# Do you boycott any local businesses? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 7, 2018, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-boycott-any-local-businesses/815642 "2018-06-07T22:52:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2018, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-boycott-any-local-businesses/815642/61 "2018-06-08T23:23:03Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I won’t deal with CVS anymore because their local store was completely incompetent at handling my prescriptions, even after multiple in-store conversations about it. In fact, after transfering all of my active prescriptions to another retailer, I got a text yesterday about a prescription that I had told them on each of the previous three months that I was no longer taking and to remove it from my list. If they can’t manage to do that much, fuck 'em. They can’t be trusted. I used the pharmacy my parents used, even after it moved further away. They are nice guys, and make an effort when there is a difficulty renewing, say, blood pressure prescriptions. Wahlgreens will tell you to go to hell. The pharmacists retired, partially at least due to night time shootings on their parking lot, and I went to the guys they recommended. They are just as nice and helpful. They have so much new business that the retired guys come out and help them out. But I digress. Screw big business pharmacies. They don’t want to help you, they want your money. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-boycott-any-local-businesses/815642/62 "2018-06-09T00:26:14Z")
My wife and I both came down with food poisoning after eating at Famous Dave’s. We were able to narrow it down to the coleslaw because that was the only menu item we bot ordered. When I called the manager the next day he accused me of making the story up in an effort to get free food. We not only won’t go back to that restaurant, we avoid all Famous Dave’s locations. There are many more BBQ places out there ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-boycott-any-local-businesses/815642/63 "2018-06-09T00:31:33Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Just so you know, that doesn’t happen often. I’ve worked in food for quite a long time, and i’ve never seen anyone deliberatly make food unsafe. Same. Just wanted to add to this. You hear a lot of people say things like “Don’t send food back, because they will mess with it out of spite.” I have never worked in a kitchen that would allow anyone to mess with the food and if anyone tried it would not end well for him. Sometimes there might be some disagreement from a cook, like the customer has a different definition of medium rare, but no one is going to do something stupid. There are things that might not be great ideas as a diner, like ordering well-done meat, but rarely would you have to worry about having something done to the food. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-boycott-any-local-businesses/815642/64 "2018-06-09T00:33:58Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > These have been interesting responses! > > There’s a local pizza place that I love, even though my first experience there had problems. > > I called in an order and arrived to pick it up. The young lady at the counter was dismayed, she’d taken my order and somehow didn’t turn it in. I work in food service and know that sometimes stuff happens, so I said I’d wait. She darted into the back and came out with the manager. He said they were going to give me the pizza for free, and also a coupon for another free pizza. Whoa! I was happy to agree. So it’s how a mistake is handled that matters, not just that a mistake was made. Reminds me of an experience with a pizza place I love, too, and this might make for another topic (though I’m sure it’s been done here before). ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mr.Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Bill)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-boycott-any-local-businesses/815642/65 "2018-06-09T00:43:52Z")
There were two businesses (both now ex-businesses) that I stopped going to because of bad experiences. 1. A small grocery store chain (6 or 7 locations) had a store within walking distance of my home, so I used to shop there. But I then had a bad experience on 3 consecutive visits . They had a display case opposite from the prepared food counter which had things like prepared meals and pre-sliced meat from the deli. On the first visit, I was browsing this case and found myself looking closer at a package of deli meat with odd coloration. A close examination showed that there was green mold growing around the edges that was the cause of the odd coloration. I took the package across to the prepared food counter and pointed out the problem. Second visit: Exact same problem, although I was admittedly intentionally looking for it. Again, I found a package of moldy meat. I took this one up to the cash register and showed the cashier the problem, explaining that this was the second time, and expecting her to bring it up to management. Third Visit: In the same display case, I found a prepared meal (Turkey dinner or something similar) with mold growing in large spots on the congealed gravy in the dinner. This time, I took the package to the register and requested the cashier to call the on-duty manager. When he arrived, I showed him the packaged dinner and also detailed the two previous visits. His response was basically bloviation. He didn’t even offer any type of apology, just started talking about how they had procedures in place to prevent such things. Well, no. He might have thought they had procedures, but they clearly weren’t in place. After this experience, I fired off an e-mail to the local health department and never shopped there again. The chain went bankrupt a couple of years later. 1. An Indian restaurant a few blocks from my home. I used to frequent their lunch buffet. On one visit, after filling my plate at the buffet, I sat down and started eating a pakora. Well, this pakora turned out to be absurdly chewy. I pulled a used band-aid out of the thing:eek:. I went to the cashier, showed her the band-aid and explained what happened, then went to sit back down. I did not eat anything further. I expected that the manager or head cook would come out to apologize but nothing happened. I eventually left, explaining to the cashier that I wouldn’t be paying. Never went back. The location now holds a “Pan-Asian Vegan Cuisine” restaurant. I haven’t been there but only because Pan-Asian Vegan cuisine is only technically food, in my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-boycott-any-local-businesses/815642/66 "2018-06-09T03:43:48Z")
