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Are there any companies you actively avoid/boycott?

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Camwi said:
I avoid going to BP gas stations after their last fuck-up.
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But BP is the most environmentally conscious of major oil companies in the wake of that PR nightmare (not that any of them are "good")? You are not really having the impact that you were hoping for .
 
trixx said:
You're getting a reliable product and reliable customer service. I'd rather deal with Apple's customer service than anyone's in the business. Sony wasn't bad with my laptop but I had to wait 4-6 weeks just to get it back. Don't own any Apple products but I've never met a person who's product was in for longer than a week.
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Apple has one of the worst customer services I've had to deal with at least in a business-to-business case. Whereas every other vendor I deal with will overnight me a box with postage to ship trouble products to them at no cost to me, Apple tells me I have to first take time out of my work day to visit a store before they will take it.

And don't even get me started on their customer service for Mobile Device Management. It took over 8 months for them to finish our enrollment into DEP.
 
Gloria Jean's Coffees, which I see is now owned by different people so maybe they are better now. For their links to Mercy Ministries and Hillsong, among other things:
A SECRETIVE ministry with direct links to Gloria Jean's Coffees and the Hillsong Church has been deceiving troubled young women into signing over months of their lives to a program that offers scant medical or psychiatric care, instead using Bible studies and exorcisms to treat mental illness.

[...]
Three former residents who have felt the full force of Mercy's questionable programs are blowing the whistle on its emotionally cruel and medically unproven techniques, detailing abuse including exorcisms, "separation contracts" between girls who became friends, and harsh discipline for those who broke the rules.

Naomi Johnson, Rhiannon Canham-Wright and Megan Smith (Megan asked to use an assumed name) went into Mercy Ministries independent young women, and came out broken and suicidal, believing, as Mercy staff had told them repeatedly, that they were possessed by demons and that Satan controlled them.

[...]
Taking in girls and women aged 16 to 28, Mercy Ministries claims to offer residents support from "psychologists, general practitioners, dietitians, social workers, [and] career counsellers". These claims are made on its website, and the programs are promoted through Gloria Jean's cafes throughout Australia.

But these former residents say no medical or psychological services were provided - just an occasional, monitored trip to a GP, where the consultation takes place in the presence of a Mercy Ministries staff member or volunteer.

Instead, the program is focused on prayer, Christian counselling and expelling demons from in and around the young women, who say they begged Mercy Ministries to let them get medical help for the conditions they were suffering, which included bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders and anorexia.
[...]
Mercy claims to offer its residential programs free. Yet the services are not free - young women on unemployment benefits are "asked" to sign them over to Mercy, while others are asked to make a donation for expenses.
[...]
Mostly funded by Gloria Jean's Coffee - which said last night it did not plan to change its sponsorship arrangements - and supported by the Hillsong Foundation, Mercy Ministries says it has a 90 per cent success rate, but when asked to provide evidence of the program's outcomes, Ms Watson said that research was under way and not yet available.
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http://www.smh.com.au/news/national...m-and-the-bible/2008/03/16/1205602195048.html
 
Not actively boycotting but no longer shop at or buy from:

Gamestop. Not convenient for me; I do digital, Amazon, or Walmart.

Apple. I personally don't like their products or OS. They won some brownie points with me during the FBI thing though, and depending on the person I would actually recommend an Apple computer or phone.
 
NoblesseOblige said:
Apple has one of the worst customer services I've had to deal with at least in a business-to-business case. Whereas every other vendor I deal with will overnight me a box with postage to ship trouble products to them at no cost to me, Apple tells me I have to first take time out of my work day to visit a store before they will take it.
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Having in person support is exactly why Apple is typically the top ranked in the industry in customer support.
 
E85 gasoline. Wasting all that fertile land and massive amount of water to inefficiently burn in a vehicle.

Walmart. Dirty, redneck customers along with poor customer service. More importantly, their decimation of smaller retailers and being a storefront for China.

Ebay. Horrible buyers who hold your transaction rating hostage, plus sellers fees.

Sony. The shit tier wifi they put in my fat PS3 kept me from enjoying online gaming for several years.
 
Rupert Murdoch is the one I try to avoid giving any money to.

I never buy Apple products but that's not a boycott I just think thier products are overpriced and too locked down for my preference.
 
Boston new cafe which was a cafe in the bottom floor of my building when I worked in Boston. I ordered a bagel and they charged me .50 for butter so I never set foot in there again. That was 4 years ago.
 
Any product / company that uses vehicles that add to traffic whose primary purpose is just to drive around and advertise. (not including buses, public transport etc...)
 
Nozem said:
Nah, nothing really. If the product is good and the price is right I'll buy it.
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What if you knew for a fact a certain percentage, let's say 25%, of your purchase went towards something that would directly affect you in a negative way? Say you found an awesome cellphone that was everything you wanted and half the price of the closest competitor. Of course a quarter of your purchase goes toward the "kick Nozem in the balls fund" which gives a random person a monetary reward if they decide to punt your nuts and also covers their legal fees.
 
sony pissed me off with the memory sticks and I haven't purchased anything sony for more than 10 years.
 
Bleepey said:
I get email notifications whenever I pay for anything via paypal. Didn't you get that?
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Nope, because they didn't buy anything, they (somehow) managed to siphon my bank account (that was connected to paypal as a funding source) through paypal.

It was a while ago now, back in 2011, so they have probably closed the loophole, but it was a huge ballache at the time.
 
