I came across an American craft forum that had a thread about shops or products that the members there boycotted and was quite surprised at the amount of people that did so. There was a fair mix of reasons why: from political (Heinz came up a lot there ), bad service, a friend of a friend told them something and because of an ad campaign they didn't like.

So,do you boycott any shops or products and why?

I don't, except on the occasion of a strike.
When I was a kid, my Dad always said, you never cross a picket line, because it negates what the workers are trying to say. So, I don't, ever.

I won't go to Burger King (NZ) because of their advertisements.
They're probably not too upset about it though, we'd probably ever go there once a year at most.
But for me it's a principle thing, using sex to sell burgers? We were driving past a Burger King one day and my five year old son said "Can we go and see the hot chicky babes?"
Okay, he got 'hot chicky babes' from his father, I can't complain about that, but he immediately associated Burger King with scantily clad women. That I can, and do complain about.

MFI!
after the one and only time I attempted to buy furniture from them, the member of staff who was apparently supposed to be working that day put me right off - never again lol

I boycott that many shops that it makes it difficult to recall them all! When I see that one of the places that I have boycotted has closed down it makes me smile and hope that my not going there anymore has helped their demise.

The latest place I have added to the list is Dick Smith Electronics,I had the worst service there today. I called them and asked if they match prices,the manager said yes and even after I told him the store I wanted them to match was closed (public holiday today)he told me it was fine. Evidently it wasn`t so fine when I got there and they refused to even confirm the price online,"ok well guys I normally say see you later but I just wont this time,bye"!

I was livid when I left the place and was really thinking only of how large the sign saying "Dick Smith service is the worst" was going to be on the back of my vehicle (I hold a grudge). Fortunately for myself I decided to try JB HIFI, they matched the price without a word and were happy to do so.

Good old Dick Smith was so close to being on my banned list after he financially supported Australia's very own home grown convicted terrorist but I decided to give him another chance. After the last rotten service from his employees he will not see another cent from me, and I`m still thinking about the sign.

I used to loudly boycott Walmart . I'm aware of how business/capitalism works but I totally got my rear end up at their overall largeness (and how they were essentially squashing all the small, local businesses with their huge, factory-like, impersonal selves ). Add to that the tiny fact that (with all due respect), as a human being, I [personally] was not impressed with Sam Walton AND did not like how his company dealt with their personnel (it's one thing to tell your employees how to dress, treat customers, be professional, etc. but quite another to tell them how they are "allowed" to conduct their private lives). For years and years I wouldn't even LOOK at a Walmart.

So much for 'principles', though . Now that I'm no longer one of those "smaller businesses" being stomped into the ground by them, and find myself in a rural situation (where one stop shopping is a major plus) AND that they have these very cool little motorized seats for people who walk funny and need help getting around their continent-like stores , I've mellowed on Walmart and will shop there when possible and/or necessary.

May he rest in peace, and so forth, but .... I still don't like what Sam Walton stood for in "inclusive" terms, though.

I was at uni with a very very "green" chap - he refused point blank to allow his 6 year old son to have MacDonalds in any shape or form, picketed the shop regularly etc etc and made sure his son knew all the environmental 'stuff' that a 6 year old could take in and then some.
At a custody hearing, his ex-wife's solicitor tried to claim he had "psychologically damaged" his son by putting him off MacDonalds as a normal part of a child's development is to go there!
This was after a birthday party where the son refused to go and told all the other kids why they shouldn't eat there either lol

I boycotted a local store for a few months because I had called to ask a question, was kept on the line for about 15 minutes, and then was told by a manager that they didn't answer those types of questions. I was never more upset with a retailer in my life.

I refuse to give anymore business to BestBuy stores. After spending $2,500.00 on a new computer, they tried to get me to take a "floor model" because they had screwed up my order and mine wasn't going to be in for another 2 weeks. That was bad enough (2 weeks without funtrivia, I don't think so!), but the topper was a "manchild" about the age of 18 telling me I was being rude and that they try to "take good care of their older customers". WHAT?? I am 50 and have to walk with a cane (yeah, I walk funny too, Gatsby! ), but I tried not to drool or upchuck my oatmeal on this pompous little "mule's behind" when that came out of his mouth. Everyone always tells me I look no older than 40, excluding the cane of course. I said I wanted my credit and I would go elsewhere and was then informed I would have to come back the following day to speak with a manager as to whether or not I was due a refund because I had ordered a customized tower. I pointed out the "floor model" was NOT in line with my custom order and I wasn't interested in any more witty banter, just my money. End of story (after more battling, no bloodshed), I went to Circuit City, got exactly what I ordered in 4 days, and now "salute" our BestBuy store every time I drive by. Sandy

I'm boycotting W H Smith's after what they're doing to our Post Office.

