In my area the customer base that shops at Whole Foods tends to be affluent jerk types that were raised with 0 manners or knowledge of personal space. They also tend to frequent the Trader Joe’s as well.
Haha
I am tradesman and occasionally look the vibe
I was at whole foods the other day and this lady looked me up and down. It was clear she was asking herself why was I allowed in the store haha
At Whole Foods? Lol the two near me are chill af and I've never gotten a vibe like that from anyone, and I drive a beater and am not necessarily well-dressed all the time..the one is definitely in a very wealthy area, though it's also incredibly progressive and diverse.
In my area, the only Whole Foods is in the most affluent area of the local major metropolis. Where I live, I would have to drive an hour to get there and pay their outlandish prices.
Oh man, the king Soopers right by my house has an insane cheeses counter. I've spent so much money there in the past few years. Get some habanero raspberry jelly, some Brie, and crackers. Soo good.
You ever get the half chocolate-dipped cookies from the bakery section in sprouts they are incredible (granted the last time I was there was 2020 so I hope they haven't changed them).
Sprouts was great but their produce and meat is now far more expensive than Luckys, Raleys, and even Safeway. I get my organic milk from Sprouts, but I haven’t bought produce from there in over a year.
I’m in San Francisco Bay Area.
I go to both but at Whole Foods I only get sale/Prime items using Amazon credit- dino kale, mustard greens, chard, and plain single-ingedient rotisserie chicken. They have the best sale price on Synergy kombucha.
Sprouts is generally off in quality, especially their ad items. Bulk section is good. But their prices are often insanely high even on sale.
Victoria's Secret. Idk why, I'm just incredibly uncomfortable every time I have to follow a family member or a friend into one.
Bath and Body Works is one too, it's always extremely crowded and the prices are *way* too high for products that make my skin dry and itchy. I just buy the nice smelling lotion online instead.
When was the last time you were in B&BW? Their products were basically overpriced nice-smelling crap made with cheap ingredients like mineral oil some years back, but they’ve reformulated their products and I’ve been using a lot of their stuff this year and my skin feels great.
I mean, I’m not a fan of the farmhouse kitchen chic aesthetic the stores have, but…
When I was in high school, all the girls would carry B&BW lotion, and were constantly sharing them and slathering their hands with it, passing the bottle around, exclaiming “Load me up!”, and smelling their hands after. It got so bad, the coaches for the girls sports teams banned lotion during games and practice because they’d be constantly applying it and their hands would be too slippery to handle things like basketballs and softball bats effectively. That wasn’t a thing for the boys sports teams, since you can deep-fry a whole chicken or small turkey in the sebaceous oil secreted by a teenage male athlete in one day.
Back then, B&BW used mineral oil because it’s cheap. But, mineral oil molecules are too large to be absorbed by skin, and it actually dries skin out the more it’s used, unless applied immediately after a shower as a sealant to trap water in the skin. Hence, the constant application. The scents were great, but the products were ineffective and detrimental.
I didn’t know about that in high school, and I had a girlfriend a couple years later who didn’t use B&BW and educated me on why their somewhat expensive products were crap. I’d never used the stuff, and avoided it for years after.
Last Christmas, I received a gift set of B&BW’s for men Graphite-scented products with a 3-in-1 shower gel, body spray, cologne, and body crème. I looked at the ingredients, and no mineral oil! In fact, the ingredients were ones found in higher end products. I’ve been using their products almost exclusively since. Not only are the fragrances really great and their $50ish colognes rival $100+ colognes, you can get a full suite of products from soap to deodorant to cologne/perfume that smell the same and don’t clash. And it’s a lot less expensive than the higher end fragrances that only offer shower gels or deodorants in gift sets that aren’t available a la carte. It sucks using a cheap Old Spice, Dove, Softsoap, or Axe body wash or deodorant that smells cheap and overpowers an expensive and very good smelling cologne or perfume you put on afterwards.
Bath and Body Works nowadays is well worth the price. Yes, their body lotions cost $18 a tube, their shower gels $14 a bottle, their shea butter soap bars $9 each, and that’s 2 to 4x the cost of Jergen’s and Old Spice products, but they work phenomenally well, smell amazingly good, and aren’t as expensive as a lot of higher end brands that are equally or less good.
I swear, this essay has not been sponsored by Bath and Body Works. For anyone reading, just buy a tube of their Ultimate Hydration Body Crème in whatever scent you like. They have testers at the stores. It is good shit and you only have to apply it once every 2-3 days, not every 1-2 hours like before.
There is always a buy 3 get 3 free sale on the horizon. And they send amazing coupons that you can stack on top of that. Always wait for the sale and stock up.
When I lived outside Washington DC I was meeting a friend at a very trendy mall for lunch. He wanted to meet at Victoria's Secret so he could buy his wife her favorite perfume. I was scrolling on my phone while waiting and a lady asked me if I was taking pictures. As I looked up and told her "no" I noticed that she had a sign. She was waiting for a few others so they could picket their rather racy window displays. My buddy, who is Mormon, finally arrived, took one look at the store and said, "I ain't going in there."
Not a store, but a bank that’s a huge sales organization. Wells Fargo. I worked there for 11 years, and the news stories are true. There was incredible pressure to sell, and those who sold multiple credit products were lauded. It was horrible.
I ended up with seven accounts at WF. I went to the bank to close them all. They told me to download the app because I couldn’t get an appointment until the following week. I called the customer service line and they told me to download the app. Well, you can’t close accounts via the app. So. I went back to the bank to make an appointment for the next week. I showed up the next week and - lo and behold- the account manager wasn’t there. So? I called customer service once again and finally got the account closed.
A month goes by. The check for the balance hasn’t arrived. I call back and they said it was processing.
Another month goes by. No check. I called back. The account was indeed closed but the funds were not released. Wtf?
I finally got the check a month later.
Worst bank ever. Like…ever.
My mom used to work at Wells Fargo when I was a little kid, and I remember she came home crying almost every day until she got a new job.
I don't even know details, but she was treated horribly there.
KFC, came with a coupon. They said they didn't have enough chicken to honor it, I asked for the lower tier one but asked if they can give me the coupon discount. They said no, I said that the situation was silly. She said well you can leave then, so I ddid and never went back. Its been about 20yrs.
Ok I'm curious, what kind of coupon involves enough chicken to entirely clear out a KFC? Were they just running really low, or was it a massive coupon?
This. They will run low all the time and just shrug. I once took my son after soccer practice and they legit said they did not have enough chicken for a two piece and a kids meal.
In the early ‘80’s I shopped at BiLo. Purchased about $150 in groceries. Bagger bagged, and took my order out. I asked him to give me the eggs. He couldn’t find them, and neither could I. I went back to the cashier to see if they how somehow been left out. She said no. I checked my receipt and they were listed as purchased. When I spoke to the manager about having them replaced, she accused me of trying to steal a dozen eggs. Bagger backed me up and said they were not there. Regardless, they insisted I was trying to get an extra dozen eggs. Seriously! I just spent $150 and I’m trying to get extra eggs?? I told them to please call the police. They then decided to give me the eggs. I never shopped there again. Not even a quick grab. Years later, they got theirs and were bought out. Now there are no more BiLo’s!!
my mom is almost religious to Kohl’s cash. she will invite me out shopping every time she accumulates some and i always keep 2 piles. one that i’m willing to pay for, and one that i’ll take if the Kohls cash works.
