Having loyal, returning customers is a godsend because you ensure business (and hopefully even profitability) in the future. However, corporations that completely ignore their target audience’s wants and needs, don’t care about their own reputation, and reduce the quality of their products and services can push people away. The result? Partial boycotts which eat into profit.
Inspired by u/silent_pm, some dissatisfied consumers took to a thread on AskReddit to air their grievances. Below, we’ve collected their thoughts about the brands that have lost their loyalty, as well as the reasons why they’re ditching them for their competitors. Scroll down to check them out.
We got in touch with u/silent_pm, who sparked the interesting discussion, and they were kind enough to share their thoughts about brand loyalty and unmet customer expectations. You’ll find their thoughts below.
#1
Nestle. They’re making a huge profit off of Canadian fresh water and paying next to nothing in taxes.
According to the author of the thread, they can’t quite remember what inspired them to start the discussion, as it’s been a while; however, they suspect that “it was one of the companies that overnight changed their prices, refund or shipping policy due to covid.”
“Knowing myself, I was definitely very frustrated with the company if it prompted me to ask the question on Reddit. In terms of something more recent, a company I was very frustrated with and will definitely not get my business again is ‘Our Place,’ a US-based homewear brand. I bought an air fryer from them in November during Black Friday.” They told We that their communication was abysmal.
“There was no phone number and they weren’t replying to email queries. Eventually, I had to start a chargeback and only then did they contact me asking me to close my claim and they would resend a unit—considering how they ignored all my queries prior, I was not interested in doing business with them again, so I got the funds back from my credit card company and never plan on using them again.”
#2
United Way (charity).
Coworker gets cancer and we set up a big jar in the cafeteria for donations to help her with treatments. United Way comes in and tells us that they have an “exclusive contract” with our company (large, international company) to be the sole recipient of any charitable donations on the property and demanded that we remove the solicitation jar and cease any fundraising for coworker’s cancer treatment.
They had an annual “drive” where department heads competed to have the most donations and ongoing monthly contributions, but the next year the number of participants in the company dropped to almost nothing. Good.
#3
Apple
I’ll swim in my android bubble thank you very much.
From u/silent_pm’s perspective, the biggest mistake that companies can make is “ignoring customers, be it after-sales support or ordering queries and everything in between. I get that sometimes things are out of stock or delivery times are delayed, but if you can’t effectively communicate with customers in a timely manner, then you’re not really a good company to do business with.”
We also wanted to get u/silent_pm’s opinion on how brands can convince their former customers to give them another chance once they’ve already lost their trust. The author said that in order for this to happen, there needs to be a shift in ethos or processes so that similar problems don’t repeat.
“So, if they struggle with customer support, hire more people or streamline processes so complaints and queues are handled better. If it’s an item quality issue, then look at where the weaknesses are and adapt the product. Taking ownership of an issue is also a big thing for me,” they said.
“The other week, I had an issue with an electricity company in the UK. Once I got through to an agent, they became the agent assigned to me. Any updates or queries, they would deal with. Having that point of contact is a big deal—you don’t have to repeat yourself every time you call the company, and by making the experience more personal with a named individual, you’re more likely to get good results.”
#4
Salvation army. they kicked a kid out of one of their shelters in the winter because he was gay and he froze to death. it’s all i can think of when i see that f*****g santa ringing his bell outside the grocery store.
#5
Goodwill.
They are disguises as a charity when in fact they are nothing if the sort
When your regional CEOs get hundreds of millions as a BONUS, but they can legally pay WELL under minimum wage because the employee wouldn’t otherwise be enjoyable… they are s**t.
Their merchandise costs them NOTHING because it’s all donated. They get huge tax breaks because of their charitable status.
They have many programs to help the disabled, but again, they themselves treat the disabled horribly.
#6
Half Price Books.
We were going through a rough time during my freshman year- my mom was sick and out of work, we got behind on bills and lost the house, and ended up having to move into a tiny tiny apartment in the dead of winter. Since we wouldn’t have enough room for everything, even with a storage unit, it was decided that I would have to get rid of some of my books. By some, I mean the majority of my collection. In the end, I filled three storage bins with books I’d taken great care of growing up and we made our way to Half Price Books, foolishly thinking we’d get a fair price for what was essentially my childhood. At the selling desk, I made it very clear that I only wanted an estimate and would take my books elsewhere if I felt I was being lowballed. The girl at the desk assured me I’d get an estimate and told me to come back in an hour, considering how many books they would have to inspect. An hour later, I make my way to the desk only to be told that the most they’d give me was $15, take it or leave it. I was heartbroken and outraged, and demanded that my books be returned, only to be told that some were already being processed into the system while others had already been thrown away, so there was no way I’d get them back. I ended up leaving in tears with only fifteen measly dollars and a broken heart to show for my troubles. I will never, and I mean NEVER shop or sell at Half Price Books again, and if ever anyone asks my opinion of them, I tell them about my terrible experience. I simply cannot forgive a company that would see child making one of the most difficult decisions in their fourteen years of life and not only kick her while she’s down, but rub salt in the wounds just because they can. F**k Half Price Books.