I boycott Hallmark cards. They changed their pension scheme so that it only paid out to the employee, not to any dependents. They did this the day before one of their employees died of cancer - didn't exactly leave his widow much time to make alternative arrangements. They paid her a pension in the end, but only after the press had intervened.

I boycotted our local butchers as well, and that really hurt. Their sausages were superb. However, I went in one day to stock up. The guy behind the counter made it quite clear that I was a nuisance, he tutted and huffed and puffed and said that Monday was a really bad day for me to be doing that. He made me feel like a naughty child for wanting to spend a large amount in his shop. He didn't just complain once, he kept up a grumble all through the order.

They closed down a couple of weeks ago. Doubtless they'll blame the big supermarkets for taking their custom, but they didn't help themselves.

I am currently on a boycott of "Powderfinger" - an Australian band. It kinda hurts, because I was previously a huge fan.

I disagree with them making a political statement in a song about an aboriginal death in custody. Don't get me wrong, Aboriginal deaths in custody are upsetting, however there is always more to the story than is portrayed on the news. To portray the police in such a light offends me, and simply demonstrates the band's ignorance of such issues and highlights the lengths they are prepared to go to to sell an album.

I've gone as far as to give away tickets to their concert (that was sold out and highly sought after) that I won in a competition. Upsetting as that was for cubby, he undersood my position and was begrudingly supportive.

I boycott Wal-Mart. I am against the way they treat their employees, buy only imports, and drive other companies out of business.

But I'm sure you're aware that meeting someone is a VERY FAR cry from working for them. I suspect Walton was an OK guy to hang out with at the pub, etc. Working under him would be (at least based on what I've read/heard/seen) another matter entirely.

We used to have a chain of shops here called Waltons - wonder if it's the same bloke? hmmmm.

I am boycotting VB after making Shane Warne the face of it. Didn't buy it much but certainly won't be buying it now. Although getting one of the dolls to stick pins in it is tempting ...

I boycott my local public library. Haven't be there for about 3 years. I do frequent three other libraries in nearby towns. The reason is the policy of checking out books on tapes or CDs. My local library insists on checking out each and every single tape or cd in the book. That means, if it takes 12 or 15 tapes to record one book, then the patron is checking out 12 or 15 books! Then, to top it off, if you are one day late returning it, you are charged for EACH cassette or cd. I consider that to be discriminatory against sight impaired people. I'm not impaired, but then I can simply get in my car and drive to another library. That would be a more complicated process for a sight impaired person.

Just yesterday I wrote a letter to City Council members to complain. Sadly, that is the only problem I have with the lovely town I live in. And, it all boils down to the gol' durned dollar. They probably receive funds based on circulation. That is still no excuse for for discrimination.

This may seem strange but I refuse to buy any Nike products because of the use of the Beatles "Revolution" in ad campaigns they ran years ago. I being younger and more impressionable was really upset by the commercialization of a song that doesn't have anything to do with shoes.

Being older gives me the perspective that this was just someone in the marketing department at Nike saying wouldn't it be cool that we use this song as a backdrop. However, I'm still wearing Reeboks.

Yes to both!

I avoid buying Nestlé products, because of their marketing methods.

And I've recently decided to stop going into my local Sainsbury. Every time I go in there I come out angry. They move the stock around every week, they mess with product lines, they lie to you about availability and sell-by dates, they completely ignore health and safety rules and they lie about that too. They lie about most things, actually. They used to put a security man on the doors at closing time to let people out but not in. Now they start locking one of the two doors well before closing time, while there are still customers shopping and queueing at the tills. It's the main entrance that they lock, by the disabled car park (of course!), and they leave the tiny door at the far end open.

So it's ten minutes before closing time, there are staff lounging around, and 40 or 50 customers waiting at two tills, yet more customers still picking up shopping, and all it takes is one nutter with some petrol in a milk bottle. I don't want to be there if that happens. Nor do I want to walk twice the length of the building to get to my car because they're trying to economise on staff.

