Better Business Bureau serving Upstate New York 100 BRYANT WOODS SOUTH AMHERST, NY 14228 800-828-5000 1
Message from the President This annual report is a review of Better Business Bureau (BBB) programs and services for the year ending December 31, 2013. BBB serves 48 counties of Upstate New York from our headquarters at 100 Bryant Woods South, Amherst, NY 14228. We continue to invest in expanding services throughout our geographic region where programs are available. 2013 highlights for BBB serving Upstate New York: BBB teamed up with several law enforcement agencies to offer a workshop called Active Shooter: Educated yourself to Protect yourself, where businesses learned about reacting should the unthinkable happen at their business location. BBB presented several successful Secure Your ID day events in Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo. Through our Military Line program, we co-hosted an employment fair event for Veterans and their spouses in the Buffalo area. In November, we launched local Charity Review across Upstate New York. Sales and retention remained strong. Media outreach continued to grow across Upstate New York. In 2014, we continue to invest in improving services to our Accredited Businesses, consumers and the community. Our financial outlook remains strong as we continue to add to our reserves. This year, instead of fiscal year reporting, we ve moved to calendar year reporting. We will continue to uphold BBBs mission of advancing marketplace trust by fostering honest and responsible relationships between businesses and consumers. Thank you for your support of this vision. Sincerely, Warren E. Clark President BBB serving Upstate New York 2
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Board of Directors John Wynne, Chair, BCO Industries Richard Kaplan, Torvec Inc. Sharon Prise Azurin, Counsel PhillipsLytle LLP Steven Abramson, Pace Window & Door Corp Phil Arno, WBBZ-TV Jason Botticelli, Colucci & Gallagher, P.C. David Carr Joe Carubba, Carubba Collision Warren Clark, Better Business Bureau Inc. James Dunn, Lumsden & McCormick, LLC Marilynn Fleckenstein, Niagara University Cindy Algase Gradl, Damon Morey LLP Michael Gross, Heritage Centers C. Douglas Hartmayer, NFTA Mary Ann Lauricella, Lauricella Public Relations,Co. Patricia McGrath Brian Peek, American Coradius International LLC Joseph Petrozzi Joseph Pinkans, AT&T Christopher Randall, M&T Bank Norbert Rappl Paul Stasiak, Niagara Frontier Auto Dealers Assoc. Philip Toohey Richard Wall, Canisius College Eugene Welch, Harris, Chesworth, O Brien, Johnstone, Welch and Leone Carol Horton, The Buffalo News Robert Zabel 4
Snapshot 2013 Complaints Opened: 17,340 Total Inquiries: 1,886,305 Closed: 19,236 AB Roster Views: 170,910 Ad Reviews: 113 Investigations: 195 Quote Requests: 2,571 Arbitrations: 5 5
Snapshot 2013 COMPLAINTS FILED 2013 Industry 2013 2012 Change Collection Agencies 3,310 3,579-269 Telephone Companies 976 1,337-361 Auto Dealers-New Cars 492 554-62 TV-Cable, Satellite, CATV 451 339 +112 Auto Dealers-Used Cars 432 385 +47 Brake Service 393 374 +19 Dental Offices 386 430-44 Publishers-Directory & Guide 343 1,145-802 Furniture-Retail 299 374-75 Auto Repair and Service 298 N/A Loans N/A 342 INQUIRIES MADE 2013 Industry 2013 2012 Change Collection Agencies 206,274 147,050 +59,224 Contractors-General 86,680 70,224 +16,456 Contractors-Roofers 51,537 43,218 + 8,319 Multi-Level Selling Companies 42,308 25,748 +16,560 Auto Repair & Service 40,565 34,418 +6,417 Cutlery 39,831 28,765 +11,066 Auto Dealers-Used Cars 39,605 28,004 +11,601 Home Improvements 31,651 26,699 +4,952 Auto Dealers-New Cars 31,604 23,821 +7,783 Paving Contractors 27,716 23,713 +4,003 6
Sales Report 2013 New Accredited Businesses: 1,299 Revenue (includes processing fees): $451,130 Retention Overall: 81% 1st Year Renewal: 55% Number of Accredited Businesses: 5,925 Two Representatives were in the top 10 among Better Business Bureaus nationwide, based on number of new Accredited Businesses per month: Top Representatives DEBBIE BENDER Months in Top 10: 5 MARY GRIFFIN Months in Top 10: 4 7
