today, I received another call from the BBB. Just
like the others, this was another pressure pitch to renew our membership. I had
a few minutes to burn, so I figured I’d stretch out their telemarketing
playbook and see how they reacted to the various reasons I didn’t want to
renew. The following is a paraphrase of the conversation from my memory:
Act 1: Introduction
Me: “Ahoy-hoy?”
BBB: “Hello, this is <person> from the BBB. I was
calling to discuss some of the BBB features you’re not getting the most out of from
your membership.”
Me: “Actually, we’re not members. Our membership was over a
few weeks ago and we told you we didn’t want to renew.”
BBB: “Well you didn’t speak with me, and I’m the only
person you would have talked to.”
Act 2: Protection Money
BBB: “It would be a shame for your company to cancel now
when you received over 90 inquiries last year alone, which is great because
your business is in good standing.”
Me: “How does this change if we don’t renew? Will you start
telling people bad things about us?”
BBB: “No, we’re an objective service, so we only provide
factual reporting.”
Me: “Then we’re okay as long as we keep doing a good job.”
Act 3: The Best Customers Use The BBB Web Site To Find
Vendors
BBB: “Being a member in good standing helps your company
stand out on our Web site so our users will find your company more easily.”
Me: “We’ve never gotten a lead because of our BBB
membership.”
BBB: “But there were over 90 inquiries last year and over ten
already this year.”
Me: “Yes, and the yield rate has been 0%. We’re going to
need at least twice as many inquiries to make money at that rate.”
Act 4: The Web Seal
BBB: “As a member in good standing, you’re allowed to put
our logo on your site and have it link to your report on our site.”
Me: “Can’t I just say that we’re in good standing with you on
our site?”
BBB: “Yes, but then you couldn’t use our seal and if your
status changes you’d have to change it on your site.”
Me: “So then the benefit for me is only if we do something
to get ourselves out of good standing?”
Act 5: Your Customers Will All Leave You
BBB: “What companies do you work with? They might be
members as well.”
Me: “Almost all of our work is for Microsoft.”
BBB: “Microsoft is a member and they look for vendors who
are also members.”
Me: “That’s not true. I’ve never seen any corporate policy
that indicated that BBB standing impacted Microsoft’s vendor decisions or
spoken with anyone who checked the BBB before contracting a project.”
BBB: “I didn’t say they require their vendors to be
members, you’re putting words into my mouth.”
Me: “You just implied that we would have improved chances
of closing deals with Microsoft if we paid you for membership.”
<we bitch at each other for a few minutes over this>
Act 6: Conclusion
Me: “I’m really sorry, but there’s no way we’re going to
renew now or ever. I really don’t appreciate the browbeating and thought you
guys existed to protect people like me from tactics like this.”
BBB: “You’re the one that’s browbeating me.”
Me: “Well, I gotta run. Thanks again for the call. Please
don’t call again.”
I want to emphasize that this paraphrased conversation was
from memory, so the grammar, etc, aren’t exact. I also think it’s very possible
that my recollection of the conversation could be mistaken such that the
salesperson seems to have been more dishonest than they actually are.
I’m also still a big supporter of the BBB for what they do. Although
I think it’s a huge conflict of interest that they try to extract lots of money
from the companies they monitor, I don’t think that impacts the validity of
their services.
2/20/2007 1:18:41 PM (Pacific Standard Time, UTC-08:00) 