Burnsville, Minn – September 18, 2014 – Better
Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota (BBB) now offers verified
customer reviews in their free BBB Business Reviews. This provides consumers the
option of submitting customer reviews after dealing with a business. Though
these reviews will not affect companies’ BBB ratings, they will be publicly
available after BBB’s review process has run its course.
“When we asked consumers and businesses what else they
wanted from our BBB, time and again we heard ‘customer reviews,’” said Dana
Badgerow, president and CEO of BBB of Minnesota and North Dakota. “So this is
another tool we now offer, and our reviews are verified, which is fair to both
consumers and business owners.”
BBB rules state that customers may not file a complaint
and a customer review in regard to the same transaction. In situations where
customers are seeking a resolution from a given company, they are encouraged to
file a formal complaint. In other situations where they are looking to commend
a business or simply share their experience, they can file an online customer
review.
All customer reviews are processed by BBB staff and sent
on to the business referenced. Businesses then have 10 days to respond and/or
inform BBB the person writing the review wasn’t a customer. From there, the
person writing the review is asked to provide verification of the transaction.
Once the 10 days have passed and/or BBB’s verification process is complete, the
customer review and business response, if one is provided, are made available
online at bbb.org. BBB also monitors for duplicate customer reviews – and
complaints – and multiple reviews filed by the same IP address, to prevent
possible abuse.
Since January 1, when BBB of Minnesota and North Dakota
launched their customer review option, more than 1,100 reviews have been
received, with nearly 70% of them positive.
“We are pleased to note that a solid majority of customer
reviews filed so far reference positive experiences,” added Badgerow. “We know
most businesses in our marketplace are upstanding, and we’re pleased to offer
this feature to them as a way to stand out and be recognized, and to consumers
as another free BBB tool they can use to find reliable businesses.”
BBB of Minnesota and North Dakota is one of 44 BBBs that
offer customer reviews. Consumers can file or read customer reviews online at www.thefirstbbb.org.
Since March of 2012, BBB of Minnesota and North Dakota has also published
complaint details in their free Business Reviews.
For the latest fraud alerts and marketplace news, visit bbb.org.
