do people call the BBB to find a contractor?

[huggytree]

$395 + a 1 time $75 joining fee ....for that price i can use their logo on my advertising.

a couple of jobs per year and ill stick with them..i join next week.

[Steve B]

Double check to make sure that includes use on your website. It's been several years since I looked into it, but use of their electronic logo was extra back then.

[huggytree]

Steve B

i specifically asked the question: 'does that price allow me to use BBB on my cards and website'...she even asked me who my website manager was and that she would need their contact info.

ill end up paying $200 just to have my web designer add a link to the BBB from my website

[vangogh]

If you're paying $200 to have your web designer add a link then you're web designer is overcharging you. It shouldn't take any more than 5 minutes to add a link to a site.

[huggytree]

i went with the web designer who does all the builders websites...they do a decent job...service is poor...they charged $300 for 3 different layout options....then charged me $225 just to modify the one i chose...

that $200 is just an educated guess...

they set up my e-mail account in a place where i cant attatch my bids because the file size is too large...my free yahoo account handles the size just fine...i complained and it took them 3 phone calls to understand...then they said i needed to get a different browser....then they said i needed to find the browser myself...i couldnt...so i just use my wifes yahoo e-mail account to send builders my bid....when your a busy person you settle for poor service at top dollar...July is going to be slow...i plan on complaining to them at the same time i discuss adding BBB to my website...

can anyone take over my website and modify it? or do they own it?

[vangogh]

It wouldn't surprise me if they own it, however I just looked up your site on whois and you are listed as the owner and the administrative contact, which means you control the domain. Even if your designer won't give you access another designer could easily replicate your site on another server and then the domain could be pointed at the new site on the new server.

All less than a couple hours work actually.

That initial price to choose a layout and then modify it seems fair. Hopefully it's not really $200 to add the link. That's the kind of thing I'd do for free for a client. It literally is just a couple minutes of work.

The email thing doesn't sound right. Most hosting initially won't let you send or receive attachments above a certain size, but it something you should be able to change fairly easily. Telling you to find another browser is just wrong. I can understand if you're using a browser that's been out of date for years, but we're still at a place where supporting IE6 is expected and I think that's been out for 8 years already.

In order for someone else to modify your site they need access to the files. Ask your designer for FTP access. FTP stands for file transfer protocol. Any web designer who can log into the server via FTP can modify the site.

[Steve B]

HT - Vangogh does all my website work and he knows what he is talking about and is very fair on the price of things. He actually replicated my site from work that a previous designer did - so our situation was fairly similar.

[vangogh]

Thanks for the compliments Steve.

[huggytree]

I joined the BBB yesterday and Im alittle excited about it.

they showed me statistics that Plumbing Contractor was the 5th most popular BBB search (Roofer was #1)...they showed me a local plumber who gets 1-2 leads a month from the BBB.....ill be thrilled with 3-4 jobs a year from it.

It all goes by Zip code, so i should get work close to home.

or maybe the salesman fed me a line of B.S.

she didnt seem smart enough though.....or maybe im not smart enough..time will tell

[KristineS]

Good luck. I hope it goes well for you.