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What is TrustLink?
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TrustLink is a BBB program that assists businesses and consumers in building trusted relationships in an online community. TrustLink links up the widely known and trusted BBB Reliability Report with thousands of business storefronts and valuable feedback from consumers to create a truly unique view into a business. Thus, viewers get three distinct perspectives and it’s free.
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Where do you find consumer reviews in the BBB reports?
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- Consumer reviews are easily linked from a business' Reliability Report found on a Better Business Bureau website.
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Why include customer reviews?
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- We often hear from businesses that want to give their customers an opportunity to post comments. Also, consumers want to help spread the word to others about their experiences. We believe both businesses and consumers benefit by collaboration and customer feedback generated through social networking. Of course, all customer reviews are monitored for authenticity and to prevent the use of inappropriate language.
- According to The Better Business Bureau/Gallup Consumer Trust in Business Index, 93% of consumer respondents rated a company’s reputation for honesty and fairness as most important. Also, consumer research shows that a majority of online shoppers use consumer product reviews and those who find them useful are more loyal to stores who make this available.
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Do customer reviews figure into BBB ratings?
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- No. A customer review is about an individual’s personal experience with a company whereas a BBB rating is based on a complex formula that uses a wide variety of factors in its calculation. We believe the BBB rating along with consumer reviews gives a more balanced evaluation of a business.
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How do consumers file a complaint?
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- TrustLink will link complainants over to an affiliate Better Business Bureau site which will process your dispute and mediate resolution.
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Can I file a complaint to the BBB and write a review on TrustLink about company?
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- No, our policies don’t allow this because we want to avoid double counting of the same experience in the total accumulated record of a business. Complaints are factored into the company rating that the BBB computes from our scoring algorithm and they carry significant weight in our ratings formula. Thus, any complaints you submit through the BBB contribute important data to our BBB Reliability Reports. Consumer reviews are not figured into a company’s BBB rating, but they provide a means to highlight good experiences and thus are an important addition to the total perspective of a company.
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Will my email address be provided to businesses
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- Your email address will not be directly provided to any business. TrustLink has a private messaging portal where businesses are able to respond to TrustLink Community participants who submit reviews on any company or who request quotes from our Accredited Businesses.
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Can a company that is not a BBB accredited business participate in TrustLink, and if so, how?
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- Any company can post a profile on TrustLink, but certain features such as T-Quote referrals and certain promotional tools are only available to our BBB accredited businesses. We highly recommend that you register your company and create a TrustLink storefront to begin enjoying some of the valuable benefits TrustLink can offer all businesses.
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How many BBBs are using TrustLink?
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- Currently, TrustLink is a special program of the BBB of the Southland (So Cal), BBB of Santa Barbara, BBB of New Mexico and Southern Colorado, BBB of Asheville N.C., BBB of West Palm Beach, FL and BBB of the Silicon Valley (San Jose, CA). Any company anywhere can register and build a profile on TrustLink, but we won’t be able to link to the BBB records of Accredited Businesses from non-participating areas.
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Why should my company participate in TrustLink?
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- As a TrustLink participant, you will receive unequaled tools for promoting your company and managing your online business reputation. You can tell your customers, and potential customers about your business like never before. With "T-Quotes" (TrustLink’s customer referral program), we will even send customers who are interested in your products or services direct to your company.
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How does being on TrustLink increase my website's traffic?
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- Being on TrustLink can improve your internet traffic a few different ways: it raises your ranking with major search engines, such as MSN Live, Yahoo, and Google. The more information, content and links your business has out on the internet, the higher your business moves in the search engine results. Being on TrustLink gives your business more web content and more links, making your business easier for potential customers to find.
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What are some benefits of being on TrustLink?
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- 77% (Jupiter Research, August 2006) of consumers use online reviews and ratings to make purchasing decisions. Also, the vast majority of consumers prefer to do business with Better Business Bureau members.
- Upload Company Photos – Show pictures of your staff, your storefront, etc. to your potential customers.
- Enhanced Business Description – Include hours of operation in your profile, descriptions of your products and services, link to your website.
- Widgets – using our widget on your website your can highlight your TrustLink "star" rating and link to your customer reviews.
- "T-Quote" Service – TrustLink's online referral service. We will automatically notify you when consumers contact us seeking your product or service.
- Coupons – Include electronic and if need be, printable coupons to help you gain new customers.
- Comment Cards –distribute these to your customers to encourage them to post compliments on your business.
- Elevated Search Results – Activity on your TrustLink report will increase the likelihood of your customers finding you through the large Internet search engines like Google.
- Highlight Preferred Reviews – Draw your potential customer's attention to the opinions of your happy customers.
- Showcase your business in the TrustLink Community – Use our TrustLink Community page as your web presence and leverage your marketing dollars. You'll have your own storefront in the TrustLink Community, where you can display photos of your business or products, tell potential customers about your expertise, detail your hours of operation, make special offers, and more.
- Newsletter – The Business Link, our regular publication for members and your customers, keeps you informed of vital and current business and consumer news.
- Members Only Instant Email Connection – Use our "Members Only" email connection to get quick, personal service.
- Rigorous Business Standards – BBB members adhere to our tough standards and consumers prefer to do business with companies that have made this commitment.
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Why include customer reviews?
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- Most businesses want to give their customers an opportunity to post complimentary reviews. Also, consumers want to help spread the word to others about their experiences. We believe both businesses and consumers benefit by collaboration and customer feedback generated through social networking. Of course, all customer reviews are monitored for authenticity and to prevent the use of inappropriate language.
