# Bad brands **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 26, 2011, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-brands/590337 "2011-07-26T00:53:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-brands/590337/1 "2011-07-26T00:53:11Z")
A post I made in a coupon thread over in CS got me thinking. I know of several brands of products that are total shit. Lousy taste, lousy electronics, whatever. I figure every Doper out there has some experience with a brand that should be avoided at all costs. Not just a bad product, but a whole brand that sucks. Let’s see what shows up. I’ll start with [Mt. Olive pickles](http://www.mtolivepickles.com/products/product-styles/). Every single item I have ever purchased from this company has been sub-standard at best. The pickles are either flavorless or hard as a rock or both, and the relishes are just plain vile. I find it hard to believe that anybody with taste buds ever buys more than one of their products. (Obviously I did, but that was just to see how bad they really were. Not something you can build a business model around.) ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-brands/590337/2 "2011-07-26T01:03:58Z")
I was about to take issue with your characterization of Mt. Olive pickles when I realized I always buy Cains. Not sure why I thought I was a Mt. Olive fan. ---
**Author:** ![Shark\_Sandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Shark\_Sandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark_Sandwich)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-brands/590337/3 "2011-07-26T01:12:41Z")
We don’t buy Mt. Olive pickles, but I like their jalapenos for tacos and nachos and stuff. There’s a store brand of green beans (Clear Value or something) that my wife bought a few cans of once. When I opened up the can and poured them into a pot, I found 6 stems. Every other can we bought had stems in it also. We won’t buy them again. ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-brands/590337/4 "2011-07-26T01:18:41Z")
Kraft Cheese. Flavorless bland blob of blah. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-brands/590337/5 "2011-07-26T01:22:31Z")
> [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](#): > > Kraft Cheese. Flavorless bland blob of blah. Not limited to cheese. Crest toothpaste. My dentist gives out free samples, and so I recently used some for the first time in a couple of decades. That crap is vile, with it’s overpowering fake-mint taste and inexplicably cloying, uvula-raping texture. Straight in the trash. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-brands/590337/6 "2011-07-26T01:53:48Z")
Target brand housewares. Across the board the cheapest, most failure prone crap I have ever seen. They are more stylish than the Walmart equivalent, but the materials and construction quality is horrendous. I can’t believe any of these products were subjected to normal QC procedures. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-brands/590337/7 "2011-07-26T01:56:39Z")
Jennie-O turkey bacon. It looks like nice lean slices like other turkey bacon, and it was absolutely inedible. Threw the cooked bits and the rest in the package right into the trash. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-brands/590337/8 "2011-07-26T02:15:11Z")
Toyota **Camry** and **Corolla** I’m sure Toyota is a good company, but these two brands(lines) are just subpar in my experience. I can only offer anecdotal evidence(I mean, that’s all we all have), but those two brands of cars are very weak and unreliable. I think they have even had recalls. ---
**Author:** ![carnut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnut/32/3531_2.png) [@carnut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnut)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-brands/590337/9 "2011-07-26T02:40:53Z")
I eat the Mt. Olive zesty pickle. Nobody else comes close to it for flavor and crunch. But that is the only Mt. Olive product I buy. Ragu. You call that spaghetti sauce? What are you using as a measure? A tape ruler? Blech. Sellotape - excuse me people in the U.K., but have you heard of Scotch Tape? It’s miles better. Trader Joe’s chocolate - the 3-pack stuff they sell next to the registers. Blech again. They are waxy, not chocolatey. All IMO, of course. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-brands/590337/10 "2011-07-26T02:53:56Z")
Edge brand shaving gel is decidedly substandard when compared to the Gillette, Schick or Nivea offerings. Personna multiblade razor cartridges suck balls. Oddly, their double-edge blades are fine though. Texas Pete Louisiana style hot sauce is truly execrable. There are so many decent brands out there that there’s no reason to bother with that garbage. It’s neither hot, nor particularly flavorful, unless you like vinegar. I think it’s even artificially thickened. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-brands/590337/11 "2011-07-26T02:54:56Z")
