The New York division of the Better Business Bureau (BBB), a consumer advocacy organization which tracks down unsavory businesses, released its annual top ten list. The ranking rates industries according to how many inquiries as well as how many complaints were filed against them with the BBB.
The modeling and talent industry ranked sixth on the list of inquiries, with 9,908 to be precise. However, the industry did not rank in the top ten on the complaints list. The BBB received 75 complaints about companies involved in the modeling industry in 1997, making it number 18 on the list.
The BBB looks into companies that are the recipients of inquiries or complaints then files a report on the company with a judgment of satisfactory, unsatisfactory, or no rating. The latter means that the BBB has either insufficient information, or that the rating falls somewhere between "satisfactory" and "unsatisfactory." In other words: Be careful!
Of the 20 modeling and talent agencies that the BBB investigated in 1997, six proved to be unsatisfactory. They are: Model Development, Davidson Media Corporation, L'Exclusive Influence, Inc., International Model & Talent, Michael Amato Agency, and International Model & Talent Development.
The following criteria will qualify a company as "unsatisfactory": 1. An unusually high number of complaints; 2. Failure to respond to two or more complaints; 3. A high percentage of answers to complaints which fail to resolve the customer's problem; 4. Failure to eliminate the underlying cause of complaints; 5. The use of misleading advertising techniques; 6. Being the subject of a law enforcement action which calls into question the integrity of the firm.
Manhattan Model Search (MMS) was far and away the most challenged company, with 2,164 inquiries last year. The company was given a "mo rating" by the BBB. Stated the BBB's report, "[This company holds] conventions at which prospective models pay a fee to meet with modeling agencies consumers are advised that fewer than 10% of the models selected to attend the conventions are chosen for industry representation." The report stated that MMS has responded to complaints brought against it. It also stated that while 25 complaints have been filed against the agency in the past 36 months, only two of those complaints came over the last year.
Five other companies were given "no rating" status: Hollywood Image, Screen Test USA, A-Plus Models, Tomorrow Talent, and Highlite Modeling & Casting Agency.
The BBB urges consumers to contact them with any questions about a suspect company. The Bureau can be reached by phone, at 1-900-CALL-BBB (call costs .95 cents per minute), or online, at www.newyork.bbb.org.