The Corporate Decisions That Were Met With Huge Public Backlash
Reddit user Astro_Shogun asked: 'What decision by a company received the most amount of backlash from the public?
Corporations don't get big overnight.
A lot of tough decisions, big wins, and sometimes even bigger losses, go into their growth.
But sometimes companies make mistakes that the public simply cannot let slide, and it can be hard to imagine how the company could stay afloat after the backlash.
Redditor Astro_Shogun asked:
"What decision by a company received the most amount of backlash from the public?"
Dang It, Photobucket
"When Photobucket decided to take the whole internet hostage by asking for 400 dollars a year for what was previously a free image storage solution. The move broke years of forum posting and erased a significant portion of the web collective knowledge."
- denpo
"Yup. And now they're holding almost all of my son's childhood photos (some of which I managed to save in other places) hostage."
- KnockMeYourLobes
"Browse any forum thread from the early 2000s and practically all the images are gone because everyone used Photobucket back then. It will be the same way with Reddit whenever Imgur goes under."
- NothingOld7527
So Salesy
"JCPenny doing away with sales and trying to present itself as a more upscale store. Sales immediately plummeted, and they reversed course quickly."
- flyingcircusdog
Cheap Jewelry
"Gerald Ratner said the reason his jewelry company could sell stuff so cheap was because the products were crap. It destroyed the company overnight."
- simplemtbman
Front Wheel Drive
"Ford, in the '80s, tried to replace the aging Fox body Mustang with a front-wheel drive, Mazda-based car. This was pre-internet, but car people got UPSET and deluged Ford with a letter expressing their anger."
"Ford backtracked, kept the Fox body around, and released the vehicle that was going to be the new Mustang as the Probe. It lasted two generations, but the Mustang soldiers on."
- StillN0tATony
Online Only
"Microsoft got roasted when they announced Kinect and always-online were required for the Xbox One. Took all the momentum they had from the 360 era and put them miles behind Sony."
- Jerry_Williams89
Childhood: Destroyed
"Sonic having human teeth."
- LightDash
"I just immediately pictured teeth in a Sonic milkshake and had a horrified reaction before my brain caught up to you meaning the character."
- Rolizas
Questionable Upgrades
"Very recently, T-Mobile. A company that 10 years ago called itself the Uncarrier by making a series of pro-consumer changes to its plans and the previous CEO built almost a sort of cult of fans of the company. Then T-Mobile acquired Sprint and got a new CEO."
"A couple of weeks ago, T-Mobile internal documentation revealed it was going to automatically upgrade customers on old grandfathered plans up to new plans, which were more expensive. Customers would have to call in to opt out of the change. 'They weren’t raising customers’ rates, they were moving them to better plans.'"
"Well, major tech news got ahold of that, and then even some local news stations, and T-Mobile quietly 'clarified' a week later via internal communications that only one percent of their customers would be affected."
- artimaticus8
Coming Together in Hate
"Anyone remember the Kendall Jenner Pepsi ad when she solved police brutality?"
- vernon3
"Those moments are precious. There are a few things these days that bring everyone on the Internet together. That was one of those things. We all hated the Pepsi ad that solved police brutality."
"That ad had it all. Pandering, ignorance, arrogance, and talking down to their audience."
- notwoutmyprob
"And a Kardashian."
- Kitchen_action
With Every Purchase
"I couple of years back a local Detroit area car dealership decided the best way to celebrate MLK day was to give away free car alarms with every purchase."
"Nobody liked that."
- graveybrains
A Sale Gone Too Well
"Hoover UK offering two free flights to America if you spend £100 on their products. They anticipated that people would spend a lot more than the minimum required which would cover the approximately £600 value of the tickets."
"When the company was deluged with purchases around the £100 mark, they reneged on the offer, which prompted a very expensive lawsuit. The fallout was so bad that the UK division of the firm was sold to a rival company."
- Live-Dance-2641
New Drink, Who Dis?
"New Coke."
- PeggyWithPhatA**
"After the relations disaster, the public clamored for the decision to be reversed, and Coca-Cola released 'Coke Classic.'"
"Coke Classic soon had an even higher market share than Coke did before the public relations fiasco, and a new theory made the rounds: that Coca-Cola deliberately made these decisions, simply to gain publicity, and increase market share."
"The reaction from Coca-Cola’s executives was, 'We aren’t that smart, and we aren’t that stupid.'"
- Malthus1
A Tweet Turned Sexist
"Burger King stating that 'Women Belong in the Kitchen.' What they were TRYING to say was that they wanted more diversity. People didn't see it that way, and in the end, they had to issue an apology."
- zerbey
The Downfall of an Incredible Publication
"Here’s one there should be a public outcry about."
"Disney bought National Geographic and controls everything it does. This is the last year the iconic magazine will be available. I’m incensed."
- redheadMInerd2
(The writer of this article is equally incensed.)
Predicting the Future
"I feel like whatever YouTube is cooking up lately will be the next one."
- Just_Aioli_1233
"Tech companies sure know how to kill off highly popular and profitable apps, super quick. It’s interesting to watch it happen in real-time. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, all losing tons of followers and destroying their own stock."
- Eleanor_of_Accutane
It's easy to see how all of these mistakes resulted in huge backlash, sometimes at the total expense and downfall of the business.
But some of these mistakes were made by companies that are still huge today, and to a certain extent, that's kind of surprising.
The corporate world is a beastly institution, swallowing up millions and subjecting everybody to its own absurd logic.
It rewards and punishes about as predictably as a housefly chooses which counter to land on.
Unfortunately for people in that world, it's existentially just as infuriating as a housefly. Except its a housefly that controls your ability to pay rent and provide healthcare for your family.
It's no surprise that people have *colorful* things to say about the corporate world.
The common theme here? Good, focused, hard work is the last thing that matters.
u/Namaeslay asked, "What is the biggest lesson you learnt in the corporate world?"What is the biggest lesson you learnt in the corporate world?"
You'll Want to Steer Clear of Blatant Violence
How to scream silently and not throw my boss through a window.
GiphyHonestly, Horrifying
If it's not documented, it doesn't exist and/or never happened.
Keep On Keepin' On
You can carve out a pretty long career by being just mediocre enough at your job to essentially be ignored.
GiphyEyes on the Prize
Whenever someone you work with leaves for another company, be friendly with them in their last weeks and stay in touch.
Your network is how you get new jobs, and new jobs are how you get promotions and raises.
Trust the Paradox
Train your replacement. You won't be able to get a promotion if there's no one else to take your job.
It's All About Laying Low
Nobody will tell you the best trick of sales is knowing when you're not needed.
If you're not talking in a meeting you're called into, ALWAYS have yourself on mute.
GiphyIdiots. Idiots Everywhere.
A very significant number of people are absolutely winging it and have no idea what they're doing.
The corporate world is not a meritocracy – you will encounter incompetent people at every level of hierarchy.
High School Never Ends
There's no avoiding office politics. Either you'll get pulled into it directly, or your mentors or friends will be/get embroiled in them and expect you to support them.
GiphyBein' Bold
If you want something then ask for it. Do you wanna sit in on discussions about things that are relevant to your job? Ask. Do you wanna build experience in a certain technology that's not directly related to your job? Ask for it.
If you have a good manager that cares about improving people's careers, they will more than likely accommodate you.