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.

Memo to self - buy from Lush, didn't realize they were anti fox-hunting until this thread. Thanks or highlighting that Foxy.

for, not or, obvs.

There used to be a papershop in my town that I would often go in on the way to school to buy a drink. One morning HE shouted at ME because I didn't have the correct change and "how could I possibly expect him to be able to change a £10 note at that time in morning?". Never went in there again. Many people had bad experiences with him and, funnily enough, it's no longer there.

A few years later, I served him at the restaurant I was working at and he was incredibly friendly so maybe it was just the shop that was bringing him down!

Karen Millan after they refused to refund a pair of v expensive shoes that fell apart after 6 months

Chronically - yes, I do appreciate that it often 'head office' insisting on these petty rules but when I worked in customer service for a retail chain I was at head office and our shops did not have such a rule; sometimes staff like to 'pretend' their is a rule rather than offer basic decent customer service.

But yes, it is a real problem that so many councils are shutting public toilets.

I boycotted RyanAir for a really long time until they started being fair and reasonable to people. I am happy to use them again now and find them quite OK.

I also boycotted EasyJet for a while after I heard ground crew being disgustingly offensive to an elderly lady, just before they reformed their customer service in the mid-2000s.

I have worked in food retail for a long time in a previous life :) and it used to be well known within that industry that if a certain product is not on the shelf at Tesco it was because they had pissed off their supplier again or left the delivery driversxwaiting for hours whilst they were still haggling over the price. Bread products are a particular example I can think of.

Kurt Geiger for refusing to refund patent shoes that scuffed extensively after 15 minutes of light wear.

BoomBoomsCousin I watched a really good BBC4 documentary series on apartheid a couple of years ago.

One of the points it made was that the sporting boycott against South Africa really hurt. Not so much in monetary terms, though it did, but because sport, particularly rugby, meant so much to the white state that it was a powerful symbol.

There was outrage - I mean death threats - when three black and coloured South Africans were photographed in springbok shirts in the early '80s. The men were interviewed - they're now 60ish, I think. They saw it as a joke at the time - but a meaningful one because they knew the risk they were running. Not to diminish the things that others did, but there was something very tear-jerking about people in a terrible situation who chose to grin and say: 'Fuck you'.

The series was long and thorough, a bit worthy in parts, but very moving in parts too. I don't know whether it's still available.

Oh loads but it's more personal choice than a boycott I think:

Russell & Bromley - because every pair of shoes I have bought there has had to be taken back because they have broken and the customer service hasn't been good when one has.

My local newsagents (and yes he bleated hard about a Tescos opening) because his wife and daughter are always speaking on their mobile phones when serving and it is exceptionally rude. They don't do that in Tesco.

Lloyds Bank because they provided me with very poor service from about 1988 until 1994 and in the end I just gave up. I was told the manager couldn't return my call because it was a London number. He returned it pretty sharpish when I said I'd call the customer whose bank statements I'd received then and sort it out directly with her! It was one of many screw ups and it didn't get better.

Harrods, when Al Fayed bought it.

I think it's interesting that some store branches are delightful but others are shocking.

My parents boycotted South African fruit when I was a child and my political conscience was born then.
I now boycott Tescos, Asda, Macdonalds, Starbucks, Costa, Primark, any Israeli products, Nestle and Coca Cola. If I am in a town that has independent shops, especially coffee shops I will try to use them when finances allow.
When the tax info on Amazon came out I boycotted them for a year, which was bloody hard in the run up to Christmas. I recently backslid very slightly when I realised last month that it was DH's birthday in a couple of days and I'd forgotten.

And from the sublime to the ridiculous. On the same day, I returned shoes to Sergio Rossi and Gucci for broken heels on shoes that had about three wears each and from the wear on the sole you could tell it was from front door to taxi to restaurant and back again.

I was expecting SR to refund me because I shopped in that store quite a lot, and Gucci, where I rarely went, to cut up rough.

