What if an organization existed that kept a database on everyone. They would listen to whatever the general public says about other people, and they would record that information and save it in a database. Anyone can go and complain about anyone they like. The more people you meet the higher the chance you will have that someone will have a problem with you. Now what if they made that database available online, for anyone to search and look things up. Then they went a step farther and they would advertise on TV and on the radio the existence of their database, telling you that before you have a relationship with this other person you could look up what other people had to say about this person. They would also encourage you to report any complaints you have about others. You would be considered guilty of whatever action people have complained against you until you prove that you are innocent.

Of course they would not keep this database, and advertise for free, they would need to make money some how, so what if they let people become members of their organization, and a member would be allowed to ‘dispute’ anything in their own personal record and have it removed very easily. To be far they would have to establish a process for non members to dispute things, but of course these disputes would be given much lower priority. Also a member would be given a badge that they could show off the fact they were a paying member. If members paid a bit of extra money they even would be allowed to post this fact on their web page. The organization would advertise that you can only trust people that are members, even though membership is fairly meaningless, it only means you paid them off.

If such a thing existed would you be upset? Would you be outraged? Would you demand that the government do something about it? Would you see it as blackmail?

Well guess what, this organization DOES exist. It is called the Better Business Bureau and that have been doing exactly what I have described for almost 100 years. They pretend that they are there to protect people, that they keep detailed records on businesses but I have seen it first hand, that as soon as you pay them to become a member everything bad goes away with ease, and it is very hard to deal with them if you are not a member.

Also you have no idea what percent of people are unhappy with the company. Who is worse the small business with 10 customers and 5 of them complain or the large company with 10,000 customers where 50 complain? Well according to the BBB the larger one is worse. There are always crazy people who you can never resolve a problem with, we all know them, and companies are punished for having them as customers, even if only .1% of their customers have a bad experience they could have a horrible rating. The company across the way with 10% of their customer having problems pays the BBB off and gets away free. This is a horrable system.

So what can you do about this unfair, blackmail organization? As a customer do not trust them, do not use the BBB to handle your dispute, do not look up your vendors in their database and when you see someone who is saying they are a member, feel sorry for the delusion they live in. If you own a business or have influence in one please don’t become a member, do not give them money, and respond to complaints filed with them.

I am not mad at them, I have no problem with them personally, I just feel that such an organization should not be allowed to exist in our modern society. Maybe if they made some changes, and provided more information, including positive information it would be more useful, and also made it easier to dispute claims against you. But as of now there are many much better and more accurate information sources for those looking to find out about those they plan to do business with. Here are some examples of companies that many people consider to be horrible, but they have perfect ratings with the BBB because they pay, even though there are a huge number of complaints about them. Just read what some people had to say about these companies.
Frys Electronics: Vegas Midway auto team: Phoenix Best Buy (over 12000 complaints) ( I just love how most of the complains on these members are “Administratively closed” something only members can have done.)