2016 Annual Report - Better Business Bureau2016 Annual Report ® Better Business Bureau ® Serving Northwest Florida 912 E. Gadsden St. | Pensacola, FL 32501 | 850.429.0002 | 800.729.9226

2016 Annual Report

®

Better Business Bureau®

Serving Northwest Florida912 E. Gadsden St. | Pensacola, FL 32501 | 850.429.0002 | 800.729.9226 | bbb.org

®

Better Business Bureau serving Northwest Florida is pleased that so many businesses continue to show their belief in the value of the BBB by supporting its services to con-

sumers and businesses. In 2016, BBB services to the public held steady with the past few years, showing that your BBB continues to be relevant.

This past year consumers continued to utilize the resources of-fered by your BBB. While we provide many diverse services, from varied informational and educational programs to complaint han-dling and dispute resolution, all are focused on creating an ethical marketplace where buyers and sellers can trust each other.

Locally, consumers accessed 528,393 business profiles, and we processed 2,458 complaints. With close to 6 million impressions through local media partnerships, thus proving that your BBB’s ever-relevant value to the public continues to be strong.

These numbers speak volumes as to the continued trust consumers place in BBB to help them find businesses who are ethically-focused. This number also affirms the value of being an Accredited Business and reiterates the continued role the BBB logo plays in consumer purchasing decisions.

Over 1,800 BBB Accredited Businesses remain committed to ethical business practices and are demonstrating this commitment every day when they display the BBB logo in their business.

Overall, growth continues, and retention is strong, as we continue to advocate in the marketplace. On behalf of BBB, I thank you for your continued support, and want you to know BBB is committed to serving businesses and consumers in our area.

Sincerely,

Norman Wright President and CEO

Board of DirectorsExecutive Committee

Chairperson Carroll Scarborough Pen Air Federal Credit Union

Vice Chair Eddie Hill Awards Masters Prosperous IM

Secretary David Del Gallo Advanced Construction Services

Treasurer Will Clause Doodlebuggers Service Network

Legal Counsel Kerry Ann Schultz Fountain Schultz & Associates, P.L.

Past Chair Fran Crumpton Gulf Coast Trade Exchange

Directors

Sharon L. Banks The Gulf Coast Shopper

Scott Burton Cox Communications

Steve Fifer State Farm Insurance

Sparkie Folkers Retired

Mary Hoxeng Cat Country 98.7/News Radio 1620

Ted Kirchharr Landrum Companies

Alan Moore Fisher Brown Bottrell, Inc.

Dave Reed Dave Reed Insurance

Scott Schroeder WPNN Radio 970

Tim Stronko Gulf Power

Jeff Vannoy Vannoy’s Tires

Matt Wegner Edward Jones

Robert Wilkos

John Williams John Williams Construction

Greg Yordon Beltone Hearing Center Panama City

Your BBB®|Northwest Florida

You’re in business to make money; BBB is in business to educate consumers on how and where to spend their money wisely.

BBB StaffNorman Wright,

President/CEO

Tammy Ward Communications Director

Mary Gallaher, Operations Manager

Tammy Conner, BBB Senior Specialist

Tammy Galligher, Business Specialist

Renee Smith, Business Relations Specialist

Kim Gordon, Business Relations Representative

Patrick Scanlon, Business Relations Specialist

Vicki Taylor, Business Relations Specialist

Bill Horne, Business Relations Representative

®

Top 10 Complained About Industries

1. Travel Agencies & Bureaus2. Vacation Rentals3. Auto Dealers - New Cars4. Television - Cable, CATV, Satellite 5. Real estate6. Auto Dealers - Used Cars7. Auto Repair & Service8. Property Management9. Roofing Contractors10. Hotels

Top 10 Inquired About Industries

1. Roofing Contractors2. Vacation Rentals3. Heating & Air Conditioning4. Contractors - General5. Travel Agencies & Bureaus 6. Home Builders 7. Auto Dealers - Used Cars8. Plumbers9. Auto Repair & Service10. Property Management/Real Estate

BBB|NW Florida 2016 At a Glance

BBB is funded by business owners who value the importance of ethics in business!

Accredited Charities ¾ Catholic Charities of

Northwest Florida, Inc. ¾ Council on Aging of West

Florida, Inc. ¾ Feeding the Gulf Coast ¾ Gulf Coast Kid’s House, Inc. ¾ Panama City Rescue Mission ¾ Pathways for Change ¾ Ronald McDonald House

Charities of Northwest Florida ¾ United Ministries ¾ United Way of Escambia

County ¾ West Gadsden Historical

Society, Inc.

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

160,000

Series2

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

Series2

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

700,000

Series2

Instances of Service

BBB Accredited Business Industry Rosters

Complaints

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

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Your BBB, Working For YouVisibilityYour BBB introduced or improved the following benefits for BBB Accredited Businesses:

BBB Profiles: In the fourth quarter of 2016 your Business Review received a make-over and title change. Your new Business Profile design is cleaner and easier to read and navigate. Visitors to your site will easily see that you are an Accredited Business and prominent tabs direct them to review general business information and read customer reviews.

