After a frustrating visit to Office Depot, I have added it to my list of "stores that will no longer receive my hard-earned dollars." Okay, the only other store on my list was Robinsons-May (a department store). But if I think about the stores I frequent and the crappy service/merchandise I receive, I could probably save a LOT of money (note to self: add CompUSA to the list).

Are there companies you refuse to give your disposable income to? And if so, why (ie, bad customer service, bad political leanings, inferior merchandise, testing on anim

-- Anonymous, August 07, 2000

Answers

I refuse to buy from companies that test products on animals.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

Best Buy. They treat women customers like shit and have horrible service, and their weenie salespeople are always trying to push the extended warranty on you, and when you take your computer there they lose it half the time and never fix it.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

Barnes & Noble...I used to work for them...they are evil and I haven't been in one in 4 years.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

Well, crap. So Best Buy isn't. I haven't been in one, and they were my backup in case I needed computer stuff since I refuse to go to CompUSA.

Oh, here's another one: Starbucks. Never, ever, ever. For those of you in the LA area, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf has superior coffee drinks of the hot and cold persuasion.

One store that has been surprisingly and consistently pleasant to deal with: Mervyn's. I don't shop at Mervyn's on a regular basis, but I will now. I purchased 501 jeans over the weekend and the service was EXCELLENT. A couple of weeks beforehand, I was in a completely different Mervyn's just passing through when I saw some t-shirts I liked and purchased them. The clerk who rang me up was affable and efficient. I thought my shopping experience was a fluke, but I gue

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

I do not know why my posts keep getting snipped of the very last words of the very last sentence, but the ending to the last post should read: "But I guess I was wrong."

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

I won't shop anywhere that employs sullen 18 year olds to sneer at me and be unhelpful.

Or anywhere that employs staff to try to make me feel somehow cheap and inadequate for dithering over the purchase of an #100 skirt, particularly when I know full well that the staff are making #3 an hour and won't be spending #100 on a skirt either.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

Jackie, you obviously don't live in the New York city area because your rules would starve you to death and you'd have no decent clothes. (I do know that you live in London). I avoid bad service by shopping at major retailers online. I have been doing all of my clothes shopping -- except shoes -- online for more than a year now, and I've never had any trouble with Lands End or L.L.Bean's, where most of my stuff comes from.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

Dominos and Wendy's(right-to-life); Cracker Barrel (discriminatory hiring practices); Visa and Mastercard(outrageous interest and late fees are how they make money, and then they penalize the people who make them the most money via their credit report so they're doubly screwed. creates a falsely positive economy.)

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

Angie, Visa and Mastercard do not charge late fees, your bank/card issuer does. Visa and MC are just networks transactions clear accross, kinda like the Fed Reserve system. The bank just plugs into it.

The only 2 businesses I have a beef with are AOL and Hooters. I hated AOL because it would take over my computer without giving me the option to not download their updates and because they did not have enough access lines or bandwidth. I have a problem with Hooters because the waitresses all wear tops.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

Nina, I'm with you on Starbucks; our local bookshop has closed down to re-open as that evil coffee emporium. Also Borders (unless it's sale stuff) - again because it's a huge multi-national company and I prefer to support the local sellers. Who else? MacDonalds, of course, and all other burger outlets that aren't white vans parked at the side of the road. And any shop that thinks ladies with large bosoms don't deserve nice clothes (hello Top Shop!)

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

Thanks for the info, Jarvis.

Whoever is responsible for it, I still avoid the whole process. I'd avoid banks too, if I could. I didn't have a bank account for about 3 years because they started refusing to cash my payroll checks unless I had enough money in my account to cover it. Excuse me? I'm responsible for my employer's fiscal responsibility? I'm too poor to get paid in a timely manner? I'm sure my landlord will understand why his rent is late, then.

Blah, blah, yadda yadda. Righteous indignation. I don't like any business that acts as if I'm lucky they will take my money.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

Ooh - I had nearly forgotten about Cracker Barrel. Thanks Angie.

Also, one particular Eddie Bauer in DC. A security guard they employed stopped and almost arrested a kid who happened to be wearing a Eddie Bauer shirt. Of course, he had paid for it the day before and was returning with his friend to show said friend where he bought it. The guard made him take the shirt off and go home BARE CHESTED. If he wanted his shirt back, he'd have to return with his receipt from the day before. What did the kid do to arouse suspicion? He was black. What did the Eddie Bauer store/company do? Not a thing. The guard still works there.

