
Capitalism means that brands compete for consumers. One negative experience at a brand by one human can lose that brand hundreds of customers.
If it gets bad enough, that brand could even go out of business.
Brands can also be political.
Nike standing with Colin Kaepernick both gained and lost it a substantial amount of customers.
Choosing or shunning a brand makes a statement.
What statement do you make?
Redditor jngdavid asked:
"Which brand has lost you as a customer?"
Here were some of those stories.
Bye Bye Bank
Bank of America. Their ATM was down so I had to go in and deposit my check. Paid all of my bills and had pretty much no money (this was during college), and they hit me with a $10 service fee which overdrew my account, and then they charged me a $35 overdraft fee.
So, $45 I didn't have because their machine was down. The person I talked to on the phone was a complete dick and I decided to get rid of my account right then and there. He then gave me an attitude about canceling. Eff that guy and eff Bank of America.
A Problem They Created
Movistar. Once they downgraded my phone "on accident" and later were unable to undo the downgrade because "they can't replace a phone by another model" and kept me waiting for two months until I said "screw it" and bought another phone.
Money Out The Wazoo
Ticketmaster ... .00034 seconds after tickets go on sale, SOLD OUT for all but cosmically afar seats but their subsidiary Stubhub has them for 400% more but you need to pay an oxygen fee, electricity fee, left turning fee, reach around fee before the fee to disclose fees ... at least 50 shows that I've declined to go when I see that loathsome logo... never ever EVER going to pay them a dime .. probably a fee for that too...
The Fabric Attacks
Victoria's Secret. In my 20's everything I owned was from VS. Over time I realized the quality was declining and the prices were absurd. I would have reactions to whatever they treated the fabric with and that was the last straw. I stopped buying from them.
I'm Doing Your Job
Netgear. Buy one of their top end routers and when you need to update firmware, their automatic process corrupts on download ridiculously often, thus completely bricking it. Rather than fix it or offer to replace or anything, they just say "oh you should have done it manually because that happens a lot"
Wtf kind of response is that? Ridiculous
Left On Read
Progressive
A lawnmower hit my parked car during work last year and it was terrible dealing with Progressive. The claims agent I got stopped communicating with me after a certain point and I ended up having to hound the lawnmowing company's owner to pay for my car's repairs.
Spiteful Timing
Wells Fargo. Our first mortgage was thru them. After a couple years I get a call on the second of the month telling me my mortgage was due. I told them I had until the 15th. They told me that was a grace period and their investors preferred I pay on the first.
I told them I would make sure I never paid it before the 15th ever again and their investors could eat a bag of dicks. We paid the mortgage at 4:30 in the afternoon on the 15th (or closest prior weekday) for the next 5 years at the local branch which was a half mile from the house. Good times!
Sprint Far Away
Sprint. Recovering from surgery, sedated in a hospital, over 8 years ago, I had a pre-smart phone and no data plan. Accidentally pushed some sort of 'internet' button that literally brought up Sprint's home page. When the $450 bill arrived they refused to budge. I was within the 45 day 'cancel for full refund' stage.
This was a 2 year contract for my family of six. I returned the phones and cancelled the agreement but they refused to waive the internet charge. After talking on the phone with an escalation call center for over 4 hours I agreed to pay but vowed they would never see another penny from me.
One of a very small number of companies with a lifetime blacklist. I've paid my replacement carrier nearly $20,000 in the meantime. If Sprint ever merges with my carrier (they've tried a few times now), I will leave. If I go to a prepaid network, I will research to make sure whatever I use is not a rented Sprint network. Not one penny.
And I tell this story to anyone that will listen.
Find Another Sucker!
Adobe. I never liked their subscription model and then when administering licenses, the keys themselves end up being corrupted and then you have to go through a tedious process to have them all corrected again. Sub models on popular software always suck.
Transforming Furniture
Wayfair.
I was looking for a sectional and found one at a good price. The product page was a sectional, when I added it to my basket it was a sectional, when I paid for it my invoice said sectional, my confirmation email said it was a sectional... When I went to track the package, it magically turned into an Ottoman...