Ensoul said:
Boston new cafe which was a cafe in the bottom floor of my building when I worked in Boston. I ordered a bagel and they charged me .50 for butter so I never set foot in there again. That was 4 years ago.
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This is the only boycott in this thread that I respect.
 
Darden Restaurants. The customer service for all Darden owned brands has gotten really terrible. Long wait times for food and generally poor attitude of staffs at all locations I have recently been too.
 
navii said:
Any product / company that uses vehicles that add to traffic whose primary purpose is just to drive around and advertise. (not including buses, public transport etc...)
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Trying to think who does this other than Red Bull and Monster. seems to be an energy drink thing.
 
Well, I refuse to buy any Apple product. Overpriced stuff.

Seeing all the hate toward Nestlé, checked which brands they have. Well, thankfully, my cat doesn't want to eat Friskies or Felix anymore, so yeah, I'm doing a good job.
 
Jake from State Farm said:
Walmart, everything about that company and its customers is wrong.
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This, I don't like to support such bad work culture or business practice. But then I suppose I should stop using Amazon too.

Also "I don't buy from X company because their overpriced" isn't boycotting. It just means it isn't a good value proposition for you, not a moral stand.
 
Hmm. I haven't been to Chick-Fil-A in like five years because of the owner's views on gays. Not that it's hard since I moved to Chicago - I think there are only 2-3 Chick-Fil-As in the entire city anyway.

I've been trying to avoid Jimmy John's, as well, since they have some pretty shitty employee policies. Every once in a while, I fuck up, though.

I think that's it.
 
PillarEN said:
that's a little different though no? The point of that promotion is to stop somewhere (massive parking lot I'd guess) and let people try your products. The energy drink cars just drive around to remind you of their brand specifically. Not actually giving samples or something like that.
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Nah they do that too. I knew a guy in college who drove one.
 
LyleLanley said:
This is the only boycott in this thread that I respect.
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It is not even about the money. Every place gives you free butter so it was the principal of this.

It turned into a running joke with my co-workers. If I wanted a drink I used to walk to CVS (which is a pharmacy) across the street from my work. Truth be told it was a pretty easy to boycott because there are so many places to eat in Boston.
 
gamz said:
What happened? I adore Costco.
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Yeah, Costco seems like a company that doesn't screw their customers much at all. Only thing that sucks is how busy it is in the store.

For me, it's Bell Canada. Their terrible policies on customer support and an awful experience will make sure I won't go back to them. I'd pay double to stay with Rogers rather than going back to them.
 
Viewt said:
Hmm. I haven't been to Chick-Fil-A in like five years because of the owner's views on gays. Not that it's hard since I moved to Chicago - I think there are only 2-3 Chick-Fil-As in the entire city anyway.

I've been trying to avoid Jimmy John's, as well, since they have some pretty shitty employee policies. Every once in a while, I fuck up, though.

I think that's it.
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I went to my first Cubbies game last summer and they were giving out free sandwich at Chick Fil A cards. Only time I've ever been there. I don't think it makes me evil for grabbing free food though. Plus haven't they changed their funding policies? Doesn't really matter I have never been to one before or since because it's not where I live anyways.
 
Hasn't chick-fil-a changed their (official) stance on the gays re: charity funding and such?

I'm sure Dan Cathy still hates gays though.
 
I don't boycott any companies really, but there's some that I don't shop at because of bad experiences at that store coupled with good experiences elsewhere. Gamestop is one of them.

There are websites that I actively avoid, like any Gawker network and Vox network sites. They're the quintessential examples of garbage junk journalism that's been ruining journalism, that actively try to mislead their readers. Virtually no editorial scruples or responsibility taken by the authors, most of whom are ignorant to what their writing about, or by the editors. That's their revenue plan and I don't hold it against them for wanting to make money by producing a lot of junk, but it's just not for me.
 
Ensoul said:
It is not even about the money. Every place gives you free butter so it was the principal of this.

It turned into a running joke with my co-workers. If I wanted a drink I used to walk to CVS (which is a pharmacy) across the street from my work. Truth be told it was a pretty easy to boycott because there are so many places to eat in Boston.
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I support you 100%. This isn't communist China, butter should be free like the founding fathers intended.
 
The Albatross said:
I don't boycott any companies really, but there's some that I don't shop at because of bad experiences at that store coupled with good experiences elsewhere. Gamestop is one of them.

There are websites that I actively avoid, like any Gawker network and Vox network sites. They're the quintessential examples of garbage junk journalism that's been ruining journalism, that actively try to mislead their readers. Virtually no editorial scruples or responsibility taken by the authors, most of whom are ignorant to what their writing about, or by the editors. That's their revenue plan and I don't hold it against them for wanting to make money by producing a lot of junk, but it's just not for me.
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That's a good one. I also avoid Gawker media ever since I saw they have a big room with screens that tally the number of hits their stories get. Terrible way of doing journalism.
 
I never had any idea about Nestlé before this thread, I must look into it as I do enjoy quite a bit of their choccy but if they're as bad as everyone is saying then perhaps I can do without it.

Companies I do boycott: Gearbox, KFC (well this is more of a "did" as I'm a vegetarian now), probably a few others I can't think of. Used to boycott Capcom games until EX Troopers and EA until Battlefront (that was for much longer) and there are a lot of companies I tend to avoid the majority of the time but couldn't say I boycott.
 
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