to ask if anyone has boycotted stores etc

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Have any of you boycotted any shops or particular brands because you don't agree with some of there policies?

I often see on things like fb or twitter people saying this. For example people boycotting tesco due to the bad taste 'mental' patient Halloween costume.

I will be honest and say I've never even thought about boycotting somewhere.

Sorry - that was to NotNewButNameChanged.

I don't disagree that some of Tesco's business practices are less than savoury, but the building of new stores always seems to get people up in arms despite the fact that they wouldn't survive unless people actually used them. It's nice to believe that independent grocers, butchers and bakers can survive, but it might not be realistic. After all, a shop that is only open when a large majority of people are at work will often lose business to one which is open when it's more convenient for them to shop. It's unfortunate, but not really a failing on Tesco's part.

I boycott Starbucks because they don't pay tax and their staff are on pitiful wages. Yet they coffee is overpriced and terrible.

Wish I could boycott Amazon - they drove so many bookshops out of business and undercut prices for 100s of other goods. Also they avoid tax. Unfortunately, I haven't got a car, work full time and have a DC under 1, which means I often rely on amazon for all sorts - swaddle blankets, baby stuff, toys. Their delivery prices are cheaper (or free) as compared to boots, mamas and papas and so on.

Many local shops in my high street due to them still being inaccessible to wheelchair users.
I am not the wheelchair user, but if my family member can't get in then I won't use that shop, even if I am on my own

DoJo the point is that people are stupid and do not think ahead properly. They may be able to get to the Tesco NOW but where are they going to shop when they turn 76 and have had to give up driving? They blindly think with their immediate pocket - it will mean cheaper food because those who can get there will buy things cheaper and the independent stores that we can still get to will reduce their prices to compete. It just DOESN'T work like that. What happens is the independents CLOSE.

It's like towns and cities up and down the country where everyone complains about the town and city centres dying, with shops sitting empty. Whereas of course they continue to build huge out of town shopping centres.

The centres have exorbitant car parking charge and the out of town centres have free parking. Yet councils continue to grant the planning and don't see the connection and don't reduce the parking charges that they control in the first place.

I don't use our local co op purely because the customer service is appalling, one checkout open and staff standing about in groups gossiping when there are queues a mile long.
I also cancelled our newspaper delivery when they sacked the newspaper boy on the grounds he wasn't fast enough totally failing to acknowledge that he did errands for the old people on his round and was a lifeline to some. Because I don't have to pay my paper bill now I never go in the shop either.

I tend to boycott some local independent shops who, in my experience, have given shocking customer service.

I think staywithme's example is a very good reason for boycotting stores - in fact I used to work in customer service and a customer made a similar complaint to me after a member of staff had refused to allow a child to use a toilet in an emergency. I hate petty rules like this and staff who can't use their initiative.

However in my personal experience the larger chains do have better customer service because they invest in customer training (not all I know but I have personally never experienced poor service from any of the big supermarket chains).

Contrast this with local independents who open and close at a whim - stick tacky notices 'closed for 10 mins' on their door; gossip with their friends in front of customers, we used to have two reasonably local post offices - both had a half day closing on the same day .

I will never set foot in any pet store which sells live animals. I have also been known to stand outside them and loudly criticise the condition of the animals contained within.

Ryanair. Can't stand him or his fecking crap airline.

I boycott ASDA after they charged me for a grocery delivery that they never actually delivered and kept hold of my money for 2 weeks.

I also wont go to Bella Italia. My son has ASD and has a very limited diet, so when we go out to eat I always take food with him (rice cakes and babybels). No one has ever had a problem as we are still buying 4x meals and 5x drinks. Bella Italia staff were really rude about it, even when I explained the situation and asked us to put DS's food away or leave. DH stayed with DS1 and DD so they could finish their meals, but I left with DS2. It was actually a restaurant in a city we were visiting so not our local one, but I am still not going back.

DoJo nothing you said is incompatible with a personal boycott of Tescos. People can decide that they would rather support the local business and do so consciously by boycotting Tesco.