I called them and they said that they have to hold onto my money until the product was sent back to them. I understand that policy, however they were the ones that messed up. They requested that I take a day off of work to accept the package, so there's more money gone. They also didn't honor the sectional price as the sale was over when I found out about the issue...
This is the only time I ordered anything from them.
Post Office Shenanigans
Dell.
Several years ago my computer died and I sent the laptop in to get the motherboard repaired. The process of getting the box back and forth, took several weeks, and when the computer was returned the wifi antenna was broken.
Thr amount of phones calls I made trying to get boxes, and dealing with the same person was so frustrating. I even spent a full day waiting at a friends for a box they said was delivered, and never came. Ugh!
I was trying to keep it out of a landfill, but my parents were kind enough to get me a desktop since the repair took so long. I still have the laptop but it had been only a year old.
My previous laptop lasted nealy ten years with no problems, it was a Lenovo.
Life On The Screen
Netflix. I'm sick of getting invested in their shows just to have them cancel them around the season two mark with no resolution.
Big Brother
Amazon.
After reading about the way they treat their warehouse employees, we cancelled our Prime account. No regrets. Cancelled Audible, too. As much as possible, we avoid anything associated with Amazon.
There's plenty of additional information that's come out since that confirms it was the right decision.
Alexa? You have to be out of your @#$%ing mind to let that in your house.
Not My Fault
Bank of America. I had a mortgage with them, paid with autopay as long as I had the mortgage.
About 8 years later, they started applying my check to some guy named Bob in the midwest. No explanation. No mail. No email. Got a surprise one day when they tried to foreclose on me from out of the blue.
I went there with all of my canceled checks, and they wouldn't fix it until I talked to one of the Vice Presidents of the company.
BoA sucks.
A Return For Nobody
TurboTax. Please don't use TurboTax. They tried to charge me $150 for a tax refund that I got for free through another site. For anyone in the US, you can get the same refund for free, I used freetaxusa.com. Don't use TurboTax they're a scam.
Loss Of Values
McDonalds, totally.
I'm a bit ahem older than most Redditors, so I remember vividly how great McDonalds used to be as a family dining experience back in the 70s. They had a simple, tasty menu that appealed to both kids and adults and the restaurant experience itself was dynamic and well-themed. I even worked at one in high school in the 80s, and I consider that experience the solid foundation of my professional work ethic as an adult.
Now McDonalds is just another low-quality corporate "everything-to-everyone/nothing-to-nobody" chain with a massive menu of themeless mediocrity. For the cost of their food, I could easily go to any local family-owned restaurant and get a much better version as a sit-down experience.
Not So Super
Supercell because of their rigged matchmaking system in Clash Royale and their obvious attempts at getting you to buy more gems so that you can continue in their rigged challenges and so that you can get the best cards. And their Pass Royale which is a monthly purchase, like, do they get enough money from their gem sales.
So, their sleazy business practices and their attempts at getting you to buy more things to win their games have lost them a customer and a player.
Vinyl Records Just Aren't Portable
NEVER EVER I WILL BUY FROM CROSLEY!!!
I've heard how bad it is and how it tricked people but it's absolutely gross!! It looks cute, portable, and nice. However people saying it that it is of quality THEY ARE WRONG!!!
I'm sorry, portablers, but buy something non-portable and burn your vinyls to CDs so you can bring your music anywhere without destroying your vinyls.
Another Appearance For This Company
Netflix.
I once had an account, for one month. Then during Summer I see a purchase for 1 month. The funny thing is.. I am Hungarian, I bought from Netflx in my country's currency. But the purchase was from Brazil.
Tried to watch something since the currency was less than the HuF. It meant I paid less for this month subscription than before.
So I left it there, then in October it happened again.
After that I contacted Customer support, oddly there was no prompt where I could learn about what to do when your account is hacked.. Eventually in a live chat I was able to get it fixed, and I received my money in euroes..€. Wich is worth more than the currency they used.
