Business Ethics - Companies that you refuse to do business with

I don't go to BP either, but they aren't any cheaper than the other places around here. There are a few automotive repair businesses I avoid from bad past experiences.

I try to avoid Walmart but convenience gets to me sometimes.

Edit: Also I can't remember which bank it is now, but I try to avoid the really big banks because they always seem to dick you around. Lastly, my girlfriend had bought furniture and was paying monthly and the place always messed up the payments, charging more, and repeatedly did it. I can't remember the name but I'm sure she will never forget how annoying it was.

I thought I remembered reading something about how the franchise gas station you end up going to his almost nothing to do with the source of the gas. They basically pool it all so you have no choice in which oil company you support.

Walmart is the first and probably only that I can think of

I've never avoided a company on ethical grounds. For me price, convenience, and quality are the only deciding factors in whether or not I'm a customer.

For example, I like to buy American when possible, but if there is a cheaper, relatively comparable version from China sitting next to it on the shelf, I'll most likely go with the Chinese one.

Only thing I try to do is buy locally when possible. I use amazon and have prime but I do try to support local stores if they match prices or even if its close to the amazon price. Threshold depends on the item price.

Walmart is also a stop of last resort.

Walmart is the biggest one for me

LG is the other big one. I had the shadiest experience with their customer service over a blu-ray player. Automated customer service messages pretending they couldn't hear me and hanging up, claiming they don't create the firmware for the player and that I need to get that from newegg (where I bought it), trying to pretend it wasn't actually a blu-ray player... crazy shit.

Dell, because every Dell product we've bought has broken down within a year.

Nestle, because they watered down their infant products in third world countries and killed thousands of babies from malnutrition. They've apologized but there's no way my babies are drinking their formula.

Walmart, Wells Fargo, chase bank, target and taco Del mar to just name a few. All of them because they are shitty businesses except taco Dell mar, they just fucked me over once and I'll never forget it.

I can't think of any place I skip because of hipster bullshit, but I mainly buy online. If I have to go to a store for necessities, it is Wal-mart because the prices are cheap.

I avoid Wal-Mart if only because I don't like associating with the dregs of society. That said, the clientele has improved, at least as far as I've noticed. When the first Wal-Mart opened here, it was out in the boondocks near a trailer park, so it was full of absolute filth. Now they've got more central locations and it's become more socially acceptable to shop there, so you see some actual normal, functioning human beings when you go there. Full disclosure: I've been to one approximately 5 times in my life.

Otherwise I do try to support local or independent businesses when I can. Not to the exclusion of others, or to my own detriment if I'd end up paying way more for the same thing. I don't have any huge ideological hangups about business or corporations, I'd just rather support the little guy over the behemoths is all. In general I will also tend to avoid ultra successful brands for clothing and the like as well, again if only because I don't want Nike to rule the world or whatever.

I can't really think of any specific companies I've boycotted or avoided because of ethics or the environment. In general I don't think that consumer choices can make much of an impact 95% of the time, although there are some exceptions. I think people's time and energy is far better spent on electing politicians and lobbying governments to enact regulations and the like to fix market failures. Consumer action often ends up resulting in bullshit "greenwashing" that doesn't end up making much difference in the end.

As far as businesses my company won't do business with, primarily we won't do business with people we know we'll have difficulty getting paid by. I was going to say because of that we don't work for people of Indian or similar descent, but that's not true. We're just extremely careful with them! Probably half our work right now is for Indian developers, some more tight fisted than others. I don't care if it's racist, it's a goddamn fact that Indians are cheap as hell and take a dim view to honoring contractual payment terms.

Lyrical_sl said:

Dell, because every Dell product we've bought has broken down within a year.

Nestle, because they watered down their infant products in third world countries and killed thousands of babies from malnutrition. They've apologized but there's no way my babies are drinking their formula.

Click to expand...

Don't forget their wonderful chocolate slaveryhttp://www.forbes.com/forbes/2006/0424/096.html

DHL. Fucking scam artists.

Starbucks.

Because fuck Howard Schultz for selling the Sonics.

Furry_sl said:

made it this far and nobody said EA? impressed.

Click to expand...

As long as they continue to control the Battlefield and soon to be Battlefront franchises...

I refuse to watch Jay Leno after what he did to Conan, does that count?