EP #62 - Trust Matters: Inside the Better Business Bureau with Paula Fleming

Who holds businesses accountable for their promises? Paula Fleming, Chief Marketing and Sales Officer of the Better Business Bureau, sheds light on the BBB’s role in building trust and transparency in today’s marketplace. Contrary to popular belief, the BBB isn’t a government agency but a nonprofit supported by its accredited members. Fleming outlines the rigorous standards businesses must meet for accreditation—rejecting up to 15% of applicants monthly—and explains how the BBB’s customer review verification process helps distinguish it from other platforms.

Beyond the boardroom, Fleming’s own journey—marked by professional setbacks, weekend swim lessons for kids, and her life as a devoted dog mom—adds a personal touch to her mission. She sees the BBB as a proactive partner, offering free tools like business profiles, scam alerts, and educational resources to help consumers make smarter decisions before problems arise. Visit BBB.org or follow them on social media to gain a trusted ally in navigating the modern marketplace—and protect both your wallet and your peace of mind.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place
where local businesses andneighbors come together.
Here's your host, YvonneGodfrey.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast.
Today, I have the distinctpleasure of introducing to our
listeners Paula Fleming.
She is the Chief Marketing andSales Officer for the Better
Business Bureau.
Paula, how are you doing today?
I'm doing great, thank you, andyourself, I am fantastic.
Thank you for asking.
So, paula, can you please tellour listeners what it is that

(00:34):
you do as the chief marketingand sales officer for the Better
Business Bureau?

Speaker 3 (00:38):
Sure Well, my journey to the B2B role has been driven
by my passion for trust andtransparency in various sectors.
So, specifically, my goal is toeducate your listeners, the
public, in regards to going tobetterbusinessbureaubbborg to
educate themselves, whether itbe checking out a business,

(01:01):
learning about our tips or scams, and and educating making an
educated decision on who theywant to do business with
beautiful, beautiful.

Speaker 2 (01:11):
In a nutshell, yes, how did you get into this
business?

Speaker 3 (01:16):
uh well, back over 20 years ago, I decided that I
wanted to go into the non-profitindustry, and people assume
Better Business Bureau is agovernment agency, and in fact
we are not.
We are a nonprofit organizationfunded by the members that we
serve, and so I felt thatnonprofit life would give me a
sense of making a difference,and I truly feel that it has.

(01:39):
Every day, I'm helpingconsumers and businesses, and
that's where my passion lies.

Speaker 2 (01:46):
And so, based on what you shared, that would be
considered a myth ormisconception.
Absolutely, in fact, it is yes.
And are there any other mythsor misconception that you can
share with us about the BetterBusiness Bureau?

Speaker 3 (01:58):
Sure, well, oftentimes, people assume that
if someone pays to join theBetter Business Bureau then we
automatically approve them, andthat is not the case.
We are not a pay-to-play.
We have nearly 100 businesses amonth locally come to us to
apply for accreditation andunfortunately, roughly 10 to 15,

(02:20):
we cannot accredit because theydo not meet our standards.
One is, for example, to be inbusiness for six plus months so
they have an established uhbusiness.
Number two, if one main reason,uh, it would be that they are
not properly licensed and orinsured in the state um, and if

(02:41):
their industry deems necessary.
So just because you pay to, youcannot just automatically get
the BBB accreditation seal.
It is something that is earned.

Speaker 2 (02:55):
Are there any other myths or misconception you can
share?

Speaker 3 (02:58):
I think that people don't understand that we are a
third party, impartial, that wework with both the businesses
and the consumers to come to aagreed upon resolution if they
have a complaint.
But a lot of people are alsounaware we don't that we do
handle customer reviews, whichare different than complaints,

(03:20):
and we do vet those customerreviews, unlike some of the
other locations people go to towrite customer reviews, and what
I mean by that is not anyonecan just write a customer review
.
Sometimes you see reviews thatare clearly from a disgruntled
employee or a competitor.
We in fact make sure that youare a consumer of the business

(03:41):
and that this review, whetherpositive, negative or neutral,
is from someone that is acustomer.

Speaker 2 (03:48):
Thank you for elaborating Absolutely so, paula
.
What do you outside of work?
What do you do for fun?

Speaker 3 (03:57):
I actually teach swim lessons to children ages six
months to five years old on theweekends Adorable, yes.
And I'm also a dog mom.
I have an English bulldog and aFrenchie.
And I am a mother to two youngadults, one that is attending
UMass, Amherst Eisenberg, andthe other who's entering into

(04:18):
University of Alabama.

Speaker 2 (04:20):
Awesome, awesome Congratulations.
That's excellent, thank you.
So, changing gears, can youdescribe one hardship or one of
life's challenge that you roseabove and can now say, because
of it, you're better and you'restronger?
What comes to your mind?

Speaker 3 (04:40):
Well, earlier in my career I faced significant
professional setback a project Ipoured my heart into and it
ultimately didn't succeed, whichled to self-doubt, questioning
my abilities, and it was a toughtime.
So once you put all this effortinto you know a project and it

(05:01):
kind of falls flat.
It can be you can make anyonequestion themselves.
So really taking that andmaking turning it around has
taught me resilience and theimportance of learning from
failure and that I need to adaptand pivot when things don't go
as planned, because you knowthere's that saying is like you
know, god laughs at our plans.

(05:23):
So it's just making sure that Iam open-minded and that I
really take everything as alearning experience and know
that things will work out in theend and it always does.
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (05:39):
Thank God, thank God.
So, paula, can you please tellour listeners one thing they
should remember about yourservice at the Better Business
Bureau?

Speaker 3 (05:50):
Sure.
Well, I hope that yourlisteners take away this one
thing, which is that BBB is avaluable resource for everyone,
not just when things go wrong.
We're here to help you makeinformed decisions before you
make a purchase, so aligningyourself with trustworthy
businesses in your community andlearning about potential scams.
So visit BBBorg first, notafter the fact, when you find

(06:14):
yourself, unfortunately, avictim of a scam or unhappy with
a product or service providedit's usually easier for people
to come after the fact ratherthan before the fact.
Right exactly, and we want wewant your listeners to think of
us as a go-to resource um formarketplace trust beautiful.

Speaker 2 (06:34):
Thank you.
So, paula, how can ourlisteners learn more about the
better business bureau?

Speaker 3 (06:40):
Absolutely so.
I mentioned, but let me say itagain, bbborg is a comprehensive
resource.
It is free, where you cansearch for accredited businesses
.
You can check out businessprofiles on members and
non-members.
We have hundreds of thousandsof businesses in our system.
You can file a complaint,report a scam and access a

(07:01):
wealth of knowledge, consumereducation, business information.
So, bbborg, you can alsoconnect with us on social media
platforms.
We are on YouTube, instagram,tiktok and we offer a lot of
great advice and information andwarnings through our social
media platforms.

Speaker 2 (07:20):
Beautiful, thank you, paula.
And warnings through our socialmedia platforms Beautiful,
thank you, paula.
You're welcome and, paula, wealso really appreciate you being
on the show with us.
It's my pleasure and we wishyou and the Better Business
Bureau all the very best movingforward.
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (07:36):
Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor
Podcast.
To nominate your favorite localbusinesses to be featured on
the show, go to GNPNorthshorecom.
That's GNPNorthshorecom, orcall 857-703-9406.