The whole thing is a mess.
Running Away
Nike. Specifically for cross training and running shoes.
I was a collegiate sprinter and was big into crossfit for a while. Nike sneakers made for those things never stood up when it comes to wear and tear.
Within a month I had flaps on the soles come loose and rips in the sides. I swear they must put all of their efforts in basketball sneakers and Airforce 1s.
I'm not judging them off of one or two pairs either...I was a loyal Nike customer since high school and just figured that's how all shoes responded to intense exercise.
Then in college, my track team was sponsored by Ascics or Adidas (I forget, but it was one of those two A brands) and my world was changed. Those shoes lasted for seasons and I only replaced them each year because we got more for discount or free.
After college I tried Nike again because I had some money and wanted to splurge on dope looking shoes. Well, of course within weeks the soles started to deteriorate after basic running and exercising.
Overall, they still did the job but I'd rather pay for a shoe that does the same job without the quick wear and tear.
Worse Off Being A Loyal Customer
I wouldn’t say I’d never use Adobe again, I would just never auto renew my stuff.
Adobe’s renewal rate compared to cancelling and repurchasing my student plan was ridiculously significant. It would cost somewhere around £169.99 to buy into the full student creative cloud but they tried to push up the price to £249.99 if I simply let it auto renew after the year was up.
It seems like a bit of a dim idea to try and hike the price when it can be easily cancelled and bought again for the lower price. It’s funny to think that you’re worse off for being a loyal customer.
It's Not Snack Time
Late to the party and will get buried, but: any brand that forces me to listen to someone eating on their commercials.
KitKat, Beneful, Duracell - I have a list and, sadly, it grows probably weekly at this point. It's disgusting, advertisers, STOP IT.
Perhaps more than ever before, consumers are voting with their dollars.
What brands have lost you?
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We all make mistakes.
It's simply human nature.
But that doesn't mean we don't often find ourselves frustrated when other people make mistakes.
Particularly if these other people are our colleagues, resulting in having to clean up the mess they created.
Redditor xk543x was curious to hear about some of the worst, or most inane mistakes made by unreliable co-workers, leading them to ask:
"What's the dumbest mistake you've seen an incompetent co worker make?"
There's a reason we keep the boys away from the girls
"At a Petco all the Guinea pigs were in a big plexiglass enclosure with a center divider."
"Boys on one side and girls on the other."
"An employee decided that all the long haired Guinea pigs should be on one side and short haired on the other."
"It took forever to sort them out and all the females were pregnant."- PumpkinsDad
Dangerously negligent
"Social worker here."
"We’re supposed to see clients who live with families once a year."
"A mom of a kid kept calling her worker but got no answer."
"Mom called the on call worker who discovered the assigned worker had logged the visits in and made thorough notes."
"The mom said she never saw her in two years."
"This led to her whole caseload being audited and then they found she had logged a visit with a client who’d been dead for months."
"While being audited, her supervisor decided to do a surprise visit to the client she was supposed to see."
"She never showed up and logged in the visit the next day."- ShiroHachiRoku
Slow and steady... gets you fired
"Had a guy take a cover off the base of a radar unit which had like 40 bolts holding it on."
"Gave him a ratchet wrench to do it."
"Half hour later I go check on him, only had about 10 off. "
"Watched him a bit."
"He would take it off each time to move it for the next turn!
"Showed him how a ratchet works."
"Never assume people know stuff." - User Deleted
Old Faithful!
"Tried to cool down hot oil, in a chute, all ready to be emptied, with a nice big bucket of water."
"I heard 'THOMAS NO' only to turn around and see a GEYSER of hot oil shooting towards the ceiling before it hit and splashed down around him."
"Nobody was hurt some f*cking how."
"The chute that the oil was in was on wheels and had a wooden handle, it absolutely didn’t need to be cooled lol."- Ohiolongboard
How to make a bad situation even worse
"I worked on a golf course during the summer."
"Area with lots of poison ivy."
"Two of my coworkers were instructed to weedy a river edge area."