BBB ScamTracker: Advancing marketplace trust is what BBB is all about and shedding light on schemes and fraud is another way BBB helps promote a more ethical marketplace. BBB Scam Tracker is an interactive tool for consumers throughout the U.S. and Canada to report scams and fraud, and for BBB to collect and track that information in a meaningful way. The BBB Scam Tracker website enables consumers to report a suspected scam and view scam details reported by others. Scam reports can be sorted to reveal trends over time and by location. As of December 31, 2016 over 45,000 scams had been reported.

Co-branded marketing: Your BBB|Northwest Florida continues our partnership with the Panama City News Herald and Northwest Florida Daily News to print a monthly ad. BBB’s portion of the ad includes tips to educate consumers in the marketplace. BBB Accredited Businesses have the opportunity to advertise in a portion of the ½ to full page ad at reduced rates. Additionally, twice a year, your BBB advertises on local television stations and offers BBB Accredited Businesses the exclusive opportunity to be included in the ad. Radio ads round out our marketing efforts. For additional information on co-branded marketing opportunities, please e-mail [email protected].

CommunicationLighthouse: Your BBB|Northwest Florida distributed 8,900 copies of the quarterly newsletter. With information created specifically for BBB Accredited Businesses and Charities, the Lighthouse includes valuable information about BBB programs and services, business tips and important scam alerts.

Tuesday Tips: Weekly to-the-point tips offer current BBB news releases, scam alerts, information on upcoming events and more. Tuesday Tips will help you in your two roles in the marketplace: as a business leader and as a consumer.

Social media: Stay on top of local BBB news and alerts through Facebook and Twitter and national news through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.

Mission: To be the leader in advancing marketplace trust

In 2016, your BBB|Northwest Florida:

¾ Had a 77% resolution rate on the 2,458 complaints processed in an attempt to resolve disputes between consumers and businesses.

¾ Responded to 631,678 inquiries, including requests for BBB Business Profiles on specific businesses, requests for rosters of BBB Accredited Businesses by industry, processing Request a Quotes for consumers looking for information from BBB Accredited Businesses and more.

¾ Provided 98,702 customers a list of trustworthy local BBB Accredited Businesses by industry.

¾ Welcomed 227 businesses that made a new commitment to BBB’s 13 Standards for Trust and earned BBB Accreditation.

¾ Offered 565 people the opportunity to hear one of 28 educational presentations tailored for them through the BBB Foundation last year.

¾ Opened 70 advertising review cases where local advertising did not adhere to BBB’s Code of Advertising, creating a level playing field.

¾ Directed 9,997 potential consumers from our website to Accredited Businesses websites.

¾ BBB Accredited Business dynamic seals were clicked on 4,177 times directing consumers from an Accredited Business’ website to the business’ BBB Business Profile.

®

BBB Foundation | NWFL HighlightsYour BBB Foundation|Northwest Florida was created to support your BBB’s vision of an ethical marketplace through community education and recognition programs.

Last year, your BBB Foundation was the featured speaker at 28 presentations across northwest Florida, reaching 565 people. Topics included Scams Against Seniors, Protecting Yourself Against Identity Theft and BBB Military Line’s Smart Consumer.

Your BBB Foundation also reached out to individuals by participating in 8 different tradeshows and expos held across northwest Florida. Speaking one-on-one with 799 people, BBB employees educated both consumers and business representatives on ethical marketplace practices.

By partnering with BBB Accredited Business Gilmore Services, BBB|Foundation along with media partners WEAR-TV and CatCountry 98.7 FM Radio, your BBB was able to help a total of 2995 people across northwest Florida responsibly destroy 116,000 pounds of sensitive documents, keeping them out of the hands of identity thieves. We also partnered with Pen Air Federal Credit Union for a smaller shred event that helped 157 people destroy 7,500 pounds of sensitive documents.

In 2016 the Foundation held the 11th annual Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics program. which included the Customer Service Excellence Award and Student Ethics Scholarship. Your BBB Foundation recognized 8 businesses with the Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics and 2 with honorable mentions; 3 individuals with the Customer Service Excellence Award; and 9 students who each received a $1,000 scholarship to a college or university of their choice.

Chair Gary Barnes

Vice Chair Scott Burton Cox Communications

Treasurer Jim Cox JLSC Properties, LLC

Secretary Ronnie Gilmore Gilmore Services

Counsel Kerry Ann Schultz Fountain Schultz & Associates, P.L.

Trustees Will Clause Doodlebuggers Service Network

Ted Kircharr Landrum Companies

Eddie Hill Awards Masters Prosperous IM

BBB Foundation’s mission: To support BBB’s vision of an ethical marketplace through community education and recognition programs.

®

Vision: An ethical marketplace, where buyers and sellers can trust each other

BBB Foundation| NWFL

Highlights ContinuedBBB Military Line®

BBB’s efforts to increase visibility in the marketplace continued last year with our working relationships on several military bases in our service area.

