# Stores/Merchants you stopped business with due to Moral or Political reasons **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 21, 2018, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-merchants-you-stopped-business-with-due-to-moral-or-political-reasons/824885 "2018-11-21T11:27:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-merchants-you-stopped-business-with-due-to-moral-or-political-reasons/824885/161 "2018-11-29T17:04:28Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > There was a restaurant nearby that had an outrageous policy on tips. It was in the press. Basically they charged the wait staff for serving food. I never went there again. So there’s tipping in Scotland? I thought that was just an American thing. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-merchants-you-stopped-business-with-due-to-moral-or-political-reasons/824885/162 "2018-11-29T22:32:29Z")
> [@Eva\_Luna](#): > > I am not an expert, but that was a pretty glaring example of payola at the cost of some major national heritage. Whether other people do it too is a whole different discussion. National heritage? It was about a mile away and there were other commercial developments closer. Everything is for sale down there, and the only way for a US store to open its doors is by bribery. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-merchants-you-stopped-business-with-due-to-moral-or-political-reasons/824885/163 "2018-11-29T22:33:47Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > I go into Hobby Lobby all the time - and don’t buy anything but move things from one end of the store to the other, misshelving stuff, … That’s just being a jerk, giving the employees more busy work, annoying customers and not changing their bottom line one bit. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-merchants-you-stopped-business-with-due-to-moral-or-political-reasons/824885/164 "2018-11-29T22:36:20Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > So there’s tipping in Scotland? > > I thought that was just an American thing. No, pretty much world wide. More or less, YMMV > **[Tips on Tipping Abroad: A Global Gratuity Guide](https://www.westernunion.com/blog/en/global-tipping-guide/)** > > Do you know the tipping etiquette in the Middle East? In general the USA leads with it’s 20%, but just about anyplace, rounding up on the bill is common. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-merchants-you-stopped-business-with-due-to-moral-or-political-reasons/824885/165 "2018-11-29T22:44:37Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > National heritage? It was about a mile away and there were other commercial developments closer. > > Everything is for sale down there, and the only way for a US store to open its doors is by bribery. ☹ Do you have a cite for everything being for sale in Mexico? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-merchants-you-stopped-business-with-due-to-moral-or-political-reasons/824885/166 "2018-11-29T22:51:12Z")
> [@Chingon](#): > > Do you have a cite for everything being for sale in Mexico? [https://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/mexico/](https://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/mexico/) _Corruption is a significant risk for companies operating in Mexico. Bribery is widespread in the country’s judiciary and police. Business registration processes, including getting construction permits and licenses, are negatively influenced by corruption. Organized crime continues to be a very problematic factor for business, imposing large costs on companies. Collusion between the police, judges and criminal groups is extensive, leading to widespread crime, theft, impunity and weak law enforcement. Gifts and hospitality are not forbidden by law and may be permissible, depending on intent. Attempted bribery, extortion, abuse of office, bribery of foreign public officials and facilitation payments are criminalized under Mexico’s Federal Penal Code (Código Penal Federal, in Spanish). However, Mexico’s anti-corruption laws are almost never enforced, and public officials are rarely held liable for illegal acts. New anti-corruption laws were passed in 2017, but their effectiveness has not been proven yet._ > **[In-Depth](https://www.lexology.com/indepth)** > > In-Depth (formerly The Law Reviews) provides analysis of global legal issues and their commercial implications, written by thought leaders at the world’s top law firms. > > Our editors are internationally renowned specialists in key practice areas and... \*As Latin America, and the world, continues to combat corruption, Mexico does so too. The 2016 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index ranked Mexico 123th out of 176,2 and the 2016 Latin American Corruption Survey found the country to be one of the four most corrupt countries in Latin America.3 \* [http://www.oecd.org/newsroom/mexico-must-increase-foreign-bribery-enforcement-full-implementation-of-anti-corruption-reforms-could-help.htm](http://www.oecd.org/newsroom/mexico-must-increase-foreign-bribery-enforcement-full-implementation-of-anti-corruption-reforms-could-help.htm) [https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/among-20-countries-mx-leads-for-bribery/](https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/among-20-countries-mx-leads-for-bribery/) \*Among 20 countries, MX leads for bribery New report also found strong social stigma against reporting corruption The payment of bribes to access basic public services is more common in Mexico than any other country in the region, according to a new report on corruption in Latin America and the Caribbean. Completed by global anti-corruption coalition Transparency International, the report concluded that Mexico is the worst offender among the 20 countries it surveyed, and it also fared poorly on other corruption indicators.\* ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-merchants-you-stopped-business-with-due-to-moral-or-political-reasons/824885/167 "2018-11-29T22:54:06Z")