"If we encounter poison ivy, we either stop what we are doing or go get full suit protection with respirators."
"These dumba**es were weed whacking in the thickest poison ivy I had ever seen."
"No protective suit or glasses or respirator."
"I roll up and notice what the hell they're doing and point out all the poison ivy everywhere."
"They were aerosolizing the oil."
"They both ended up in the hospital on steroid to prevent their death because of the oils they inhaled."- Onwisconsin42
"30 days has September..."
"The designer, creative director and head of production all missed that there was an eight day week on a calendar."
"We sent 10000 copies of a useless calendar to a client."
"Rightly so, they refused to pay for it."- atot806
Isn't that why they call it long division?
"Not a mistake necessarily, but I once witnessed our chief accounting officer, and our only accountant; it was a small company, type in values into two Excel cells, pull out a calculator, add the two numbers together in the calculator, and then type the answer in a third cell."
"She had apparently been doing this for years, with sheets consisting of thousands of rows."
"I explained how to use formulas and copy them but she apparently forgot because I saw her doing the same thing again months later."- zachm26
Isn't that what these pockets are for?
"When I worked construction, there was a guy who showed up with nothing in his tool belt except a small bag of peanuts in one pocket."
"He didn't stay around too long."- Incredible_mango
Maybe a little guidance and help was all it took to put these colleagues on a better path forward.
But one imagines the only path these less-than-star employees found themselves on was right out the door.
There's nothing more embarrassing than laughing at a story someone just told, or a question someone just asked, under the assumption that they were joking.
Only to realize a few seconds later that they weren't joking.
It happens to the best of us.
In some cases, these can be bizarre stories which we might laugh about months or years down the road.
Though more often than not, we immediately feel a foot slamming into our mouth with a vengeance.
Redditor tatemalia was eager to hear the wildest, most embarrassing of these unfortunate moments, leading them to ask:
"What's your 'Oh..You're not joking' moment?"
Oh, bless your heart.
"Had an old lady ask me when her dog would grow its leg back after an amputation."- Moctor_Drignall
Don't mind if I do
"I was eating ice cream and an old guy walking into the ice cream parlor said, 'Oh, that looks good! I'm gonna get a spoon'."
"I smiled and laughed awkwardly, until his damn spoon was in my ice cream."- KnittingTrekkie
Feedback is greatly appreciated
"It was when I met up with an online friend for the first time."
"It was surprisingly more fun than I thought it would be."
"By the end of the night, as we were waiting to get served at a restaurant, she looked at me and asked how I thought our outing went."
"I told her that I had a great time."
"But that didn't seem to do it for her."
"She proceeded to tell me about how she does this thing, at the end of every outing with her friends, where she rates and gives feedback on how well it went, what didn't go so well, and what could do with some improvement for next time."
"I laughed it off, thinking she was joking."
"It all felt too robotic and school-like for me to take seriously."
"But she definitely was serious."
"I told her to go first so I could get an idea of what she wanted and, I kid you not, she whipped out her phone and started drafting up multiple paragraphs for about 7 minutes or so."
"I felt so awkward because it was also 7 minutes of pure silence and deep concentration."
"Thankfully, I had to leave mid-way because I was needed elsewhere."
"I told her to just text me her thoughts when she was done but she insisted that that wasn't the way to do it, and it HAD to be done in person."
"I still can't believe this is something her and her friends regularly do."- reigndrops17
We'll take the house, no need for a bag.
"Working in a catalog store in the UK."
"You pick from the catalog, we bring it out from the warehouse."
"Lady comes in and orders the single largest thing we keep in store."
"A shed. "
"Not a particularly big shed as sheds go, but still a shed."
"'Ok madam if you give me your vehicle's registration number I'll tell the security guys to let you round the back of the store'."
"'Park in bay five and we'll load it for you'."
"'What are you talking about?'"
"'You have to park around back so we can load it into your vehicle'."
"'I don't have a vehicle'."
"'Oh, well, we have the numbers for some white van men and taxi services if you'd like to...'"
