Have you tried searching for trust online? It’s no easy feat. But as you may know, it’s critical to know whom you’re buying from these days. So, when you’re shopping for a specific item or service, where do you start? With family or friend’s recommendation? An online search? Or do you trust a business ad that pops up on social media? Of course, the bigger question is, how do you look up a company’s trust factor?
When searching for trust online, start with the Better Business Bureau. The BBB is an independent, third-party, non-profit organization that vets businesses.
The BBB mission is to be a place for consumers to find businesses they can trust. At BBB, trust is a function of integrity and performance. Customers want a company that provides a quality product or service with respect and integrity.
On the BBB.org website, you can indeed search for trust using the search function on the homepage. It’s free to consumers, and you can filter your results by industry, location, or even a specific business name. When searching, you might notice you can sort by accredited or all businesses.
So, what’s the difference between the two? Isn’t an A+ rating all that matters? A high rating definitely helps, but that’s not quite the whole picture.
Accredited businesses are committed to BBB’s mission of trust. They’ve been researched and vetted, including appropriate licensing, government actions, website reviews and background searches.
Also considered is the history of complaints, how they respond, and how they maintain transparency. This lets consumers know that the company meets ethical standards and lives up to the integrity expected of a BBB-accredited business. The Accredited Business seal is the sign of a Better Business.
On a company’s BBB page, you’ll find business details, including years in business, management information, number of employees, and any required licensing information. Also, you’ll find customer reviews and complaints, which BBB checks for authenticity. Not a lot of sites do this!
About those complaints: Reading a complaint shows the correspondence between the owner and the customer. The test of a better business is in how they respond. This could inform how they cultivate trust with customers, so tune into the concerns, patterns of complaints and, of course, the actions taken to resolve an issue. And for businesses ignoring complaints altogether, you might not want to work with them.
Lastly, if you can’t find a company at BBB.org, you may have to do more research to verify their trust. Start by looking for a business’s contact information, name, address and phone number. Do they have a website? Do they come up in a Google search? If this information isn’t available, be cautious. Legitimate businesses share their location and how to contact them.
Additionally, you can search in the business’s state for registration or licensing if you have the contact information.
While online purchasing is easier than ever, take steps to make sure every transaction you make is one you can trust. And remember to look for the sign of a Better Business on BBB.org. Because when you do, you’re starting with trust.
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Roseann Freitas is marketplace manager Hawai‘i, Better Business Bureau Northwest + Pacific, 900 Fort Street Mall, Ste. 1310, Honolulu, HI 96813 808-260-0643, bbb.org.