Chick-Fil-A, Wal\*mart, and Hobby Lobby, for obvious reasons. Burger King since they bought Tim Hortons so they could move their headquarters to Canada to stop paying US taxes. I used to boycott Target because they were contributing to the anti-gay candidate who, ironically, was running against Mark Dayton, the scion of their founding family. But they seem to have come to their senses. I boycott a local Mongolian BBQ because I went in there one time and got screeched at by the ancient Asian guy who ran and probably owned the place, for not knowing my place. A fired chicken place in Sacramento that is famous for its fried chicken, I went in there one time, found out they were charging $29 for fried chicken, said fuck no, ordered country fried steak, got a horribly tasting congealed grease gravy dish, and said never again. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-boycott-any-local-businesses/815642/67 "2018-06-09T04:18:37Z")
> [@Alpha\_Twit](#): > > There’s a chain Tex-Mex restaurant that I wont enter again. It’s just filthy inside, the crew attitude stinks worse than the toilets and I’m willing to bet it gave me food poisoning more than once. Just curious: why did you go back after the first episode? I don’t shop at Walmart either, although last summer, I did go there to pick up some prescriptions for a friend who’d just had surgery and couldn’t drive yet. Even though I knew both of the pharmacists on duty, they could not dispense her meds - one OTC and the other non-controlled - until I gave them her EXACT date of birth. I knew she’d just had a birthday, and kept stabbing at it until I got it right. (I didn’t have her phone number handy.) The really ironic thing about that is that (long story made short) she was adopted as an infant and does not know her exact DOB, because she was literally dropped off on the steps of a convent. :eek: ☹ ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-boycott-any-local-businesses/815642/68 "2018-06-09T04:19:55Z")
And I don’t eat at Sonic either, not because of any ideological issues, but because their “food” is horrible. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-boycott-any-local-businesses/815642/69 "2018-06-09T06:46:30Z")
OK then… I boycott all car dealers everywhere. I boycott all ladies’ hairdressers too. I boycott expensive hotels and expensive restaurants. I boycott all pizza joints that are more than 10 miles from where I am at the time I want the pizza. And just today, I boycotted three grocery stores, because I went to the fourth one, because I knew the fourth store had the super-cheap and pretty decent Caesar salad that I would then not need to make by myself. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-boycott-any-local-businesses/815642/70 "2018-06-09T10:46:09Z")
I’m very non-confrontational, and will stop patronizing businesses where the staff exhibits any sort of pushy or intimidating behavior, no matter how minor. Parts stores and auto service places are usually the worst about this. They interrupt, talk over my explanation, and in some cases push into my personal space. When this happens I usually won’t return. I’m far more experienced and knowledgeable than their average customer, and frequently more so than their staff. I know exactly what part number I need for a bearing, and exactly what size/force gas strut, and exactly which serpentine belt specs I’m looking for\*. Being interrupted mid-sentence with a demand for vehicle type annoys me. The one exception to this is Discount Tire. Their service is so good otherwise, that I patiently await the tech’s Q & A script in to get what I need. For parts stores, AutoZone is the absolute worst about this. Sometimes they can’t even find a part based on specs. \*I’m an inveterate DIY-er, and none of the items were for automobiles, neither were any of the last 12 tires I’ve bought. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-boycott-any-local-businesses/815642/71 "2018-06-09T13:54:05Z")
Chick-Fil-A recently opened in my town. I haven’t eaten there, and after reading their stand on same-sex marriage, I will boycott them. ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-boycott-any-local-businesses/815642/72 "2018-06-09T14:26:37Z")
> [@DavidwithanR](#): > > OK then… > > I boycott all car dealers everywhere. > > I boycott all ladies’ hairdressers too. > > I boycott expensive hotels and expensive restaurants. > > I boycott all pizza joints that are more than 10 miles from where I am at the time I want the pizza. > > And just today, I boycotted three grocery stores, because I went to the fourth one, because I knew the fourth store had the super-cheap and pretty decent Caesar salad that I would then not need to make by myself. 