better business bureau serving upstate new york · 1 serving upstate new york better business...

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serving Upstate New York

Better Business Bureau

2013 ANNUAL REPORT

100 BRYANT WOODS SOUTH

AMHERST, NY 14228

800-828-5000

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Better Business Bureau serving Upstate New York

2013 ANNUAL REPORT

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

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2013 ANNUAL REPORT

Service Area

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2013 ANNUAL REPORT

Board of Directors

John Wynne, Chair, BCO Industries

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

Carol Horton, The Buffalo News

Richard Kaplan, Torvec Inc.

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

Robert Zabel

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2013 ANNUAL REPORT

Snapshot 2013

Total Inquiries:

1,886,305

AB Roster Views: 170,910

Complaints

Opened: 17,340

Closed: 19,236

Ad Reviews: 113

Investigations: 195

Quote Requests:

2,571

Arbitrations: 5

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2013 ANNUAL REPORT

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

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

Snapshot 2013

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2013 ANNUAL REPORT

Two Representatives were in the top 10 among Better Business Bureaus

nationwide, based on number of new Accredited Businesses per month:

New Accredited Businesses: 1,299

Revenue (includes processing fees):

$451,130

Retention Overall: 81%

1st Year Renewal: 55%

Number of Accredited Businesses: 5,925

Sales Report 2013

Top Representatives

DEBBIE BENDER

Months in Top 10: 5

MARY GRIFFIN

Months in Top 10: 4

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2013 ANNUAL REPORT

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.

Public Relations

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2013 ANNUAL REPORT

Stop Shoplifting Education Program 2013

Referrals: 1,295

Attendees: 1,099

Classes: 67

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%.

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 MILITARY LINE

Foundation Activities

BBB STUDENT OF INTEGRITY AWARD

Better Business Bureau serving Upstate New York 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.

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2013 ANNUAL REPORT

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 Better Business Bureau serving Upstate New York 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.

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2013 ANNUAL REPORT

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.

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.

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 2013

18 Hearings

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2013 ANNUAL REPORT

Appendix

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2013 ANNUAL REPORT

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2013 ANNUAL REPORT

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2013 ANNUAL REPORT

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