# Name a place you will never go into that's popular. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 18, 2003, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-place-you-will-never-go-into-thats-popular/213873 "2003-11-18T08:38:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![crazy\_grady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dbc845/32.png) [@crazy\_grady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazy_grady)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-place-you-will-never-go-into-thats-popular/213873/1 "2003-11-18T08:38:07Z")
What is a popular restaurant, store, retail place or other places that you refuse to enter anymore, because of rude service, lack of stock, prices or other reasons? I refused to set foot in a local supermarket chain for years because they fired me. I knew a friend whose father would not set foot in a Sears because they screwed up his paint, and would not offer a refund. Maybe this would be interesting. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-place-you-will-never-go-into-thats-popular/213873/2 "2003-11-18T09:00:41Z")
Red Lobster - repeated bad service in numerous locations Wal Mart - sucky business ethics Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills - I hate snooty Magnificent Mile, Chicago - ditto A Cingular cell-phone office, Cingluar burned me so many times I lost count. Thay goes for Nokia phones, too. Mabels whore house. I paid for around the world, and never left the hemisphere. ---
**Author:** ![VunderBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/839c29/32.png) [@VunderBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VunderBob)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-place-you-will-never-go-into-thats-popular/213873/3 "2003-11-18T09:04:22Z")
Oops. ’ That\* goes for Nokia phones, too.’ Be this a lesson, kiddos: Don’t type in the dark while waiting for your sleeping pill to hit. ---
**Author:** ![hyperjes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df705f/32.png) [@hyperjes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hyperjes)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-place-you-will-never-go-into-thats-popular/213873/4 "2003-11-18T09:09:09Z")
Taco Bell- for reasons you can read about [here](http://www.campaignforlaborrights.org/campaigns/Bell/bell.htm). I include any other chain owned by Pepsi as well. Abercrombie and Fitch- Their juniors store, “Abercrombie,” has (In the past and may still- I wouldn’t know, because I haven’t ever been in again) a line of very racy underwear- thongs and the like- marketed to kids aged 7 to 12. Piggly Wiggly Supermarket- Never been in a clean one. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-place-you-will-never-go-into-thats-popular/213873/5 "2003-11-18T09:13:24Z")
Hooters. I’ll go into a Hooters the day after they open “Buns,” the fun family restaurant in which hot guys have their asses on display in tight little shorty-shorts. I respect a woman’s right to objectify herself for money, within the limits of the law. But I don’t have to watch her do it. ---
**Author:** ![paulberserker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@paulberserker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulberserker)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-place-you-will-never-go-into-thats-popular/213873/6 "2003-11-18T09:22:57Z")
here we go: McfuckingDonalds, for more than obvious reasons (even though i’m not veggie) Ikea Pret a Manger Gap these are my personal standards. i have no need for overpriced shitty food and i dont drink coffee, i am quite capable of building my own furniture or purchasing something thats not a soulless flat pack piece of shit everyone else owns. and i refuse to wear fucking generic bullshit advertised by ‘celebrities’. ive actually waited in car parks and on streets while friends have been into these places. I wont set foot in the fuckers. and i’m in no way anti capitalist, i merely refuse to patronize places i dont agree with. ---
**Author:** ![Audrey\_Levins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Audrey\_Levins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Audrey_Levins)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-place-you-will-never-go-into-thats-popular/213873/7 "2003-11-18T10:56:22Z")
A locally famous Italian restaurant called Little Italy. We (Mr. Levins and I) never even ate there; we walked in and the “hostess”–who was obviously either a manager or owner or something–never even made eye-contact with us for 7 minutes while we waited at the door to be seated. (We counted.) She was too busy talking to the family who’d walked in ahead of us, who were obviously either friends or regulars. She never even paused to say, “Be right with you guys!” No eye-contact, no acknowledgement of us at all, forever, while she made small talk with these people. Another manager walked up, and we assumed that he would seat us, but he just started talking to the people, too, and then walked right past us! We might as well have been invisible. Or figments of our own imaginations. And by the time she finally sat the people ahead of us, there were already three/four groups behind us as well. So she comes back to us and says, “How many?” Not “Sorry about that!” or “Thanks for waiting!” or anything. Just a chirpy “How many?” And we said, “Two for smoking, please.” And she said, “Oh, I’m sorry, we don’t have smoking on weekends. You might be able to eat at the bar; I’ll check on that in a minute, but let me go ahead and take care of these other people.” And with that, that crazy bitch sat ALL the groups _behind_ us!Never even glanced at us again! We failed to understand why THEY were suddenly important, when WE’D been so obviously _unimportant_ for the last ten minutes. If you have the time to waste shooting the breeze with friends for ten minutes, why don’t you have the time to check with the bar, which was within thirty feet of the door? So we turned around and walked out, and we’ve resisted all attempts by anyone to get us to darken that door again. She didn’t even wait to see if we’d take non-smoking! We’d have been happy to sit in non-smoking–we were unaware of their non-smoking policy on weekends–but her attitude pissed us off so badly we decided that they didn’t deserve our money. Ever. Hell, for all I know they might have smoking on weekends. Maybe she just didn’t want us in her fucking restaurant. :shrug: Who the hell knows! I’m not gonna _beg_ anybody to let me give them money. ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-place-you-will-never-go-into-thats-popular/213873/8 "2003-11-18T12:17:00Z")
Six Flags amusement parks. Rude service, rude crowds, long lines. Fuck 'em. Starbucks. I hate their overpriced shitty coffee and I hate their corporate politics. ---
**Author:** ![Baby\_Fish\_Mouth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a8b319/32.png) [@Baby\_Fish\_Mouth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baby_Fish_Mouth)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-place-you-will-never-go-into-thats-popular/213873/9 "2003-11-18T12:35:14Z")
**Uvula Donor** , the other day someone accused me of being un-American because I can’t stand Starbucks. With a straight face. So watch out, or you may get a visit from the Coffee Gestapo. Long John Silver’s is also on my list for grossest fast-food seafood. ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-place-you-will-never-go-into-thats-popular/213873/10 "2003-11-18T12:40:56Z")
McDonalds. For many, many reasons and their food isn’t even at the top of the list. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-place-you-will-never-go-into-thats-popular/213873/11 "2003-11-18T12:40:59Z")
Car Toys. They started out as a car audio store, but now they’re more interested in selling cell phones. (Cell phones and driving - there’s a winning combination!) When I brought in the malfunctioning stereo I bought from them, they claimed they were sending it back to Aiwa. Instead, they left it in the back room for a week while they tried to call me on a phone number I specifically told them not to use, and didn’t once try calling me on the number I asked them to call. They didn’t even know they still had the stereo the first time I asked about it. They claimed they didn’t send it back because it was working just fine, but in fact the (intermittent) problem is still there to this day. They also didn’t know an installation kit existed for my car, nor could they tell me when the guy who might know would be in. I went to a competing store, and they found me a kit down the street at that obscure specialty shop, Circuit City. ---
**Author:** ![Lucki\_Chaarms](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de0a6/32.png) [@Lucki\_Chaarms](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucki_Chaarms)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-place-you-will-never-go-into-thats-popular/213873/12 "2003-11-18T13:33:28Z")
There’s a little independent convenience store/grocery/discount cigarettes place right next to our campus, and it’s patronized by most of the students here. It is named after the owner, who is also the one behind the counter most of the time. One time he made what I assume to be an honest mistake when charging me for purchases I had made, and overcharged me. When I contested, he sort of mumbled a bunch of numbers, and then acted like he had made his case. I pointed at each item individually on the counter and did the math out loud. The bastard actually pulled the “suddenly I don’t speak English” move. He obviously just didn’t want to go to the trouble of correcting the amount he had charged to a debit card, and was trying to get rid of me. He did that, for good. I will never shop there again, and nobody accepting a ride from me gets to go there either. LC ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-place-you-will-never-go-into-thats-popular/213873/13 "2003-11-18T13:43:56Z")
A local independent bookstore. I special ordered a book from them (before I was online). They quoted a price. I told them that if there was a ordering fee, that I was willing to pay it. They said :“No fee.” It took months. In the meantime, a local chain bookstore had it at cover price. But I was thinking , “help the little guy/live up to your agreements”. so I waited. When it arrived, they had affixed a sticker to the back, covering the original price. The price on it was _double_ the initial price! I asked about this, & they said the “price had gone up”. I told them about the other store carrying it, at the cover price. They shrugged their shoulders. I told them to cram it. I’ve never shopped there again. ---