🙂 Yeah I don’t see how it’s ‘boycotting’ a business if you just don’t buy that type of product or service, or even if you do and don’t happen to choose a particular one, or even do and aren’t happy with it. Some responses have referred to real boycotts (which to me means over some issue outside the transaction itself) but of regional/national chains like Chick not local businesses (they are boycotting the local franchise owner despite it not it being necessarily their opinion about gay rights issues: the local owner is being punished for ‘tolerating’ what are theoretically their business partner’s opinions, but realistically more like their boss’s opinions). I can’t recall ever really ‘boycotting’ a local business, though there are obviously many I don’t patronize for various commercial reasons (I don’t buy that product/service, I’m comfortable with a competitor, I shopped there but didn’t like the result, etc). The one case I see sometimes here is people who stop going someplace because of local politics. It’s very contentious despite being theoretically non-partisan (and almost everyone running is a Democrat, occasionally someone is ‘accused’ of being a secret Republican 🙂 ). I would think about not patronizing a place based on that myself, but I don’t recall an intersection between a place I patronized to begin with and one which put up signs for the 'the bad guy’s from my POV or I knew from local press supported them. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-boycott-any-local-businesses/815642/73 "2018-06-09T16:54:15Z")
> [@Corry\_El](#): > > Yeah I don’t see how it’s ‘boycotting’ a business if you just don’t buy that type of product or service, or even if you do and don’t happen to choose a particular one, or even do and aren’t happy with it. > > Some responses have referred to real boycotts (which to me means over some issue outside the transaction itself) but of regional/national chains like Chick not local businesses (they are boycotting the local franchise owner despite it not it being necessarily their opinion about gay rights issues: the local owner is being punished for ‘tolerating’ what are theoretically their business partner’s opinions, but realistically more like their boss’s opinions). I can’t recall ever really ‘boycotting’ a local business, though there are obviously many I don’t patronize for various commercial reasons (I don’t buy that product/service, I’m comfortable with a competitor, I shopped there but didn’t like the result, etc). The one case I see sometimes here is people who stop going someplace because of local politics. It’s very contentious despite being theoretically non-partisan (and almost everyone running is a Democrat, occasionally someone is ‘accused’ of being a secret Republican 🙂 ). I would think about not patronizing a place based on that myself, but I don’t recall an intersection between a place I patronized to begin with and one which put up signs for the 'the bad guy’s from my POV or I knew from local press supported them. Boycotting is more than just expressing your opinion, it is also voting with your wallet. The local owner of Chi fil a may be the greatest, most tolerant guy in the world, but he does own a franchise that is related to a person who is not quite so tolerant. There are two things about that. The first is that he knew what he was getting into. If you just go get a job, then you get a job, and the politics of your employer have little to nothing to do with why you took the job, I would never hold it against someone for merely working at a chik fil a. OTOH, if you are a franchise owner, you have made quite the investment and decision to work with this company; if you have the resources to open a chik fil a franchise, you have them to open a different store as well, so the decision to franchise from a company does mean that the company’s values do reflect upon the franchise owners. And, secondly, I don’t want my money to support the things that the owner of Chik fil a supports. If I spend a dollar in one of those places, then some part of that dollar makes its way into his hands, and then that money can be used to support the bigoted endeavours that the owner believes in. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-boycott-any-local-businesses/815642/74 "2018-06-09T17:14:21Z")
Sure. Chic-fil-A for their politics, Walmart for their community impact, and more-or-less BP for their environmental practices (though I sometimes give up and go there if I’m low on gas or time and not near any others). Also Papa John’s because they were spectacularly rude to me, and when I finally got my pizza, it was terrible – hardly any cheese, cold and tough, and tasted crappy. This was before I discovered I hate their politics. Now I wish I could boycott them twice. Well, if the first set of reasons don’t actually count as boycott, they are backed up by a reason that does. Also a lumber yard for the way they treat some people, and a vegetable stand for their use of racial slurs. There’s an orchard/bakery store I probably should, for their child labor practices, but I’m not sure about that. I think what they do is common on farms, and in effect I never boycott any farms (because I’m a downstream consumer anyway). ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-boycott-any-local-businesses/815642/75 "2018-06-09T17:19:44Z")
Just got back from running errands, and realized I’m inadvertently boycotting several local businesses. I decided to try the new taco place that opened recently, but encountered a sign prohibiting concealed carry. I’m not making a political statement about it, merely complying with the owner’s wishes. I’ve found these signs at a few businesses and I end up avoiding them because I don’t want the hassle of removing/replacing my carry piece just to go inside. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2018, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-boycott-any-local-businesses/815642/76 "2018-06-09T17:52:42Z")
> [@Corry\_El](#): > > Yeah I don’t see how it’s ‘boycotting’ a business if you just don’t buy that type of product or service, or even if you do and don’t happen to choose a particular one, or even do and aren’t happy with it. See his earlier post in the thread. He’s under the illusion that he’s being clever. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2018, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-boycott-any-local-businesses/815642/77 "2018-06-10T14:41:18Z")