Halfords. Rubbish customer service

The Sun. Didn't like it before Hillsborough, would not even wipe my arse on it afterwards.

I try and boycott Tesco as much as possible but sometimes they're unavoidable/the only shop in the area. This is nothing to do with their business model (which I have heard is awful) but because of Shirley Porter. She is still a major shareholder and I resent doing ANYTHING that will put money in that bitch's pocket

Giraffe - They had a promotion called Pimp Your Pizza. DD had just started reading and it made for an interesting conversation... I emailed and suggested that for a supposedly child friendly restaurant their wording was at best ill-judged, I got a reply from a (female) PR person who basically said that as SHE didn't find it offensive, it wasn't offensive to women and everybody knew that pimp meant something else these days and why didn't I go get a life/sense of humour? So that was the end of them for me.

Nestle
Israeli produce
Our local Halal butcher after I pre-ordered a shedload of chicken legs for an event and they sold them to someone who arrived 10 mins before I did (at 10am!) because they didn't think I was coming...

Yes. Tesco for disciplining me for being off sick too long due to mc at 22weeks 6 days then daring to go down with chicken pix a week later when they expected me back - told them where to stick their job. Plus they shat on DH who also worked for them.

Pox even

I refuse to give to any charity that wastes money on marketing via post or other.
I was a supporter of Shelterbox - they have now stopped hassling me and I might give to them again . Others have ignored requests so they don't / won't get my money.
Evans - but I am smaller now so don't need to shop there anyway . Simply as I ordered an outfit for dd2 baptism a month in advance . It never arrived was given the run around by customer services , crap e mails - had to panic buy in a country where anything over a size 14 means you have to dress like a granny couldn't bf in the top and I felt like shit ...

I knew someone who boycotted the Jubilee Line on the London Underground because he was anti-monarchist. It had absolutely no impact on the Royal Family but it made for some very convoluted journeys by public transport.

I try to avoid tescos due to ethics and bad supply chains. They also treat supplies as if they are doing them a favour allowing them to work with the great tescos.

I do avoid the daily mail lying bastards whipping everyone up into frenzies about nothing.
Avoid Starbucks because of tax avoidance
Avoid bmw and mini because of what they did to rover.

The main branch of the Post Office in my local town, they overcharge massively for postage. Several times I have been there with a parcel thinking it will be about £2.60 odd and they try and charge £11.
I take the same parcels to the smaller branch and lo and behold they are £2.60ish and he doesn't try and sell me a credit card or travel insurance.

I knew someone who boycotted the Jubilee Line on the London Underground because he was anti-monarchist. It had absolutely no impact on the Royal Family but it made for some very convoluted journeys by public transport.

- unfortunately the Jubilee line is the nicest line though!

I won't buy from CarpetRight because the owner is a Christian evangelist and uses profits to lobby for faith based policy making. Thing is though - I have a house with wooden floors and hate carpets so it's hardly a great sacrifice.

Some companies I try very hard not to use but it's difficult - if you love books it's nigh on impossible to avoid Amazon, but Amazon have damaged the livelihoods of independent retailers and authors - so you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. If I want to buy a specific book, I'm OK as I live in London near several independent bookshops but for most people, Amazon is the only place they can get it from. I used to use Book Depository...then they bought it... What is the answer? Stop buying books?

I don't buy produce from Israel in shops, particularly Tesco.

I refuse to give to any charity that wastes money on marketing via post or other.

Trust me, big charities are hugely accountable and spend a lot of time on analysing return on investment. The money invested in marketing will generate a far more income than just putting that marketing budget straight to the bottom line.

Oh and Starbucks. Greedy arseholes.

Yes, but then I'm an old eco-hippy type who was involved in a number of anti-apartheid protests as well. I do usually think before I decide how to respond as well, rather than squarking hysterically with half the facts.

Oh yes amazon. I try and avoid them too for tax dodging

'where are they going to shop when they turn 76 and have had to give up driving'

Online, like my mum. Delivered to your doorstep.