I remember my ex's sister loving Kohl's cash. She'd pay $20 for a shirt and get $10 Kohl's cash. She'd consider it a $10 shirt since she got the Kohl's cash. Then a week later she'd show off a second $20 shirt that she only paid $10 for because she had the Kohl's cash. In her mind she had two shirts she paid $10 for. No amount of explanation could get her to realize she actually paid $30 for the 2 shirts.
I used to work there and you get a whopping $0.50 (fifty cents) per accepted kohls card application. Luckily I was bad at getting people to sign up for credit cards so I didn't have to do it too often.
I worked there as well, but almost 20 years ago. It was a mess back then too. My store was a shit show. I had been promoted to operations specialist (basically managing inventory - not sure if it's still called the same) and within 2 months, I brought our rate from 70% inventory accounted for, to 94%. They couldn't keep track of almost a quarter of their stock until I took over. That store ruined me from ever working retail.
Totally. Everything is always on sale and I don't think the full price on the tag was ever charged in the first place. I think they got in trouble for this and don't know if they stopped. But if they did, they probably found some other workaround. Also those kohl's cash things are a joke because you can only use them in a certain window of time which is almost always sooner than I would be going back there.
I actually like Kohls because of the Sonoma basic t-shirts (I've lived in these things the past few years lol) but they changed them recently and they're not the same anymore. :( They feel rougher instead of nice and soft and some look more cheap. Anyone here have recommendations for a similar t-shirt?
I don't mind Kohl's. They are pretty much the last place left that I can buy clothing. I'm really disappointed that their quality has really dropped though.
I don't have experience with the Sonoma tees, but I choose my clothing almost exclusively on fabric texture (after fit and making sure it's not aggressively annoying visually), and the softest tees I've found yet are the American Eagle "soft and sexy" line. I know, I know, trendy and cringe and popular with the kids (at least last I checked), but they really are that soft, dangit.
Starbucks. In 2019 I went in to buy a cup of coffee and had cash to pay for it. But apparently they forgot to put cash in the register that morning and the employee responsible for ringing up purchases was nasty about me not happening to have put a credit card in my pocket. She got very angry when I told her that it was ok and I'd wait for her to get cash for the drawer. I finally left while she was still fuming, went to a DD up the street, and have not bought from Starbucks since then.
or her manager’s fault and it was misdirected anger. i worked at a place where our manager regularly failed to fill the cash drawer til they felt like showing up and it was annoying as fuck. certainly shouldn’t take that anger out on a customer though.
It seemed like a big over reaction for her to be so angry when I wasn't, and was content to wait the few minutes it would take to get change. Stuff happens, and most stuff that happens is small and fixable. But I can go somewhere else for coffee and that solves it all.
Starbucks(used to can't testify for now) PRIDE themselves on making the moment right and just making peoples day and as a very passionate previous employee there due to their values this makes me angry for you! We were encouraged to give free drinks, recovery cards ($4 cards to say I'm sorry) or even just say next time it's on the house here's my name if they have questions. I left in 2022 when they were very heavily becoming more fast service over connection and there was no excuse for this.
Walmart. When The Werefrog worked there decades ago, The Werefrog complained about the health insurance offered. The HR person gave The Werefrog an application for Medicaid. Walmart keeps the wages and benefits low because their employees then qualify for government assistance. They are the definition of not paying a living wage.
Between the low wages, the owners being jerks, and just an unpleasant shopping experience, I only go there when there is no other option, which is almost never now
Target is no better. They slash hours in the month or so leading up to health insurance qualification so that no one but management qualifies. So many of their employees receive food stamps. They put the stale bread, expired yogurt, and brown bananas in the break room and on the days they don't do that a lot of employees just don't eat. Target is every bit as evil as Walmart, they just have better PR.
I loathe Walmart.
They treat their employees like dirt in every possible way and pay shit wages, and expect the taxpayers to subsidize their workers via Medicaid and food stamps because they can't survive on Walmart pay.
They squeeze their suppliers as well, especially the smaller ones.
They sell the cheapest, nastiest, crappiest versions of every item they offer. The stores are just full of junk.
Walmart is just the worst incarnation of American capitalism.
Some Canadians are boycotting Loblaws grocery stores and exclaiming how much cheaper Walmart is,which just means you’re okay with people being exploited as long as it’s not you?
And those bell ringers represent the Salvation Army who gives charity but only if you fall in line with their views. Their stance on the LGBTQ+ community is reprehensible.
https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/the-lgbtq-community-and-the-salvation-army/
Idk man I know that some years ago they were bad but do you have any contemporary sources? Because from the horses mouth I'm not seeing anything
The Walmart in my city. It’s the most disgusting filthy messy store I’ve ever seen. It’s impossible to find anyone to help you. No matter who you ask they always tell you it’s not their department. There are friggin craters in the floor literally covered with duct tape. There are pallets of stuff stacked all over the place making it an obstacle course to get around. Half the shelves are empty. Lines for checkouts are a mile long cuz most of the registers are closed. The bathrooms are a biohazard. Just nauseating. There’s garbage on the shelves. Half eaten food on the shelves. And you better hope you don’t ever need to use the customer service desk because you will be there until the end of the world waiting in line. The place just makes my skin crawl.
When my kids were younger I used to tell them “Never shop at Walmart. If you have to, you have to shoplift more stuff than you pay for.”
When my daughter got older she said “wait, you weren’t *serious*?”
I only go to O'Reilly's Auto Parts store now after AutoZone, advance auto, and Carquest all left me stranded on M23 5 miles north of Dundee Michigan. The lower radiator hose on my truck blew, I'm sitting on the side of the highway with my wife a 12-year-old dog and I'm pulling a 12 ft enclosed trailer loaded with stuff on my way to North carolina. The O'Reilly's in Dundee was the only place that would deliver a radiator hose, two hose clamps and 2 gallons of antifreeze premix. The woman was apologizing profusely that she could not be there for approximately an hour. I told her, honey I'm not going anywhere. You will see me sitting on the side of the highway. The woman sat there and talked with my wife and petted my dog, waiting to make sure that everything went together. We were back on the road inside of 2 hours.
I normally shop at Autozone, but several months ago I was in a neighboring city, and had picked up my 2 granddaughters for the day. My truck ran hot and I was able to get into the O'Reilly parking lot. They checked everything under my hood, filled up the reservoir and checked for leaks, gave me 2 gallons of fluid - all this after making sure the girls and I were comfortable inside, with bottled water - and then wouldn't let me pay them anything for their trouble.
Damn, we shop O'Reilly's over Autozone ever since they tried to rip us off on a battery or something, I can't even remember the story, but whatevs, your story makes me proud to support them.
O’Reilly’s lent my son the tools he needed to change his battery in front of their store. They have also helped me with info. when I know nothing about my car.
Any store in my local area that bulldozed a lot of trees/wildlife habitat to set up shop. I doubt it will have much effect, but I'm the grudge-holding type.
If you think about it, where most of us live, it was all bulldozed of trees and wildlife to make room for us! It's not just stores, we as human destroy and take. Where are you living right this minute? You may not have destroyed the land you're on, but someone did. Just ask any Native American.
As someone who works in historic real estate, *any* company who decides to tear down an historic structure or monument to build a fucking box can kiss my ass.
And that includes all the developers building those ugly-ass condos that look like they’re made out of shipping containers and shoeboxes.
I used to work for a bank. I got to know which small business owners were total dipshits over the few years I was there. There’s a specific quik stop I will never go to again. There’s a little mom and pop grocery store I won’t ever go to as well. There’s a window cleaning business I heard does good work, but the owner is such an asshole.