"'No just bring it up, Keith can carry it'."
"She indicates a portly man of around 50 across the room'."
"We got it into the lift diagonally, though it trapped a man behind it, and when it came up she said 'what on earth is that?'"
"'That's your shed, madam'."
"'My Keith can't carry that!'"
"'Yeah no sh*t, would you like me to call a van service for you?'"
"She actually just got a refund and left."- reverendmalerik
That's not yours, its mine!
"I work at a hotel."
"We have this regular who comes, but usually makes reservations ahead of time, and she has her 'favorite' room she tries to get."
"Well one day she walked in, asking for a room."
"I had rooms available, but not the one she wanted, and she replied 'oh, call the guests in that room and tell them to move out so I can have it'."
"I seriously thought that was a joke and I played along, saying 'I'll get right on that,' as I was getting her info in the computer."
"All of a sudden she said, 'aren't you going to call them?'"
"'Call who?'"
"'Those guests in that room so I can have it'."
"'Oh, you really weren't joking'."
"I told her that we don't do that, if she wanted that room she needed to call ahead."
"'I have a room, I know it's not your preferred room but it's all I've got, and you can take it or leave it, but I'm not moving a guest out'."
"She seemed almost taken aback by that, but I told her that if she didn't take the room I had she wouldn't get anything."
"She calls ahead now, but I was mortified and shocked she actually tried this stunt, and actually meant it."- llcucf80
What is the meaning of this?!
"Used to work at a big bank that bought out another, somewhat smaller but still pretty big bank about 10 years ago."
"Some guy came in all pissed off because we didn't send him a new debit card with the new bank's logo on it."
"They intentionally made it so the old ones would continue working until they were originally set to expire."
Said it was "'embarrassing'."
"'I can't be the only person who's gotten upset over this, right?'"
"Yeah homie, you were."- giantgoose
It's easy to understand how these poor people thought what they had just heard was a joke.
One imagines, going forward, they might wait to laugh until after the people they were talking to start laughing.
Being cheated on is a horrible feeling.
And some would say that cheating on your significant other is inexcusable.
Perhaps that's why when partners come up with excuses and reasons as to why they cheated often make these situations so much worse.
But in some cases, these excuses might end up lightening the situation, owing to the sheer idiocy of these justifications.
Redditor tall_boizz was curious to hear the lamest, most ludicrous excuses people were given from their unfaithful partners, leading them to ask:
"What is the dumbest explanation you've heard from someone who cheated?"
I saw you yesterday!
"I missed you."
"I was on a short vacation."- haynb03
It's not me, it's you
"'If you had confidence in yourself, none of this would have happened'."- marques33
Well, you did
"'I didn't want to hurt you'"
"Way to go, dude."- taalnerd
It was out of grief
“'My grandmother died'.”
"I didn’t realize cheating on your girlfriend is the standard grieving method." - User Deleted
I'm only monogamous in the city I'm in.
“'When you said you wanted to be exclusive I thought you meant exclusive here'."
"'You never even asked if I had a boyfriend'.”
"I had been 'dating' this girl for 3 months in college when she admitted that she had been in a long distance relationship with her boyfriend from high school the entire time and she had slept with him each time she visited her parents, which was at least once a month."- dring157
Um, what?
"'You deleted your Facebook, and my friend and I thought that was fishy'."
"I don't even know where to start with that kind of rationality."- RandylVlarsh
We were just too perfect
"'We never have any fights'."
"So you decide to cheat so I can get mad at you?"- somerandomredditor18
Hypocrite!
“'I wanted to try something new'.”
"He cheated on me with his ex."- meeez80
Quid Pro Quo... OOPS!
"‘I thought you were doing it too!’ "
"F*ck him!"- mawo77
I had to compartmentalize
"A friend in a long-distrance relationship who only saw his GF on weekends because she was at an army posting at the other end of the country during the week."
"He found out she was cheating on him with some guy."
"Her explanation?"
"'Well, for me the army and my private life are two different lives, so it makes sense I have two different boyfriends'."
