What鈥檚 your story?

As Rosalind Scott travelled Vancouver Island, meeting with local accredited business owners, she asked each this question: Why are you an?

鈥淓veryone has a different reason for being accredited,鈥� reflects Scott, executive director of .

鈥淥ne saw it as a way to stand shoulder to shoulder to shoulder with other good, ethical businesses. Another sees it as a way of giving back to his community by being a role model.鈥�

Why accreditation matters

Why get accredited? 鈥淭he bottom line is why wouldn鈥檛 you?鈥� Scott asks. 鈥淲e foster ethics, set standards and hold businesses accountable to that, but we also recognize good business practices.鈥�

One misconception Scott hears is the belief that accreditation brings more complaints. The reality could鈥檛 be farther from the truth. BBB addresses complaints about all businesses, whether accredited or not. The difference is that accredited businesses commit to responding to the complaint, she explains.

鈥淚t鈥檚 how you deal with it. You agree to make a good faith effort to resolve a complaint in a reasonable manner.鈥�

The key is reasonable 鈥� no business will be asked to address a consumer鈥檚 concern in an unreasonable way, Scott emphasizes.

And for consumers, BBB accreditation is a significant indicator of a business they want to do business with.

鈥淏BB helps people find businesses they can trust,鈥� Scott says, noting that 87 per cent of people say they prefer to work with a BBB-accredited business.

Did you know that in Canada, BBB:

• is consumers鈥� No. 1 choice to report scams, in person or via ; for the first time, all of last year鈥檚 top scams were online
• has 384000 accredited business
• reported on 5.2 million businesses last year
• completed 346,000 last year
• undertook more than 45,000 mediations, arbitrations and ad reviews
• had 225 million instances of service, from businesses or consumers

What should you know about BBB?

First, they receive no government funding. In fact, the non-profit organization is completely self- sustaining and offers all its services free of charge.

Second, BBB businesses are accredited 鈥� not 鈥渕embers鈥� 鈥� they need to meet BBB standards and practices.

鈥淎 person really needs to understand and value of ethical business practices,鈥� Scott says.

Learn more about how you can get accredited with the BBB by visiting them or calling 250-386-6348 (toll-free: 1-877-826-4222).