# Name the worst companies/products you know. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 17, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-worst-companies-products-you-know/539695 "2010-05-17T00:47:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-worst-companies-products-you-know/539695/61 "2010-05-19T00:15:42Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > ADT home security monitoring. > > I’m not going to spend 20 minutes detailing the issue but basically we’re left with the impression they’re the thieves we need to protect ourselves against. The standard advice for home security companies: do not ever, ever, ever, ever sign a contract. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-worst-companies-products-you-know/539695/62 "2010-05-19T00:38:31Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > Eh, I find Coke to be worse. Worse, than Bill the Cat’s expression of drinking burnt dysentery? Please describe! ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-worst-companies-products-you-know/539695/63 "2010-05-19T02:02:59Z")
I don’t really hate anybody, and that’s despite the fact that I’m both an AT&T customer _and_ a Comcast customer (apparent universal hate for both of them). I guess I’d have to say GM for the bailout, and Toyota for hiding pertinent facts. Chrysler 'cos their quality sucks. Maybe… whoever holds responsibility (ultimately) for the gulf oil leak, but there are still a lot of facts missing. Walmart, although I do like Sam’s, and I don’t live in an area where they’ve destroyed local business (I just hate their filthy, nasty stores in my area). I guess the thing I hate most is all of the banks universally, because of their bill pay methods. I can’t remember the technical terms, but it _used_ to work like this: You schedule a bill payment online, and on the day of the ACH transfer, you’d be debited for the transfer. In the case of a payee that receives a check, you’d be debited when that laser check was actually cashed. However, _now_ it seems to work universally like this: a few, random days before the ACH transfer, you’ll be debited, “just to make sure it’s there.” They call this the send-on date. In the case of paper checks, they also debit you on the send-on date, rather than when the check is cashed, if ever. Although I’m blessedly not short of the money to pay my bills, it totally screws up my admittedly anal-retentive bookkeeping system. Rather than transfer $x to account y, I have to account for the stupid, needless phase of my money being in limbo for a seemingly random amount of days. I guess I’m either extremely fortunate, or am very easy to please. Oh, maybe, I’ll add cruise companies to my list. They don’t have meal plans that include drinks, and they don’t let you bring your own on board. I’m curious about taking a cruise, but those restrictions keep me from trying. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-worst-companies-products-you-know/539695/64 "2010-05-19T03:09:39Z")
> [@FallenAngel](#): > > Geico is a good one. They charged me the automatic renewal for my policy once then failed to actually renew the policy. I found that out when the nice officer pulled me over because my plates had been suspended for no insurance. > > The officer completely believed me when I explained that, yes, I had in fact bought insurance. He said, “Let me guess, Geico?” It turns out one of the officers in his squad had the same thing happen. > > When I called Geico the next Monday to see what was going on the rep said, “Oh, sorry about that. I can sign you up for a new policy, but your rate will be higher since you’ve been driving without insurance.” They’re also racist against cavemen. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-worst-companies-products-you-know/539695/65 "2010-05-19T16:07:30Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I admit I do not for one instant understand why anyone would think Walmart was a bad company in the sense the OP described. In terms of being a retail store, Walmarts are perfectly competent. They have stuff you can buy for a good price, so you go buy it. Where Walmart reliably falls flat on it’s face as far as I’m concerned is when I roll up to the bank of 36 registers (or whatever) and there are maybe half a dozen open on a good day, with huge lines, and half of the self check out machines are down and the lines for the ones that are working are no better than the full check out. Plus they always need someone to clear a purchase or two anyway. Maybe not a criteria for ‘worst’, but aggravating enough to make me not go there unless I absolutely must. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-worst-companies-products-you-know/539695/66 "2010-05-19T16:26:18Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > So you show up bright and early in the morning to get your U-haul. And they don’t have your truck? And they don’t give a shit? > > No wonder people go postal. [U-Haul was found to have the most dangerious rental fleet on Ontarian roads.](http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/251340) ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-worst-companies-products-you-know/539695/67 "2010-05-19T19:40:57Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > ADT home security monitoring. > > I’m not going to spend 20 minutes detailing the issue but basically we’re left with the impression they’re the thieves we need to protect ourselves against. This. I will never invite another ADT representative out to our house again. The guy spent the whole time leering at my wife and casing the house. Fortunately, we have moved since then. Oh, and U-Haul sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-worst-companies-products-you-know/539695/68 "2010-05-20T02:27:53Z")
