Companies that you stick to/have never cared about/stopped using them

[whirlpolf]

Hello,

this thread is not meaning to raise up to a pro/con war on a particular brand nor is it intended to surge up into reciprocal brand bashing. The only thing that occured to me (when deeply thinking about it for a longer time, which is not too often as I consider 10 mins enough to have my decision)is, that I apparently have never used or bought any Miele machines (although they are considered pretty good). So should I not go with the facts and find them great? Probably I should, but sorry I don't. They keep being boring to me, no matter what decade, I cannot find why.
Summary: Just the name of the firm or the brand, then your own personal views on why or why not. (Thought as a random collection of thoughts).
Please don't pick on each other but rather rant about or sing your anthem for any company you want.

So here is my list:

Always liked them:
AEG (the real one, the old one, not today's Electrolux rebadge)
Sunil detergents (a brand), no matter what firm owns them (the new owners have put a great deal of work into making them "continous" coming from the old owner, so there must be some enthusiasm about Sunil).
Quelle Versandhaus (a German catalogue retailer, unfortunately gone/broke/sold out/sweeped for good)
Moulinex France (so French, so Louis de Funes, I LOVE them, so "croissant in the morning" /"good living and food for everyone" that is their appeal to me ;-)

Never cared, but do use them:
Ikea (my doubts about their (wood and employees) politics, still good stuff for good money, and the Northern/Swedish appeal)

Have never bought them, have never cared:
Persil by Henkel (that is something for the "real" (elderly and sin-less) housewives, not for me)
Siemens (have used their appliances a lot, but they never belonged to me - too boring to spend my money on them).
Miele (HIGHLY boring, just the average high-Q stuff, but nothing playful whatsoever, simply good materials just don't make a spectacular spash-over, will they? Boooring control panels, logical, but not blinking = too German for me)

Have stopped buying because of changing my mind:
Apple (the freedom fighter of internet (mind the 1984 ad) has morphed into a huge Big Brother - no longer my money, stopped buying from them - even the "Our hero Steve" paraphernalia book could not save them for me)

Have never started buying in the first place (I wonder why):
Amazon (a multi dept. and multi cultural megalomaniac grocery store) - have never understood all that hooray about them: Too high a price for everything compared to my local shops here. And those annoying parcels with amazon.com printed on them, that is embarassing to me.
McDonald's: First ate their burgers back in the 80s in Kaiserslautern: I was shocked what they call "food". Had some starving attacks as a student (der Hunger treibt's rein (German saying: Hunger will drive it into you) but got me choking. Have never touched them again ever since.
Facebook: Why the heck should I stuff up data highways with my latest flatulence? Why should I NOT pick up a phone to call someone if I really want to have them in my life? What is so "secure" and "easier" about "posting"? Either I do say something or I don't (their concept never dawned upon me).

Have never wanted them but they keep bugging me on a daily basis:
Google (intruding everywhere, if not for all the 1000 other objectionable things I) just hate them even for their foolish double-O, compare to "Harald Glööckler" fashion trans-queen here = ridiculous to the max).
Almost no website seems to be fully working without their filthy fingers in it.
So "Göögle" can perfectly die for me (such a relief! ;-)

Arenas open! Go!
Joe

 

[gmmcnair]

Here's my list.

Like and use

Whirlpool appliances (in all their incarnations) have always given me good service at a reasonable price.

Another vote for IKEA. Same reasons.

Zote soap. Dirt cheap soap in huge bars that I use for pretreating and hand washing.

Palmolive dishwashing liquid. I make my own bath, hand and laundry soap, but I still love it for my dishes.

Amazon. I have a Prime membership, and I enjoy the fast shipping and Videos for my Roku.

My Roku.I love that little purple box.I don't have cable and the Netflix and Amazon Prime video keep me entertained.

Thing/companies I use but don't particularly care for.

Sears: They used to be wonderful, and I still like their Ultra Plus detergent, but they are not what they once were.

Macy's. I don't dislike them but I maybe shop there twice a year when they have a good sale.

Wal Mart: I detest them, but I save big time on my diabetes test strips. They are also the only store that I can find my Zote.

Companies I won't deal with.

Comcast. I hate them. Subpar service for an exorbitant fee.

Cigna.They purchased Great West Health Care, and their marketing department behaved like a stalker. No, I did not want to purchase my prescriptions online, and no I didn't want their disease management program reiterating everything my doctor already told me.

That's pretty much it. Otherwise, I am pretty easy to please.