Two. When I was six I bought a Blow Pop (grape) at the convenience store around the corner and it was broken with chunks missing. I saw it immediately outside, went back in and asked for another. The owner/clerk was pretty much “Tough luck, kid.” I never went back. So 48 years for that one - they tore the place down last year. When I first moved into Chicago’s North Side I stopped by a place called The Weiner’s Circle for something to eat. The order taker passed me over twice for people that came in after me, apparently regulars or just people she knew; I mentioned I was there first and got “just a minute, I’ll take you next.” She finished the order, turned to me, saw someone over my shoulder and smiled in recognition, saying “Hey, guys! What can I get you?” then realized she’d done it _again_ and said to me “ **Really** , right after this…” but I was leaving by then. I’ve never been back. ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2018, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-boycott-any-local-businesses/815642/78 "2018-06-10T16:56:54Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Boycotting is more than just expressing your opinion, it is also voting with your wallet. > > The local owner of Chi fil a may be the greatest, most tolerant guy in the world, but he does own a franchise that is related to a person who is not quite so tolerant. There are two things about that. > > The first is that he knew what he was getting into. If you just go get a job, then you get a job, and the politics of your employer have little to nothing to do with why you took the job, I would never hold it against someone for merely working at a chik fil a. OTOH, if you are a franchise owner, you have made quite the investment and decision to work with this company; if you have the resources to open a chik fil a franchise, you have them to open a different store as well, so the decision to franchise from a company does mean that the company’s values do reflect upon the franchise owners. > > And, secondly, I don’t want my money to support the things that the owner of Chik fil a supports. If I spend a dollar in one of those places, then some part of that dollar makes its way into his hands, and then that money can be used to support the bigoted endeavours that the owner believes in. That’s all pretty obvious, but thanks I guess. IOW people at least when confronted with how a ‘boycott’ of a franchise model business isn’t exactly directed at the founder of the franchise will come up with some rationalization why they should still do it. But if took my post to be a statement that I care whether you go to Chick Fil-A you’re really on the wrong track. 🙂 Basically my point anyway was the lack of example in the thread of a real boycott aimed at a local business. Your tome just reinforces that explaining how not going to the local Chick Fil-A isn’t really about the local proprietor, or only indirectly. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2018, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-boycott-any-local-businesses/815642/79 "2018-06-10T17:54:29Z")
> [@Corry\_El](#): > > That’s all pretty obvious, but thanks I guess. IOW people at least when confronted with how a ‘boycott’ of a franchise model business isn’t exactly directed at the founder of the franchise will come up with some rationalization why they should still do it. But if took my post to be a statement that I care whether you go to Chick Fil-A you’re really on the wrong track. 🙂 > > Basically my point anyway was the lack of example in the thread of a real boycott aimed at a local business. Your tome just reinforces that explaining how not going to the local Chick Fil-A isn’t really about the local proprietor, or only indirectly. Many of the posts, and my posts in particular before that, were specifically about local businesses and specifically about how their customer service or other specific actions ran me off. While you have made the choice to focus solely on people boycotting national franchises, it is only a small minority of posts about boycotts had to do with national chain boycotts due to politics; there is no lack of example of a real boycott aimed at a local business. You are the one who brought up that it was unfair that a local franchise owner was being punished for the actions of the owner of the company, and I was just responding to that. Your phrasing of “will come up with some rationalization” indicates that you feel that the reason for boycotting these establishments is arbitrary and rationalized after the fact, rather than exactly what I said, that we don’t want our money going to support causes we disagree with. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2018, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-boycott-any-local-businesses/815642/80 "2018-06-12T12:43:48Z")
There was a local tire shop about a half-mile from my house that I’d been trading at since I’d moved there, a set or two of tires, repairs when I’d run over something, and some used tires when the tire was unrepairable. When I was on a trip, **DesertRoomie** texted that she’d wrecked a tire and was running around on the donut. I told her to get a used tire from the shop (about $25). When I got back, the replaced front-axle tire had plenty of tread on it but was a different series (i.e. a different diameter) than the oposite front tire. I went to the store, pointed out that is not good for a front wheel drive and said, “I don’t care about the rear; just swap front for rear on that side rather than look around for and mount one of the proper series.” They did so quite willingly, then charged me $13, the price for a full tire rotation, not just two. I smiled, got the $13 out of my wallet to give to the owner, and walked out, never to return. In the twenty-odd years since then, I’ve bought six sets of tires for the two vehicles we have, well over $1,500 worth, from the Pep Boys store about three miles down the road. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-boycott-any-local-businesses/815642.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-boycott-any-local-businesses/815642.md?page=5)