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Do you boycott particular businesses?

Do you boycott particular businesses?

  • Social issues

    Votes: 15 38.5%

  • Political issues

    Votes: 15 38.5%

  • Treatment issues

    Votes: 24 61.5%

  • Other

    Votes: 16 41.0%
  • Total voters
    39
As I'm sure others have indicated, my strictest boycott is against the fast food industry. I won't eat it if people buy it and offer it to me with outstretched hand. For what reason? For what reason wouldn't I?
 
I'll basically avoid any local store that insists on a minimum spending fee before I can use my card. Not content with fleecing customers, they demand extra for the privilege of paying at all? That they 'can't compete with larger businesses who buy in bulk' is not my problem. I won't abet their greed. Also, HMV. What they charged for CDs and DVDs was criminal. I laughed when they went into receivership.
 
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Starbuck said:
That's a great point, and I completely agree.

More than businesses that I boycott, I have a list of businesses I prefer and will patronize to any extent possible:

In-N-Out
Costco
Trader Joe's
USAA
Enterprise
Pauls Barbershop (super local place in MA)
The bakery down the street (not naming for privacy reasons)
Canon
Apple
Eddie Bauer
J. Peterman
Lamberts Cafe
Jet Blue
Clif Bar
Ghirardelli
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I just thought I'd see Starbucks on that list, I don't know why.
 
Yes, I do. I boycott the advertising industry - I love to press that 'mute' button on TV ads. ;)

Other than than that, this year I bought a car stereo and it was crappy (in terms of engineering, although it is JVC :shock:) but they didn't want to replace it with another model despite all my complaints, so I decided I won't set a foot in that chain any more. :twisted:
 
Yeah, religions.
 
All of them. All good socialists should. :mrgreen:
 
radcen said:
Do you boycott particular businesses? If so, which ones and why?

I general do not boycott over social issues. For example, many friends of mine boycott Chick-fil-A over their religious stances. I do not (though I don't think their food is orgasmic like many others seem to think). I figure that if I look hard enough that I can fine something in every business that offends me, then I'd be left with no place to go.

I general DO boycott over repeated instances of shoddy customer service and/or crappy policies. If you treat ME like crap, I'm going to stop going there. For example, I liked the merchandise and prices at Burlington Coat Factory, but hated their return policies. I rarely return anything, but still want the option when necessary, and don't like the feeling of that I'm somehow being unfair. You either stand behind your merchandise, or you don't. Hence, I stopped shopping there.
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I boycott apple because they lock down their products to the point where they are essentially saying that you as a customer are just renting their product. When people try to modify the hardware that they bought apple sues them. To me that is the epitome of a sinister business.
 
RabidAlpaca said:
I boycott apple because they lock down their products to the point where they are essentially saying that you as a customer are just renting their product. When people try to modify the hardware that they bought apple sues them. To me that is the epitome of a sinister business.
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Ah, yeah, Apple... They are even worse than M$.
I never miss the chance to buzz the iZombies. :)
 
Starbuck said:
You stated, and I quote: "If I like the place, I shop there, if I don't, I don't."

That is a boycott, now if that's not what you meant, fair enough. I suppose it gets pretty semantical after that, but it's hard to come out saying "If I like the place, I shop there, if I don't, I don't." and then say that you never said that.
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I never said anything about anything, certainly not service. There are places I have no interest in or need to shop in. I'm not boycotting them.

And if you had simply said this in the beginning we wouldn't be having this conversation.
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You assumed that I meant something other than what I said. What I said is quite clearly what I meant. What you assumed was not.
 
EdwinWillers said:
Yeah. I don't consider refusing to frequent a restaurant or a store because of bad service or treatment a "boycott." I consider it a "message," :)
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It's not a message if they don't know about it. How are they supposed to tell the difference between someone who doesn't frequent their establishment because they don't like something about it and someone who doesn't do it because they'd rather eat somewhere else?
 
Boycott mostly on political issues.

I don't consider it "boycotting" because of bad service or a particular business has screwed me in the past. I may not use a particular outlet but do not boycott the company.

I do not by products of France. Also, I try to avoid products made in non Right-To-Work states and traditionally liberal states. I absolutely will not spend money on a "Product of California". If I cannot find similar products from non liberal states, I will by imports. I boycotted McDonald's for years after they gave money to anti-gun groups back in the 80s, or was it the 90s. I also don't do business with Target. I won't buy GE products anymore after their support of Obama.
 
Ray410 said:
I just thought I'd see Starbucks on that list, I don't know why.
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I've never been much of a coffee drinker.

Starbuck is also the name of the chief mate on the Pequod, Captan Ahab's ship in Moby Dick.
 
