How to Check a Company's Business Reputation

Whether it's Enron, Goldman Sachs, Bernie Madoff or BP, it pays to check a company's reputation

Wondering if a company is reputable? Whether you're buying from them, doing business with them, hiring them, or thinking of working for them, it always pays to check their reputation. For large companies and small businesses alike, here are some great online tools -- all free -- to do just that.

Instructions

1. 

   ***Check the Better Business Bureau***

   Check TWO BBB sites for a company's track record with customer complaints -- the national BBB database, as well as the state (or regional) BBB that covers the particular company. You can sometimes find a company listed at one site even if they don't show up in the other.

   You can search on a firm's name, address, phone or website, or email. You'll find links to national and local BBB search sites in the Resource section. Access to BBB information is free.

2. 

   ***Run a Whois Search***

   Take a good look at a company's Whois record. Whois is the official registration record of a organization's website. If the website is brand new, or set to expire soon, you may be looking at a fly-by-night company.

   If there is no company address, or contact information for a person at the company, ask yourself why a business would choose to hide such information. While there may be some legitimate reasons, scam companies frequently hide their Whois information.

3. 

   ***Check the "V"***

   Do a web search on the letter V and the company name, like this: "v companyname"...include the quotation marks in the search.

   This brings up any records of lawsuits, which are typically of the form "Party A -v- Party B". If a company has variations on their name (eg, DuPont or Du Pont), search on these as well.

   While a lawsuit is not, in itself, proof of any shady business dealings, the case files can be a rich source of information on how a company conducts itself.

4. 

   ***Ask EDGAR***

   Ask Who? EDGAR is the SEC's database of millions of company reports. Even companies that don't report themselves are often mentioned in other company reports, and you can find information about them using EDGAR's full-text search features. You can also search EDGAR for names of individuals, to learn more about company executives.

   Searches at EDGAR, like all the resources mentioned here, are absolutely free.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't forget to just do a general Google search on the company as well, to see what their buzz is on the internet.

• If you can't easily locate a company's address and phone number (one that really works, and is answered by a human being) then the odds are good they're hiding something.

Resources

• Search the Better Business Bureau for company complaints
• Locate a local BBB
• Whois lookup
• Sample
• SEC's EDGAR full text search for companies and executives
• Top Ten Business Research Tools
• Need more info? Ask a professional business research service.