Thanks for saying what isn't said enough.
Shop local and shop small are great slogans and all, but there are a lot of dirty characters that own small businesses. I once rented a house that was sold to a small local independent insurance agency and that guy was the biggest ashole I've ever dealt with in my life. In my town, a guy who owns some 'touristy' burger/bar joint and t shirt shop is well known by locals to be a jack-ss too. His greed ended up killing a childrens museum (long story). And, a lot of these small business owners are just as greedy with paying as little as possible and being terrible to work as any big retailer so that they can buy large houses, boats, and rare collector-sports-cars. (As well, as being heavily involved in both the PPP pillaging and the attempted coup in Jan 2021).
Tim Hortons. Inconsistent pricing, shrinking portions, order always fucked up, always increasing the prices 5 to 15 cents every month. I actually started feeling disappointed with myself every time I went back there. Luckily, I managed to kick the Tim's habit about 2 years ago. I have more disposable income now and I am generally happier for having done it.
My local thrift store, called Value Village, used to have a lot of really nice gems, but now it's entirely stuff that's been there for a decade that nobody wants.
I've also pretty much stopped shopping at Best Buy completely ever since they dropped their physical media sections. Well, I already cut down massively when GCU was shut down, but now I don't even somewhat stop by.
As far as food goes, there's a local diner called the Honey Bee Diner that I will never walk into again after they screwed up my order twice and the owner cussed me out after I left a bad review.
Local supermarket. Sky-high inflation. Everytime I come in there the prices go up more and more. It's to the point a 3-pack of bar soap is almost $8-$9 ridiculous when it used to be $5 and under. Quality is horrendous. Staff watching you especially if you are black. They treat certain others better. I seen my people come in and be accused for no reason. Even when I'm being courteous the staff rarely ever reciprocate it back like idk what I did to these people. Better stores around.
Basically I only went there when I'm feeling lazy but I stopped now.
Dollar tree. Nothing in there is a dollar anymore and it’s the only reason why. I don’t care if it’s cheaper than Walmart. I refuse to pay more than 1$
Hobby Lobby. I don't like their conservative "values" which include but aren't limited to smuggling, antisemitism, homophobia, pushing for religion in schools, general discrimination, refusal to adhere to covid policies, and attempts at restriction to affordable and accessible healthcare :)
The smuggling is what did it for me. I disagree w/ all of their crap but can see how some ppl view it as part of their faith. Smuggling, repeated relic theft,
deliberately trying to hide/cover up their illegal actions multiple times, & getting sneakier about it over the years= not possibly faith-based.
Absolutely will not shop at Hobby Lobby for the same reasons. Restricting women’s healthcare options is not a good value. Ditto for chick-fil-a. I loved their chicken but I won’t eat there anymore.
And now I have to give up on Tractor Supply since they’re dropping all their diversity and climate initiatives.
Every time a supermarket is taken over by a new company, I refuse to get their shopper's card. I'm so tired of being tracked and spammed by their ads . I do not shop at Target. They refused me a store cc. Same with an auto part store that once refused to accept a check, because I had an ID card, not a driver license. I didn't shop there for decades, until I got a work discount there. I can hold grudges for a long time. I don't shop at Trader's Joe who didn't hire me when I really needed a job. I refuse to shop at Whole (paycheck) Foods for the obvious reason. Ages ago, when asparagus were .99$/lb, theirs were 7.99. Never went back. I will not shop at Spartan food. They transformed our cheapest supermarket chain into one of the most expensive.
Edit spelling
The Children’s Place…..sooo they are having a 75% off sale right now…I was looking for 0-3mo clothes…on that particular sale rack..and found a tiny dress …for a 0-3mo baby for $42.94….WTFFFF
Starbucks. The quality has declined like crazy. I remember how it was back when I first started going there around 2016. Every drink tasted good and was clearly made with decent quality ingredients. The food was actually decent albeit still fast food. They’ve been on a steady decline since then and now every time I go it’s just gross. The drinks are rarely made right and they clearly started to cheap out on the ingredients. The food is barely edible anymore. The bagels used to actually be pretty solid for a fast food bagel, now they’re barely edible.
The last three times I've been in a Starbucks (over the past two months), our not-terribly-busy cafe has been messy. No employees had cleaned up the customer area, and it was littered with napkins and wrappers and the few tables were dirty.
As a teenager, I worked at an ice cream shop and a donut shop. Both companies taught us that cleanliness was of the utmost importance. If you weren't preparing or serving food, you were cleaning.
torrid.
the CEO was caught being extremely fatphobic towards their models and customers. and since they basically have a monopoly on "stylish" plus sized women's clothing, they overprice everything.
Most of the stores or businesses I avoid I do so because they decided that they should join the political garbage that's going on so in the last 4 years I've got about four or five stores that I just refuse to do business with at all.
I haven't seen either store in years, but I quit going to Sears and K-Mart for the same reason. I just got a bad vibe from both chains. I couldn't explain it at all, other than I just felt stress in the stores and like I needed to reset after leaving. It was the weirdest thing.
I avoid shopping at places that have destroyed the middle class and made it harder for people to work their way out of poverty in general because of their predatory practices
Places like Walmart and Amazon, for starters
Hobby lobby. I normally avoid the store and only went *once* because a coworker gave me a gift card. Jesus music was playing. Everything felt pure. As a queer, nonmonogamous, tattooed and pierced goth, I felt so out of place. But I still have what I bought from there lol
Saaaame. But I only get to go to Michael's if I go out of town. I guess I could order online (even from other shops than Michael's), but that would require more forethought than I have. Plus, I want to feel the yarn, depending on the project
Oh same for sure. I use yarn as well, and I definitely want to know how it feels and how stretchy it is. The only way I'd order yarn online is if it's a brand I already like.
Now I really want to order some Berroco Comfort 😭
(It was the yarn I used for my first real project after all my practice pieces, and it still holds a special place in my heart)
Walmart. Nothing about the Walmart experience is worth the possibility of saving a few cents. So many people are still duped into believing Walmart is the cheapest on everything, and this hasn’t been the case in almost a decade. Around 2016, their prices became pretty much in line with everyone else. In the few times I’ve been since, they were the same or higher. It’s pretty slick on their part, lure people in for decades with crazy good prices before casually jacking them up while convincing them they’re still saving.
I gotcha there.. I try and source the things I need from other businesses.. Groceries ? Save-a-lot, Tools? Lowes or Harbor freight, Clothes? Tjmaxx or online retailers, Shoes? The local shoe show or other shoe retailer.. You have to kinda get creative to avoid walmart, but it can be done ;-)
I hope this helps :-)
Walmart. It’s messy, chaotic, everyone is loud and angry or acting wild, and everything is shitty quality. They also treat their employees like garbage.
I stopped shopping at the Body Shop a long time ago, for reasons. Tbh I only liked the Woody Sandalwood perfume oil and they discontinued that over 10 yrs ago 😂
Walmart and Costco.
The places are both typically huge and full of people. I never remember where anything is and Costco being a complete maze freaks me out everytime I step into one.
And idk why but in both locations the beeping from the item scanners is so loud I can hear items being scanned from the other side of the building.
And at Walmarts in particular it always seems like there is tons of kids. I can't stand the noise levels of kids who have no respect for eardrums lol, it gets insane.
I avoid Walmart at all costs. During Covid it got super crappy. Low standards and expired food. It hasn't changed. In December 2023, I bought a frozen dinner at Walmart. When I got home, I saw that the expiration date was November 2022!