The problem with this thread is, I’ll be at the store, see Mt. olive Pickles, and think “I’ve heard of those somewhere”, and not recall the critical “they’re bad” part. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-brands/590337/12 "2011-07-26T04:20:56Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Edge brand shaving gel is decidedly substandard when compared to the Gillette, Schick or Nivea offerings. > > Personna multiblade razor cartridges suck balls. Oddly, their double-edge blades are fine though. > > Texas Pete Louisiana style hot sauce is truly execrable. There are so many decent brands out there that there’s no reason to bother with that garbage. It’s neither hot, nor particularly flavorful, unless you like vinegar. I think it’s even artificially thickened. Why is it the sauce on the table for so many US sit down Mexican resturants? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-brands/590337/13 "2011-07-26T15:13:55Z")
> [@astro](#): > > Why is it the sauce on the table for so many US sit down Mexican resturants? It is? Most of the sit-down Mexican places I go to don’t even have hot sauce on the tables, and the ones that do are usually taquerias with a few tables, and they invariably have Cholula or La Victoria (Victoriana?) on the tables. Never seen Texas Pete anywhere but a couple of funky roadside restaurants, and the bottle I bought to give it a try. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-brands/590337/14 "2011-07-26T15:23:21Z")
Jennings/Jimenez/Phoenix (Ring of Fire) firearms. You’d be better off throwing them than pulling the trigger. Once upon a time, not so long ago, I might have said Hi-Point firearms as well, but I’ve seen enough to dissuade me from that. I wouldn’t buy one, but apparently they’ve improved over the years to the point where they can actually be seen as good value. ---
**Author:** ![Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brown_eyed_girl/32/3574_2.png) [@Brown\_Eyed\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brown_Eyed_Girl)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-brands/590337/15 "2011-07-26T15:52:58Z")
I’m content using Mt. Olives Diced Jalapenos, so I don’t have to chop a bunch myself. (Last time I did that my hands were burning for days.) I’m not saying jarred jalapenos or Mt. Olives are particularly exceptional in quality, but there’s not usually a great deal of choice for that product in these parts. From my list of **Brands I Will Not Buy** : [ul] [li]_Chock Full O’ Nuts._ There is bad and then there is CFON. The worst.[/li][li]_Chef Boyardee._ Where pasta goes to die.[/li][li]_Campbells._ Would you like some chicken with your salt bath? Wait…that’s chicken?![/li][li]_Wonder Bread._ I wonder why they stripped out all the nutrients only to put them back in? There’s a reason people use the term ‘white bread’ to denote something plain, homogenized and unappealing and it has nothing to do with sourdough.[/li][li]_Grippo’s_ and _Mikesells._ Regional potato chip brands. Grippo’s is supposed to be known for their BBQ, but I’ve found both brands to consistently taste stale, despite the fact the locals rave about both. Misplaced local pride, if you ask me.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-brands/590337/16 "2011-07-26T15:56:12Z")
I don’t think it’s cool to slander entire brands here just on anecdotal personal evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-brands/590337/17 "2011-07-26T16:05:09Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I don’t think it’s cool to slander entire brands here just on anecdotal personal evidence. Nice try **Leaffan** or should I say _Mr. Boyardee_! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-brands/590337/18 "2011-07-26T16:14:36Z")
> [@salinqmind](#): > > Jennie-O turkey bacon. It looks like nice lean slices like other turkey bacon, and it was absolutely inedible. Threw the cooked bits and the rest in the package right into the trash. I have found all Jennie-O products to be equally vile. Their deli meat, for example, is disgusting. It’s one of the few brands I actively avoid. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-brands/590337/19 "2011-07-26T16:16:31Z")
Chevrolet. Cheap, flimsy cars. Every Chevy I’ve ever driven felt ready to fly apart at any moment. A local dealer had some cars on display at a July 4th festival, and I went for a closer look at the new Camaro. IMO, they _look_ awesome, and I wondered if maybe, being a muscle car and all, they build them to a higher standard than their other models. I placed my hands on the door to lean forward and look inside, and felt the interior door panel wobbling loose under my fingertips. Pure crap. ETA: I’m not a car snob. I drive a low-end Dodge, nothing fancy. But the door panels stay put and it’s a dependable, solidly built car. That’s all most people want and Chevy doesn’t deliver it. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-brands/590337/20 "2011-07-26T16:28:13Z")
> [@bump](#): > > It is? Most of the sit-down Mexican places I go to don’t even have hot sauce on the tables, and the ones that do are usually taquerias with a few tables, and they invariably have Cholula or La Victoria (Victoriana?) on the tables. > > Never seen Texas Pete anywhere but a couple of funky roadside restaurants, and the bottle I bought to give it a try. I’ve seen Texas Pete a lot, probably second after Cholula. HOWEVER, I can’t comment on the quality, as I don’t use hot sauce, But I do notice it. Joe [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-brands/590337.md?page=2)