Santee Company Honored for Business Ethics by Better Business Bureau

Three East County businesses have been honored for ethical business practices by the San Diego Better Business Bureau (BBB), San Diego's largest county‑wide business organization.

Quality Controlled Manufacturing, Inc. of Santee and Reilly Financial Advisors of La Mesa were winners of a 2012 BBB Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics, while Anderson Plumbing Heating and Air of El Cajon was a finalist. Winners and finalists were selected in categories based on number of employees. Reilly Financial Advisors was a winner in the 11-to-24-employee category, Quality Controlled Manufacturing, Inc. was a winner in the 25-to-99-employee category and Anderson Plumbing Heating and Air was a finalist in the 100-to-249-employee category.

Now in its 15th year, the Torch Awards is the BBB's annual awards program honors outstanding local for‑profit companies and non‑profit charitable organizations that have demonstrated a commitment to ethical business practices, both in operations and in terms of being ethical, reliable and responsive to employees, vendors and customers, according to Sheryl Bilbrey, San Diego BBB president and chief executive officer.

“Consumers want to do business with ethical companies, and our Torch Awards is one way to identify companies that maintain a competitive advantage by adhering to BBB ethical standards,” Bilbrey said. “The Torch Awards program is designed to promote not only the importance of ethical business practices, but the willingness and efforts made by outstanding businesses to ensure that our marketplace remains fair and honorable. It’s the way San Diego celebrates ethical business practices in our marketplace.”

Additional winners of 2012 Torch Award included (categories based on number of employees appear in parenthesis): On-Site Tech Support (one-to-four); Dream Design Builders (five-to-10); Coles Fine Flooring (100-to-249); JW Floor Covering (250-499); and, Pacific Safety Center (charity/non-profit, winner). Additional finalists included: Milholland Electric, Inc. (five-to10); San Diego Law Firm (11-to-24); Action Air Conditioning, Heating & Solar (25-to-99); ASI Heating and Air (25-to-99);  Ideal Plumbing, Heating, Air & Electrical (25-to-99); and, Bill Howe Family of Companies (100-to-249).

Each year, thousands of U.S. businesses are entered in local Torch Award competitions conducted by BBBs in every region of the country. Winning entries from the San Diego competition will be forwarded to the Council of Better Business Bureaus, the parent organization for the BBB network, for an international competition.

The non-profit San Diego BBB, which opened in 1921, is San Diego’s largest county-wide business membership organization with 6,000 accredited businesses and charities. The BBB promotes business ethics through voluntary self‑regulation, consumer and business education, and helps consumers with free pre‑purchase information and consumer protection advice, including reliability reports on more than 45,000 local companies. Before buying decisions are made, consumers are encouraged to phone the BBB's free 24‑hour Consumer Helpline at (858) 496‑2131 or (800) 600‑7050, or visit the website at www.bbb.org, to obtain free information and a list of BBB accredited businesses in a particular type of industry.