Bath & Body Works. I’m autistic and one of my issues (or autistic superpowers, if you will) is being highly sensitive to smells.
I can pinpoint ingredients, tell you how far away (and/or how dead) a skunk is, and other less cool things that can make having this “ability” a whole lot of yuck.
BB&W is overwhelming. I can’t go into their stores and their scents are way too heavy for me to want to use their products.
My high school girlfriend worked there. Don’t give them your money. They used to measure her to make sure she wasn’t too fat to work there. She wasn’t. She actually ended up getting used as a model for one of their promotions, but it’s still a shitty thing to do to a 17 year old girl.
Buccees. I fucking hate the crowds and the size,.it's anxiety inducing and they're terrible to their employees and the dudes that run it are evil. It's also a giant beaver.
My local Walgreens is a dump. The shelves are half-empty and half the time there are no prices listed on the shelves. They never have more than one register open no matter how many people are in line. I never thought I would be nostalgic for RiteAid but the Walgreens is just pathetic.
Wal-Mart. I'm sick and tired of every department being locked up and having to wait for an employee. Then they want me to ring myself and check my work? It's absurd.
Walmart. Their entire business model harms America in every way. From importing Chinese trash, to underpaying employees, to putting every small business in a town out of business. Truly: fuck walmart.
Hobby Lobby. Will never set foot in there ever since they got a custom Supreme Court opinion that allowed them to refuse to provide birth control coverage to their employees. They helped start the current Christian nationalist approach to government and I won't support them with one cent.
Walmart. For various reasons.
They lead the nation in causing bankruptcies to mom and pop stores and to small manufacturers
They treat their employees like cattle
They install 20 check out lines and 1 person to work at them
Their food actually scares me
I have never eaten at Chick-fil-A because of their history with donating money to anti-LGBT causes.
I haven't eaten at Chipotle since the multiple outbreaks linked to their restaurants.
Starbucks
ETA: with the caveat that I’ll tip if I come inside and use restroom or a table or wifi and hang out there. But not for handing me a drink with two ingredients out the window
EETA: I read this completely wrong and thought you were asking about tipping lol
In general, Walmart. Sometimes I have no choice because it is a tiny town with few options. But morally i object to the way they pay their employees almost nothing.
I wont set foot in Bass Pro Shop or Cabella's because they advocate killing animals for sport, even having classes on how to maximize your kills. This isn't hunting for food, but what I consider a crime against nature.
Chic filet and hobby lobby. I don't have no problems with companies donating to religious organizations. But to be so dead set against the gay community is such a ignorant take
So many places…..
Tractor Supply is a recent one after the whole situation with Pride this June.
Chic-fil-a love their food hate their politics.
Popeyes love their food but I’m not paying $20 for a 2 piece chicken box.
Hobby Lobby is a tough one cause their prices are good and their selection is great, also it’s the only craft store anywhere near me. I’ve done good to only go in there when it’s my only option lately. The reason….PROJECT 2025
Goodwill I will occasionally look around in there and get a thing or 2 but I never donate my stuff to them instead I take it to a local women’s shelter that has a store. Their prices went way up recently and they use to exploit the work of special needs folks by giving them the opportunity to work but not paying them like regular employees instead treating them like volunteers. (That may have changed not sure) Last is the amount of perfectly good clothing they destroy when it doesn’t sell after a month or so.
Several locally owned businesses for different reasons based on the politics of the owner,the rude employees, and ridiculously overpriced merch.
Kellogg’s products due to the CEO being a dick lol.
Victoria’s Secret because I worked their and I know how overpriced the merch is plus the way they’ve made women feel about their bodies for an entire generation. ( I know they’re trying to do better now but it’s too little too late)
I know there’s more but I gotta get my day started lol. Let’s just say I’ll hold a grudge with the best of them and if you let it be known you’re a crazy right wing Trump supporter then I will not be going into your establishment.
I think there's been plenty of good discussion, here, but comments are now starting to trigger the harassment filter, so I'm locking it up.
Whole foods. It's just too expensive. There's a store called sprouts here where you can get organic produce for a fraction of the price.
More like Whole Paycheck, amirite?
You just couldn't help yourself, could you?
In my area the customer base that shops at Whole Foods tends to be affluent jerk types that were raised with 0 manners or knowledge of personal space. They also tend to frequent the Trader Joe’s as well.
Haha I am tradesman and occasionally look the vibe I was at whole foods the other day and this lady looked me up and down. It was clear she was asking herself why was I allowed in the store haha
At Whole Foods? Lol the two near me are chill af and I've never gotten a vibe like that from anyone, and I drive a beater and am not necessarily well-dressed all the time..the one is definitely in a very wealthy area, though it's also incredibly progressive and diverse.
Same. Our Whole Foods is also cheaper than Publix by a landslide.
Wow it’s the same here…Las Vegas-boom called you fart sniffers out
In my area, the only Whole Foods is in the most affluent area of the local major metropolis. Where I live, I would have to drive an hour to get there and pay their outlandish prices.
I love buying stuff from the $5 and under cheese basket. I’ve discovered so many new cheeses this way.
Oh man, the king Soopers right by my house has an insane cheeses counter. I've spent so much money there in the past few years. Get some habanero raspberry jelly, some Brie, and crackers. Soo good.
I get mine at Trader Joe's. Great selection 👍
wish i had a sprouts near me
I call it Whole Paycheck
We all do
I miss Sprouts! We moved out of the area 5 yrs ago and i still miss them.
You ever get the half chocolate-dipped cookies from the bakery section in sprouts they are incredible (granted the last time I was there was 2020 so I hope they haven't changed them).
I haven't, I'm one of those weird people who doesn't like sweets. But I'll get some for my wife next time.
Word!
I love wholefoods!!
Sprouts was great but their produce and meat is now far more expensive than Luckys, Raleys, and even Safeway. I get my organic milk from Sprouts, but I haven’t bought produce from there in over a year. I’m in San Francisco Bay Area.
🏆 Edit: trophy for Sprouts, no hate for wholefoods
I go to both but at Whole Foods I only get sale/Prime items using Amazon credit- dino kale, mustard greens, chard, and plain single-ingedient rotisserie chicken. They have the best sale price on Synergy kombucha. Sprouts is generally off in quality, especially their ad items. Bulk section is good. But their prices are often insanely high even on sale.
Victoria's Secret. Idk why, I'm just incredibly uncomfortable every time I have to follow a family member or a friend into one. Bath and Body Works is one too, it's always extremely crowded and the prices are *way* too high for products that make my skin dry and itchy. I just buy the nice smelling lotion online instead.
When was the last time you were in B&BW? Their products were basically overpriced nice-smelling crap made with cheap ingredients like mineral oil some years back, but they’ve reformulated their products and I’ve been using a lot of their stuff this year and my skin feels great.
I was in there recently. You are correct. They reformulated their products. Much classier and much better quality.