Our BBB Military Line program continues to partner with local military installation financial readiness offices to help increase the level of financial literacy among service members and their families. As scammers and fraudsters across the globe have become more sophisticated in their deceitful attempts to target our military; BBB Military Line works hard to promote good and reliable consumer practices. We educated 337 military personnel at 18 presentations on military installations throughout northwest Florida.

Your BBB is also represented in the Florida Military Financial Alliance group (through Army One Source). Meeting monthly via web conference, the members discuss issues, trends and upcoming events where possible partnerships can occur.

Your BBB, Working For You

Exposure56 news releases, scam alerts and articles distributed

to over 50 local TV, radio, online and print media

outlets.

BBB was mentioned in local TV, radio, online and print

media news stories at least 1,200 times with over 5 million exposures.

BBB Accredited Businesses who included the

Accredited Business seal in their own advertisements

promoted their own elite standing while increasing

exposure for BBB as well.

BBB Jobs Link: BBB Accredited Businesses can post job openings for free under our Jobs Link, letting job hunters know that a trustworthy business is hiring. Contact Tammy Ward at [email protected] with your applicant/job details and information.

BBB iPhone app: The BBB iPhone App allows consumers to review businesses on the go. Consumers can view the BBB Business Review for the over 19,000 business listings in northwest Florida, complete with BBB rating, contact info, photos and videos for Accredited Businesses, BBB Accreditation status, consumer complaint history, and more.

Dynamic Seal: Your BBB Accredited Business seal is available online to place on your website and Facebook page with a call to action and a direct link to your business profile on your BBB website.

Business Profiles: As a BBB Accredited Business, you have the ability to upload photos, a video, your hours of operation, and more. Business Profiles make it that much easier for consumers to get information about your business.

Social mediaFacebook: Find us locally at

www.facebook.com/nwfl.bbb. Find national news by searching for “Better

Business Bureau US”

Twitter: Get our local tweets at

www.twitter.com/nwflbbb. Find national tweets at www.twitter.com/bbb_us

LinkedIn: Connect with BBB employees and BBB Accredited Businesses across the country

at www.linkedin.com and search for “BBB - U.S.”

YouTube: Get information on current marketplace issues at www.youtube.com/

®

BBB Standards for TrustA BBB Accredited Business agrees to:

Build Trust: Establish and maintain a positive track record in the marketplace

Advertise Honestly:Adhere to established standards of advertising and selling

Tell the Truth:Honestly represent products and services, including clear and adequate disclosures of all material terms

Be Transparent:Openly identify the nature, location and ownership of the business, and clearly disclose all policies, guarantees and procedures that bear on a customer’s decision to buy

Honor Promises:Abide by all written and verbal agreements

Be Responsive:Address marketplace disputes quickly, professionally and in good faith

Safeguard Privacy:Protect any data collected against mishandling and fraud, collect personal information only as needed and respect the preferences of consumers regarding the use of their information

Embody Integrity:Approach all business dealings, marketplace transactions and commitments with integrity

Please start with bbb.org for more details on BBB’s Standards for Trust

Your BBBBBB Standards for Charity AccountabilityA BBB Accredited Charity:1. Has a board of directors that provides oversight of operations

and staff.

2. Has a board of directors with a minimum of five voting members.

3. Has a minimum of three evenly spaced meetings per year of the full governing body with a majority in attendance, with face-to-face participation.

4. Has not more than one or 10 percent (whichever is greater) compensated person(s) serving as voting board member(s). Chair or treasurer cannot be compensated.

5. Has no transaction in which any board member or staff members have a material conflicting interest, resulting from any relationship or affiliation.

6. Has a board policy of assessing, no less than every two years, the organization’s performance and effectiveness and future actions required to achieve its mission.

7. Submits to the board, for approval, a written report giving the results of standard six.

8. Spends at least 65 percent of its total expenses on programs.

9. Spends no more than 35 percent of related contributions on fund-raising.

10. Avoids accumulating funds that could be used on programs.

11. Makes available financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

12. Includes in the financial statements what portion was allocated to program, fund raising and administrative activities.

13. Accurately reports the charity’s expenses in its financial statements.

14. Has a board-approved annual budget.

15. Has solicitations and informational materials, distributed by any means, that are accurate, truthful and not misleading.

16. Has an annual report that includes mission, program, officers and finances.

17. Includes annual report on charity Web site(s), as well as the mailing address and access to its most recent IRS Form 990.

18. Addresses privacy concerns of donors.

19. Clearly discloses how the charity benefits from the sale of products or services.

20. Responds promptly to and act on complaints brought to its attention by BBB.

The Standards for Charity Accountability included have been abbreviated for space purposes. For a complete listing of Standards, start with bbb.org/charity.

Start With Trust®

®

BBB|Northwest Florida912 East Gadsden Street

Pensacola, FL 32501850.429.0002 | [email protected] | bbb.org

Start With Trust®