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?

@Malin52 Absolutely.

Similarly, I am completely within my rights to exercise my own discretion and refuse to spend any more of my hard earned cash in the shop.

Which is the subject of the thread.

Fenwick 'French Salon' Newcastle.

Had a Pretty Woman on Rodeo Drive moment in there at the beginning of June. I think because I was wearing White Company linen, which had crumpled on the car journey.

I failed to assert myself with the aggressive shop assistant and she was so rude/caused such a scene I had to go to the loos for a good cry.

It was a truly astonishing experience. Like something you'd expect late at night when some people become aggressive in drink.

I haven't been in the store since and don't intend to go back, and I was a regular shopper there. (If I needed new furniture/carpet/bedding/clothes, I would head for Fenwick.) It just represents unpleasantness to me now.

The woman concerned I would imagine being nasty to people in life generally, she was so mean-spirited, it was as if I represented a channel for all of the anger she was feeling that day. I think if it had happened on public transport or somewhere I would have called the police.

Lush
Body Shop
Nestle
Any charity that uses chuggers

Wetherspoons, can’t beat to line Tim Martin’s pockets.

I should avoid Sports Direct but sometimes the convenience gets me if my son needs something quickly off the high street. I avoid it online.

Sports Direct
Lush - stopped ages ago once they started targetting my children to get a sale.
The Body Shop
Local delicatessen who is really in need of business but who looks at you like you're a piece of crap.
Anywhere that gives appalling customer service. I give the benefit of the doubt by going back once though.

Lush
Costa
Starbucks
Game
P C world

River island

Ryan air, personal boycott because of how they treated me 20 years ago and their terrible service and grabby attitude

Lush & Body Shop - I think we all know why.

Byron Burgers after they dobbed their foreign workers in.

Dyson because he's a nob but their hoovers are shit anyway.

@Mintjulia

VW/Audi Group.

They had a multi-million $ development programme that's only objectives were to mislead the emissions regulators and lie to their entire customer base.

I couldn't ever buy a product from them because how would I know which bits they are lying about and which bits are honest. Are their figures on braking efficiency true or false? What about the resilience of their fuel tanks in a crash? Honest or not? Who knows.

They were (and probably still are) systematically dishonest and I don't understand why the entire board of Directors isn't in jail.

I was going to say the same. I currently drive an Audi but won’t be getting another. Or a VW. I can’t believe the scale of the environmental fraud that went on.

I’ve had really poor customer service in Vodafone shops. Ignored by staff on a number of occasions who seemed to go to ridiculous lengths to avoid engaging with me. I’m assuming that’s down to poor training or treatment of staff as it’s happened a number of times.

@Chicchicchicchiclana

I can't buy any Oral B products now since their ridiculous advertising campaigns.

How do I keep my MOUTH healthy? was bad enough.

Now we have

Where do dentists go EVERY DAY to look after their teeth?

Fucks sake.

I also boycott a cafe in my neighbourhood since the waitress walked past me sitting at a table waiting to order and took an order from someone she knew who had just come in, quite some time after I had. That was at least 16 years ago and never been in there since.

I agree, the one where the woman said " I didn't even know Oral B made toothpaste!" Really, what the fook did you think they were bloody known for , chocolate bars?

Hi @Zilla1 it’s because of their sponsorship by big oil ... as part of their climate change exhibit
Journalists exposed them that the contract included gagging clauses meaning that basically they couldn’t tell the truth about the climate emergency because of corporate (financial) deals.

RYANAIR

I would rather walk to my destination than fly with them ever again. I once had to protect my youngest who was tiny and strapped into a buggy from a stampede of people trying to get to the desk first at an airport in Italy. People climbing over his buggy - I really thought he was going to get injured. I was with 4 children and none of the staff could have given a shit. It was appalling.

Also, the fact they charge for absolutely everything, especially their monstrous 'food'. Surprised they don't charge per breath inhaled and per sheet of toilet paper.

I have insisted we change travel plans rather than fly with them. Awful.

Lush - because of the way they treat their staff

@ChaToilLeam

Lush Body Shop Nestle Any charity that uses chuggers

Good point about the chuggers. It's so long since I ambled the high street or went in a train station (who chugs in a train station full of people mostly in a rush, honestly?!) I can't remember who does it now but I generally avoid the big charities anyway. Unless it's something work have got going on and the kids have put some work into. Local wildlife sanctuary, another local horse charity, instead of the major names, because I've been and seen their work first hand when doing work experience visits and the like. It always costs me a tenner in something to take with me to donate when I go visiting but I don't mind one bit 😂 and also they aren't paying for a massive corporate structure and PR machine so even if I give cash it will be paying the electric bill or, at 'worst' the tea and coffee in the volunteers' shed.

Lush for the appalling way they treat their staff
Dominos for awful customer service
Sainsbury’s for wanting to see medical proof of my mask exemption. Being shown the prescription drugs I’m on wasn’t good enough grrrr! I feel ranty just thinking about it.

I'd like to boycott the designated uniform outfitter who "serves" quite a few of our local secondary schools. Despite having a monopoly and guaranteed customers they never have enough stock in and are so bloody rude. I WISH they'd got a bit of competition to stick a rocket under their arses.

FCUK, for their puerile, vulgar branding.

Mydogisagentleman why TOPS tiles? Im looking at tiles atm and just got a sample through today from them so curious as to why.

@BeKindhahahaha You should definitely contact the store regarding that. The great thing about Fenwick is that it covers such a wide range of shoppers and I suspect they would take a very dim view of the assistant's attitude.

Apart from anything else, how can you go to Newcastle and not go to Fenwick?!

Sports direct
House of fraser

@littlemissbee

Lush for the appalling way they treat their staff Dominos for awful customer service Sainsbury’s for wanting to see medical proof of my mask exemption. Being shown the prescription drugs I’m on wasn’t good enough grrrr! I feel ranty just thinking about it.

What do Lush do to their staff?

I was literally just considering buying something from them ...

Next

I hated working at their call centre so I refuse to purchase anything from them now

MLMs - obvious reasons
Nestle - obvious reasons
My local dairy (poor employment practices, wanting approval to build houses on greenbelt with bribe of jobs and just general shitness)
Local Italian restaurant - poor customer service and I'm pretty easy going generally.