8/9/2019 #280 BBB 03-26-09 36

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ENTERPRISEJOURNALMCCOMB, MS

Clrculldlon = 12147DAILY

02/25/2009

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osing trust II- I[I ' BY J OHN SURRATT fees and costs, which con-) ?) , . ENTERPRISE - JOURNAL sumers hate, hesaid. II / , . Economic pressure and 8A 2007 nationwide poll theloss of employees. Moak Ibv the Belter Business Bu- said, are in uarl the result bf

lanl issue for consumers.And that trust is declin-ing, said Mississippi BBBPresident and Chief Bxecu-live Oflice~BillMoalc said."More people have lesslrust in businesses than theydid in the pasl." hesaid. 'Andcomplainls have increasedover the pas1 five years."According lo the BBD poll,93 percenl of Lhe consumers

of social cap~tal.""We are disconqecledkom each oll~er, nd Lhalre-dllces the willi~lgness LoLrust." he said.Technological advan&slike the cell plione and theInlernel. which are sup-posed lo b r ~ n geople logeth-er , he sa~d,have -reallypuslfed people aparl."We're lo sin^ our sense olcol~tat.lcel aid ; I c~~rrip;~lly'.;o ~ ~ ~ ~ f ~ ~ . l i u i t y' i t l ~ C ; I ~ . I I otll-r.y>ul;ltion I trllsl ;!rid vr . i111d ~ I ~ I I I I I I I I ~ I ) . .loil l(

;I proven service is the moslim-2porlanl issue, he said, addingthat issues lilce a company'sparticipation in the commu-nity had a lower priority"People lrust companieslhal provide dependable andreliable producls and ser-vices." Moak said. "Thev

sad.1Ie said the business re-search compauiy Juniper Re-search projects thnl socialWeb site use will increasefrom 14 n~illionn 2007 Lo600 111i1lion (worldwide) by201 2.Re lurn in~o the lrust is.

vices. the people surveyed8said"Thev want comoanies to lhev Lrustecl word-of-moulll

they rnalcee." malion in ncwspapers andWhen a business loses the 56 percent said they trustedtrust of itscuslomers, he said, iulbrlnatior~ rom televisioii.they stop using the business, Another trusted source oicomplaints about the busi- h~lbrmalionisconsumerWebness increase, ~eovle O to a silesorservices, whereueo~le

1hroughghword-of-mou111.Moaksaid there are sever-al reasons for the decline intrusl, adding that one is theeconomic pressure or1 busi-nesses thalis felt more now'lhan before. Companies, 11esaid, are under pressure tocut cosls and improve theirprofil and loss ralios."And culs made a1 the ex-pense of the employees canmean poor service." he said."If you have Lwo salesmenand cut one, you've cut inhalf your ability lo handleconsumer concerns."Economic pressnre alsocan result in dishonest ac-lions by a company, Moaksaid, adding, "Sometimespeople Iorgel who lhey are."

11 also can resull compa-nies irnpleme~~ti~lgidden

-Moah said the MississippiDUB does not ye1 use the In-ternet for co~~sumcrom-ments because of concernsthat it may alfecl the organi-zalio~~'beutrality.He urged bnsiness ownerslo educale and empower(heir employees so lhey canhelp cuslomers, and for theowners to lallc Lo customers.which he said are a valuablesource oI inIormation O IIhow the co~n pa r~ys doing.

Turning Lo the BBB. Moalisaid the orga~liaalionhasbeen in Mississippi lor 45years and is "supported bybnsiness 10 help tliehusinesscommunity."We are no1 a consumeradvocacy organization andwe are not a stalc agency,"he said.