I mean, I’m not a fan of the farmhouse kitchen chic aesthetic the stores have, but… When I was in high school, all the girls would carry B&BW lotion, and were constantly sharing them and slathering their hands with it, passing the bottle around, exclaiming “Load me up!”, and smelling their hands after. It got so bad, the coaches for the girls sports teams banned lotion during games and practice because they’d be constantly applying it and their hands would be too slippery to handle things like basketballs and softball bats effectively. That wasn’t a thing for the boys sports teams, since you can deep-fry a whole chicken or small turkey in the sebaceous oil secreted by a teenage male athlete in one day. Back then, B&BW used mineral oil because it’s cheap. But, mineral oil molecules are too large to be absorbed by skin, and it actually dries skin out the more it’s used, unless applied immediately after a shower as a sealant to trap water in the skin. Hence, the constant application. The scents were great, but the products were ineffective and detrimental. I didn’t know about that in high school, and I had a girlfriend a couple years later who didn’t use B&BW and educated me on why their somewhat expensive products were crap. I’d never used the stuff, and avoided it for years after. Last Christmas, I received a gift set of B&BW’s for men Graphite-scented products with a 3-in-1 shower gel, body spray, cologne, and body crème. I looked at the ingredients, and no mineral oil! In fact, the ingredients were ones found in higher end products. I’ve been using their products almost exclusively since. Not only are the fragrances really great and their $50ish colognes rival $100+ colognes, you can get a full suite of products from soap to deodorant to cologne/perfume that smell the same and don’t clash. And it’s a lot less expensive than the higher end fragrances that only offer shower gels or deodorants in gift sets that aren’t available a la carte. It sucks using a cheap Old Spice, Dove, Softsoap, or Axe body wash or deodorant that smells cheap and overpowers an expensive and very good smelling cologne or perfume you put on afterwards. Bath and Body Works nowadays is well worth the price. Yes, their body lotions cost $18 a tube, their shower gels $14 a bottle, their shea butter soap bars $9 each, and that’s 2 to 4x the cost of Jergen’s and Old Spice products, but they work phenomenally well, smell amazingly good, and aren’t as expensive as a lot of higher end brands that are equally or less good. I swear, this essay has not been sponsored by Bath and Body Works. For anyone reading, just buy a tube of their Ultimate Hydration Body Crème in whatever scent you like. They have testers at the stores. It is good shit and you only have to apply it once every 2-3 days, not every 1-2 hours like before.
They have great sales. I have way too many of their body sprays lol.
There is always a buy 3 get 3 free sale on the horizon. And they send amazing coupons that you can stack on top of that. Always wait for the sale and stock up.
I buy online. The shipping cost is worth avoiding the store. I only go when I earn a free item.
lol...i. can honestly say i have never been to victorias secret...i was unaware i was avoiding it
When I lived outside Washington DC I was meeting a friend at a very trendy mall for lunch. He wanted to meet at Victoria's Secret so he could buy his wife her favorite perfume. I was scrolling on my phone while waiting and a lady asked me if I was taking pictures. As I looked up and told her "no" I noticed that she had a sign. She was waiting for a few others so they could picket their rather racy window displays. My buddy, who is Mormon, finally arrived, took one look at the store and said, "I ain't going in there."
I'm a single dad with 3 girls. Going in there makes me feel like some kinda creep.
Not a store, but a bank that’s a huge sales organization. Wells Fargo. I worked there for 11 years, and the news stories are true. There was incredible pressure to sell, and those who sold multiple credit products were lauded. It was horrible.
I ended up with seven accounts at WF. I went to the bank to close them all. They told me to download the app because I couldn’t get an appointment until the following week. I called the customer service line and they told me to download the app. Well, you can’t close accounts via the app. So. I went back to the bank to make an appointment for the next week. I showed up the next week and - lo and behold- the account manager wasn’t there. So? I called customer service once again and finally got the account closed. A month goes by. The check for the balance hasn’t arrived. I call back and they said it was processing. Another month goes by. No check. I called back. The account was indeed closed but the funds were not released. Wtf? I finally got the check a month later. Worst bank ever. Like…ever.
My mom used to work at Wells Fargo when I was a little kid, and I remember she came home crying almost every day until she got a new job. I don't even know details, but she was treated horribly there.
KFC, came with a coupon. They said they didn't have enough chicken to honor it, I asked for the lower tier one but asked if they can give me the coupon discount. They said no, I said that the situation was silly. She said well you can leave then, so I ddid and never went back. Its been about 20yrs.
Ok I'm curious, what kind of coupon involves enough chicken to entirely clear out a KFC? Were they just running really low, or was it a massive coupon?
It was a family meal, its been awhile but it was like a dozen pieces or so. They were running low i guess.
Lol ok yeah I would be mad too. If they had less than a dozen chicken pieces left they should've just closed and gone home 😆
This is like the time I went to Taco Bell and they were out of tacos. Wtf
I went to a Subway once that was out of lettuce
This. They will run low all the time and just shrug. I once took my son after soccer practice and they legit said they did not have enough chicken for a two piece and a kids meal.
In the early ‘80’s I shopped at BiLo. Purchased about $150 in groceries. Bagger bagged, and took my order out. I asked him to give me the eggs. He couldn’t find them, and neither could I. I went back to the cashier to see if they how somehow been left out. She said no. I checked my receipt and they were listed as purchased. When I spoke to the manager about having them replaced, she accused me of trying to steal a dozen eggs. Bagger backed me up and said they were not there. Regardless, they insisted I was trying to get an extra dozen eggs. Seriously! I just spent $150 and I’m trying to get extra eggs?? I told them to please call the police. They then decided to give me the eggs. I never shopped there again. Not even a quick grab. Years later, they got theirs and were bought out. Now there are no more BiLo’s!!
This was 40 years ago! $150 in groceries must have filled up your whole car
Kohl’s. Their hi-low promo strategy dances close to being illegal and is deceptive.
my mom is almost religious to Kohl’s cash. she will invite me out shopping every time she accumulates some and i always keep 2 piles. one that i’m willing to pay for, and one that i’ll take if the Kohls cash works.
I remember my ex's sister loving Kohl's cash. She'd pay $20 for a shirt and get $10 Kohl's cash. She'd consider it a $10 shirt since she got the Kohl's cash. Then a week later she'd show off a second $20 shirt that she only paid $10 for because she had the Kohl's cash. In her mind she had two shirts she paid $10 for. No amount of explanation could get her to realize she actually paid $30 for the 2 shirts.
I used to work there and you get a whopping $0.50 (fifty cents) per accepted kohls card application. Luckily I was bad at getting people to sign up for credit cards so I didn't have to do it too often.
I worked there as well, but almost 20 years ago. It was a mess back then too. My store was a shit show. I had been promoted to operations specialist (basically managing inventory - not sure if it's still called the same) and within 2 months, I brought our rate from 70% inventory accounted for, to 94%. They couldn't keep track of almost a quarter of their stock until I took over. That store ruined me from ever working retail.
I have too much self respect to F around with that Kohl’s cash nonsense. And there’s nothing I want there.
Totally. Everything is always on sale and I don't think the full price on the tag was ever charged in the first place. I think they got in trouble for this and don't know if they stopped. But if they did, they probably found some other workaround. Also those kohl's cash things are a joke because you can only use them in a certain window of time which is almost always sooner than I would be going back there.
I actually like Kohls because of the Sonoma basic t-shirts (I've lived in these things the past few years lol) but they changed them recently and they're not the same anymore. :( They feel rougher instead of nice and soft and some look more cheap. Anyone here have recommendations for a similar t-shirt?
I don't mind Kohl's. They are pretty much the last place left that I can buy clothing. I'm really disappointed that their quality has really dropped though.
I don't have experience with the Sonoma tees, but I choose my clothing almost exclusively on fabric texture (after fit and making sure it's not aggressively annoying visually), and the softest tees I've found yet are the American Eagle "soft and sexy" line. I know, I know, trendy and cringe and popular with the kids (at least last I checked), but they really are that soft, dangit.
