What products won't you buy?

Apple

Bose

Beats

Comcast (well as soon as they finish putting in Google Fiber down here)

InBev

Starbucks - their coffee is pretty gross, and there are much better options.

scardeal said:

Starbucks - their coffee is pretty gross, and there are much better options.

Another big plus juan. Their coffee is horrible. Overroasted to E36 M3. If  you like your coffee to taste like burnt chutney mixed with cat E36 M3, go to Starbucks.

I used to say "I'll never buy/shop at XXX", but lately I've stopped making such sweeping statements.  I hate Wal Mart (still do) and refused to set foot in one for a long time.  Then I started hearing about the specials they run on oil and filters, and how their car batteries are made by the same folks who make most of the others, but are significantly cheaper, etc.  So, I softened on that a bit.  Then I'd go in there, "just to get some oil", and, well, might as well grab a few groceries while I'm here.....  

The other is Michelin.  As I was walking out of IMS after the 2005 US Grand Prix debacle, I declared that I'd never buy Michelin tires again.  Well, come to find out, Michelin was probably in the right not to run, and that declaration didn't last too long.  

So, I've learned to never say never.  For instance, I can't imagine a circumstance that would ever lead me to buy another Apple product, but hey, you never know.  Times and technology change.  They may come up with something I decide I simply can't live without.  

I guess, to summarize, I believe in keeping my options open.

Liberty Mutual Insurance of any kind.  Their ads are so berking condescending, annoying, and misleading.  Read the fine print - all the coverages they're so berking smug about are extra-cost options... just like every other insurance company they slam.   BERK YOU.  Not if it was half the price for twice the coverage.  Not happening.

Mercedes Benz.  I was never a huge fan of their products anyway, but the whole way that they bald-faced lied while they were dry-berking Chrysler as hard and fast as they could completely soured me to the company.  I won't own one of any age.

Hewlett-Packard products.  I had an HP all-in-one printer that was terrible throughout its lifespan. Even though they replaced it halfway through, the refurb replacement wasn't any better, and worse in some ways.  I didn't learn my lesson and bought an HP laptop for my club's T+S computer.  It's mediocre at best as well.  Never again.

Goodyear tires.  I've never had a set that was worth the cost of mounting them on the car.

Comcast.  'Nuff said.

Miracle Whip.  Seriously, that stuff tastes like decaying ass with sugar sprinkled on it.  And I love mayonnaise.

mtn said:

scardeal said:

Starbucks - their coffee is pretty gross, and there are much better options.

Another big plus juan. Their coffee is horrible. Overroasted to E36 M3. If  you like your coffee to taste like burnt chutney mixed with cat E36 M3, go to Starbucks.

I will drink anything with Caffeine when in need,so wont say "never" but seriously, Starbucks is proof that marketing will trump brains every time...talk about the pet-rock of the coffee world! My guess is that they are the cheapest low quality beans on the market and they just burn them to mask the lack of flavor. They probably could use acorns and get the same results.

I do have to question what they do to maintain the consistency of the product around the globe and year to year...Mother Nature does not play that game so they have to be adding something. I know what the Beer guys do.

mtn said:

scardeal said:

Starbucks - their coffee is pretty gross, and there are much better options.

Another big plus juan. Their coffee is horrible. Overroasted to E36 M3. If  you like your coffee to taste like burnt chutney mixed with cat E36 M3, go to Starbucks.

I'm not defending Starbucks - it's mediocre at best, and definitely overpriced - but some people actually like dark-roasted coffees.  Light or medium roasts don't taste like anything, no matter how strong you brew them.  I prefer Italian roast at the lightest; French roast is better, and what I usually do is make my regular coffee with espresso beans.

Duke said:

mtn said:

scardeal said:

Starbucks - their coffee is pretty gross, and there are much better options.

Another big plus juan. Their coffee is horrible. Overroasted to E36 M3. If  you like your coffee to taste like burnt chutney mixed with cat E36 M3, go to Starbucks.

I'm not defending Starbucks - it's mediocre at best, and definitely overpriced - but some people actually like dark-roasted coffees.  Light or medium roasts don't taste like anything, no matter how strong you brew them.  I prefer Italian roast at the lightest; French roast is better, and what I usually do is make my regular coffee with espresso beans.