"For context, I'm from Germany, this was the German army, and 'the other end of the country' was about six hours by train, the train being free for soldiers."
When people need to dig up excuses as laughable as these, it's often because they are well aware they were in the wrong.
Hopefully, the unlucky partners of this unfaithful, motley crew can take solace in the fact that they are now much better off.
Usain Bolt's 9.58 second 100-meter dash at the 2009 IAAF World Championships.
2,019 people performing "mattress dominoes" in Rio De Janeiro in 2019.
Audra McDonald's six Tony award wins and being the only actor to win in all four acting categories.
These are only a few of the most notable, and unusual world records that have yet to be beaten.
Records some even think might never be beaten.
Redditor badblackguy7 was curious to hear what other world records people think will never be broken, leading them to ask:
"What is a record, sports or otherwise, that will likely never be broken?"
Let's hope so!
"FDR being elected US president 4 times."- holyhellnothingworks
Unbroken thanks to modern technology
"The Lion King as the highest VHS sales of all time."- Fawqueue
Once in a lifetime
"Jacque Villeneuve, Michel Schumacher and Heinz Harald Frentzen set the exact same time in qualifying in the 1997 European grand Prix."
"To the THOUSANDTH of a second."- DaBi5cu1t
Do NOT try this at home
"Oh I know this one."
"When I was a kid, we had a Guinness book of records lying around that we liked to browse in while bored."
"There was this one guy in it who held a record for most bikes eaten."
"No, you did read that right."
"He ground up a bike and slowly consumed it over I don't know how long a time."
"The record was accompanied by a note that no further records of bike eating would be accepted, as it was deemed too dangerous."- Picajosan
They made sure this will never happen again
"The longest professional tennis match of all time."
" John Isner vs Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon 2010."
"It lasted 11 hours 5 minutes, spanning 3 days of play, with a final score of 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 70-68"
"It was already nearly twice as long as the previous record holder."
"The reason it will likely never be broken is that every professional tournament except for one, Roland-Garros, now has tiebreaker rules that limit the number of games that can be played in final sets."
"Although it’s hypothetically possible at RG, clay court tennis is not at all conducive to the serve-and-volley style of play that led to the insanely long 5th set of Isner-Mahut."- MSims2992
"California here I come..."
"The current record for the Cannonball Run, a drive from NY to LA, is about 25.5 hours."
"It was set in May of 2020, and the drivers were able to make use of the lack of traffic due to the pandemic to break the record."
"Barring another similar world changing event, traffic conditions will probably never be what they were when that record was set."- SexyNeanderthal
Any other challengers?
"Aleksandr Karelin."
"Greco-Roman wrestler."
"887 wins to 2 losses."
"Entered 9 world championships and never lost a bout in them."- minorboozer
Winning is just showing up.
"Glenn Hall played 502 consecutive games as an NHL goalie."
"Zero chance that will ever be broken, goalies these days rarely play more than 3/4 of an 82-game season, let alone numerous seasons without a night off."- ButtholeQuiver
Whoosh!
"Surprised no one mentioned the unlimited water speed record."
"The current unlimited record is 511.11 km/h (317.59 mph)."
"Achieved by Australian Ken Warby in the Spirit of Australia in 1978."
"It hasn’t been broken to this day due to how dangerous it is to go at those sort of speeds on the surface and plenty of people have passed away trying."- Sliiated
"I'll be waiting, waiting for you..."
"The longest non consecutive billboard 200 album streak belongs to none other than, The Dark Side Of the Moon by Pink Floyd."
"It currently has been on the chart for 962 weeks."
"Second in line is Legend, by Bob Marley and the Wailers, at 733 weeks, meaning Marley and the wailers would need almost 4.5 years of time on the charts, with Floyd being absent, in order to take the number one spot."- Floyd-Van-Zeppelin
There is a likely chance that these records will never, in fact, never be broken.
But one has little doubt that people will continue to try.
And power to anyone attempting to sell more video cassettes than The Lion King.