I hope that you have enjoyed the article \u201cDoing Better Business With Small Suppliers.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Here, where I have a little more space, I\u2019d like to further encourage you to utilize the free services offered by the Better Business Bureau. Specifically, if you have a problem with a supplier that negotiation alone cannot resolve, file a complaint with the BBB.<\/p>\n
You see, as I explained in the accompanying podcast, when consumers have a bad experience with a business, they have many outlets for sharing that information with other consumers. Whether it be ranting to their friends about a bad experience, writing a review on a Web site like Planet Feedback, or blogging, there are few barriers to a consumer sharing his or her views and other consumers benefitting from hearing about those experiences.<\/p>\n
Of course, in the B2B world, it\u2019s a little different.<\/p>\n
Purchasing professionals generally don\u2019t talk about their bad suppliers with buyers in other companies the same way that consumers do. Purchasing professionals don\u2019t blog about their bad supplier experiences for fear of embarrassing their companies.<\/p>\n
So there isn\u2019t a perfect way of learning about real-world supplier performance issues.<\/p>\n
However, the BBB offers a way to engage in a type of online, social information sharing. You can look up a prospective supplier on the BBB\u2019s site, see whether they have a history of complaints and whether they respond to those complaints. Just one unresolved complaint gets that supplier an unsatisfactory rating with the BBB.<\/p>\n
But you won\u2019t have that information available unless purchasing professionals participate. You benefit when others share their experiences, so you need to \u201cpay it forward\u201d and share yours through filing a complaint when necessary.<\/p>\n
As an example, if you go here, you can see that this supplier had a number of complaints filed against it and responded to none of them. Would you do business with that supplier?<\/p>\n
So anytime you have to do business with a new supplier, I recommend taking 5 to 10 seconds to check out their rating on the BBB\u2019s site. It can introduce a red flag that saves you from a painful experience.<\/p>\n
As I mentioned in the article, I am shocked when purchasing professionals place orders \u2013 regardless of the value \u2013 with new suppliers without taking just a few seconds to search for historical information about that supplier\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n
Remember this: small orders can cause big problems.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t pretend that you\u2019re too busy to take the steps necessary to avoid the problems that are lurking. Believe me \u2013 if those problems occur, you\u2019ll be spending much more time solving them.<\/p>\n
Oh, and filing a complaint isn\u2019t just for making information available.<\/p>\n
It essentially gives you more leverage in resolving that complaint \u2013 not many suppliers want to have a publicly known unsatisfactory rating, so there is extra incentive for the supplier to work towards a resolution. The BBB will be a third party on your side to help show that you are serious about resolving your dispute.<\/p>\n
And who couldn\u2019t use a little more leverage now and then?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I hope that you have enjoyed the article \u201cDoing Better […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":4124,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-procurement"],"yoast_head":"\n