Canell said:
Yes, I do. I boycott the advertising industry - I love to press that 'mute' button on TV ads. ;)
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Yea, we canceled our television a few years ago. We were disgruntled with the whole digital cable switch and also found that anything we did actually want to watch (there isn't much anyway) we could simply stream without the commercials.

Netflix & Apple TV are great inventions.
 
RabidAlpaca said:
I boycott apple because they lock down their products to the point where they are essentially saying that you as a customer are just renting their product. When people try to modify the hardware that they bought apple sues them. To me that is the epitome of a sinister business.
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I've never heard of anyone being sued by Apple for modifying their hardware?

As far as locking down their products, I'd say it depends upon how the computer is going to be used. I'm not much of a programmer or a gamer so I've never been tempted to 'modify' any of my computers.

Mostly I need my personal laptop for the internet, MS Word/ Excel and photo editing. In that respect, Apple far outperforms any PC rivals. I like that their computers are simple, but super fast and high quality. Last year my work got me a Lenovo ThinkPad (with the twist screen/ tablet option). It's a pretty decent computer, but just in the course of a year It's already showing it's age, where my 2 year old MacBook is doing just fine.

However, I do know plenty of gamer/ programmer types that won't touch apples because they aren't designed for the type of applications needed.
 
Starbuck said:
I've never heard of anyone being sued by Apple for modifying their hardware?

As far as locking down their products, I'd say it depends upon how the computer is going to be used. I'm not much of a programmer or a gamer so I've never been tempted to 'modify' any of my computers.

Mostly I need my personal laptop for the internet, MS Word/ Excel and photo editing. In that respect, Apple far outperforms any PC rivals. I like that their computers are simple, but super fast and high quality. Last year my work got me a Lenovo ThinkPad (with the twist screen/ tablet option). It's a pretty decent computer, but just in the course of a year It's already showing it's age, where my 2 year old MacBook is doing just fine.

However, I do know plenty of gamer/ programmer types that won't touch apples because they aren't designed for the type of applications needed.
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Not only did they want people who jailbroke their phones to pay a fine, they wanted their asses in jail.

Apple Wants To Make Jailbreaking Worthy Of Jail Time, $2500 Fine

Luckily it didn't hold up in court.

U.S. Declares iPhone Jailbreaking Legal, Over Apple

They were already on my blacklist for their anti-competitive linking to AT&T and for their insanely locked down hardware that without major hacking (back in the day anyway) won't let you use your own device with anything other itunes, but the lawsuit got them a permanent place on it.

If I buy a product, it's my ****ing product. If I buy a toaster and hack it to somehow play DVDs that's my perogative, and frankly neither the toaster company's or the dvd company's business.
 
Cephus said:
It's not a message if they don't know about it. How are they supposed to tell the difference between someone who doesn't frequent their establishment because they don't like something about it and someone who doesn't do it because they'd rather eat somewhere else?
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Any time I've ever made the choice to no longer shop / visit / dine in an establishment, they knew why. It's kind of silly to walk away from a business because you are trying to make a point, yet you are not even making the point. If you don't let them know, they'll never know why you left. May not matter anyway :lol: but a very strongly worded letter, or phone call, always made me feel better, if nothing else.
 
RabidAlpaca said:
Not only did they want people who jailbroke their phones to pay a fine, they wanted their asses in jail.

Apple Wants To Make Jailbreaking Worthy Of Jail Time, $2500 Fine

Luckily it didn't hold up in court.
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Fortunately it didn't hold up in court, but I do wonder if any of these people signed an agreement (i.e. contract) stating that they wouldn't modify the product?

I've bought a lot of Apple products and as such signed a lot of contracts. They don't want people to modify their stuff, because they've essentially engineered them to near perfection (for most applications).

When you buy a new car you sign a contract stating that modifications void the warrantee and free the manufacturer of any liability. You don't typically, however, sign a contract stating that you won't modify the vehicle at all.

That being the case, I'm also a proponent of people actually reading what they sign. If you don't like the terms Apple sets forth, don't buy their products.

RabidAlpaca said:
If I buy a product, it's my ****ing product. If I buy a toaster and hack it to somehow play DVDs that's my perogative, and frankly neither the toaster company's or the dvd company's business.
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I completely agree, but for some items (i.e. computers) I simply need them to work 100% of the time, especially while traveling. That being the case, there isn't another computer manufacturer out there where I have 100% faith that the computer will work every time and exactly as I want it to work.

If that were to change, maybe I'd be singing a different tune.
 
Starbuck said:
Fortunately it didn't hold up in court, but I do wonder if any of these people signed an agreement (i.e. contract) stating that they wouldn't modify the product?

I've bought a lot of Apple products and as such signed a lot of contracts. They don't want people to modify their stuff, because they've essentially engineered them to near perfection (for most applications).

