Selection Methodology

100CK has two distinct bars. Getting Listed is easy and open to any legitimate local business. Earning 100CK Verifiedrequires passing a documented evaluation. We do not use words like "vetted," "recommended," or "curated" to describe a business unless it has actually passed that evaluation — and we do not publish numeric rankings or use the word "best" anywhere without a published, applied ranking methodology behind it.

Getting Listed

A business or organization is identified as operating in Chatham-Kent — through public sources, community knowledge, a business owner submitting it directly through our Get Listed form, or a third-party nomination submitted through our Nominate page.
Basic information (name, category, contact details, services) is entered from public sources such as the business's own website or listing.
The listing is published with a Listed status. This is free, does not require payment, and does not by itself imply any evaluation has taken place.

We do not charge a fee to be Listed, do not accept payment in exchange for inclusion, a better description, or a higher position among organic results, and do not publish invented statistics, pricing comparisons, or rankings about local businesses.

Earning 100CK Verified

100CK Verified is a documented evaluation, not a purchase and not a formality. A business passes only when every applicable criterion below has been checked and recorded. The full checklist and what each item means is published in our verification standards:

Confirmed operating history in Chatham-Kent
Active licensing confirmed with the relevant regulator, for trades and professions where licensing is legally required
Liability insurance attested by the business, with the attestation date on record
A basic public complaint-history check (e.g. BBB, Consumer Protection Ontario) showing no material unresolved issues
At least one specific community or customer reference on file
A public review presence has been checked (we link to it; we do not copy or republish the reviews as our own)
The business owner or an authorized representative has confirmed the listed information is accurate

Evaluation status is never influenced by whether a business also purchases Sponsored placement or a Business Partner membership — see our advertising disclosure.

Where this stands today

This is a real, ongoing evaluation process, not something we apply retroactively or assume. As of this methodology's publication, businesses are being evaluated progressively — a Listed business without the Verified badge simply hasn't been evaluated yet, which is not a negative signal about it.

Removal and updates

If a business closes, changes significantly, or a listed detail is inaccurate, anyone can report it through our corrections page. Business owners can also claim their profile to request updates directly.