Also, CWT, for rude salespeople and general incompetence.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

While there are stores I avoid for a variety of reasons. I'm always puzzled by the demonization of chain stores. It's not Starbucks or Borders that destroyed your town's indie bookstore or coffee bar---it's the disloyal customers. No one's making anyone shift their business.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

Yes and no, Joy. It's difficult for local stores to compete on price and/or selection, and it's difficult to ask local customers to stay loyal when they can get it cheaper across the street. Muddy waters. On the other hand, from a business standpoint, you want your business to be fruitful and multiply, and then suddenly you're a big chain and you find you've got backlash from the people who were your biggest supporters in the old days.

I won't dislike anything just because they're big. They have to have a policy of actively screwing the customer as well. Similarly, I find it hard to refuse to patronize a company strictly because of its politics. I figure that the political bent of the board of directors is not affected by my boycotting the poor slobs laboring in the local franchise.

Fortunately, with most of the companies I dislike, I have other sound reasons to avoid dealing with them. It would have been ineffective to boycott Domino's just because of Monaghan's personal politics; however, I also believe that they encourage unsafe behavior in their delivery driver and that they make horrid pizza, and there's a local chain with better product around the corner. Debby won't let me drink Coors beer because (in her words) "they're Nazis." (Oops - can we get a temporary suspension of Godwin's Law?) While it's true that they're the only drinkable American Beer from the Big Three breweries and their ilk, there are so many good small beers available now that I don't fret her fiat.

Nike's shoes aren't just made in sweatshops: They're hideous, over-designed, and over-priced. The McDonald's list of sins is a long one, but it's all eclipsed by the fact that they make bad food. And so forth.

The tricky case would be good/services I want and love, which are provided well, but by a company with execrable politics. However, it's odd - aside from my beloved L'Oreal nail polish, whose ingredients may/may not be tested on animals, I can't think of one. It'd be nice to think that rotten politics and rotten products go hand in hand, wouldn't it?

By the by, a Starbucks recently opened in my neighborhood, across from the wonderful, funky, lesbian-owned-and-run local coffee place. It's been several months now. Neither business, nor the other local joint down the street, seems to be hurting. Apparently the clientele don't overlap much.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

Oops. I said I couldn't think of any businesses where their politics were vile but their services good, and then I reread the thread and found two. Wendy's has some of the only decent fast-food in the business, and Cracker Barrel has some of the only decent road food along the highway (if you go to one south of the Maryland border - these northerners don't understand that you need soft flour to make good biscuits). They'd have to go a long way before I'd boycott them; I need their goods too badly.

Hey, at least I'm honest about it.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

Benneton: their advertising is sensationalist, obnoxious, and offensive. I refuse to let them think their ads have drawn me to their products. And Ramada Inn, for the same reason.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

The Gap, because all of the clothes I have had from there have fallen apart in a matter of months. Plus, they're way too expensive, and their ads suck.

Wal*Mart. They're evil. I'm sorry, it's not much more than that. They're just bad. Ask Sheryl Crow.

Subway. Food poisoning.

KFC. See above.

Nickles. It's owned by Celine Dion. Of course, it's not hard to avoid Nickles, because it's an Eastern Canada thing, and I live in the West. But when I did live in Montreal, I wouldn't eat there. Celine Dion AND food poisoning. Or maybe the fact that her music is piped in all the time turned my stomach? I dunno. But I won't go there.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

Does anyone have a source showing Wendy's as a contributor to right- wing causes? I've heard this assertion a number of times, but nothing more.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

I avoid Circuit City because of their blatent bait-and-switch tactics, and because I don't like the agressiveness of their salespeople.

I usually avoid Wendy's, because I think square meat patties are unnatural, but if someone can confirm that they contribute to right- wing causes I'll go there more often.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

I just did some superficial snooping around on the Wendy's website, and discovered the following:

Dave Thomas contributes money to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Childrens Hospital in Columbus OH, Children's Home Society of Florida, and The Ohio State University Cancer Research Institute. He is also a national spokesman for the White House Initiative on Adoption, and has founded the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, "helping thousands of children in the United States find permanent homes and loving families."

