Are there any stores or companies you refuse to shop from or deal with?

[User1055]

As the thread title says - I have just decided to shop anywhere except a major high street electrical / computer company from now onwards after a couple of poor customer service issues. I shopped there from convenience, but I'm fed up with them now.
This got me thinking. I avoid any MLM, even though I really like some products I was given as a gift, and stores with poor ethics regarding production, worker treatment, etc.
Do you have any you actively avoid?

NSPCC / Childline.
Also - James Esses. Volunteer at Childline. CG barrister, who was expelled from his course whilst re-training as a therapist to focus on supporting children and young people. He had started a petition, that got 10,000 + signatures to safeguard therapy and counselling for vulnerable children with gender dysphoria.

Childline sacked him.

Actually the NSPCC head office where he worked does not ever have any children in it. However, having worked there for a number of years there are many reasons I would never donate money. Mainly due to the allocation of funds and their obsession with putting children into boxes to fit specific programmes they are running and their inability to help children who do not fit this specific criteria. Due to this programmes are often woefully under utilised and service centres sat empty. Once a child has finished their specific programme they have zero ongoing contact with the service.

Childline on the other hand does absolutely brilliant work.

Appliances Direct. They "sell" appliances they don't have in stock, charge your credit card upon order, and then tell you "it's delayed" constantly. We're still waiting for a freezer we ordered 6 months ago, with delivery dates that have been pushed back numerous times. They're still "selling" the same freezer on line with delivery dates within a week, even though they've no stock and have no idea when they'll be able to deliver ours! Taking your money when they don't have the items in stock isn't acceptable!

Curry's because they never have anything in stock, the sales staff know nothing about the products and customer service is terrible.

And I only ever set foot in Toys R Us once. It was a horrible place full of threatening signs about CCTV and shop lifting and completely soulless. Just serried racks of sealed boxes. How they managed to take something fun like a toy shop and turn it into a joyless warehouse from hell is a mystery to me.

ASDA

The only shop a member of staff has ever told me to 'fuck off', I gave them a chance to do something but they didn't even appologise.

20+ years now.

Sandals holiday company for having homophobic no same sex couple policies for years and years. I suspect they have had to change now, but will never use them.

As its holidays are mainly in Jamaica where discrimination is not just rife but has laws that criminalise some homosexul acts I can understand. Taking bookings from same sex couples would put them in danger of 10 years in prison.

@safariboot

Oh yeah Wetherspoons for me too. The owner didn't just support Brexit, he put campaign material on every table in every one of his pubs.

The magazines, yes, but the pro-Brexit beer mats never made it to my Remain town.

IKEA - every house I seem to have been in seems to have a piece of the furniture and mainly because I find any flat pack furniture to be low quality.
Oh and I absolutely hate their shops, so impersonal!

Currys, because of the appalling customer service I received when my order went missing & they refused to refund my nearly £500.
John Lewis because they have closed the store in my city despite the council paying them millions to stay for the next 10 years.
Waitrose because my last order had nearly £100 of goods missing & the delivery man was useless & probably took my £100 worth of meat home with him.

Next, Vangarde York. Terrible, horrible service from horrible sales people (according to dh and ds who are the most easy going people ever usually!) Dh actually got an eye roll from someone when he just asked to collect an order then they tried to give the order to someone else. Then they sent them home with the security tags still attached to some of the clothes….nightmare!

wickes , most inept crap company ever , cant even manage to deliver 2 tins of paint and then only refunded me the cost of the paint , not the delivery charge even though they never delivered it , which meant i had to go to b and q to buy more paint . their attitude is terrible on the phone ,they dont give a shit how much its inconvienced you at all , ,never shopped there again , never will

Where possible, businesses that also sell meat or animal products. This isn't always possible, but I do buy from vegan only businesses where viable.

Meat and dairy consumption is destroying the environment.

Talk Talk, ever since they browbeat my elderly aunty into taking out a broadband package.

She didn't even have a computer!

I won't donate to Macmillan having seen how much money they waste and the way they treat their staff.
I would rather give to smaller cancer charities or hospice care.

@romdowa

I avoid my local sports direct after going in there one Sunday morning to buy new trainers heavily pregnant in a heatwave. The staff were stood around laughing and chatting , there were boxes piled up on the seating so I had to stand and most of the shoes on display had no prices 🤬 so I ended up stood there for 20 minutes trying to get someone's attention. I eventually left and walked up the street to a smaller sports store and got a fabulous new pair of shoes for a fab price and had amazing customer service. I went back to the sports direct ad told the manager exactly what happened and that several people had also left his store to go to the smaller one.

I avoid my local charity shop because the manager is a drunken mess most evenings and once abused me on Facebook messenger because she didn't like my dp🤣🤣 I was always friendly with her and was so shocked I couldn't deal with the awkwardness of going back in there. A lot of local people avoid the shop because of her as well.

The manager at our local charity shop is hugely opinionated and always loudly mouthing off about something. Numerous volunteers have left because of her condescending mannner. I cringe every time I go in.

I only buy cruelty free cleaning, make up and hair products.
Avoid :
Certain big charities
Starbucks
Burger King, KFC etc
We're not eating out at pubs and restaurants at the moment. They've lost the plot, they're all overpriced and under staffed. Had a few shocking meals out just lately so we're waiting until they get their act together.
Anywhere that makes you wear a mask.

I don’t boycott companies, even if I don’t agree with them or their business practices. As part of my masters I learnt about a shoe manufacturer (probably Adidas but I may be wrong) who made shoes in a factory with appalling business practices. There was a Twitter outcry, business was pulled from the factory and all the women were out of work. The majority were forced to turn to sex work - so the boycott had lead to a worsening of their conditions and life chances.
So instead if I hear of bad conditions etc I always urge the company to stick with the supplier and try to improve conditions. It’s a far far better outcome for the workers.

It depends though doesn't it, if lots of us do boycott Lush for example I don't think their staff's immediate next thought is to turn to prostitution, is it?

I refuse to shop in Lush the smell make me feel sick and gives me a headache from half a mile away.

@Tal45

I refuse to shop in Lush the smell make me feel sick and gives me a headache from half a mile away.

im the opposite , the smell draws me in like a moth to the flame lol ,

@slightlysnippy

Can I ask what the issue is with nspcc, I donate every month wondering if I should reconsider?

During my masters degree in 2010 we had to do a project with an established organisation. I chose a charity to support that sector with income generation. I visited a number of charities and had a meeting with them to scope out their needs and how I could help them. The NSPCC for the region I was studying in told me each area has a slush fund of £1m to spend as they see fit, no questions asked. That was aside to the funding lines from head office. With those flush that size, I think they have enough to spend

@hiplip

Purina cat foods due to their failure to address concerns regarding cats falling ill and even dying after eating Felix cat food.

Is purina affected now too?

Thanks to those who responded to my nspcc question off to move my monthly donation else where.

John Lewis mixed sex changing rooms, so ordered three large white goods from elsewhere
Marks and Spencers. As above.
Argos (13 years and still going)

Any company that promotes sterilising autistic girls ( puberty blockers and cross sex hormones) because they are autistic and don't do stereotypes.

Lush
Body Shop
Any mlm

@BlackeyedSusan

John Lewis mixed sex changing rooms, so ordered three large white goods from elsewhere Marks and Spencers. As above. Argos (13 years and still going)

Any company that promotes sterilising autistic girls ( puberty blockers and cross sex hormones) because they are autistic and don't do stereotypes.

What?! Do people do this?!