If you do research on companies before you do business with them, you may wonder how it receives a rating or seal with the Better Business Bureau.
Andrea wrote to us to ask, "If a company has the logo of the Better Business Bureau, in its advertisement, does it automatically mean they have a good rating?"
Walter Lee says you can't let just anybody take a hammer and tools to your car.
"Anybody can open up a shop without the equipment without the trained personnel and do second class or basically shoddy work on somebody's car," said Lee of Preferred Collision Specialist in Macon.
He says that's part of what sparked his shop's interest in showing customers they can trust their cars to him and his crew. The Better Business Bureau says the shop has had accreditation since June 2006, and right now has an "A+" rating.
"The customer can feel confident, they've got some sort of protection here that they're walking into a place that's reputable," said Lee.
Charlotte Baize with the bureau says that's not always the case for companies that show their logo.
"Sometime unethical businesses will use our logo without our permission," she said.
Before accrediting a business, the BBB checks the history of the owner, not the company itself, in case they have operated under other names with complaints. It then looks to see if it has unsettled complaints.
A company should have been in operation for at least one year, registered with the secretary of state's office, and must provide licenses if they're required for the business.
The bureau says a company can lose its accreditation if it doesn't settle its complaints or falls below a "B" rating. The agency periodically reviews business.
The BBB ranks business on a scale of "A+" to "F" or no rating, "NR" if it's under review or they don't have enough information on it.
The letter grade is determined by several factors like how long the company's been in business, experience in its field, if it has BBB accreditation, how many complaints it has received and if they were settled.
The BBB doesn't guarantee a good rating will get you a wonderful experience with a company or evaluate products or services, but Lee says it can still mean a lot to customers.
"They can check with business bureau and check on the company and see if they've had any complains and stuff in their past," said Lee.
A company has to pay some fees to receive accreditation. The amount is based on the number of employees a business has.
If you want to check out a company, file a complaint, or get accreditation you can call the Better Business Bureau at 478-742-7999.