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.
Bored Panda 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.
Image credits: DiarrheaKing021
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 Bored Panda 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.
Image credits: Javaman1960
#3
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.
Image credits: MyBroPoohBear
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."
Bored Panda 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
Apple
I'll swim in my android bubble thank you very much.
Image credits: Cactilove
#5
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.
Image credits: Dawashingtonian
#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.
Image credits: jessicat707
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
Apple. I used to buy their stuff because it was built to last. Now it’s all about planned obsolescence.
Image credits: stos313
#8
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.
Image credits: anon
#9
Star Wars under Disney.
Image credits: Tipperdair
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
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.
Image credits: BeerDrinkinGreg
#11
Benefit Cosmetics after their ‘you don’t need to be clever, you’re pretty!’ campaign.
Image credits: CertainFurball
#12
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.
Image credits: annaflixion
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
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.
Image credits: Kanedi4s
#14
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.
Image credits: MpVpRb
#15
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.
Image credits: SlabGizor120
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.
Image credits: Umbrella_merc
#17
Doordash. After it came out that the company routinely keeps the tips rather than giving them to the driver, I said f**k them.
Image credits: PermanentNirvana
#18
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.
Image credits: T4R6ET
#19
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.
Image credits: Jiggly_Love
#20
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.
Image credits: W8sB4D8s
#21
Cadburys (Mondelez now).
They have changed their recipes so much and they taste awful now!!
Image credits: Mozy_the_Man
#22
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.
Image credits: Salsa__Stark
#23
Nars. Lost their cruelty free status just so they can sell in China.
Image credits: pusasabaso
#24
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.
Image credits: anon
#25
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.....
Image credits: Blackpowder90
#26
Blizzard.
They chose money in China over basic human rights.
Image credits: anon
#27
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.
Image credits: Goruto1334
#28
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.
Image credits: HalfDrowBard
#29
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.
Image credits: stardirection-
#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.
#31
Spectrum, will ditch as soon as there is another option.
Image credits: OccasionallyLearning
#32
Johnson & Johnson because of how my mother has suffered from their bladder mesh. F**k them right in their ear.
#33
Gap. I remember when Gap made women's clothing that lasted more than 3 wash cycles! Do you remember?
#34
Koch brother products. They are pure evil. They support racism with donations. They support voter supression. They put money in republicans pockets who lobby for any of their products or ideals. They f****d up our governement.
Products to avoid
Brawny, Angel Soft, Mardi Gras, Quilted Northern, Dixie, Sparkle, and Vanity Fair.
#35
FORD, there's been all the saying about american cars and all the acronyms "found on road dead, fix or repair daily" and for me personally they all were very true, sticking with japanese cars.
Image credits: anon
#36
* EA
* Nike
* Bethesda
* Pokemon company
* Wizards if the Coast
* YouTube
* Nestlè
* Coke
* DeWalt
There's more I don't trust, but these are brands i previously trusted. Many others I never trusted and haven't been proven wrong yet.
#37
Bank of America. F****n thieves.
#38
Kat Von D
I used to love her makeup - sometimes I'd even want to keep the packing just because I love the look and feel of it all. But she's an anti-vaxxer so now I don't feel like giving her any of my money.
eHarmony
I used to work there and upper management were racist, sexist, homophobic bullies. It's a dating site geared towards marriage and long lasting love, it should be heartwarming to know you're contributing to something like that. Instead I got anxiety so bad the physical symptoms were making my life miserable. I've had nothing positive to say about them since I left.
Image credits: lolihull
#39
Ernie Ball? More like, Ernie Ballsack.
Their strings rust and wear out in days. Yes, I have particularly sweaty hands, but even their "long-lasting" Cobalt series wore out within a week.
D'addario is a hell of a lot better, their NYXL strings can last *months*.
#40
BP. I'll never fill up there again after the oil spill.
#41
Wow where do I begin? My wife makes fun of me because she says I have a black list I’m keeping track of.