I'm just going to disagree with you (except for some people like dark coffee--obviously to each his own) and leave it at that. I've turned into a huge coffee snob since my brother started working at a specialty coffee shop. 

In reply to mtn :

We'll have to agree to disagree.  It's not lack of access to truly good coffee.  I've had very good coffee from very good specialty shops.  Light or medium roasts aren't my cup of tea.  In fact, I'd rather have tea.

I’m overthinking it   

I gave up booze and cigarettes (weed, hash, and blow). I refuse to ever buy alcohol or tobacco for me or for anybody else.  I refuse to fuel somebody’s addiction. 

Wally said:

There are plenty of stores I won’t frequent mostly because there are better options. For instance you call your business a deli but can’t figure out how to put salt pepper and ketchup on an egg sandwich I’m not coming back.  There are 20 other places in walking distance that can do it. Same for anyone that sells a bottle of water for $3.  It’s not a moral stance so much as there’s little reason to accept E36 M3ty service.  Except for the Olive Garden. If the Mafia really existed these places would have all been burned down.

Mafia probably owns them, it's the biggest racket they have, getting the non-italians to buy overpriced food

NFL - Was already kind of trying to get away from watching football, then the Bengals-Steelers playoff game a ways back happened.  I know motor sports is dangerous, too, but it seemed like they were trying to kill each other and the refs were fine with it.  I’m not in the mood to see someone die on the football field.  Change the way officiating is done, and I may change my mind.

McDonalds, at least for non breakfast food.  Although I did have cheeseburger from one of their Quebec locations about 4 years ago, and it was way better than what’s sold around here.

Arbys - nothing really against them, just that I have a restaurant run by a former Roy Rogers franchisee near me, so if I’m getting fast food roast beef, it’s from there.

I would not go into a Home Depot for years because of how pissed off I got every time I tried to find something in the hardware section.  Lowes, Ace Hardware, just about everyone else is way better organized. 

I have been easing up on that this year but still prefer to give my money to Lowe's unless its something only HD carries. 

I remember what a piece of sh** the original VW Rabbit was.   I worked for a VW dealer and we virtually had to rebuild the car, from the carburetor, engine mounts, exhaust etc.   This was on all,major recall.

Sort of soured me on VW even today.

Between me and my Mom we've had a bunch of VW's and had really good luck with them. Although my Rabbit diesel was the worst car I've ever owned (by a lot) every one after was very reliable.

My wife wants a BMW or Mercedes. I can't do it. Because of how badly Mercedes rips off their customers for parts and service, I won't do it on principal. Regarding BMW, I've said it before, cars worth that kind of money should not have those kinds of problems.

Honda motorcycles. Partly because of what they did to motocross with their 4 stroke agenda (and I recently learned they did the same to moto GP), and because they've set the bar so low that all the other manufacturers now sell the same recycled junk for years at full price.

In reply to Suprf1y :

My mother in law said her diesel Rabbit was her worst as well.  It wouldn’t run under 40 degrees which was an inconvenience living in Albany.  Somehow having to wait for a bus anytime it was cold didn’t sour her on VWs.  She finally leased a Honda CRV last year, her first non VW in a long, long, time.  It has not needed anything but oil changes which the dealer does for free but she complains the dealer doesn’t have a good assortment of pastries like VW.  The service writer told her they never really thought about snacks since the car ran and she could go to any of the bakeries in the area.

For fast food the only one I go to on purpose is White Castle, any others I visit because I need a restroom.

In reply to Wally :

I'm pretty sure any time I eat castle, I need the restroom. 

scardeal said:

Starbucks - their coffee is pretty gross, and there are much better options.

Yes, add that one to my list.  I'd rather drink used motor oil...though I think they're one and the same. 

Seriously, the local mega-plex gas station coffee or McDonalds coffee is light years better.

Klayfish said:

scardeal said:

Starbucks - their coffee is pretty gross, and there are much better options.

 

Yes, add that one to my list.  I'd rather drink used motor oil...though I think they're one and the same. 

 

Seriously, the local mega-plex gas station coffee or McDonalds coffee is light years better.

My little brother, who runs a specialty coffee shop and can tell you what side of the mountain in Costa Rica the bean came from just by taste (ok, I'm exaggerating) will happily drink McD's or DD. He wont' touch Starbucks.

scardeal said:

Starbucks - their coffee is pretty gross, and there are much better options.

