BBB Gives Consumers The Power of Review

By MJ Kneiser, WLHR Radio, Lavonia

Consumers now have the power of the review when they visit the Better Business Bureau Web site.

Fred Elsberry, president and CEO for the BBB Serving Metro Atlanta, Athens & Northeast Georgia said his office is launching a new section where customers to voice their opinions about a local business.

“For so many years consumers have asked the BBB for a way to praise businesses for admirable practices and service. Now BBB Customer Reviews give them that option,” said Fred Elsberry, Jr., president and CEO for the BBB Serving Metro Atlanta, Athens & Northeast Georgia. “Although customer reviews don’t affect a company’s rating, we take them just as seriously as formal complaints. We want to ensure the individual posting a review is indeed a customer. We also verify each reviewer’s email address and give the business an opportunity to respond if desired.”

Adding to the many free services BBB provides to the public, BBB Customer Reviews give additional insight into a company’s behavior and are facilitated by BBB in a fair manner.

BBB posts customer reviews to its website once the reviewer’s email address is verified for authenticity, personal data and inappropriate text is redacted, and the business confirms the reviewer is an actual customer.

Differing from BBB’s traditional complaint service, BBB Customer Reviews can reflect positive encounters, have no effect on a business’s BBB rating, do not seek a specific resolution and have a wider range of acceptable subject matter.

Businesses that receive customer reviews have the opportunity to submit replies directly on the review. Reviewers can also add more comments to their reviews at any time or in reply to a business’s comment.

“With the addition of verified customer reviews, our BBB information paints an even clearer picture of a company’s track record in the marketplace. It is more important than ever for consumers to search BBB BEFORE hiring a company,” Elsberry said.

Consumers are encouraged to make their opinion count by leaving a customer review for a business. To post or read BBB Customer Reviews, visit http://www.bbb.org/atlanta and find the feature in any BBB Business Review.