Public Relations BBB serving Upstate New York places significant emphasis on public relations and communication. Our PR and marketing department develops information to engage and educate our many audiences. Whether it s reaching our businesses about trends and benefits of their accreditation, educating consumers or working with our nearly 1,200 media professionals throughout our 9 media markets, information is flowing online, in print and on-site. Here you'll find some 2013 highlights: Community Successful completion of business education event, Active Shooter, April 2013 Held Student of Integrity awards program offering $23,000 among 8 student winners with support from AT&T Organized and implemented community identity theft prevention events, Secure Your ID Day in 3 markets Annual Torch Awards program conducted with an independent judging committee to select 4 winners. Social Media At the start of 2013, BBB serving Upstate New York's Facebook page was just 3 months old. In the first full year of social media, fans of BBBs Facebook page received updates on scams, consumer information and information on events. From January 1 to December 31, 2013, our fan base grew over 400%, reaching 465 likes. Media BBBs PR staff worked with media contact on hundreds of interviews stemming in large part from news releases produced, 56 in 2013, in addition to other topics resulting in news coverage where BBB acted as a spokesperson on consumer matters within our service area. Earned media exceeded 2,400 mentions. 8
Foundation Activities Stop Shoplifting Education Program is an initiative of the Better Business Bureau Foundation of Upstate New York, Inc. as well as a partnership between the District Attorney s office and the courts. A diversionary program referred by the court, alleged petit larceny offenders are given the opportunity to attend the Stop Shoplifting Education Program instead of being prosecuted and having a permanent criminal conviction. Since 2010, the number of Stop Shoplifting Education Program referrals have increased over 62% and similarly, the number of attendees increased over 68%. Stop Shoplifting Education Program 2013 Referrals: 1,295 Attendees: 1,099 Classes: 67 BBB MILITARY LINE BBB offers expedited services and consumer education to military personnel and their families assisting them with disputes and scams during times of need, while they may be on the move or out of the country. BBB works to identify scam activity and alerts all divisions to prevent falling victim. BBB complaint data is shared with the Pentagon to further investigations. In 2013, BBB Military Line co-hosted an employment event for Veterans and their spouses in Buffalo. Since 2004, BBB Military Line has provided free resources to our military communities in the areas of financial literacy and consumer protection through the efforts of local BBBs, like ours. BBB STUDENT OF INTEGRITY AWARD recognized the recipients of the 2013 Edward A. Schmidt Student of Integrity Awards. Eight college-bound students were selected statewide to receive $23,000 in scholarship funds from a call for entries. Over 700 high schools are invited annually to nominate up to two high school seniors. Independent judges reviewed the applications to select the winners. AT&T was also a generous sponsor of the program. 9
Honored for a commitment to business ethics and consumer excellence, Better Business Bureau serving Upstate New York distinguishes four companies with Torch Awards. BBBs Torch Award is achieved after completing an arduous application, followed by an independent judging process that identify businesses that best demonstrate marketplace excellence. 2013 Recipients: PrePlan of Albany, NY Small Business Category Adirondack Basement Systems, Inc. of Halfmoon, NY Medium Business Category Comfort Windows of Syracuse, NY Large Business Category West Herr Automotive Group of Buffalo, NY Corporate Business Category Warren Clark, President of presented the BBB Torch Award for Marketplace Excellence to Comfort Windows General Sales Manager Jerry Moore, Kevin Koval of Adirondack Basement Systems and to Colleen Connelly of PrePlan. 10
Foundation Activities Better Business Bureau Foundation of Upstate New York, Inc. launched its Charity Review program in December of 2013. The goal of Charity Review is to raise the standard of conduct in philanthropy across all of Upstate New York. BBB Charity Reviews give charities a way to illustrate their commitment to trust and transparency. For donors, Charity Reviews provide an at-a-glance way to access the information they need to know before they give. Charity Review 2013 2 BBB accredited charities 18 Charities registered in the online charity review system 3 Charities in the process of being reviewed 137 National charities with a local office with WGA Charity Review AutoLine is the nation s oldest and most respected auto warranty dispute resolution program. It is an out-of-court program administered by BBB. A neutral third party, the arbitrator, decides how the dispute will be resolved in an informal hearing setting. AutoLine 2013 18 Hearings 11
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