BBB Offers New Free Service to Consumers
It’s two weeks before Christmas and your boss wants you to plan a catered company dinner for 50 people on the 18th. You’ve got two options. You could either call around to every catering business in Middle Tennessee OR you could go online to www.gobbb.org and simply select the type of business, fill out a description of your needs, and have them sent to every Better Business Bureau member in the selected industry in Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky.
The BBB of Middle Tennessee continues its mission to build trust in the marketplace with a new service called eQuote. eQuote allows consumers to instantly request bids, estimates, or general information for goods and services from businesses who meet ALL the BBB Membership Standards.
The BBB provides this service free of charge as a benefit to the consuming public and the business community. This service assists consumers and businesses in doing business with Bureau members. If a consumer wants to get a quote or additional information about available products and services; their request will be automatically emailed to Bureau members in the type of business they specify. “Its like asking a room filled with TRUSTWORTHY contractors how much a repair would cost and have them call or email you with their estimate.” States Kathleen Calligan, BBB President/CEO.
“This program really makes sense for our market. It allows consumers to save time when trying to find a reputable business whose services meet their budget needs and more importantly gives them peace of mind knowing they are doing business with a BBB member,” Calligan said.
In compliance with the BBB privacy policy <http://data.middletennessee.bbb.org/privacy.html> the BBB will use the information a consumer provides, only for purposes for which they have given permission.
The eQuote process involves three simple steps:
1. Consumers visit www.gobbb.org, select a type of business and provide a description of
their needs.
2. Consumers have the option of choosing how they want the businesses to contact them;
by phone, email or postal mail.
3. Once the request is complete, it is automatically emailed to BBB members in the selected
industry so they can provide an estimate to the consumer.
“Our Bureau covers a large portion of Tennessee and 9 Southern Kentucky counties so we made sure this new service would benefit everyone in our service area by allowing consumers to select their zip code and mile radius of the companies they want bids from,” states Calligan.
In order to become a BBB member, companies must meet and maintain 13 membership standards. These include proper licensing, being in business locally for a minimum of 12 months and following the BBB’s code of business ethics, advertising and selling.
For more information on the new eQuote program and BBB membership standards, visit www.gobbb.org or call 615-242-4222.
