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Do you ever boycott businesses?

Do you ever boycott businesses?

  • I boycott often.

    Votes: 11 19.0%

  • I boycott, but usually only over political/social issues.

    Votes: 2 3.4%

  • I boycot, but usually only over customer service issues.

    Votes: 12 20.7%

  • I occassionally boycott, but the issue has to be especially egregious.

    Votes: 17 29.3%

  • I pretty much never boycott.

    Votes: 16 27.6%
  • Total voters
    58
Mostly restaurants whose ingredients I don't want to consume. Not sure that's really a boycott.

Some old customers who pissed me off are boycotted for sure.
 
I almost never boycott over political and/or social issues. I figure that if I look deep enough pretty much every business will be doing something that will piss me off and then I won't have any choices left.

I do boycott, however, over customer service issues. Not all the time, but not all that rare, either. How they treat me, and sometimes just what I deem to be repugnant policies regarding business and how they treat their customers in general, will cause me to boycott.

To that end, I have been known to write snail-mail letters to companies letting them know why I don't patronize them. Not that it has any immediate effect, but I feel they should know. And to be fair, I have also been known to write letters of praise, too, so that other companies can know what they're doing well.
 
I boycotted Chick-Fil-a over the CEO's stance on LGBT issues; and I don't shop at Wal-Mart because of both their employment policies (hiring mostly part-time and keeping individual work hours low to avoid benefits and wage requirements) and overseas investment methodology.

I am not counting my avoidance of certain specific businesses simply because I don't like their customer service problems. That's about it.
 
I try to avoid products made in China. I'll willingly pay more for products made here. Why would I offer any support to a country that increasingly behaves like an enemy?
 
I submit that the word boycott has been misused in this thread. A boycott is a poltical act of rebellion, not garden variety consumerism.
 
I boycott businesses everyday... in a Don Quixote way... with about the same effect as tilting at Windmills. My reasons vary from whimsical to principled.
 
I boycott all establishments that do not let me exercise my right to breathe...or if the nice looking lady behind the counter refuses to go out with me.
 
In the classic use of the term "boycott" - no, I pretty much never have.
 
Yes. Walmart. I haven't been in 1 in 15 years or so. They treat their workforce like crap, they sell crap and their business practices and buying power has driven 100'000's of Mom and Pop businesses out of business.

For the most part and for some of the same reasons I stay out of the franchise restaurants too. Obviously that's not always possible. I'm in a Mall or on vaca and there are only Chili's or TGIF there, then I have to. But I make an effort not to.
 
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I don't go for boycotts. Never really saw the purpose. As someone else mentioned, I'm sure I could find something I don't like about any establishment, especially the chain ones, if I looked hard enough.

I actually hated the Chick Fil A boycott because apparently it inspired all of the "Christian" consumers to rally around them and now when I want a delicious chicken sandwich I have to wait in the drive-thru line for 10 minutes.
DA60 said:
I boycott all establishments that do not let me exercise my right to breathe...or if the nice looking lady behind the counter refuses to go out with me.
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So, basically, you just stay at home all the time now? :)
 
Hawkeye10 said:
I submit that the word boycott has been misused in this thread. A boycott is a poltical act of rebellion, not garden variety consumerism.
Click to expand...
Not necessarily.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boycott

Definition of boycott

transitive verb

: to engage in a concerted refusal to have dealings with (as a person, store, or organization) usually to express disapproval or to force acceptance of certain conditions
 
Hawkeye10 said:
I submit that the word boycott has been misused in this thread. A boycott is a poltical act of rebellion, not garden variety consumerism.
Click to expand...

Your submittal would be incorrect as it isn't just a "political" act of rebellion:

Definition of boycott

transitive verb

: to engage in a concerted refusal to have dealings with (as a person, store, or organization) usually to express disapproval or to force acceptance of certain conditions

—
boycott
noun

—
boycotter
noun
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https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boycott
 
I boycotted Walmart for a bunch of years, but I ended up giving in. The reason for the boycott was what I felt was them going out of their way to be predatory on downtowns.

I cant think of anything else....I have no interest in letting politics degrade my life, which would be the result of me navigating my consumer choices by way of politics.

Ditto my food choices.

and friend choices.
 
No not really. I won't go to places I don't like, but that's not really boycotting.