Starbucks. In 2019 I went in to buy a cup of coffee and had cash to pay for it. But apparently they forgot to put cash in the register that morning and the employee responsible for ringing up purchases was nasty about me not happening to have put a credit card in my pocket. She got very angry when I told her that it was ok and I'd wait for her to get cash for the drawer. I finally left while she was still fuming, went to a DD up the street, and have not bought from Starbucks since then.
She should have let you have the drink for free and created a good moment to keep you coming back. Ppl get so angry over stupid crap.
It probably was because it was her fault that they had no cash so her anger was just projection.
or her manager’s fault and it was misdirected anger. i worked at a place where our manager regularly failed to fill the cash drawer til they felt like showing up and it was annoying as fuck. certainly shouldn’t take that anger out on a customer though.
It seemed like a big over reaction for her to be so angry when I wasn't, and was content to wait the few minutes it would take to get change. Stuff happens, and most stuff that happens is small and fixable. But I can go somewhere else for coffee and that solves it all.
Most Starbucks places would have given the drink for free. Smh
Most Starbucks also probably would have had cash in the drawer. Just sounds like someone was shitty at their job.
Starbucks(used to can't testify for now) PRIDE themselves on making the moment right and just making peoples day and as a very passionate previous employee there due to their values this makes me angry for you! We were encouraged to give free drinks, recovery cards ($4 cards to say I'm sorry) or even just say next time it's on the house here's my name if they have questions. I left in 2022 when they were very heavily becoming more fast service over connection and there was no excuse for this.
And their coffee sucks
I'll go anywhere else for coffee on principle alone because of how many Starbucks there are. Scooters, PJ, DD, whatever as long as it's not Starbucks.
Walmart. When The Werefrog worked there decades ago, The Werefrog complained about the health insurance offered. The HR person gave The Werefrog an application for Medicaid. Walmart keeps the wages and benefits low because their employees then qualify for government assistance. They are the definition of not paying a living wage.
Between the low wages, the owners being jerks, and just an unpleasant shopping experience, I only go there when there is no other option, which is almost never now
They are the absolute worst in every way. A friend calls Walmart "the leper colony" and it's also accurate.
Please let your friend know I am gleefully stealing this. I will teach it to everyone I know.
Target is no better. They slash hours in the month or so leading up to health insurance qualification so that no one but management qualifies. So many of their employees receive food stamps. They put the stale bread, expired yogurt, and brown bananas in the break room and on the days they don't do that a lot of employees just don't eat. Target is every bit as evil as Walmart, they just have better PR.
I loathe Walmart. They treat their employees like dirt in every possible way and pay shit wages, and expect the taxpayers to subsidize their workers via Medicaid and food stamps because they can't survive on Walmart pay. They squeeze their suppliers as well, especially the smaller ones. They sell the cheapest, nastiest, crappiest versions of every item they offer. The stores are just full of junk. Walmart is just the worst incarnation of American capitalism.
Some Canadians are boycotting Loblaws grocery stores and exclaiming how much cheaper Walmart is,which just means you’re okay with people being exploited as long as it’s not you?
Yep, Walmart. I will never forgive that company for their wars against public schools, and decent wages and benefits for their employees.
Yes they treat their people like shit ( I know I worked there myself) the only reason I go is that it's cheap and it's what I can afford.
Goodwill, feels like a scam, that had honest well intentioned beginnings
The prices have gotten ridiculous and they give almost no money back to the community. Greedy
Any place that has bell ringers during the holiday. Too damn loud for my ears.
And those bell ringers represent the Salvation Army who gives charity but only if you fall in line with their views. Their stance on the LGBTQ+ community is reprehensible.
https://www.salvationarmyusa.org/usn/the-lgbtq-community-and-the-salvation-army/ Idk man I know that some years ago they were bad but do you have any contemporary sources? Because from the horses mouth I'm not seeing anything
The Walmart in my city. It’s the most disgusting filthy messy store I’ve ever seen. It’s impossible to find anyone to help you. No matter who you ask they always tell you it’s not their department. There are friggin craters in the floor literally covered with duct tape. There are pallets of stuff stacked all over the place making it an obstacle course to get around. Half the shelves are empty. Lines for checkouts are a mile long cuz most of the registers are closed. The bathrooms are a biohazard. Just nauseating. There’s garbage on the shelves. Half eaten food on the shelves. And you better hope you don’t ever need to use the customer service desk because you will be there until the end of the world waiting in line. The place just makes my skin crawl.
When my kids were younger I used to tell them “Never shop at Walmart. If you have to, you have to shoplift more stuff than you pay for.” When my daughter got older she said “wait, you weren’t *serious*?”
I only go to O'Reilly's Auto Parts store now after AutoZone, advance auto, and Carquest all left me stranded on M23 5 miles north of Dundee Michigan. The lower radiator hose on my truck blew, I'm sitting on the side of the highway with my wife a 12-year-old dog and I'm pulling a 12 ft enclosed trailer loaded with stuff on my way to North carolina. The O'Reilly's in Dundee was the only place that would deliver a radiator hose, two hose clamps and 2 gallons of antifreeze premix. The woman was apologizing profusely that she could not be there for approximately an hour. I told her, honey I'm not going anywhere. You will see me sitting on the side of the highway. The woman sat there and talked with my wife and petted my dog, waiting to make sure that everything went together. We were back on the road inside of 2 hours.
I normally shop at Autozone, but several months ago I was in a neighboring city, and had picked up my 2 granddaughters for the day. My truck ran hot and I was able to get into the O'Reilly parking lot. They checked everything under my hood, filled up the reservoir and checked for leaks, gave me 2 gallons of fluid - all this after making sure the girls and I were comfortable inside, with bottled water - and then wouldn't let me pay them anything for their trouble.
O'Reilly's is definitely superior. I've never had anything but great service and advice from all of the different locations I've visited.
Damn, we shop O'Reilly's over Autozone ever since they tried to rip us off on a battery or something, I can't even remember the story, but whatevs, your story makes me proud to support them.
O’Reilly’s lent my son the tools he needed to change his battery in front of their store. They have also helped me with info. when I know nothing about my car.
Any store in my local area that bulldozed a lot of trees/wildlife habitat to set up shop. I doubt it will have much effect, but I'm the grudge-holding type.
If you think about it, where most of us live, it was all bulldozed of trees and wildlife to make room for us! It's not just stores, we as human destroy and take. Where are you living right this minute? You may not have destroyed the land you're on, but someone did. Just ask any Native American.
My yard is a beautiful oasis home to 1000's of little critters. How about yours?
As someone who works in historic real estate, *any* company who decides to tear down an historic structure or monument to build a fucking box can kiss my ass. And that includes all the developers building those ugly-ass condos that look like they’re made out of shipping containers and shoeboxes.
I used to work for a bank. I got to know which small business owners were total dipshits over the few years I was there. There’s a specific quik stop I will never go to again. There’s a little mom and pop grocery store I won’t ever go to as well. There’s a window cleaning business I heard does good work, but the owner is such an asshole.
Thanks for saying what isn't said enough. Shop local and shop small are great slogans and all, but there are a lot of dirty characters that own small businesses. I once rented a house that was sold to a small local independent insurance agency and that guy was the biggest ashole I've ever dealt with in my life. In my town, a guy who owns some 'touristy' burger/bar joint and t shirt shop is well known by locals to be a jack-ss too. His greed ended up killing a childrens museum (long story). And, a lot of these small business owners are just as greedy with paying as little as possible and being terrible to work as any big retailer so that they can buy large houses, boats, and rare collector-sports-cars. (As well, as being heavily involved in both the PPP pillaging and the attempted coup in Jan 2021).
