Wednesday, February 27, 1985AThe Battalion/Page 5 § ^ s >:>< S5 > >. s S v < ^ ? *N m. ir, Rud- p.m. erian Photo by JOHN MAKELY TopsyTurvy David Gilbert, 17, was driving south on Wellborn Road about 7:15 p.m. Tuesday when he failed to negotiate the curve at FM 2818. His car went off the road and landed in a ditch. A police spokesman said Gilbert, of College Station, was travel ing at an “unsafe speed” when he approached the curve. Gil bert was taken to St. Joseph Hospital, treated and released. BBB works to ensure fair business and 1701 7:30 nm W- iCUSS lion, )de- By LORIE WOODWARD Reporter HOnce upon a time, an Aggie Bught a shiny new bicycle. On the ( wav home from the store, the bicy- Bs wheels flew off. The Aggie i|rse(l. He cried. Then he called tne Built Business Bureau. wHis call was answered. His com- (plainl was resolved. And the Aggie and his bicycle lived happily ever af ter. ■ Fairy tales do come true. The local ’Better Business Bureau is working CO ensure that both buyers and sell- Is are treated fairly. BLeroy Balmain, executive director The Better Business Bureau of Brazos Valley, Inc. said fairness and . Inedibility are the keys to the bu reau’s success. ■ “We wouldn’t have been in busi ness some 70-odd years if we took e| sides,’’ Balmain said. f The bread and butter of the Bet- tei Business Bureau is the consumer ^inquiries, Balmain said. ■ “It allows consumers to call up rt hel: and find out about a particular com- pam’s reputation before doing busi- iess with it,” he said. The typical reply to an inquiry is he XYZ Company has a satisfac tory business report to date,” Bal main said. If the business is a member of the bureau that information is given A lo t tion area is here:''— BBB membei on in the Bryan-College Sia- also. Consumers can get a reputation report on businesses in other cities as well, Balmain said. Businesses also can use this service to check out their business asso ciates. The bureau’s arbitration process is another means used to ensure fair treatment. Arbitration administrator Linda O’Donnell said “Hopefully, most complaints through the general bu reau never get down here (the arbi tration room). “The bureau hopes to mediate a complaint, to resolve it, before a hearing ever has to be held.” O’Donnell said the process is set in motion when a consumer files a writ ten complaint with the bureau. The bureau reviews the complaint and if the complaint is justified it is for warded to the business. The business then has time to re spond and offer a settlement if any. T he bureau forwards the proposal to the consumer who can accept it or reject it. If the settlement is accepted then the matter is closed, otherwise an ar bitration session is set up. The arbitrators are community volunteers, O’Donnell said. “This arbitration program could not work without people volunteer ing their services,” O'Donnell said. “If we don’t have arbitrators, we don’t have hearings.” Balmain said although decisions are sometimes hard to make, arbitra tion is the fastest way to settle a dis pute. “Once you come to this arbitration table and the arbitrators, who you helped select, hear your problem ana make an award that is fair both to you and the business person, the problem is eliminated, Balmain said. “Then you can go back to your knitting or whatever and not worry about it.” O’Donnell said an arbitrator’s de cision is difficult to change, but a consumers can take a decision to a court-of-law if they still are dissatis fied. The bureau also provides the public consumer education pamph lets, such as a recent publication about buying condominums. The bureau also polices the busi ness community, Balmain said. :quired recofl 1 othes on on li ipringj fthep e< ears. rs Easter Seals telethon to include local spots By BRAD WHITTEN Reporter The Brazos County Rehabilitation inter began its 1985 Easter Seals impaign Tuesday by naming Mat- lew Swich as its poster child. Swich, a 5-year-old victim of spin- lifita, a congenital cleft of the ver- ibral column, has been coming to fhe center since he was 5 months old and is now able to walk with rutches. Jim Thompson, director of the re habilitation center, announced that for the first time, this year’s Easter Seals Telethon in March will have lo cal spots included. Thompson said the national broadcast will be begin at 10:30 a.m. on March 30 and run until 6 p.m. on March 31. The local spots will be broadcasted from the rehabilitation center for 20 minutes every hour. KCEN-TV will carry the broadcast. lope of ; percent of all funding stays in Bra zos County,” he said. Thompson thanked KCEN-TV and MaCaw Cablevision for the help and cooperation in making the tele thon a local event. The press conference Tuesday was at the new rehabilitation center near St. Joseph Hospital. Thompson said the building was already paid for entirely from fund raising events in the Brazos area. “We invite everyone to all come down and see where their money has been spent,” he said. “We are not state or federally funded and we are not a free service, but we only accept what people can pay,” Harold McCullough, devel opment director for the center, said. He said last year the center absorbed $240,000 in bills which people could not pay. ise in ban. iwnsv® dea» : was tn xicanb md * Monday March 4 7:00 Rudder Theater -ibesa*’ whate'f nt t°“ i why* antsaf D th si* [\i\W in ^ es." . i-Segf . bor* sol# ; xas s Enf^ . # his re*' presents em ds# o# Mike Hudson Challenges to the FIRST AMENDMENT in Public Education dolls' Class of '85 Billie Ingram, bureau member and owner of Brazos Kennels said, “The Better Business Bureau acts as a preventive measure. A lot of things don’t go on in the Bryan-College Station area that could oecause the Better Business Bureau is here.” Balmain said one area of partic ular concern is advertising. Tne bu reau checks advertisements for falsi ties, and if any problems are found the bureau will ask the publishers to hold the advertisement until the cor rections are made, Balmain said. All businesses are eligible for bu reau membership if they pay mem bership dues, fill out an information sheet and agree to follow the Better Business Bureau’s guidelines, Bal main said. The basic guideline is cooperation with the bureau. In addition, a business must agree to answer any complaint from the bureau and undergo mediation if the complaint warrants it, Balmain said. Repeated complaints without rec tification can cause a business to lose its membership. Though Balmain’s office deals with a wide range of complaints, no particularly poor area of service ex ists in the Bryan-College Station area, he said. “We get complaints about every thing,” Balmain said. “But you have to remember there are those out there who wouldn’t be happy living in the Gar den of Eden.” Sr. Bash April 26 Sr. Banquet April 27 Sr. Ring Dance April 27 Pi SIGBfJk ER8ILeNAM> JnHNBKEJK BAdHASr -T <5 mmm 7:06 at K-G'* ACT UPS 4 1 5 th