I don't go after businesses just for the political beliefs of the owners. Now if they were doing something like abusing children or something real that infringed upon the rights of the workers or consumers...then I'd be more inclined to avoid their products. Again, don't think that's really a "boycott" though. I do have particular habits, such as I will buy local first and foremost. I like to support the mom and pop shops, and will choose to buy there than from, say, Wal-Mart. But I do end up going to Wal-Mart from time to time (maybe once every few months or so), so it's not like it's a complete blackout thing.
 
A boycott (simply not patronizing company X) by itself is basically useless. Do you think that by personally not (or even no longer) buying an X brand car or box of cereal that it "sends a message" to X?

If a boycott includes a sizable organized effort and publicity to state a reason to make it grow even larger then maybe it could work. There is also a chance that a boycott will backfire - if many disagree with the stated reason then your boycott publicity amounts to free advertising for the intended target company.
 
Boycott, at least for my wife, is about her being unable to enjoy patronizing a place, whose owners have some obnoxious position in social/political issues.
So for everyone's sake, we don't go to such places.

Notice this is only when such owners make a public stink about their position, I'm sure we frequent countless places where the owners are assholes, but they are respectful at least to keep the two separate. Is that a good thing or bad thing that it's silent? I don't know, but my marriage comes first in this case.
 
Hawkeye10 said:
Definitions are what the people decide, not dictionary writers.

I stand by my assessment.
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And you were proven wrong. Words have meaning, not just what you decide it to be. Sorry there bub. Show us the definition where boycott is ONLY political then.
 
radcen said:
Do you ever boycott businesses?

If so, why?
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Depends on what you mean by boycott. I stopped going to McDonalds back in the early 80's when they refused to make a hamburger like the wife wanted. I never will order anything from them for myself or the wife, but when the grand kids wants McDonalds I will take them.

I only shop Walmarts when I have too, something the wife tells me to get from them that other stores in the area don't have. But that had more to do with their long checkout lines and refusal to open up new checkout lines when they reach ten or twenty people standing in line. That was reinforced with me when Walmart took the General Lee off their shelves. Again, I will buy nothing for me from them, only stuff the wife wants.

Of course I was always willing to pay a little extra than to have to stand in long checkout lines. I have never watched another movie with Jane Fonda in it since the Vietnam War. Are these boycotts? Probably, in a way. But not completely.
 
ttwtt78640 said:
A boycott (simply not patronizing company X) by itself is basically useless. Do you think that by personally not (or even no longer) buying an X brand car or box of cereal that it "sends a message" to X?

If a boycott includes a sizable organized effort and publicity to state a reason to make it grow even larger then maybe it could work. There is also a chance that a boycott will backfire - if many disagree with the stated reason then your boycott publicity amounts to free advertising for the intended target company.
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If you're a "lone wolf" boycotter, then yes, it's not likely to effect change.

If part of a large organized effort, then it has been shown to effect change. At times.

But even if I'm going it alone, I still desire to give my money to people that I deem ethical, and that has value to me.
 
Perotista said:
Depends on what you mean by boycott. I stopped going to McDonalds back in the early 80's when they refused to make a hamburger like the wife wanted. I never will order anything from them for myself or the wife, but when the grand kids wants McDonalds I will take them.

I only shop Walmarts when I have too, something the wife tells me to get from them that other stores in the area don't have. But that had more to do with their long checkout lines and refusal to open up new checkout lines when they reach ten or twenty people standing in line. That was reinforced with me when Walmart took the General Lee off their shelves. Again, I will buy nothing for me from them, only stuff the wife wants.

Of course I was always willing to pay a little extra than to have to stand in long checkout lines. I have never watched another movie with Jane Fonda in it since the Vietnam War. Are these boycotts? Probably, in a way. But not completely.
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I try to avoid Oliver Stone movies, so I guess there's a political boycott for me.
 
radcen said:
If you're a "lone wolf" boycotter, then yes, it's not likely to effect change.
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IDK I'm pretty sure my 15 year boycott of Walmart has kept the Walton's family worth at about $100 bil instead of the $200 bil they would be worth if not for my boycott. ;)

I do it for me. I know it's pointless and useless. But it makes me feel good.
 
There wasn't a selection I could pick.

Yes, I chose not to do business with companies that either don't provide a good product/service, or, who choose to wear a political/social agenda on their sleeve that I don't agree with.

Pretty simple.
 
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