What's in a Rating?

What's in a rating?  We have a A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau and we are very proud of that.  I always check with the BBB before doing business with a new product or organization.  If someone is going to get a good deal of money from me I want to know I can trust them.  Leads me to a story...
    Once upon a time, not so very long ago, one of our dear customers' for many years got a super deal pitched to them on cleaning their ducts.  This super economical pitch ended up costing over $600 and they said some not very nice things about our company and what all they had to do to clean things up after us.  Leaving an upset customer wanting reimbursement for this so-called big clean-up job.  After everything was said and done it turns out this duct company had an F rating with the BBB, had multiple advertising complaints as well as consumer complaints.  Chances of them getting any money back after the fact is slim to none.  The moral of the story is to trust the folks you know.  If we had been called the moment these so called dirty, moldy coils had been spotted we would have sent a technician to examine the situation and if true we would have made any necessary corrections for free and recommended an IAQ specialist for testing if needed.  Any professional company will deal with their competitor in a face to face meeting and I would have loved to get to meet these guys that basically took our customers' hard earned money.  We are competitors, but we are brothers in our industry and hold each other up to certain standards as well so no legit company will refuse to meet a colleague on site. Want to check on a deal?  Look the company up online with the BBB, check their Angie's List rating, ask for their credentials... state licenses are required for Air Conditioning repairs, and a certified company has to run tests to confirm mold or other indoor air quality issues.  Ask what professional organizations they belong to?  Unfortunately economic times seem to make the number of these types of situations multiply, so beware and never be afraid to do your research!