- According to The Better Business Bureau/Gallup Consumer Trust in Business Index, 93% of consumer respondents rated a company's reputation for honesty and fairness as most important. The majority of online shoppers use consumer product reviews and those who find them useful are more loyal to stores who make this available.
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Do customer reviews figure into BBB ratings?
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- No. A customer review is about an individual's personal experience with a company whereas the BBB rating is based on a complex formula that uses a wide variety of factors in its calculation. We believe the BBB rating along with TrustLink's consumer reviews gives a more balanced evaluation of a business.
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Am I notified when a consumer writes a review about my business?
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- Yes. We will do our very best to inform business owners when a customer has written a review about their business. Our automatic alert messages operate by email. Naturally our ability to contact the business depends on the quality of the contact information we have for the business and naturally that information is more complete for members' businesses.
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Can I respond to a negative review about my business?
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- Yes. TrustLink believes that our forum for public comment should work both ways, for both consumers and businesses.
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Can anyone write a review?
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- Anybody who has had a valid shopping or customer experience with a business can write a review after they complete the registration process. Reviews are authenticated through our quality review processes internally.
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What is the TrustLink widget?
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- The TrustLink "widget" enables you to plug-in or embed an icon into your own website. It is a symbol that allows your visitors to see your TrustLink accumulated star rating and number of your customer reviews and if they click through it they can read the reviews themselves. It's automatically updated. You will need to be registered in our system so our widget can compile your business data.
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What does the widget look like?
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Can any business use the widget?
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- Yes, the widget above is available to all businesses registered at TrustLink.
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Does the widget reflect a company’s status as a BBB accredited business?
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- No, it doesn’t. It shows the number of reviews and the accumulated star rating.
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How does a business access and install the widget?
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- First of all, the business needs to register at TrustLink. We have to have a record on the business before the business can access the widget. The directions to use the widget are on the business profile page - click the link "Show off your TrustLink page! Get the widget".
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Can charities participate in TrustLink?
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- Yes, they can, just like any other business.
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Are customer reviews monitored?
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- Yes. Reviews are monitored by experienced staff to ensure that they comply with our policies. We evaluate postings for authenticity and will remove reviews we believe have been deliberately planted. We also remove reviews containing abusive or inappropriate language. Of course, reviews that seek resolution of a problem should be directed through our BBB complaint channels. Personal reviews reflect one person's experience with a business but they lack industry context or other historical data. The BBB rating incorporates our many years of experience monitoring businesses and their complaints. It is based on a sophisticated scoring method that takes into account multiple factors and the accumulated experience of thousands of consumers over time. We believe that the BBB rating along with the Customer Reviews provides a more balanced evaluation of a business.
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Unlike other "e-quote" systems, which are just email blasts to members in a particular category, T-Quote enables consumer or business users to keep track and manage their estimate or quote requests and responses and display this information in a dashboard type grid on TrustLink.
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How do I use T-Quote?
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Three easy steps:
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- 1. Search for a Category (Type of Business) and enter your selection or try a keyword search.
- 2. Supply information about yourself and the details of the product or service you want. Be sure to enter something in the "Subject" field – this is important since it alerts our member businesses to your needs.
- Submit your request.
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What timeframe for turnaround should I expect?
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We would expect that you would hear back within 24-48 hours. Log in and check up on the quotes you receive from your profile page, which has a "Manage T-Quotes" link. If you don’t hear back within a couple days, consider extending the response timeframe of your request.
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How long should I wait for a response to my request for a quote?
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Hopefully you will receive a response from member companies within 24-48 hours. The T-Quote request will stay open for a default timeframe of 2-weeks. You may choose to close the request out earlier if you have received enough T-Quotes or you may extend it longer – up to 60 days. You will get a separate email from each TrustLink member who chooses to respond to your request.
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I don't have enough information from the customer to develop a realistic quote – how do I get more detail about the job/product they want?
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This will often be the case – be sure to include in your first response email a valid contact name, number and email address and encourage or request the consumer to be in touch directly. Your T-Quote management tools also enable you to ask the consumer more questions – see the "Ask a Question" link below the consumer's photo icon:
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How much time do I have to respond?
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The default timeframe for submitting responses is two weeks unless the TrustLink member decides to shorten or lengthen the response period. If you can't respond to an email the same day, consider replying with a promise to get back to them as soon as possible and include your contact details so the customer can be in touch directly. Also, let them know a timeframe for expecting to hear back from you. Consumers will receive a separate email from each TrustLink business member that responds to a T-Quote request.
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Can I view a list of people wanting bids or quotes?
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Yes, TrustLink business members are able to view all the requests for estimates submitted by consumers through TrustLink from the business member dashboard, accessible from your profile page. This is not available to non-members.
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Is T-Quote binding?
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No, all communications through the T-Quote system and TrustLink are requests and proposals and not binding agreements. We anticipate that the parties will enter into a formal agreement at the conclusion of the T-Quote process.
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Can someone just ask me for a quote without using T-Quote?
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Yes, a TrustLink Community member – or any consumer for that matter – who finds your business profile can contact you directly assuming you have your contact information listed in your business profile.
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Why am I getting quotes from people outside of my area?
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The request went to all Bureaus using TrustLink. We currently have no way of knowing what areas a particular company wants to serve and we don’t want to unilaterally eliminate any members from potential job requests. We assume that only those businesses who are interested in supplying the requested work or product will respond to the requests. At this time we do not have the ability for consumers to localize quote responses but expect that to come online soon.
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Can I opt out of this program?
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Yes, you can choose not to receive any requests for quotes.
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