Ruby Tuesday’s - they got rid of Sonora Chicken Pasta (they’re dead to me)
Pizzeria UNOs - They got rid of their Sierra Chicken Sandwich (they’re dead to me)
Red Robin - they got rid of their Pot Roast Sandwich (they’re dead to me)
Fudruckers - They use to have this awesome Taco Salad back in the day. They completely changed it. Then they got rid of salsa from their toppings bar. They got rid of their taco bowl. (Dead to me)
Silver Diner - changed their entire menu to be more healthy. Now it tastes like card board. (Dead to me)
Texas Road House - Two Police Officers we’re ambushed with an AK 47 (2006) in their own parking lot. They both died. This happened where I live And I knew them both. The local Manager of that Texas Road House restaurant, No Joke, sent their station a bill for the money they think they lost because of the funeral procession. (really really Dead to me)
Direct TV - They charge too much. Them and cable in general. (Dead to me)
Bouqs.com - order flowers to be delivered to my wife and mother on Mother’s Day weekend. They delivered to to my mom. My wife’s got lost. (Dead to me)
MOE’S - got rid of the taco shell bowl for salads. (Dead to me.)
The Walking Dead - The Negan story was wayyyyyyy too long and was basically the same story as The Governor. This was a long slow death. (Dead to me) I don’t even know what’s happened the current season.
House of Cards - The previous to last season wasn’t good to begin with. But I couldn’t even make it through the first episode of the very last season. And I can’t rewatch the old ones because that particular Spacey character is way too creepy now. (Dead to me) I prefer LA Confidential/ American Beauty Spacey.
But I’m not one to hold a grudge. s/.
#42
The American red cross. They know what they did and screw them for it.
#43
Kit Kat. The Waffer is 6.5g lighter than the original formula and the main ingredient changed from coco to sugar. Kit kats are just expensive trash now. Shame though, it used to be a good product.
#44
Maglite.
I used to absolutely *evangelize* about their customer service -- 15 year old flashlight not working? Mail it in and they fix or replace it, every single time!
No longer. Also every 99-cent flashlight on Amazon makes better light now, so.
#45
Volvo. They've become like all the others, nothing to recommend.
#46
YouTube
edit: the reason why is because it loves to copyright claims everything. Plus half the og creators changed, left, or ended up turning bad. On top of that it’s crowded with ten year olds. But, I still go on time to time to see if there’s anything interesting.
#47
Verizon.
Told this story before. I had Verizon wireless for 7 years. Signed on when I had no credit and had to put down a cash deposit. I eventually got hired with a company years later that paid for a company plan. 3 days before the end of the Verizon contract I called them to say I would not be renewing and wanted out. I got the whole "sorry to see you go" deal and I was assured there would be no early termination fee and that I was set to go. Well, they DID charge a huge ETF that sent the account into the negative, did not use the valid contact information they still had to inform me of the problem, sent it over to a collections agency pretty much as soon as the contract ended, dinged my credit and never gave me my deposit back. I challenged the whole thing and eventually got it removed off my credit report but it took months.
So, f**k Verizon.
#48
Samsung, both me and my wife were loyal Samsung users and the past 2 phones we've used have lasted less than a year a piece (2 galaxy S5s and 2 galaxy S8s).
#49
WWE.
#50
AT&T.
#51
Sprint
"F#@# Sprint"
Update: It was because they bought out our service provider then made us trade in out current Samsung phones, was supposed to be to another Samsung phone, but no they took our good phones and gave us POS phones lied to our face saying they were just as good. Pure BS...AND we immediately started getting all kinds of unsolicited calls. Plus service wasn't that great.
F#$% SPRINT. I hope I never have to deal with them again.
#52
I’m allergic to it anyways, but Tide detergent’s new radio ad is so terrible I have taken note to never ever buy it.
#53
Justin boots , I work in that factory and I've seen how bad those boots are , altho the chippawas arnt to bad.
