GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Great Recession is making consumers in Greensboro and the eastern Triad of North Carolina more cautious about purchases and they are doing more research before buying anything, according to the Better Business Bureau of Central N.C.
Inquiries to the BBB in the eastern Triad were up almost 50 percent in 2009 compared to 2008, according to Kevin Hinterberger, president and CEO of the BBB in the Greensboro area.
“The last year has been a difficult ones with serious economic problems in the housing and banking industries as well as on Wall Street. The Recession has people worried and they are doing more homework before spending their hard-earned cash,” Hinterberger said.
There were 144,141 requests for BBB Reliability Reports in 2009 as compared to 96,668 in 2008. A BBB Reliability Report contains information on a business’ status, a letter-grade rating and complaint history. They are free and available online at www.Greensboro.BBB.org or by calling the BBB office in Greensboro.
These inquiry numbers include Guilford, Alamance, Randolph, Rockingham and Caswell counties and the city of Thomasville.
The upside of all these inquiries is that complaints from consumers are down about 4% locally in 2009.
“When people do their homework, they are able to make smarter decisions about what to buy and who to buy from,” Hinterberger said. “And that’s why fewer people are filing complaints.”
The trend on complaints is the opposite of the national numbers. Complaints nationally with the BBB were up 9.7 percent for 2009. The trend also differs from a report by N.C. Attorney General Roy Cooper that complaints to his office had risen 19 percent in 2009.
The top 5 industries in the eastern Triad for complaints were: Furniture retailers, bedding companies, medical labs, car dealerships and sporting goods stores.
The top 5 industries for inquires were: furniture retailers, internet marketing, general contractors, roofers and heating and air conditioning suppliers.
Media contact: Kevin Hinterberger
336-632-4979