BBB gives MyPillow an F rating over 'continuous BOGO offer'
MyPillow has tarnished its reputation with the Better Business Bureau.
The BBB – which is a nonprofit business and consumer watchdog group – revoked its accreditation of the Chaska-based company last month and gave MyPillow an F rating.
Why?
According to a news release, MyPillow violated the BBB’s Code of Advertising and other rules.
Like, MyPillow has pretty extensive "buy one, get one free" deals. Often times, ads say if you mention a certain code word you can get a second MyPillow for free. In fact, the BBB says customers who call in can get the deal even if they don't have a code. That goes against the BBB.
The nonprofit says it also doesn't support "continuous BOGO offers, which can then be construed as an item's regular, everyday price." According to BBB code, offers like that should only be for a limited time – otherwise it should not be considered a special sale.
In August, the BBB formally issued an advertising challenge against the BOGO offers, but MyPillow owner Mike Lindell said he wouldn't be able to stop the offers at that time. However, he said he'd look into making changes in 2017.
In a statement to GoMN, Lindell says he's "terribly disappointed by the BBB's decision."
"MyPillow was built on our dedication to our customers' satisfaction," the CEO says. "We run sales and specials for our customers, so that we can give as many people as possible the chance to have a great night’s sleep."
More reasons
The BBB has some other issues with MyPillow.
Apparently some MyPillow boxes say "As Seen on TV" even if the content is not the same product seen in TV ads. The BBB notes MyPillow has worked to fix this, but it still exists on some third party seller packaging.
Also, some photos on boxes are said to show different pillows from what's actually in the box.
The BBB also has concerns over MyPillow's "full warranty" since customers reportedly need to pay a fee to return the pillow.
Is this a big deal?
The BBB is a nonprofit group – not a government agency. So MyPillow isn't in any actual trouble for any of this.
BBB accreditation just means a business meets the nonprofit's accreditation standards, which you can read here.
Businesses aren't obligated to seek BBB accreditation, either. Some businesses are not accredited simply because they do not care to be.