 

[whirlcool]

Whoa, I have a ton. Not in any particular order)

Apple. Way back in the Apple // days I purchased one of these.($3200) It didn't come with a users guide. I wrote Apple and they told me I'd have to purchase one for $29.95. Then a buddy told me he wrote to Apple and they sent him one free. Then another buddy had the same experience and got a free manual. I wrote to Apple again and they told me that they would be glad to send me one for $29.95. I wrote back to Apple to tell them this wasn't fair. They wrote back reminding me that Apple isn't the only computer company out there! Have boycotted Apple ever since.

Sears: Been boycotting them since 1967. Only bought Craftsman tools (not power tools, just sockets & wrenches) and that's all. You could imagine my horror when we bought this house it was filled with builder grade Kenmore appliances. Not any more!

Maytag washers: We had a set back 1986-92. It never broke down but the wash action was quite dismal even when washing small loads. We liked their dishwashers very much. But since Whirlpool bought them out, we won't buy another one.

Whirlpool Refrigerators: Ever since we had that 2001 SXS that broke down almost every year we wouldn't own another one. I realize there are people out there who have had very good luck with them, but we didn't. We probably paid for that refrigerator twice. Once for the purchase and another for annual repairs. I just think we must have gotten a lemon. We do own a Whirlpool washer/dryer set that has lasted 21 years and still going strong with only a minor repair or two on the washer. We are very happy about that.

GM cars: I don't think that GM has made a good car since about 1976 or so. That was the year I swore off GM and switched to imports and Ford. Even the Fords we have owned have been very reliable.

DirecTV. Last August we cancelled our DirecTV and went to OTA television. Last month we got a letter (and phone call) from a collection agency saying we owed DirecTV $321.00. They said we never returned the equipment (DVR) back to DirecTV and then we didn't pay our last three bills. I told them that we never received any more bills from them and that we did send the equipment back to DirecTV. Thank god I scanned in and saved a copy of the tracking number for that package. I sent that to the collection agency and they reduced bill to $180.00. I eventually had to call DirecTV themselves (who did show I owed $221.00) Fortunately they recorded my conversation with the phone agent when I cancelled and we discussed the final turn off date. DirecTV went back and listened to those tapes and agreed that I should not have been billed past the final service date. So they sent me a final bill showing that my account balance is now $0.00. I had to mail that to the collection agency s DirecTV wouldn't contact them for me. I know am working on that collection agency to take their entry off of my credit report. Never again!

Zenith television: Ever since they were taken over by some Korean company they are true BOL. We've been Zenith television customers since the 60's and it's just not the same. You see them rarely. Walmart doesn't even carry them.

 

[hoover1100]

Good question

Companies that I have never cared for;

Starbucks, Costa, Cafe Nero (all those pretencious coffee places)

McDonalds, Burger King, KFC...basically all fast food outlets.

Tesco and Asda.

Companies that I have stopped buying from;

Amazon, for their flagrant abuse of their employees.

Npower, for the same reasons as above (of which I have first hand experience)

Companies that I like;

Areclik group, for their excellent value and well made Beko appliances.

Volkswagen, I just like their cars!

Sebo, IMO the best vacuum cleaners on the market.

I think that's about it!

 

[washman]

My list

Of companies I never liked and probably will never like
*Walmart
*Sears
*Kmart
*Phord (ford)
*Useless Airways
*Netgear/Lynksys routers
*IBM Stinkcenter desktop PC

Companies that I dig.
Speed Queen!
Chrysler before the disastrous "merger" with Daimler
Eastern Airways
International Harvester
Rotorex Compressors once found in Fedders window units
AT Cross before they moved to China
Carhartt
Gusset Jeans
Sherril Mfg
1888 Mills
Air King Inc.

 

[laundromat]

I hate WalMart, KMart,Sears,Lowes,Kohles , Walgreens, and Best Buy.                      I do like Macys, Nordstums, Costco, Home Depot, and Target (Target never carried anybtobacco) . I don't like Whirlpool, Maytag, Electrolux,Samsung,Hoover,Eureka, Hotpoint,Haire,Danby or Dyson.   I like LG, Kitchenaid, GE,Kenmore, Bissell,Rainbow,Hamilton Beach, and Speed Queen.

 

[jerrod6]

Before I answer, and I will answer, two questions

<span style="font-size: small; font-family: helvetica;">In your starting post you used two terms that I would like you to define further:</span>

 

<span style="font-size: small; font-family: helvetica;">Boring:  What makes something boring to you?</span>

 

<span style="font-size: small; font-family: helvetica;">Real elderly  - sinless:  - what does this mean?</span>

 

<span style="font-size: small; font-family: helvetica;">Thanks</span>

<span style="font-size: small; font-family: helvetica;">
</span>

 

[kenmoreguy89]

Too many to mention....