LabVIEW. More bugs showing up in more places than an anthill. Microsoft. Though I do have to say that the iMac they finally drove me to is a very nice surprise. I was really just trying to get rid of Microsoft, I didn’t expect it to be so cushy. Turns out computers really CAN be nice and work right. Sirius. They can broadcast a hundred channels of high quality sound from outer space, but they can’t handle billing, the radios break, and they put advertisements on the music channels and claim they don’t. The entire financial industry. Right? Right? ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-worst-companies-products-you-know/539695/69 "2010-05-20T06:05:22Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > ADT home security monitoring. > > I’m not going to spend 20 minutes detailing the issue but basically we’re left with the impression they’re the thieves we need to protect ourselves against. This. The only company that has literally made me cry. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-worst-companies-products-you-know/539695/70 "2010-05-20T08:37:40Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Haven’t yet read any of the replies to OP. > > Worst company (providing a service): > > VERIZON by a country mile. Hands down the absolute worst customer service I’ve ever encountered. I’ve had just the opposite luck and it’s because they have actual service facilities in my area. They’ve bent over backwards every time I go in and I’m a low-time phone user with no options on the phone. I specifically went with Verizon because they had a real brick-and-mortar place to go to. I came to the conclusion many years ago that if I can’t talk to a real person I’m not interested in buying the product. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-worst-companies-products-you-know/539695/71 "2010-05-20T14:15:27Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I’ve had just the opposite luck and it’s because they have actual service facilities in my area. They’ve bent over backwards every time I go in and I’m a low-time phone user with no options on the phone. I specifically went with Verizon because they had a real brick-and-mortar place to go to. > > I came to the conclusion many years ago that if I can’t talk to a real person I’m not interested in buying the product. I too find Verizon helpful, but it sometimes takes a while to get through their robo-voice menu to talk to an actual person. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-worst-companies-products-you-know/539695/72 "2010-05-20T14:23:07Z")
Another one for ADT - not for my experience, but my sister-in-law’s. She & her husband were out of town, and their alarm went off. ADT calls their home - no answer. ADT doesn’t know this, they just know they’re not getting an answer from either their home phone or cell phones. Instead of doing the logical thing and sending police, they keep trying to call and eventually call her “in case of emergency” person (her father). I’m wondering what the alarm is for, at this point. They spent three or four hours trying to call someone to ask if they should send police or not - three hours later, is it really going to matter? At that point, either the home has been robbed and the thief is long gone, or the homeowners are dead since nobody bothered sending police when the alarm went off and nobody answered their phone. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-worst-companies-products-you-know/539695/73 "2010-05-20T15:16:27Z")
I have never heard of one good thing about ADT from anyone who had ever had it installed. ---
**Author:** ![Foxy40](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a9a28c/32.png) [@Foxy40](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foxy40)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-worst-companies-products-you-know/539695/74 "2010-05-20T20:55:48Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > I have never heard of one good thing about ADT from anyone who had ever had it installed. My business has used them for five years and I am completely satisfied. The worst in my opinion is Bank of America. Rude, nasty and don’t care if you remain a customer or not. ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-worst-companies-products-you-know/539695/75 "2010-05-27T23:20:06Z")
> [@phreesh](#): > > Re: Steam - Sorry, but I LOVE their service. No disks? Easy downloading? Great prices? I can download my games to ANY computer? This is what I want iTunes to be. And Netflix. Just as an example, I just went to launch Steam so my son could play a game and I got this message: “The Steam servers are currently too busy to handle your request. Please try again in a few minutes.” So I can’t play MY OWN FUCKING GAME because their servers are unavailable. Un-fucking-believable. They suck. ---
**Author:** ![LegsAkimbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f1d935/32.png) [@LegsAkimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LegsAkimbo)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-worst-companies-products-you-know/539695/76 "2010-05-28T02:46:44Z")
Nobody has mentioned Bill Me Later. Do a search on these guys–the nightmare tales are blood-curdling, people can’t get out of thousands of dollars of debt to them even though they returned the item immediately. Very scary what they can do to you. ---
**Author:** ![Bartman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@Bartman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bartman)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-worst-companies-products-you-know/539695/77 "2010-05-28T03:24:43Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > USAir… the only airline where a flight from Cincinnati to Zurich involves renting a one-way minivan to drive 12 hours overnight ($500) from Washington DC back to Cincinnati because the flight they booked you on from DC to Paris does not exist… and the staff in DC can’t help you, so they tell you to go back to Cincinnati at your own expense. Nice. Frontier once allowed me to book a flight where I was given a seat in row 32. Problem was the plane only had 31 rows. The other problem was that no one noticed the already overbooked flight had this problem, until those of us in the mythical row 32 had all boarded, milled about a bit, and finally got a flight attendant’s attention. But at least in my case the flight actually existed. And I got to chat up some nice and lovely flight attendants for the half hour Frontier kept us at the gate trying to figure the whole thing out. And in the end I even ended up on the flight… although obviously they prevented someone else from boarding to allow me to stay on. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2010, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-worst-companies-products-you-know/539695/78 "2010-05-28T03:50:07Z")
The worst product I know is buying an oversold airplane ticket. Why is this practice legal? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-the-worst-companies-products-you-know/539695.md?page=3)