[kstrauser]

That’s exactly right. BBB is Yelp for boomers, and that’s it. I’ve heard plenty of older family and acquaintances wave it around like a weapon: “if they don’t honor my (ridiculous) request, I’ll sic the BBB on them!” And then… what? I’m sure someone, somewhere checks BBB before doing business with a company, but I’ve never personally seen someone do it, and without that feedback loop, the BBB is just another private review site with zero teeth.

[TeMPOraL]

People don't look businesses up on Facebook or X much here either, and yet many times I've witnessed my SO break through being stonewalled by some business with just a simple line, delivered in calm voice: "okay, I'll take it to Facebook, we'll see if you like a drama there" (or "X" more recently). Just like that, 90% success rate, and no actual public drama on social media.

Don't know how that works. It's Poland, approximately nobody here even used Twitter, nor do they use X - and yet, businesses big and small seem super sensitive to that.

[forgotoldacc]

I think a lot of older people really thought the BBB was an arm of the government and had power to enforce things.

[kstrauser]

I think they were clever with the name “Bureau”. It has a connotation of officialness, like “Agency” or “Administration”.

[firesteelrain]

You can still hear on the local news here: “Or you can file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.”

[drdeadringer]

Speaking for myself, I know that I have never looked up a business for BBB accreditation. (I am 43 and a half).

Yelp reviews, TripAdvisor, Google reviews, yes.

And as honestly never crossed my mind to check with BBB about anything.

But I haven't done any major purchasing like with property, land, or similar.

[kstrauser]

I’m a bit older than you, but same. I’ve bought property and land, and it never occurred to me to check BBB for anything, ever. I know it’s a thing that exists, and that’s about the extent of it.

[potato3732842]

>. BBB is Yelp for boomers,

Complete with undeserved reputability and "pay to remove" system to extract $ on the business facing side.

[bigmattystyles]

And in the same vein, yelp is bbb for millennials.

[kstrauser]

No argument from me on that one. The main difference is that I’ve actually steered away from businesses with bad Yelp reviews.