BBB: Where it comes from, what it does for you

HONOLULU (KHON2) — The Better Business Bureau is with KHON2 to talk about some helpful tips to keep shoppers safe throughout the year.

Most of us have heard of the BBB, but do you know how the organization started and its mission?

To discuss BBB’s past history and current mission is Roseann Freitas, Public Relations and Communications Manager with Better Business Bureau Great West + Pacific.

Freitas said that the BBB began in 1912 and resulted from a lawsuit that involved the Coca Cola Company.

In the case, Coca Cola’s attorney was cited as saying to one of the company’s businesses, “why, all advertising is exaggerated. Nobody believes it.”

Hence, the BBB was born when that executive reached out to other executives at other companies to ensure that businesses are held accountable for their products and the advertising that accompany them.

The BBB’s mission is to be a leader in advancing trust from the consumer for the marketplace, thus securing commerce.

The BBB sets standards for that trust to proliferate and encourages and supports best practices by educating both consumers and businesses.

The organization also promotes the businesses that are role models for other businesses to understand how to interact with their consumers and the importance of that trust relationship.

This allows the BBB to call out substandard marketplace behavior and helps to create a strong community of trustworthy businesses and charities which protects consumers.

The BBB website offers a few things that can help consumers navigate their consumption.

It offers business profiles and accredited business seals for all businesses that uphold consumer trust.

The site provides ratings for businesses, a scam tracker and allow consumers to view complaints and reviews of businesses.

You can watch the video above to find out all the details from Freitas’s interview with Chevy Chevalier.