Brand loyalty, while incredibly important, might potentially be losing some of its power and relevance. According to Forbes, brand loyalty is “in a steep decline” in part due to changes in the buying process. Younger consumers are “more well-versed in e-commerce and values the consumer experience more than the generations before them.”
“They hold the companies they love in high esteem, and they go over any wrongdoing on behalf of those companies with a fine-toothed comb.” Researching products before you buy them can level the playing field, pushing businesses to put the consumer first.
#7
Tim Hortons. Larger coffee chain in Canada. When ontario raised minimum wage, they took away paid breaks, their dental plan, and started charging for uniforms. Completely b******t from a company that makes millions and markets itself as so wholesome they’re part of our culture. Not with moves like that. F**k ’em.
#8
Comcast. Many many years of f**kery. Once I moved from a top floor apartment to a ground floor apartment in the same complex. I notified them ahead of time and they told me they had it all set so that it would switch that day, no problems at all. I called them about four times, a guy came out and looked at it, and then I spent a solid four hours on hold, only for the woman to come on the line and tell me I hadn’t moved from Apt. 200 to Apt. 100, I had moved from 100 to 200. I explained she was incorrect, and she called me a liar.
In addition, my mother passed unexpectedly ten years ago. My sister immediately brought her Comcast equipment back and the company said they were so sorry to hear what happened, and there would be no additional charges from them and the account was squared away. As Mom’s executor, I began receiving bills from them every month. Every month I would call and explain and they would say, “Oh, yes, I see the notes, we’re sorry; it won’t happen again.” Every month another bill would come, and every month it would be larger, with more late fees added. Finally after about the tenth time it happened I was really testy about it, and they were like, “Let me put you on hold; you’ll have to speak to my supervisor.” The supervisor gets on and immediately says, “The REASON your mother’s BILL is so high is that she is NOT MAKING PAYMENTS!” and I lost it and screamed, “THAT’S BECAUSE SHE’S DEAD!” They put me on hold a looooooong time after that and when we were done, I never heard from them again.
#9
Apple. I used to buy their stuff because it was built to last. Now it’s all about planned obsolescence.
Forbes states that 57% of Americans from Generation Z (born 1997 to 2012) are less loyal to brands now than before the pandemic. But this aside, many young(er) people are generally more wary of large corporations and “over-the-top marketing ploys.” There’s a lot of discontent brewing beneath the surface where businesses and brands are concerned.
Meanwhile, 77% of members of Gen Z are willing to try new brands in order to find the level of quality and service they’re looking for. This can, potentially, pressure companies to innovate.
#10
Pyrex. They became trusted because their cookware was borosilicate glass which withstands temperature change super well, but now they switched to soda lime glass and rode their good reputation out with higher profit margins from cheap materials.
#11
Black+Decker
When they started, they made good tools, and continued for many years. They they went broke and sold the name to a mega-corp that slapped the name on their low-end, junk tool line
Brands don’t mean anything. Product quality is all that matters.
#12
A lot of news publications have unfortunately opted to go the click-driven route instead of doing quality investigative reporting. I used to read a lot of the long-standing sources like Forbes, Wall Street Journal, CNN, and New York Times to get straightforward presentations of world events. However, I’ve had to abandon all of them over the last 10 years as they’ve all gone way downhill in quality, and depend way too much on reporting off cherry picked social media posts and Tweets from unverified nobodies.
Over a third of American customers aren’t loyal to brands, with many people willing to shop around for better quality products, lower prices, and an overall better deal.
An over-satured market, more competition, and higher consumer expectations can mean that gaining and retaining customers is more difficult and less common than before.
#13
Gillette because of how expensive their razors are.
Old Navy. Their clothes fall apart quickly. Not bad for toddlers since they go thru them so fast.
Time Warner/Spectrum. Cable company that does typical cable company b******t.
Nestle. I hope they choke on acid rain.
#14
Planet Fitness. These f*****s towed my car while I was working out, and refused to reimburse the fee from the tow company. Then when I tried to cancel my membership, I’m told I cannot call I have to come in person or write a hard copy letter. I do the latter, they continue charging. I go in person, an associate “deactivates” the account but I still get charged the next month. Took a third attempt and speaking to a manager for them to surrender my s****y $10 a month.