None of that seems particularly right-wing to me, but maybe they're hiding something in the source code.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

Thank you Jan. Sounds benign. I think I'll go get a Frosty.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

Regarding the Eddie Bauer incident above: It happened at a temporary warehouse sale, and involved temporary security employees. This, of course does not excuse anything, and EB ended up paying $1 million for false imprisonment.

Regarding Wendy's donating to right-wing groups: I searched nine ways from Sunday on eLibrary and couldn't find a thing about it. Dave Thomas, founder, was adopted and gives a ton to adoption causes, but aside from charges of racism in 1998 b/c only 3.7% of the franchises were African American owned, I couldn't find anything else about dubious business practices in my search.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

I avoid WalMart as well. They are universally annoying in some peculiar way I can't put my finger on, whether I am up North or down South. But the local stores are disgusting - filthy, poorly stocked, and run-down. And the employees are apathetic if not openly surly, but in all fairness the same could be said about most any business here. I avoid WalMart at all costs, even if it means braving the speedbumps at the local Kmart.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

Regarding company/individual political contributions: Very cool site, you can even look up your zipcode...

Visit http://www.opensecrets.org/indivs/index.htm and you can search for any person or company for data since 1990.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

I can understand why employees @ Wal-Mart are surly. I worked there when I was a teenager for 2 days. During that time, I didn't get trained enough for working the cash registers (they're not difficult, but it's just different than your mom & pop cash register), didn't get the change I needed during the rush hour, was placed in the express lane for the rush hour (despite being there for about 20 minutes), and didn't get a break for two days.

I was pretty damn surly myself.

But in all honesty, I still shop there. Why? Convenience. Price. I'm struggling financially right now, and I need to go to places that are not expensive, have a pretty decent selection, and a very decent price.

Also, as food for thought, I have always been in nice smelling and clean Wal-Marts. I'd go to Target anyday over WM though.

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

Re: the independent bookstores versus chains and independent coffee joints versus chains argument:

I live in Davis, which is known for the bitching about this sort of thing- a few years ago there was a big uproar about us getting a Borders, and this town is filled with independent bookstores. There are about three independents that I go to in this town and consider to be decent or fairly decent stores (every other store being very specialized or a campus-related store), plus Borders.

I've found that all of the stores have pretty different selection from each other. I wouldn't say that the chain bookstore is cheaper (especially when we have two used bookstores of varied selection), but they do have a wider variety on a multitude of subjects. Yet some popular books I can't find at Borders that I can find in other stores, or more obscure books which I also find at other stores (say, anything written by Susie Bright- Borders doesn't seem to have any of her stuff, whereas one used bookstore has 3 of her books and way cheap). I think there's a use for both kinds of stores, IMO.

As for coffee, I hate the evil-empireness of Starbucks, but my coworkers force me to go there because it's a block from work. We have a lot of more independent coffee stores that are probably more popular because they're much better for studying in and hanging out in for hours. Hanging out at Starbucks isn't the most exciting thing (hence why we only go for like 15 minutes, as opposed to 2+ hours I'll spend in a few other joints).

-- Anonymous, August 08, 2000

When Border's opened in Davis I remember the outcry, and I agreed with it. Not because chains are evil or anything, but because bookstores are one of the few things Davis didn't need more of. I didn't think the local bookstores would go under, and so far that seems to be true. Well, one store left in a huff as soon as the plans were finalized for Border's. I can't remember the name of it, but I loathed it because the employees were rude and they had no selection. The others all have their niches, and all of them should be able to coexist.

None of my company boycotts are very firm. I can be talked into going back just about anywhere. I usually just avoid the place for a while after a bad experience, and try not to repeat it (I Will Not buy another Big Mac, for they are nasty. I will go to McDonalds and buy other things, though. Avoiding particular branches which are either filthy or serve bad food.). I'm just a waffler, I guess.

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2000

The trendy, slacker, hip, Friends-'Common Grounds'-style coffee shop on the corner. I wanted a cup of coffee one day, and rather than go into the Starbucks across the street I went into Cosmic Charlie's. I wanted something strong, so I ordered a cappucino. It said, right up on the chalkboard price list, Cappucino. Silly me to think I could just order a cappucino and, you know, get one.