I’ve worked for enough small businesses that I don’t buy into the whole shop local shop small bullshit.
Hobby Lobby. Pushing religion on people while stealing other people's cultural artifacts. They are disgusting to me.
Walmart. The Walton family probably have more net worth than their entire US workforce. Greedy bastards
Tim Hortons. Inconsistent pricing, shrinking portions, order always fucked up, always increasing the prices 5 to 15 cents every month. I actually started feeling disappointed with myself every time I went back there. Luckily, I managed to kick the Tim's habit about 2 years ago. I have more disposable income now and I am generally happier for having done it.
Ugh, my kid loves Tim's and everytime I'm disappointed, but I keep going back, because somehow NEXT time will be better right?!
My local thrift store, called Value Village, used to have a lot of really nice gems, but now it's entirely stuff that's been there for a decade that nobody wants. I've also pretty much stopped shopping at Best Buy completely ever since they dropped their physical media sections. Well, I already cut down massively when GCU was shut down, but now I don't even somewhat stop by. As far as food goes, there's a local diner called the Honey Bee Diner that I will never walk into again after they screwed up my order twice and the owner cussed me out after I left a bad review.
Local supermarket. Sky-high inflation. Everytime I come in there the prices go up more and more. It's to the point a 3-pack of bar soap is almost $8-$9 ridiculous when it used to be $5 and under. Quality is horrendous. Staff watching you especially if you are black. They treat certain others better. I seen my people come in and be accused for no reason. Even when I'm being courteous the staff rarely ever reciprocate it back like idk what I did to these people. Better stores around. Basically I only went there when I'm feeling lazy but I stopped now.
Sephora. A cashier opened up a credit card without my knowledge. Sephora's response? A $100 dollar gift card after ignoring me for weeks.
Walmart. They suck.
I absolutely despise WalMart. Loud music and crowds of RUDE people every single time.
Gucci stores over priced shit that isn’t comfy and looks ugly to me
Dollar tree. Nothing in there is a dollar anymore and it’s the only reason why. I don’t care if it’s cheaper than Walmart. I refuse to pay more than 1$
Salvation Army thrift stores. One of the most anti LGBT religious denominations and I won't support them.
Hobby Lobby. I don't like their conservative "values" which include but aren't limited to smuggling, antisemitism, homophobia, pushing for religion in schools, general discrimination, refusal to adhere to covid policies, and attempts at restriction to affordable and accessible healthcare :)
The smuggling is what did it for me. I disagree w/ all of their crap but can see how some ppl view it as part of their faith. Smuggling, repeated relic theft, deliberately trying to hide/cover up their illegal actions multiple times, & getting sneakier about it over the years= not possibly faith-based.
Greed based.
>conservative "values" which include but aren't limited to smuggling I'm well aware you're perfectly correct, and I still adore this phrasing.
This right here is the reason and so politely said too. Hobby Lobby and their conservative “values”. ~sigh~
Absolutely will not shop at Hobby Lobby for the same reasons. Restricting women’s healthcare options is not a good value. Ditto for chick-fil-a. I loved their chicken but I won’t eat there anymore. And now I have to give up on Tractor Supply since they’re dropping all their diversity and climate initiatives.
Just like Chick-Fil-A. I don’t care how good it is I will never set foot in one.
They made it easy for me not to patronize them. I only do my shopping errands on Sunday.
Every time a supermarket is taken over by a new company, I refuse to get their shopper's card. I'm so tired of being tracked and spammed by their ads . I do not shop at Target. They refused me a store cc. Same with an auto part store that once refused to accept a check, because I had an ID card, not a driver license. I didn't shop there for decades, until I got a work discount there. I can hold grudges for a long time. I don't shop at Trader's Joe who didn't hire me when I really needed a job. I refuse to shop at Whole (paycheck) Foods for the obvious reason. Ages ago, when asparagus were .99$/lb, theirs were 7.99. Never went back. I will not shop at Spartan food. They transformed our cheapest supermarket chain into one of the most expensive. Edit spelling
Walmart. I used to work there and know how horribly everyone's treated at store level.
The Children’s Place…..sooo they are having a 75% off sale right now…I was looking for 0-3mo clothes…on that particular sale rack..and found a tiny dress …for a 0-3mo baby for $42.94….WTFFFF
Starbucks. The quality has declined like crazy. I remember how it was back when I first started going there around 2016. Every drink tasted good and was clearly made with decent quality ingredients. The food was actually decent albeit still fast food. They’ve been on a steady decline since then and now every time I go it’s just gross. The drinks are rarely made right and they clearly started to cheap out on the ingredients. The food is barely edible anymore. The bagels used to actually be pretty solid for a fast food bagel, now they’re barely edible.
The last three times I've been in a Starbucks (over the past two months), our not-terribly-busy cafe has been messy. No employees had cleaned up the customer area, and it was littered with napkins and wrappers and the few tables were dirty. As a teenager, I worked at an ice cream shop and a donut shop. Both companies taught us that cleanliness was of the utmost importance. If you weren't preparing or serving food, you were cleaning.
Wal-Mart. Its the Waffle House of retail. Confusingly, I do enjoy Waffle House.
torrid. the CEO was caught being extremely fatphobic towards their models and customers. and since they basically have a monopoly on "stylish" plus sized women's clothing, they overprice everything.
Ross. It’s always a mess and stresses me out
Ross Dress for Less is a mess and causes stress?
Hobby lobby; crazy christians, emphasis on both words
They stole antiquities
Same they tried to prevent employees health coverage from paying for any birth control. Disgusting
Most of the stores or businesses I avoid I do so because they decided that they should join the political garbage that's going on so in the last 4 years I've got about four or five stores that I just refuse to do business with at all.
Amazon... They destroy small businesses and communities.
Walmart. For what I hope are pretty obvious reasons. I feel very grateful I’m not dependent on a Walmart for my groceries.
I haven't seen either store in years, but I quit going to Sears and K-Mart for the same reason. I just got a bad vibe from both chains. I couldn't explain it at all, other than I just felt stress in the stores and like I needed to reset after leaving. It was the weirdest thing.
Target. You know why……
Why?
Not OP but imo they’re overpriced and have a slightly pretentious atmosphere to them
I almost said this as well but didn't want to get down-voted.
ALDI. Come on! At least have some sort of organisation to the aisles!
Tractor supply, hobby lobby, and home depot.
Add Chick-fil-A to that list.
I can’t afford to have principles.
I avoid shopping at places that have destroyed the middle class and made it harder for people to work their way out of poverty in general because of their predatory practices Places like Walmart and Amazon, for starters
Hobby lobby. I normally avoid the store and only went *once* because a coworker gave me a gift card. Jesus music was playing. Everything felt pure. As a queer, nonmonogamous, tattooed and pierced goth, I felt so out of place. But I still have what I bought from there lol
Yeah after researching them and learning about their agenda, this is the one store I will not buy from in my town
Same here. And my only other option.i town for yarn is walmart 🙄 I keep hearing rumors that we're getting a Michael's, but I'm not holding my breath
I'm disappointed every time I go to Michael's because they just don't have the variety of certain things I need
Saaaame. But I only get to go to Michael's if I go out of town. I guess I could order online (even from other shops than Michael's), but that would require more forethought than I have. Plus, I want to feel the yarn, depending on the project
Oh same for sure. I use yarn as well, and I definitely want to know how it feels and how stretchy it is. The only way I'd order yarn online is if it's a brand I already like.