I've already stopped getting petrol from the Sainsburys garage, because a year or so ago they started refusing to zero the pump display and switch the pump on unless the nozzle was in your filler.
"I'll do that if you zero the display."
"Oh no - we can't do that."
I refused to stand next to a pump with the last person's £50 spend showing; drove out and filled up somewhere else. They probably think I'm mad. I can live with that.

It's always amazing to me to hear stories like these. Every person in customer service should read (and take heed) of what small things can cause a customer to become a walking disaster for their company. It takes so little most times to make a customer happy - and so little, too, sometimes to turn an otherwise loyal customer into a bitter bad-mouther.

Years ago, I received a call from a nasty child-man from a department store chain in St. Louis stating in very ominous and insulting tones that I was going to be in big trouble very soon if I didn't pay my bill. Since at the time I was living in New Jersey (and hadn't lived in St. Louis for three years), I naturally responded "What bill?". ... To which he replied that I owed the store $67.00 for a purchase made the year previous and that if I didn't pay up IMMEDIATELY, all SORTS of dire and nasty things were going to happen to me.

Putting him on hold for a moment, I checked with my husband who informed me that, yes, he had used the store's credit card some time before while visiting back in St. Louis, had failed to tell me and - our mail forwarding order had of course long expired - we never received the bill (from St. Louis to New Jersey).

I asked to speak to his supervisor (don't know why I bothered) to whom I pointed out that:
1 - I had been an excellent customer of this store for well over twenty years - a fact that was easily determined by looking at my past purchase and payment history
2 - that a simpleton might have considered the possibility that, as they had obviously contacted me in New Jersey, perhaps I hadn't received the bill because I now lived 900 miles away from their store
3 - that another approach that might have had considerable success would have been to (politely) contact me, point out what had happened and pleasantly ask if I could take care of this situation at my earliest opportunity

Instead, the store's approach was to treat me as if I were a deadbeat (which I am not) by immediately resorting to odious comments about my "duty" to them and obnoxious threats.

I informed the supervisor that I would have them their $67 via Western Union that very afternoon (which I did).

I also informed him that I would never ever ever ever shop at his store again and, what's more, that I would make it a personal mission to let as many people as I could possibly tell for as many years as I remain on this earthly plane just exactly what a good customer could expect from his store in return for years of loyal patronage.

That happened well over 15 years ago. I have kept my pledge to that supervisor ... I have told hundreds of people that story (and now I've told you). That store went out of business about five years ago and I can't say I'm surprised. Companies that treat their customers as if they should feel privileged to be allowed to do business with them don't last.

I boycott Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream. I worked in the field of law enforcement for several years, so maybe I was extra sensitive to this. I got one of those e-mails that go around saying awful things about something a company did. This one was regarding an officer that was killed and something the company did in response. The person, who shot the officer execution style, was found guilty, but Ben and Jerry's held a fund raiser (using their ice cream) to get him better legal representation for his appeal. I never believe those mails without checking into them first. I attached it to one of those contact us forms at their web site and asked them about it. Their response was that it was true, but it was the owners on their personal time and that it did not reflect upon the company. To me the owner is the owner. Even it was on their personal time, it still reflects upon them. They used their product as part of their fund raiser so it reflects upon the company too.

I boycott Telstra the phone company.Some years ago my phone hand set was playing up and they sent a technician around to fix it the next day.He never bothered checking the actual phone , just said it was in the line and left.I rang again to complain and the person told me to borrow the neighbours phone to plug in to see if it was indeed my handset that was the problem.The neighbours phone worked ok,but obviously I had to return it to them.Telstra still did nothing.My phone made this awful noise and you couldn't hear it ring if you were a little bit away from it.I rang again and got this man-child.I told him I wanted a new phone as soon as possible and explained the problem to him.He said he would ring me back after checking the exchange.He did ring back and said there was nothing wrong with my phone, if I couldn't hear it ring why did I answer it when he rang me back.I was so angry at him and explained about the neighbours phone working ok , so he told me to keep using the neighbours phone if that was the case.I was outraged and told him where to go and hung up on him.I changed companys to another telephone provider (and got a new phone that worked properly),and now laugh about their advertising.Telstra is a joke.