#15
Jimmy Johns. Owner is a piece of s**t that hunts trophy animals and some are already endangered. Doesn’t use them, just kills them for the IG pics.
What are some brands, companies, and businesses that have completely lost your trust, dear Pandas? What happened that made you want to boycott their products or services?
Theoretically, what would those brands need to do for you to give them another try? We’d love to hear what you have to say about this topic, so if you have a moment, share your thoughts in the comments below.
#16
Breyers “Ice cream”
They’ve cheaped out production so much most of their products can’t legally be called ice cream, check and they’re labeled as Frozen Dairy Dessert. They used to be the good brand, a fresh tub of mint chocolate chip is how little me knew it was payday.
#17
Benefit Cosmetics after their ‘you don’t need to be clever, you’re pretty!’ campaign.
#18
Star Wars under Disney.
#19
Doordash. After it came out that the company routinely keeps the tips rather than giving them to the driver, I said f**k them.
#20
Wells Fargo. I paid my moms car payment to help her out ONCE. And they set my account as the main account. Wouldn’t be a big deal if they overcharged my account ONE TIME and fixed it. No. They did it four times. Each month my mom would call and have them reimburse my overdraft fee and delete my account from their records. They said they would and what do you know, next month I’d have $400 or an overdraft fee removed from my account.
The last time my mom literally cussed and screamed at them until they fixed it. She threatened a lawsuit and everything before they finally did what we needed. Next time she needs help with her bills she’s getting cash. And if Wells Fargo is doing the loan, I’d rather take it somewhere else. As long as I can avoid using them, I will.
#21
Any company that makes a political statement to appear ‘woke’ but is actually just whoring for publicity and boosting their bottom line.
The problem is there are so many doing this now its hard to keep track…..
#22
Cadburys (Mondelez now).
They have changed their recipes so much and they taste awful now!!
#23
DevaCurl.
I have curly hair that’s also very fine, and I’m really picky about the products I use—I can’t use anything that will dry it out or weigh it down. A stylist friend of mine recommended DC to me back in 2012, and I loved it immediately. I went all-in, and for a while DC products were all I was using on my hair.
Apparently a couple years ago they were bought my another company, and the formula for a lot of their products changed. I didn’t realize this. Meanwhile, my hair was starting to get really thin. It’s normal for me to lose a little bit of hair in the shower, but it was getting really excessive. I figured it was just because I was getting older and my body/hormones were changing. I didn’t event think that it could have anything to do with my beloved hair products.
Then I joined a group for curly-haired folk and learned that a lot of DevaCurl users were having the same issues with hair loss. Countless before/after photos convinced me that I wasn’t just losing my hair due to bad genetic luck. I got rid of all my DC products and, after some research, started a new product regimen. Slowly but surely, my hair is starting to recover. I feel so betrayed, though. And despite hundreds of customers complaining to the company, they have yet to acknowledge or address the problem.
#24
Burlington Coat Factory. It used to have nothing but coats, but now it has transformed itself into a second-hand store for all clothing items, furniture, and household items. It’s like a Goodwill for things that the Mall couldn’t sell.
#25
Nars. Lost their cruelty free status just so they can sell in China.
#26
Blizzard.
They chose money in China over basic human rights.
#27
Hertz.
They gave me a car with a missing oil cap and almost left me stranded in rural Germany.
We drove from Berlin to Neuschwanstein and noticed the car acting funny the closer we got. Afterwards we checked the engine to find oil everywhere. No worries, there was a Hertz in this small town. Unfortunately, the owner refused to help us as they “were closed” and said we have to call the company. This was also late, so every shop in town was closed.
We called Hertz and they recommended we **”try putting a bag over it and driving back to Berlin.”** Luckily we found the cap (it was misplaced) and a number to Germany’s equivalent to AAA. F**k Herz.
#28
Salvation Army and Autism Speaks
SA doesn’t help any of the woman they take in, and are just horrible people. AS doesn’t help autistics, they’re more of a hate group towards them. Idk if those count.
#29
Sony.
My PS3 account got hacked and someone bought $400 in credits. I contacted Sony and they aknowledged I was hacked, returned my account to me, but refused to give me back my money.
If that weren’t enough, I recently got an update on my PS3 that somehow made it unable to work at all.
#30
Not a brand but … the United States Postal Service. I was waiting for delivery of a $100+ package. They tried to deliver it to my office at 8:00, but the office opens closer to 9:00, so they left a note. I went to the post office and asked for it, but they didn’t have it because … they gave it to someone else. So where’s my package? Well we don’t care, we “delivered it”. Yes, but you didn’t deliver it TO ME, THE RECIPIENT. The post master then went and accused me of lying.
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