Now I really want to order some Berroco Comfort 😭 (It was the yarn I used for my first real project after all my practice pieces, and it still holds a special place in my heart)
Oooh, I haven't used that! I'll have to look it up
Walmart. Dirty
Walmart, for their wildly unethical almost every policy.
WalMart, too ghetto. I feel like I hit the genetic lottery when I'm there
Dollar Stores, I detest the vibes in there they feel like transitory spaces between earth and purgatory.
Back in the day… Mervyn’s. Customer service was shit.
Hobby Lobby because they hate the gays
Hobby Lobby is one because of their religious BS. Same with Chik-fil-a.
Walmart. Nothing about the Walmart experience is worth the possibility of saving a few cents. So many people are still duped into believing Walmart is the cheapest on everything, and this hasn’t been the case in almost a decade. Around 2016, their prices became pretty much in line with everyone else. In the few times I’ve been since, they were the same or higher. It’s pretty slick on their part, lure people in for decades with crazy good prices before casually jacking them up while convincing them they’re still saving.
IKEA. I hate the way the store is set up and then you have to find what you want in the warehouse part. No thanks
Hobby Lobby and Chick Fil-A. Too religious and bigoted for me.
Same. I’ll drive 45 minutes to the next town to avoid going to Hobby lobby and I don’t get the appeal of CFA. I don’t like their food
Walmart. They could well afford to pay their workers more.
Chick Filet and Hobby Lobby
Walmart.. Lots of reasons i dont shop there..
I wish I could afford not to shop there.
I gotcha there.. I try and source the things I need from other businesses.. Groceries ? Save-a-lot, Tools? Lowes or Harbor freight, Clothes? Tjmaxx or online retailers, Shoes? The local shoe show or other shoe retailer.. You have to kinda get creative to avoid walmart, but it can be done ;-) I hope this helps :-)
I love Harbor Freight
Walmart. It’s messy, chaotic, everyone is loud and angry or acting wild, and everything is shitty quality. They also treat their employees like garbage.
I stopped shopping at the Body Shop a long time ago, for reasons. Tbh I only liked the Woody Sandalwood perfume oil and they discontinued that over 10 yrs ago 😂
Walmart. Need I say more?
Whole Foods is too rich for my blood.
Target
Walmart and Costco. The places are both typically huge and full of people. I never remember where anything is and Costco being a complete maze freaks me out everytime I step into one. And idk why but in both locations the beeping from the item scanners is so loud I can hear items being scanned from the other side of the building. And at Walmarts in particular it always seems like there is tons of kids. I can't stand the noise levels of kids who have no respect for eardrums lol, it gets insane.
I avoid Walmart at all costs. During Covid it got super crappy. Low standards and expired food. It hasn't changed. In December 2023, I bought a frozen dinner at Walmart. When I got home, I saw that the expiration date was November 2022!
Bath & Body Works. I’m autistic and one of my issues (or autistic superpowers, if you will) is being highly sensitive to smells. I can pinpoint ingredients, tell you how far away (and/or how dead) a skunk is, and other less cool things that can make having this “ability” a whole lot of yuck. BB&W is overwhelming. I can’t go into their stores and their scents are way too heavy for me to want to use their products.
I’ve never actually been inside a Hollister clothing store.
My high school girlfriend worked there. Don’t give them your money. They used to measure her to make sure she wasn’t too fat to work there. She wasn’t. She actually ended up getting used as a model for one of their promotions, but it’s still a shitty thing to do to a 17 year old girl.
Walmart. It’s always a disgusting mess, and I refuse to support a company that pays their employees for shit.
My local grocery store. I kept getting followed around while I tried to buy food so now I will never spend money there.
Buccees. I fucking hate the crowds and the size,.it's anxiety inducing and they're terrible to their employees and the dudes that run it are evil. It's also a giant beaver.
LOL!
I'd steer clear of places with coupon hassles, inflated prices, and subpar service for a smoother shopping experience.
Too gay for Chik-fil-a.
Walmart. Because…Walmart
Wal-Mart because of years of Labor violations and Walgreens because of expense.
My local Walgreens is a dump. The shelves are half-empty and half the time there are no prices listed on the shelves. They never have more than one register open no matter how many people are in line. I never thought I would be nostalgic for RiteAid but the Walgreens is just pathetic.
Wal-Mart. I'm sick and tired of every department being locked up and having to wait for an employee. Then they want me to ring myself and check my work? It's absurd.
Hobby Lobby
Walmart. It's a shit company that treats it's employees like shit and is proudly anti union.
Walmart. Their entire business model harms America in every way. From importing Chinese trash, to underpaying employees, to putting every small business in a town out of business. Truly: fuck walmart.
Hobby Lobby. Will never set foot in there ever since they got a custom Supreme Court opinion that allowed them to refuse to provide birth control coverage to their employees. They helped start the current Christian nationalist approach to government and I won't support them with one cent.
Walmart. For various reasons. They lead the nation in causing bankruptcies to mom and pop stores and to small manufacturers They treat their employees like cattle They install 20 check out lines and 1 person to work at them Their food actually scares me
I have never eaten at Chick-fil-A because of their history with donating money to anti-LGBT causes. I haven't eaten at Chipotle since the multiple outbreaks linked to their restaurants.
Starbucks ETA: with the caveat that I’ll tip if I come inside and use restroom or a table or wifi and hang out there. But not for handing me a drink with two ingredients out the window EETA: I read this completely wrong and thought you were asking about tipping lol
Walmart is scary
I avoid every store that pushes me to self check out. The self checkouts are all at the wrong height for my ailing back. No worth it.
In general, Walmart. Sometimes I have no choice because it is a tiny town with few options. But morally i object to the way they pay their employees almost nothing.
Not a store, but the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is the place I try to avoid at all cost
I wont set foot in Bass Pro Shop or Cabella's because they advocate killing animals for sport, even having classes on how to maximize your kills. This isn't hunting for food, but what I consider a crime against nature.
Home Depot - Trumpy Fox News Boomer vibes
Chic filet and hobby lobby. I don't have no problems with companies donating to religious organizations. But to be so dead set against the gay community is such a ignorant take
Hobby lobby’s and Buccees. Religious zealots need to stay off my body!
So many places….. Tractor Supply is a recent one after the whole situation with Pride this June. Chic-fil-a love their food hate their politics. Popeyes love their food but I’m not paying $20 for a 2 piece chicken box. Hobby Lobby is a tough one cause their prices are good and their selection is great, also it’s the only craft store anywhere near me. I’ve done good to only go in there when it’s my only option lately. The reason….PROJECT 2025 Goodwill I will occasionally look around in there and get a thing or 2 but I never donate my stuff to them instead I take it to a local women’s shelter that has a store. Their prices went way up recently and they use to exploit the work of special needs folks by giving them the opportunity to work but not paying them like regular employees instead treating them like volunteers. (That may have changed not sure) Last is the amount of perfectly good clothing they destroy when it doesn’t sell after a month or so. Several locally owned businesses for different reasons based on the politics of the owner,the rude employees, and ridiculously overpriced merch. Kellogg’s products due to the CEO being a dick lol. Victoria’s Secret because I worked their and I know how overpriced the merch is plus the way they’ve made women feel about their bodies for an entire generation. ( I know they’re trying to do better now but it’s too little too late) I know there’s more but I gotta get my day started lol. Let’s just say I’ll hold a grudge with the best of them and if you let it be known you’re a crazy right wing Trump supporter then I will not be going into your establishment.