None of that says that everything is for sale in Mexico. Maybe you pasted the wrong stuff? ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-merchants-you-stopped-business-with-due-to-moral-or-political-reasons/824885/168 "2018-11-29T23:01:04Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > That’s just being a jerk, giving the employees more busy work, annoying customers and not changing their bottom line one bit. If more people do it, more staff needs to be hired to move things back where it goes, which will change the bottom line. Annoy enough customers and that will impact their bottom line. And I’m not a jerk to the staff. I’m very pleasant to the staff. Yes, its busy work. I worked retail for five years, my husband used to be an executive for a Fortune 500 retail chain, there is a lot of busy work in retail. Putting things back where they belong is just part of the job. But I also know (see husband) that margins are slim, and staffing is problematic across the board in retail. I don’t need to make it easy for them to be profitable or retain staff. They haven’t made it easier for women to have access to health care. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2018, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-merchants-you-stopped-business-with-due-to-moral-or-political-reasons/824885/169 "2018-11-29T23:18:59Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > If more people do it, more staff needs to be hired to move things back where it goes, which will change the bottom line. > > Annoy enough customers and that will impact their bottom line. > > And I’m not a jerk to the staff. I’m very pleasant to the staff. > > Yes, its busy work. I worked retail for five years, my husband used to be an executive for a Fortune 500 retail chain, there is a lot of busy work in retail. Putting things back where they belong is just part of the job. > > But I also know (see husband) that margins are slim, and staffing is problematic across the board in retail. I don’t need to make it easy for them to be profitable or retain staff. They haven’t made it easier for women to have access to health care. AKA being a jerk, giving the employees more busy work, annoying customers and not changing their bottom line one bit. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-merchants-you-stopped-business-with-due-to-moral-or-political-reasons/824885/170 "2018-11-30T00:15:37Z")
> [@Chingon](#): > > None of that says that everything is for sale in Mexico. Maybe you pasted the wrong stuff? I gave you four unbiased cites showing bribery and corruption is rife in mexico, and you need one that actual says “everything is for sale in Mexico” in those exact six words? :rolleyes::rolleyes: However, if I must:_Everything Is for sale In Mexico, even human beings," said Mr. Debelle. "And a bullet is very cheap_ > **[The Leader-Post from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada](https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/496282554/)** > > Get this The Leader-Post page for free from Tuesday, October 26, 1976 12 The Leader-Post, Regina, Tuesday, October 26, 1976 Even humans for sale under Mexican system coll.... Edition of The Leader-Post ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-merchants-you-stopped-business-with-due-to-moral-or-political-reasons/824885/171 "2018-11-30T03:53:59Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > National heritage? It was about a mile away and there were other commercial developments closer. From the linked article: “But the tide turned as INAH’s archaeologists began to find evidence that Wal-Mart was building on ancient ruins after all. They found the remains of a wall dating to approximately 1300 and enough clay pottery to fill several sacks. Then they found an altar, a plaza and nine graves. Once again, construction was temporarily halted so their findings could be cataloged, photographed and analyzed. The discoveries instantly transformed the skirmish over Mrs. Pineda’s field into national news.” Did you read the whole article? ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-merchants-you-stopped-business-with-due-to-moral-or-political-reasons/824885/172 "2018-11-30T04:45:55Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Living in Canada, it’s basically physically impossible to _completely_ boycott the US, but since Trump was elected, and particularly since he started bad mouthing Canada and imposing stupid tariffs on our trade, I’ve been doing what I can to reduce the amount of money I send south. Same. It’s just a token and there aren’t that many American products here anyway, but I’ll take my business to sane countries, thanks. ---
**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:** [November 30, 2018, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-merchants-you-stopped-business-with-due-to-moral-or-political-reasons/824885/173 "2018-11-30T13:43:12Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > Same. It’s just a token and there aren’t that many American products here anyway, but I’ll take my business to sane countries, thanks. And yet the majority of license plates in see in my childhood town at all of the commercial areas are from Ontario. I’m not exaggerating for effect; it’s _literally_ the majority. Americans get their stuff from Amazon, and retail is dying, and in a non-border town, the shopping mall would have already died and the commercial area would be non-existent for a town this size. Ontarians literally keep everything open. Don’t worry, they’re not betraying Canada by supporting Trump. They’re keeping places in business so that employees don’t have a reason to vote for Trump next time. ---
**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:** [November 30, 2018, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-merchants-you-stopped-business-with-due-to-moral-or-political-reasons/824885/174 "2018-11-30T16:46:23Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > If more people do it, more staff needs to be hired to move things back where it goes, which will change the bottom line. > > Annoy enough customers and that will impact their bottom line. > > And I’m not a jerk to the staff. I’m very pleasant to the staff. > > Yes, its busy work. I worked retail for five years, my husband used to be an executive for a Fortune 500 retail chain, there is a lot of busy work in retail. Putting things back where they belong is just part of the job. > > But I also know (see husband) that margins are slim, and staffing is problematic across the board in retail. I don’t need to make it easy for them to be profitable or retain staff. They haven’t made it easier for women to have access to health care. That is some seriously shitty behavior. Just don’t shop there and quit being an ass to the people just doing their fucking job. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-merchants-you-stopped-business-with-due-to-moral-or-political-reasons/824885/175 "2018-11-30T17:58:48Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > Same. It’s just a token and there aren’t that many American products here anyway, but I’ll take my business to sane countries, thanks. I don’t get why you Canadians hate Trump, you and him both agree on most issues (mainly concerning the White House and who burned it). ---
**Author:** ![senoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@senoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/senoy)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-merchants-you-stopped-business-with-due-to-moral-or-political-reasons/824885/176 "2018-11-30T18:11:31Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > That is some seriously shitty behavior. Just don’t shop there and quit being an ass to the people just doing their fucking job. Haters gonna hate. Some of them like to pretend it’s not hate, but it is what it is. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-merchants-you-stopped-business-with-due-to-moral-or-political-reasons/824885/177 "2018-11-30T19:15:41Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > No, pretty much world wide. More or less, YMMV > [https://www.westernunion.com/blog/global-tipping-guide/](https://www.westernunion.com/blog/global-tipping-guide/) > > In general the USA leads with it’s 20%, but just about anyplace, rounding up on the bill is common. Boy, that’s not my experience. I’ve traveled on four continents now and find it to be a very mixed bag. Hardly universal. Here’s a map from wiki: > **[Gratuity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratuity)** > > A gratuity (often called a tip) is a sum of money customarily given by a customer to certain service sector workers such as hospitality for the service they have performed, in addition to the basic price of the service. > Tips and their amount are a matter of social custom and etiquette, and the custom varies between countries and between settings. In some countries, it is customary to tip servers in bars and restaurants, taxi drivers, tattoo artists, hair stylists and so on. However, in some plac... ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-merchants-you-stopped-business-with-due-to-moral-or-political-reasons/824885/178 "2018-11-30T20:04:54Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Boy, that’s not my experience. I’ve traveled on four continents now and find it to be a very mixed bag. Hardly universal. > > Here’s a map from wiki: > > [Gratuity - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratuity) Yes, like I said- world wide. Asia, Africa, South America, Europe- all have nations or occupations where some sort of tipping is accepted or the norm. Wiki listed India, Indonesia, Albania, Austria, Croatia, Hungary, UK, Canada, Mexico, etc. World wide. Not everywhere in every nation, _but by no means just in the USA._ ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-merchants-you-stopped-business-with-due-to-moral-or-political-reasons/824885/179 "2018-11-30T22:24:40Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > And I’m not a jerk to the staff. Um yeah, yeah you are. They don’t know WHY you’re reshelving things – you’re not changing shit. They’re just assuming it’s being done by lazy ass customers who don’t feel like putting things back in their proper places. But hey, if this passive-aggressive act of annoying employees makes you feel superior, go for it. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2018, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-merchants-you-stopped-business-with-due-to-moral-or-political-reasons/824885/180 "2018-11-30T23:29:41Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > I grew up in Chicago; I was there when it happened. And to this day, I’ll never understand how people got so upset over a store changing its name. > > Marshall Field’s had been going downhill since the early 1980s, when it was acqired by BATUS (a tobacco company!). Subsequent owners did no better and Field’s became a neglected shell of its former self. > > The last time I visited the flagship State Street store before the Macy’s era, the place was an absolute dump. Filthy floors, half-stocked racks, no staff in sight. It was sad. > > Macy’s bought a dying store and brought it back to life. But they dared to (gasp!) put up a new sign, and people went _NUTS._ I still don’t get it. It wasn’t just changing a sign. In fact, the Marshall Field signs are still there at the corners. They have to be by law, it’s a landmark builing. If you were there when the change happened, you must remember the controversies involved. Do you remember Frango Mints? Their big selling point was that they were made in-store by hand. So Macy’s comes in, fires all the candy workers, and brings in mass produced crap from Cincinnati. But this is what really pissed me off. There was a little Chicago mom and pop deli place somewhere whose name escapes me. When the change was all in the news, this deli offered a wedge salad in the style of those offered in Field’s Walnut Room. It was described as a tribute to a Chicago tradition, lunch at the Walnut Room. So what does big bad Macy’s do to this little deli that was in no way a threat to them? They fire up their lawyers to send a cease and desist letter over these wedge salads that were meant as a loving homage to a tradition saying goodbye. It was clear to me that Macy’s was run by heartless motherfuckers, and I’ve had nothing to do with them since. And I don’t know when you visited Marshall Field’s on State Street and found it in such a filthy and terrible condition. I certainly never saw it as anything like what you described. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-merchants-you-stopped-business-with-due-to-moral-or-political-reasons/824885.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stores-merchants-you-stopped-business-with-due-to-moral-or-political-reasons/824885.md?page=10)