I find that a bit humorous.  I was inspecting an old building the other day in downtown and noticed people kept coming up to the window and looking inside, where I was.  Some lady was taking pictures.  Finally went outside to load up the truck and noticed someone had put up a banner that says "Starbucks Coming Soon".  People love the stuff, but I'm not a big fan.       

You guys are killing me with all the VW hate.  My first two cars were VWs and I loved them.  Of course they were ACVWs.   

I don’t have anything I won’t buy. I have preferences.   Such as I prefer not to eat at McDonald’s but will if I’m traveling and get desperate.  I’ve found that absolutes don’t work. 

Mine's a short list:

Volkswagen: I leased a 2002 Jetta GLS in college. It was a miserable pile of excrement. The dealer network, VW, and the car all sucked. It had problems that I have never seen before or since, and miraculously the dealer (nor VW themselves) thought anything was wrong or out of the ordinary. By the time I was done with it after 3 years and 30k miles, the car was ready for the crusher. Then, years later, VW (the company) claimed that I owed them money via some fee that wasn't paid and it was hitting my credit. After fighting it, turns out the dealer fudged some paperwork and I was on the hook for it, even after they told me they "waived the fee". 

That leads me to my next one...

A local chain of dealerships in the Boston area owned by a guy whose last name rhymes with "Jerk"/Subaru: So, I leased that above POS VW out of one of their dealers. Before I knew that they screwed up the paperwork on the VW, I had bought a 2009 WRX from another one of their dealers that also turned out to be a POS. Knowing that Subarus Gonna Subaru, I plunked down extra cash for a zero deductible bumper-to-bumper 100k warranty. Yeah, turns out they pulled a bait-and-switch, charged me for the good warranty, and signed me up for a lesser one. I found that out the hard way when things started breaking on the car. When I contacted SOA, they said I was SOL and there was nothing that they could do. I had to pony up cash for the repairs that were supposed to be 100% covered, and it was a very unpleasant situation. 

While both cars were terrible in their own right without intervention from the dealer, the common denominator WAS the dealer. They must have laid a hex on those cars in addition to fudging paperwork. Nevertheless, I won't be buying a VW, Subaru, or anything from that stupid dealership group ever again. 

spitfirebill said:

You guys are killing me with all the VW hate.

...says the guy who judges one of the largest manufacturers of any kind on the planet by a single experience with one budget-market product designed more than 40 years ago.

Wally said:

There are plenty of stores I won’t frequent mostly because there are better options. For instance you call your business a deli but can’t figure out how to put salt pepper and ketchup on an egg sandwich I’m not coming back.  There are 20 other places in walking distance that can do it. Same for anyone that sells a bottle of water for $3.  It’s not a moral stance so much as there’s little reason to accept E36 M3ty service.  Except for the Olive Garden. If the Mafia really existed these places would have all been burned down.

Reminds me of this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/MaliciousCompliance/comments/5y7kme/hey_smart_guy/

I worked in a deli and one day we were dealing with a rude customer, he had already complained a few times that day about petty E36 M3.

It was a locally owned place, and around the holidays we would replace the regular salt and pepper shakers (which had "Salt" and "Pepper" printed on them) with these festive ceramic ones shaped like snowmen, Rudolph, Santa etc.

So this idiot stomps up to the counter where my manager is doing some paperwork and practically shouts, "Hey smart guy, now how the hell am I supposed to know if this shaker has salt or pepper in it!?"

My manager grabs the salt shaker and shakes a few grains of what is clearly salt into his hand.

"Hmmm...." he says. Manager calls me over, "Do you think this might be salt?", he asks me.

It's clearly salt but I go along with the act. "Hmm. Man, that's a tough call."

"Hey Jimmy!" He calls to the kitchen, "Come out here a sec."

Jimmy comes out and my manager asks him to hold out his hand out and he shakes a few grains of salt into it. "Now Jimmy, in your opinion, would you say that is salt, or pepper?"

"Whatya talkin' about, its berkeleyin salt..." Jimmy says, looking at us like we have lost our minds.

My manager turns to the customer and gives him the shaker back with a flourish and says with a smile, "Jimmy says it's salt. "

Customer realizes he's an idiot, walks back to his table muttering.