**Author:** ![buttonjockey308](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@buttonjockey308](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buttonjockey308)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-place-you-will-never-go-into-thats-popular/213873/14 "2003-11-18T13:56:22Z")
Oh wow…lemme see… 1. Dominos-horrible food, and the operation rescue donations. 2. Starbucks. The coffee is poison. Sounds hypocritical, but Caribou does things right. 3. Hard Rock Cafe. Went to one in DC, overpaid for everything, and was so immersed in shmaltz, i nearly vomited. 4. The Disney Store. I don’t believe I need to explain this. 5. Anyplace that sells Frango Mints. These Frango bastards, who were a cornerstone of Marshall Fields (a Chicago-based department store and institution) for years until they up and left Chicago. Good riddance. ---
**Author:** ![Who\_me\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/958977/32.png) [@Who\_me\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Who_me_1)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-place-you-will-never-go-into-thats-popular/213873/15 "2003-11-18T14:02:11Z")
Mecca, I heard they had a big tourist business but I’m never going to go. 😉 I can’t say that I’m _never_ going to go to any restaurant, store or whatever. I never _plan_ on going to Subway (their sandwiches are bleh), but I may go if a friend really wants to. I never plan on going to (take your pick) Applebee’s, TGIFriday’s, Ruby Tuesday’s, et al… for the reason that they aren’t very good and are always crowded. But then again, I may go if a friend wants to go and several members of my family like the places. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-place-you-will-never-go-into-thats-popular/213873/16 "2003-11-18T14:14:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jodi \* > \*\*I’ll go into a Hooters the day after they open “Buns,” the fun family restaurant in which hot guys have their asses on display in tight little shorty-shorts. \*\* I am _sooo_ there. When’s the opening date? ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-place-you-will-never-go-into-thats-popular/213873/17 "2003-11-18T14:25:52Z")
Planet Hollywood. Is it is so strange that I don’t want to eat an some ego-stroking celebrity wank shack? Apparently not, business is reported to suck. Sears. I was tough on jeans as a kid - I was punished with Toughskins. 'Nough said. The hardware department is still in play. Circuit City. Hire some freakin’ monkeys to work the floor - they’re smarter and cheaper than the current help. Walmart. This place just scares me. Abercrombie. I’m not into the “I just pulled it from the bottom of the hamper” look. Not at that price, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-place-you-will-never-go-into-thats-popular/213873/18 "2003-11-18T14:29:04Z")
Chick-Fil-A–It’s owned by raving fund-a-loonies who contribute a lot of money to anti-gay lobbying groups. Hooters–Obvious reasons Applebee’s-- The food is offal, and the service is awful. Long John Silver’s–Fried plywood with a side of fries ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-place-you-will-never-go-into-thats-popular/213873/19 "2003-11-18T14:34:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gobear \* > \*\*Chick-Fil-A–It’s owned by raving fund-a-loonies who contribute a lot of money to anti-gay lobbying groups. \*\* I used to work for the Clayton County (Ga) Public Schools. One of Truit Cathy’s DILs was on the school board. You don’t know how accurate you are. These folks wouldn’t let their kids go to someone’s house if they _owned a television_. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-place-you-will-never-go-into-thats-popular/213873/20 "2003-11-18T14:53:27Z")
> [@](#): > > Chick-Fil-A–It’s owned by raving fund-a-loonies who contribute a lot of money to anti-gay lobbying groups. I knew it’s owned by fundamentalists, but I didn’t know it contributes a lot of money to anti-gay groups. Doesn’t surprise me, though. I won’t go to Hobby Lobby, because it closes on Sunday “to give our workers time to go to church and be with their families”. I guess they don’t have any Jewish workers who might want Saturdays off. There’s a local furniture store which runs ads spotlighting their employees! Each ad will tell what church that employee goes to, and for how long! They also run ads about Christianity! And the ad writer doesn’t know any way of ending a sentence except with an exclamation point! WalMart. Do I really need to explain? Before they went out of business, I used to not shop at Ward’s. They fired me after hiring me away from another job. Any restaurant where I have to walk through a smoking section to either get to my table or get to the restroom. I don’t care HOW good the food is, it’s not worth the asthma attack and headache I’ll get from the smoke. Hooters. I’ve heard that the waitresses actually sit and chat with you. I don’t want that, or any of the other attractions that Hooters offers. Sports bars. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-a-place-you-will-never-go-into-thats-popular/213873.md?page=2)