Heritage Web Solutions is not a scam

I've been doing a lot of research lately into web design companies, trying to get the positive and the negative about them so I could get a balanced view of the various companies. One company which kept coming up was Heritage Web Solutions. I've spent several hours reading all the information I could find about Heritage, and I've come to some interesting conclusions regarding the negative information I've found around.

First of all, I should note that every company I've ever researched like this has negative information posted about them (companies such as Walmart or AOL, for example--two large companies with many, many customers). While it's certainly true that some people will inevitably be dissatisfied with their service (no matter the reason), none of these companies are out to scam people, nor are they around just to rip you off. The same is true of Heritage Web Solutions. From the research I've done, they've been in the business of web design for over 7 years (pretty long for a web design company), and they have over 15,000 customers, and the number of legitimate complaints I've found is less than 100.

Now, let me explain what I mean by "legitimate complaints". I've seen all sorts of claims that Heritage is a "ripoff", dishonest, scammers, and more. When you boil these complaints down, though, very few of them actually have any substance. Some of the complaints list issues that any good company seeks to address, some appear to be simply misunderstandings of how the web design process works (I've been in the business since 1993, almost the very dawn of the web), and the majority appear to be posted by people who are simply vindictive and would would likely be dissatisfied no matter what anyone did. 

The first two are fairly simple to address, and Heritage seems to be doing a pretty good job. If you look at their rating with the Better Business Bureau (or BBB), they are listed as a BBB Accredited Business, and they have a Satisfactory rating. Now, if you aren't familiar with these, let me enlighten you. To be an Accredited Business, the "BBB has determined that the business meets BBB accreditation standards, which include a commitment to make a good faith effort to resolve any consumer complaints." (from the BBB site) To have a Satisfactory rating, the company has to respond in a timely manner to any complaint, and has to abide by any BBB arbitration ruling if it chooses to participate in the BBB arbitration process.

Now, to go back to those other businesses I listed: Walmart's listing shows they are accredited, but they have no rating; and AOL has no rating and isn't accredited. It takes a lot of work to keep BBB accreditation and to maintain a Satisfactory rating. Every complaint must be addressed in a timely manner. This requires a lot of research to be done on the part of the company so they completely understand the circumstances surrounding the customer's concern and subsequent complaint. This can sometimes take hours or days to get all the required information in order to respond appropriately. This information must often be provided to the BBB in order to back up any claims made or disputed.

So, what's the point of all this rambling? While there is negative information out there about Heritage Web Solutions, don't believe every negative thing you read. You don't know what kind of reasoning was behind the post. Also pay attention to if the original poster said the complaint was resolved. The large majority of those I read were actually resolved and were noted as such by the original person. 

The internet is a tool which can help you find information about most anything, including companies, but it's very easy to put out false or misleading information (or information posted in the heat of the moment). Some sites actively encourage people to post things while the are angry and not thinking rationally, whereas other sites encourage more reasoned approaches to complaints.