Edit: I'll clarify , I worked there for a year about 3 months ago I quit , then I first started the wernt to bad , but after a month or so the quality plummeted , I worked mid way quality control and I had fix wrinkles and glue the inner ribs back on if they ripped out , we had a quota of 1000 pair (2000 boots ) a day . And on average I fixed about 60-75% of those boots a day ,on a bad day it was in the 85-90% range .I talked to the other workers and they said that they used to be pretty good but theyve got horrible , so the older Justin's are probably pretty good but the new ones are absolutely c**p. Bad inner ribs ,bad stitching ,cheap leather, extremely wrinkled welts . Infact a utility operater(line manager) told me " quantity over quality ,we got numbers to hit " . If you do buy some Justin's just inspect them first , look at the stitching quality and if it's wrinkly , they started to cut corners and now there boots suck
Tldr , old Justin's are probably good, if they were made within a year ago they probably suck , Walmart makes better boots.
#54
Papa Johns. Had some Papa Johns when i was young, had some friends over. We were eating pizza, playing GTA 3, goofing off. One friend stayed the night, the rest went home. My friend and i were up the whole night puking. One of us would wake up and start puking, which would wake the other one up and theyd start puking and vice versa. This went on all night. My poor mother, the saint she is, cleaned up SO much puke that night. Apparently my other friends got sick too.
Never again.
#55
Maytag. They used to have quality appliances that were head and tails better than their competition. Now they are just importers of Chinese junk just like the rest of them.
#56
Bethesda- Use to be cool, but I soon found out they never bother to check for bugs and the last few fallout games were so bad I wanted to puke. They are becoming another EA.
#57
NewEgg. Sold me a laptop that did not turn on (well, for 30 seconds), tech support was totally worthless and told me to send it back for repair. Once they got it they told me that the laptop turns on just fine and it works, and they were going to send it back to me at my expense and I was not to return it.
I had a fit, I do NOT want your d**n junk and I do not want this computer. While I rarely do this, I did have to back them in a corner by threatening a chargeback if they refused a return or tried to send this thing back to me.
I'm on a Dell now, had it for 10+ years and it's still going strong. The Dell I got from Best Buy, but NewEgg lost my business forever.
#58
Chevrolet.
Because we bought a new Vega in 1973.
Over 40 years ago.
But, I will not forget that.
Worst.Car.Ever.
...and Chevrolet knew it.
No wonder people started buying foreign cars in large numbers a few years later.
#59
LG, mobile phone. Some good features, but would lock up so often that it was unusable. It happened several times that someone would call me, the phone would ring, but none of the buttons or touch would work; so I could only put it deep inside my clothes hoping that would be enough to stop annoying people, or take out the battery.
#60
Bell Canada. I was never loyal to them, but I was with them for years under my mom's account. They were once AT&T's Canadian division (so already not off to a good start) but over time, they just evolved into the Canadian equivalent to Verizon. After years of mystery charges, hours-long phone calls, useless support, outright refusals of service (including a phone unlock that was required by law) and retail stores that only want to sell, we both switched to a major competitor and never looked back. All of Bell's major competitors are better in every aspect.
Rockstar Games on PC. The way their online games are set up (peer-to-peer or something like that) and their terrible "anti-cheat" lead to modders and cheaters not being dealt with properly and innocent players getting flagged instead. I got suspended and reset on GTA Online PC after a modder jacked up my RP. I don't mod (I never do) and I didn't ask for the increase in RP. This is only an issue on PC so far so I haven't completely said "f**k Rockstar" yet. It's just that my next Rockstar game will be on console (likely the Xbox Series X).
#61
Hot Topic. Used to be the store for emos, goths, etc. But now, it’s just a store filled with funko pops, and random merchandise based off shows.
#62
Skittles. They changed original to green apple.
#63
H&M.
#64
Sony: completely fooled by their early reputation for quality.
#65
Burger King
I wasn't loyal to them, but I used to eat there once in a while. After they encouraged political violence in the UK I refuse to eat there.