The girl behind the counter pulled four or five new coffee terms out of her ass that I've never even heard of but apparently all the trendy, hip, spend-all-their-spare-time-sitting-around-in-coffee- shops-types know. All I wanted was a damn espresso with steamed milk in it, for christ's sake. Next time, Starbucks. Which goes to prove the point in Snowcrash: what people want is no surprises. This is why we have evil empire chains. I know I can go into a starbucks anywhere on the planet, order a cappucino, and get one. Christ.

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2000

CompUSA.

I shopped at that store when it was called Soft Warehouse and was a storefront in Addison, Texas, then when it turned into a big store in Addison, and then when it turned into a mega-chain.

But last year I went in to buy a laptop. The salesguy misled me about the one I was buying. I got home, started using it, and realized my mistake. Got irritated at myself for taking his word for it, packed everything up, and returned it within hours.

They didn't have a laptop I could exchange for w/o paying significantly more money, so I asked for my money back. WELL, WELL, WELL. CompUSA has a restocking fee. I forget the percentage -- 15%? Anyway, it was going to cost me over $200 to return a laptop I'd had for only HOURS.

Other stores don't do this. I called and checked. The only thing that saved me was that the store manager refused to come out and talk to me. He kept sending flunkies. I was told, he was training people and couldn't come out. I was told, he was on a long-distance conference call and couldn't come out. I was told, he had left the building.

The scathing letter I wrote to the CEO of CompUSA and copied to that store manager probably only got results because of the store manager's refusal to come out and talk to me. He called me and wanted to give me merchandise certificates in the amount of the $200+, but I decided I would be out the money before I'd accept that. And finally, he credited the money back to my account.

So, no, I won't be shopping at CompUSA again. And I wouldn't advise ANYBODY to buy anything from them that might conceivably be returned, unless they don't mind paying a restocking fee. (By the way, that policy is posted, and it's also printed on the back of their receipts. In some states, it's illegal, but in Texas it's not illegal since it's posted.)

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2000

I avoid quite a few stores because of terrible service. Fry's is the main one. I also avoid fast food chains because I just don't like them.

I try to buy local when the local shops are part of what I consider my neighborhood. But I have some mixed feelings about the anti- WalMart and other chain stores sentiments. I realized a while ago that my reasons for wanting to shop at local merchants were very much rooted in an upper middle class, urban sensibility. I enjoying living in midtown with its coffee shops, book stores, and tiny clothing boutiques; I don't like the way strip malls and fast food and chain stores look, etc.

But here is reality: despite the rhetoric we often hear about small businesses being the foundation of our economy, most of them don't employ many people. The little book store or clothing boutique on the corner might have one employ, or none, or two or three, and those employees probably don't have benefits or a retirement plan. They probably don't have any job security beyond the owner's good will. And they probably can't afford to shop in that store, either.

Those local businesses might make me feel warm and fuzzy and good about my neighborhood, but they aren't providing jobs for the folks in south Sac and Rancho Cordova and wherever. WalMart and Starbucks offer medical benefits to employees. Some folks don't have the option of spending more to buy local. It's a complicated issue.

Of course, I'm not buying crap or putting up with shitty service to support any political or social viewpoint. We've lost several local book stores in the last few years, with each closure blamed on Amazon and Borders and friggin' El Niño. I had personal experience with three of them, though, and I don't think those owners had anyone to blame but themselves. One of the stores was a great little shop, but the owner was a jerk. He knew a lot about books, but after our first couple of encounters, there was no way I was going to ask the condescending son of a bitch a damn thing.

The next one to close wasn't as well stocked, but I bought a lot of books there over the years ... until the owner hired a cashier who was surly, stupid, and incompetent, and kept her for a year after dozens of complaints.

The most recent closure involved a speciality store where in addition to selling books, they took in a lot of stray cats and tried to find them homes. I like cats. I have three cats and I have smelled many a dirty litter box in my time. I couldn't get out of that store fast enough because of the odor. It was awful; I don't know what they were thinking.

There's a local gift shop that frequently has a sign on the door saying, "Doing laundry! Back in fifteen minutes!" I thought that was cute the first couple of times. By the fourth or fifth time I walked all the way down there, waited for half an hour, and finally gave up, I was ready to hit the mall, where stores are open when they say they'll be open.

In short: I'm happy to support my neighbors if they provide me with a good service. I'm aware that local speciality stores aren't going to provide jobs or services for everyone in my hometown. I try to strike a balance. I think it's the best I can do.

