One of my good friends, Jo DeMars, has run a very successful business in Wisconsin since 1988. I profiled her in October 2004 in my “Success Secrets of Women Entrepreneurs” ezine. At that time, she had 25 full-time-equivalent employees, 40 independent contractors, and about 300 dispute resolution volunteers working with her company. Read the profile:
http://www.womenmarketing.com/demars.htm
Until 2005, DeMars and Associates’ biggest client was Ford Motor Company. When the Better Business Bureau underbid DeMars for Ford’s arbitration work, DeMars & Associates lost its biggest profit-generating client and has had to scale back its whole operation, a loss of 20 jobs and a drastic curtailment of work for 40 independent contractors and 300 volunteers.
Yes, you read that correctly. The nonprofit, membership organisation BBB took business away from a for-profit company! In the past, the BBB was a champion for consumers, helping them resolve disputes with businesses. Companies joined the BBB to show that they worked hard to equitably resolve disputes, and the Better Business Bureau worked with them to resolve complaints. But this is an entirely new direction for the Better Business Bureau. (Where’s “60 Minutes” when you need them?)
I think it’s time to expose the BBB for its deceitful practices. Stealing business from a member company is very underhanded. If you have ideas on how to publicize this issue, influence the BBB to discontinue this practice, or help DeMars and Associates become the strong business they once were, post your comments here.
