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Archive (1998 and Older)

Better Business<br><br>Bureau's report<br><br>to help custome

By STEPHANIE LAN

The National Better Business Bureau has issued a report which they hope will help consumers better use their services.

'Far too rarely do people call and complain,' said Bill Beadle, president of the Better Business Bureau in Utah.

'For every one person who calls and complains, there are another 26 which just hang up and chalk it up to experience,' Beadle said.

The report gives clues on how to handle complaints against a company by investigating, acknowledging, formulating a solution, responding and following up.

'Usually people don't know how easy it is and we need to increase our awareness of that,' Beadle said. 'Chances are better than 50/50 that you will be given a response you will be happy with.'

Beadle said all a consumer has to do to file a complaint is either write the company concerned or write the Better Business Bureau. 'Through this simple thing, we manage to resolve up to 60 percent of the problems through the Better Business Bureau,' he said.

When people don't complain, it could actually hurt the business, according to Beadle.

'Complaints are how businesses learn what to do and what not to do,' he said. 'It is how the companies see what is working and what is not.'

According to the report, your response should be clear, appropriate, and specific to your complaint. Avoid form letters and technical jargon.