Exactly the opposite. The manager of Gucci (Bond Street) was so nice that I sent an email to her head office. That was because the manager of the SR shop in Beauchamp Place was really rude. I managed to squeeze a credit note out of her but I didn't find anything I wanted and I've never been back. SR might be a concession but she was a cunt.

Would any of us refuse life-saving medication or treatment made by or in a country or company which we boycotted?

Would we if it was a child's life?

Israeli produce. m and s because they support illegal settlement building in Palestine and soda stream as factory is in an illegal settlement. really want a soda stream and like the eco friendly side but would never buy one whilst they are made on stolen land.

Perfectly put by Mr Mackey

Wrong fred sorry

I think it's interesting that some store branches are delightful but others are shocking

I said concession with my Sergio Rossi tale of woe, but I meant franchises. I've no idea whether SR is a franchise but if so, I think it's a good idea that the parent company monitor what franchisers are doing in their name.

That's the thing with Gucci. In the '70s they sold their name like cheap whores and destroyed the brand. It took some time to get it back .

As I said; first world problems.

I'v ben doubtful about Tescos for ages and now I've discovered they've been selling me halal meat without telling they are a definite no no for me.
I also boycott Cadburys since they made people redundant even though they promised they wouldn't after they were taken over by Kraft.

It's lovely to see someone else Lovechild ? boycotts Tesco because of Shirley Porter I have for many years and hardly anything I hear about their business practices makes me regret the decision.

"Progress" is not necessarily right IMO and just because the shops in the town centre don't have the means to or aren't able to cater for disabled people doesn't mean we should boycott them. It's more likely the council's fault for extortionate rents and planning regulations. Although I wouldn't like a medieval town to be ruined by having to have access for everyone in their shops.

I refuse to step foot in our local Maplin store after the manager was extremely rude to my son. My son has eczema on his face which was quite bad that day. The manager stopped in front of my son (aged 4) blocking his path, looked at his face and said "Been in the wars have we?!"
I said "No my son has eczema."
I then moved my son around him and out of the store. I was expecting something along the lines of a "sorry I didn't realise", but no he turned to my husband (clearly not realising we were together) and said "What a bitch! How was I supposed to know? She should have stopped me saying that to him. Silly cow!"
So apparently I should have read his mind and cured his lack of tact. Clearly I was in the wrong for you a) being rude to my son, and b) saying nasty comments about me when I politely corrected you.

I will never shop in Maplins again after that. My son has a right to go out in public without being judged on his looks. I mean really what would it take for him to say "Oh sorry"?

I boycott tescos because they completely cocked up doubling up my club card vouchers , refused to redeem them because they said they'd already been used , despite the vouchers still being attached to the statement which was two days old , made me wait nearly an hour , then called a manager who assured me it was sorted ( it wasn't ) which then cost me nearly 80 quid of my own money . Then when I realised what had happened , and rang the club card line , the lovely woman spent nearly two hours unravelling the problem , told me they basically needed to refund me 80 quid , but that I'd have to go back . So I did another 40 mile trip , to find a customer service supervisor who refused to ring the club card line , even though I had the club card woman's name and extension , refused to refund the money , then told me I had an attitude into the bargain , despite the fact that I have a principle never ever to have a go at shop assistants , and was in fact perfectly calm . So I went home , composed a two page email detailing the saga , informing them that in future I would be doing a total boycott of all their products and that my family would now be 'tasting the difference' by transferring our food budget to sainsburys who were very grateful for our money , because as tescos ought to know , 'every little helps. '

I had a response in 20 mins flat . They refunded me everything , gave me extra points , and a gift card to apologise . I spent it all and didn't go back . Mind you about a year later , they asked me to be part of a group to go into the store and tell them why they were basically losing money ( new Morrisons had opened and they are much much nicer all round) so I went in , got paid £40 to tell them why I don't use them , and haven't been back since.