When you buy a new car you sign a contract stating that modifications void the warrantee and free the manufacturer of any liability. You don't typically, however, sign a contract stating that you won't modify the vehicle at all.

That being the case, I'm also a proponent of people actually reading what they sign. If you don't like the terms Apple sets forth, don't buy their products.



I completely agree, but for some items (i.e. computers) I simply need them to work 100% of the time, especially while traveling. That being the case, there isn't another computer manufacturer out there where I have 100% faith that the computer will work every time and exactly as I want it to work.

If that were to change, maybe I'd be singing a different tune.
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I can understand a company not wanting you to modify their product because it won't operate at optimum if you muck it up. Car manufacturers, however, won't throw you in jail, or fine you, if you modify their car. They'll void the warranty, but that's about it. That's all Apple should do. It's your product. You buy it, you should do what you want to do with it.
 
NIMBY said:
Nice thread radcen.
sure to stir the pot.
Let me start with Papa John's, Domino's, and the rest of reagan's pizza boys who **** their employees every way but loose.
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Nobody makes anyone work for them. Dont want to get ****ed by your employer? Open your own business.
 
Cephus said:
It's not a message if they don't know about it. How are they supposed to tell the difference between someone who doesn't frequent their establishment because they don't like something about it and someone who doesn't do it because they'd rather eat somewhere else?
Click to expand...
Good point. I was being facetious, but you're right; if you don't tell them why you're avoiding their establishment, they'll never know what they need to fix.
 
Starbuck said:
Fortunately it didn't hold up in court, but I do wonder if any of these people signed an agreement (i.e. contract) stating that they wouldn't modify the product?

I've bought a lot of Apple products and as such signed a lot of contracts. They don't want people to modify their stuff, because they've essentially engineered them to near perfection (for most applications).

When you buy a new car you sign a contract stating that modifications void the warrantee and free the manufacturer of any liability. You don't typically, however, sign a contract stating that you won't modify the vehicle at all.

That being the case, I'm also a proponent of people actually reading what they sign. If you don't like the terms Apple sets forth, don't buy their products.



I completely agree, but for some items (i.e. computers) I simply need them to work 100% of the time, especially while traveling. That being the case, there isn't another computer manufacturer out there where I have 100% faith that the computer will work every time and exactly as I want it to work.

If that were to change, maybe I'd be singing a different tune.
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That's what I've already said, I don't like their behavior and their contracts so I don't buy their products. It's not about the legality, it's about the fact that they're doing it. If they had put in every EULA that Steve Jobs is allowed to bang your wife whenever he wants, it might have a chance of holding up in court, but it's a super sleezy dirtbag thing to do, and people should boycott them for it.

I've been hard pressed to find a company I find more sinister than Apple.
 
I don't shop at Walmart or K-Mart. Crappy products, customer service, customers, treat employees like crap.

I don't buy Apple. Oppose child labor.

I don't eat Chik-Fil-A. Homophobic owner.

I don't donate to the Salvation Army. Homophobes.

I don't order Papa John's. Narcissistic owner who has to be in every commercial.

Years ago, I worked at a pizza joint. We were across a plaza from a K-Mart. There used to be a group of women who would come in from K-Mart (wearing their smocks) and would treat the entire staff like garbage. It was a concerted group effort too. The reason I know this is because there was one lady who would always pay last and sneak a tip to the server on the down low. Whenever I see people in a uniform treating others poorly in another business, I make it a point to avoid shopping at the offender's business.
 
RabidAlpaca said:
That's what I've already said, I don't like their behavior and their contracts so I don't buy their products. It's not about the legality, it's about the fact that they're doing it. If they had put in every EULA that Steve Jobs is allowed to bang your wife whenever he wants, it might have a chance of holding up in court, but it's a super sleezy dirtbag thing to do, and people should boycott them for it.

I've been hard pressed to find a company I find more sinister than Apple.
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I'm not thrilled with my iPhone. I jumped on the Apple bandwagon and got one early this year, and honestly wish I'd stayed with my Droid. :shrug:
 
Superfly said:
I'm not thrilled with my iPhone. I jumped on the Apple bandwagon and got one early this year, and honestly wish I'd stayed with my Droid. :shrug:
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Your iPhone will be out of date in two weeks when they put out a new one for $600 that makes one minor alteration. :lol:
 
RabidAlpaca said:
That's what I've already said, I don't like their behavior and their contracts so I don't buy their products.
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Fair enough, I must've missed that point.

I just know a lot of people who don't bother reading the things they sign, who are deeply surprised when the company who they signed with comes back to see those terms honored.

RabidAlpaca said:
I've been hard pressed to find a company I find more sinister than Apple.
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You might be on to something, unfortunately they happen to make very reliable products.

I also happen to think that Microsoft is quite sinister, however for my money there isn't better program for the application than MS Excel.
 
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