FamilyPoolFun.com co-owner Jay Backer discusses the company's customer service track record and dealings with the Better Business Bureau.
Throughout our company's more than 20 year history, a commitment to customer service
always has been our core focus. When my brother Jeff and I started BW Incorporated and
first launched the company's family-friendly web sites, we realized early on that we would never be
successful without happy, satisfied customers. Our company started with that core principle and we've never forgotten it.
Every decision we make boils down to whether or not it helps our customers. With that in mind, we constantly strive to connect with customers in a number of ways. We love hearing from folks on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest! But long before the 'craze' in social media, we were collecting customer input any way we could, from follow-up emails to BizRate surveys where we still enjoy 'smilies' :) across the board with over 1,000 customer ratings so far! In fact, customers consistently rate us 4 out of 5 stars !
In our effort to glean more and more input and showcase our proud customer satisfaction history, we even applied for listing with the Better Business Bureau, and in spite of our objections to the ton of red tape and steep membership fees, were assigned a stellar A+ rating right from the start.
Of course, like any business, we've had our share of challenges, and we'd be lying if we said we'd never had a complaint. Whenever a problem has arisen, though, we've done our best to right the wrong. On the few occasions when a complaint has been lodged with the BBB, we've always been able to resolve the issue to everyone's satisfaction.
Lately, though, we've noticed the BBB's review process has become less than professional. We began receiving demands for updates to our web site and changes to our policies that we felt were unreasonable. Nevertheless, in the spirit of cooperation, we agreed to the demands and scheduled the changes into our update process. And then, they turned up the heat.
With very little warning and no explanation, the BBB review board decided unilaterally to cut FamilyPoolFun.com's rating. And despite always being able to resolve any issue with any customer, we have so far been completely unable to get the BBB's cooperation in resolving this issue. We stand ready to resolve any complaints the BBB may have collected or concerns they may have, but try as we might, we still have been given no justification for the BBB's action nor guidelines that might have been used in the board's decision.
In short, if the BBB has a beef with us, darned if we know what it is!
Understandably upset, we set out in search of the facts... and what we found disturbed us even more.
In what would seem to be an ethical dilemma to most, the BBB charges steep fees to member businesses, causing some to question the organization's impartiality. Some businesses have even reported canceling their memberships for one reason or another only to find their rating slashed overnight.
The fact is most people unwittingly assume the BBB is impartial (heck, some folks even think it's a government agency!), and the company does little to dissuade the public from thinking otherwise by not clearly informing the public that it accepts compensation from the same companies it reviews.
The BBB says it relies solely on complaints and nothing else in its business review process, yet it does not verify any complaint it receives, exposing the process to abuse and fraud in the form of falsified complaints from competing businesses or anyone with a grudge.
Based on complaints alone, a quick search on Google shows the BBB fails its own criteria. In fact, a 20/20 investigative story found the BBB even gave the five-star Ritz Carlton Hotel an 'F' after only two complaints!
Enough about the BBB. What about us? Well, you be the judge. In the last 3 years, we've had the privilege of serving more than 35,000 customers, and in that time, only about 100 have filed complaints or .003%. That's 3 thousandths of 1 percent! To put it another way, 99.997% of customers have had no complaints! But don't take our word for it, feel free to read our customer reviews.
The numbers speak for themselves. FamilyPoolFun.com is successful because of thousands of happy, satisfied customers. Still not convinced? Give us a chance to prove ourselves by becoming a customer. If you're not totally satisfied, just let us know and we'll make it right. But don't bother with the BBB... nobody's listening over there! Please contact us with any questions or concerns you might have. As always, we're here to serve you!
If you'd like to know more, check out these eye-opening resources...
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/business-bureau-president-apologizes-errors-grading-system/story?id=12153392#.UFnZ11GsTKc
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/business-bureau-best-ratings-money-buy/story?id=12123843#.UFnauFGsTKc
http://www.ripoffreport.com/bbb-better-business-bureau/bbb/bbb-better-business-bureau-is-77227.htm
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http://blog-bbb.com/tag/better-business-bureau-unfair/page/2/
http://www.internet-success-hub.com/3804/google-improves-from-%E2%80%98unsatisfactory%E2%80%99-to-%E2%80%98c-%E2%80%99-rating-at-bbb/
http://searchengineland.com/google-improves-bbb-rating-52648
