BBB...worth It

probuilder

Hey guys,

I was just contacted by the BBB and they said I was getting some calls to their office(to see if I am a member). They want me to join so they can tell people I am a member and put my name on their list. Just wondering what you guys think about BBB. Is it worth the $500 a year.

Thanks

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www.probuilderenterprises.com

buildenterprise

no its not

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ChrWright

If you already have an established reputation, it's not worth it.

And even if you don't... I'm still not sure you get $500 worth of value from it.

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Christopher Wright, CR: President @ WrightWorks, LLC/President @ Central Indiana NARI, Named to the 2010 REMODELING Big50
www.WrightWorks.net - Facebook - Twitter - Carmel Remodeling
Indianapolis Kitchen Remodeling Contractor - You Can Get There From Here

charlesmd

curious, do you advertise in the paper. I do and they call me all the
time saying the same thing. I think they get your number and call you
and tell you that just to get your money.

silvertree

They call me 3 or 4 times a year- here's the pitch.
"We have had inquiries about your company and can't tell them anything because your not a member- this is an invitation only membership- and on it goes. I am not a member, been in business 20 years.

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Vote for Pedro
Kitchen, bath, St Paul remodeling
Minneapolis Remodel Blog
203K Loan Consultant Minnesota

AtlanticWBConst

No, waste of money.
We've been in business since 1983. NO ONE has ever asked about us being a member of the BBB, or stated that they looked us up on the BBB, and no one has ever found us, by looking on the BBB...
Put your money into your business thru other means....

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- Build Well -

probuilder

Thanks for your input. I do advertise in the paper and after the guy called I told my wife that they probably saw my add in the paper and called. Always follow your gut feeling. Its kind of funny that the BBB would lie to you about people calling, just alittle ironic.

Thanks again

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www.probuilderenterprises.com

ihms683

I belonged to it a few years back and went to a few meetings and they were all suit and tie guys they didn't want anything to do with us small contractors. Personally references work better when doing business.

ihms683

I belonged to it a few years back and went to a few meetings and they were all suit and tie guys they didn't want anything to do with us small contractors. Personally references work better when doing business

Celtic

Why is it funny/ironic?

The BBB is NOT a gov't agency.
They are offering their product.
Their sales staff will do whatever it takes to sign on new customers.


Maybe it is funny/ironic...can you report the BBB to the BBB for deceptive sales practices?

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probuilder

You think if I was deceptive to my clients and they found out that I would get their business. Don't BS me, just give me the facts.

Maybe thats not how you do business???

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www.probuilderenterprises.com

silvertree

Last year at a NARI meeting the BBB guy talked. He said very clearly "The BBB works for business owners, not homeowners". Whats ironic is that homeowners think the opposite.

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Vote for Pedro
Kitchen, bath, St Paul remodeling
Minneapolis Remodel Blog
203K Loan Consultant Minnesota

THINKPAINTING

NO!

Constructive1

After 13 years I finally had a prospective customer ask if we were members of the BBB. I told him no, but that we had plenty of satisfied customers he could call for references. We will be doing 3 additions for him once the plans and permits are ready, so I don't think it was that big of a deal for him.

Grumpy

Is it worth it? Depends what you expect. You might get a couple referrals from it. You might be able to show the logo and schmooz someone who's been taken advantage of in the past. You might be able to use their arbitration system, but if you are finding you need this part of their services you have bigger problems to worry about.

I've not opted to do it... yet. I will probably do it for strictly a marketing thing in the future. It's only like $500 a year. People are SOOO brain washed by the BBB, and are stunned when I tell them it's NOT a governmental agency. :shocked:

RobertCDF

It depends on your area. As I have said before around here the BBB has done a VERY amazing job of brainwashing people. I know I lost quite a number of jobs based solely on that before I was a member. Now that I am I find myself more often being the only bidder. I have also had leads direct from their website.

Is it worth it? If you have a 1 year backlog doing what your doing now then no. But if you are only a week or two booked out at a time it might be worth it to push a few people over the fence.

Also look around at your competition, if no one is a member then you can set yourself apart. And if everyone is a member, maybe they know something you dont.

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Robert Shaw
Colorado Springs Custom Decks
Colorado Custom Decks
Custom Composite Decks

Mike Finley

Every time this question comes up it just blows me away. 75% of the replys are always from people who have never even been members. The other 20% have no idea how the BBB makes you money. 5% are from people who legitimately had a bad local BBB chapter.

Monkey see - monkey do. -- this is what my momma told me a long time ago. This is also what a few very successful people have told me. If you want to be successful, do what successful people do.

Look around you at who isn't a member, look around you at who is a member. Now which ones are the most successful? Do you think it's a coincidence? Or does it have something to do with something else, and you're totally missing the boat?

What really amazes me is the same people who don't understand how the BBB makes you money are the same people who are or have been Service Magic customers -- excuse me????

probuilder

To be more specific the problem in my area is that the BBB shutdown a few years ago because of lack of participation. A new chapter has started now, but only been around for a year. When you try to find the local chapter on the website it sends you to a city that is 200 miles from where I live. I asked the local BBB guy about this and all he said was "It's a problem, but I don't know when it will be fixed." Sounds to me it dependes greatly on the area you live in.

Thanks for the replies!

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www.probuilderenterprises.com

Jason Whipple

The fact that the nearest chapter is 200 miles away could be a good thing. That should tell you that there are few to none of your local competition that will be members, there-by giving you an edge.

If you go into it thinking this will bring you more leads you will be disappointed. If you use it as part of your sales approach you'll find yourself closing more jobs than before.

Fact; regardless of what the BBB is or does for the consumer, I have raised some brows lately when I mention the fact that I am a member. I believe that this gives me a little more notice than the competition. My greeting folder contains an introduction letter, a copy of my insurance cert., a list of references, and my Accredited Member Cert. from the BBB. I know that none or few of my competitors do any of that. Now you tell me, if your looking for a contractor to do the work and do it well who do you choose? It's a closing tool with additional benefits that you may or may not use.

I see a lot of very successful companies that are or were members at one time. They use(d) it for what it is and were (are) using it to an advantage.

Mike F makes a good point. Most of the negative comments about the BBB here are probably from those who never used it or from those who misunderstood the use of it. I heard something similar to Mikes statement about success in an article I recently read that states, " The secret to success is to do what the unsuccessful refuses to do".

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Jason E Whipple, General Manager
Historic House Restoration, Cincinnati, Ohio
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Skydawggy

We have been a BBB member for over 5 years. I can't recall a single job we ever got because of the membership. I can tell you of plenty of jobs we got because of our excellent references and referals.

I know of a few contractors in this area who have dropped their BBB membership because of the nature of complaints the BBB records.

We recently had a complaint lodged against us because the customer called our office and asked for a written clarification of a specific area of our warranty. The Office Manager was out sick and the customer was told we would send it out in a few days. One week later we got a complaint notice from the BBB. Apparently, the customer filed the complaint because she didn't feel she received it "quickly enough". This complaint will now stay on our BBB record for 3 years as a service issue, even though the customer was perfectly satisfied with the job.

One of our competitors told me he dropped his BBB membership when the BBB recorded a complaint just because the client didn't like the salesman, even though the customer didn't even sign a contract with his company.

The BBB has told me they list any complaint without regards to it's validity. So, if the BBB is going to work against a member in this fashion, why would anyone want to join and tout their membership with the BBB?