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2000

Having grown up in Illinois, I was familiar with the drugstore chain, Walgreen's, so when they started building here in Indiana a few years ago, I patronized them occasionally. However, a very beautiful plot of magnificent, stately trees was recently cut down so that another Walgreen's could be built! They have been putting their stores all over so close to other stores and very close to their own stores....it doesn't make any sense! We truly do not need another drug store, but we surely could have used a park in that location. We are park poor here on the southside of Indianapolis. Thus, I have decided that I will never, ever patronize a Walgreen's again. Obvioously, this is for my own personal vindictive satisfaction. They don't know and wouldn't care. I also do not go to MacDonald's or any of that type of fast food place...too greasy...too fattening....not what I want to eat.

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2000

To all the Wendy's wonderers:

I'll check with my friend who gave me that info to see what her source was. I think the particular issue was supporting those pro-life organizations that try to terrorize young pregnant girls to do anything but have an abortion. But, I didn't ask for a source and I can't find anything on the internet either (I wouldn't necessarily expect to find it on the Wendy's corporate site!)

BUT, after taking a look at ol' Dave's commitment to adoption I have to say that I don't care if he is supporting pro-lifers (unless he's buying bombs or guns.) My main complaint about pro-lifers is that they like to condemn but not support. Dave Thomas seems to be actively trying to help, so more power to him! I'm glad ya'll questioned this, leading me to do some research. I may even have my favorite cheap lunch to celebrate: single with cheese and a caesar salad!

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2000

I don't go to Fry's Electronics anymore because they have defective merchandise more often than other stores have, like D.O.A. electronics or registration material missing from the packaging; and also because they insist on searching customers as they leave -- "for your protection", they'll say.

A few years ago I heard that California law forbids anyone other than a police officer to search customers leaving a store, or something like that ... I tried it out, and when the security guard called out to me as I walked past him, and he started shouting, I just said 'no thank you' and kept going. I now do this all the time with similar stores that make you pass inspection before you leave the store, and have yet to get into trouble by this behavior. But I hate causing tension, and it discourages me from going to any of those stores anyway.

Your mileage may vary, unfortunately, depending upon your age, socio- economic and racial profile ...

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2000

Dean: I do the same thing. The CompUSA here tries to search my bag when I leave and I just say no, thank you. I'll show them my receipt and let them check it against my purchase, but they are not invited into my tote or handbag, thanks everso.

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2000

I avoid Walmart at all costs because they too accost people at the door wanting to root through purchases, etc. The story is filthy dirty, the managers are rude to employees over the store's music systems, etc.... The shelves are too close together... The baskets are dirty.

And the prices aren't that good.

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2000

I don't base my patronage with any establishment on the "political leanings" of the owners, cashiers, janitors, or anyone else associated with the store. It just doesn't make sense. Give me good service, convenient access, and good prices and I'll be back.

I avoid quite a few stores because of terrible service. Fry's is the main one.

You go to Fry's for service? ;-) I go there only for "supplies" like blank CD's, paper and such. I've found that Fry's store employees are quite ignorant about technical issues and that they often have commumication problems (many are not native English speakers). Almost everything there can be bought on-line for less.

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2000

I don't patronize Domino's and Wendy's for the right to life reasons I've heard. Even if this turns out not to be true, I won't be going to either of these establishments because I don't like either of their food. My fast food of choice is Burger King and I don't know what I'd do if I found out they were discouraging abortion.

I rarely buy coffee but when I do it's nice to get it at some local place. However, I like Starbucks because they have public bathrooms. I use them whenever I feel the need and never buy anything.

I don't have a problem with Borders or Barnes & Noble because I think they offer good selections. I can't stand Amazon because I just think their founder is a sleazy guy with his stupid patent lawsuit. But again, I don't really like to buy books without being able to look at them anyway.

I avoid Fry's because their service is so bad.

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2000

I don't buy anything at Fry's that I'm not willing to take a loss on if it is defective. Usually that means I go there for cheap computer parts (cord, cables, etc.) and non-computer items. I have given up on getting customer service there, so anything that requires assistance is out.

CompUSA: I'd forgotten about them, really. Last time I went in there I stood by the counter for about 20 minutes trying to get someone to get me a hard drive, while 5 different employees were flocking around another customer (who happened to be a middle-aged man). Bah. One thing I am very grateful to internet commerce for is the fact that I can get decent service from computer stores (I think in no small part because they can't tell I'm just a girl). I don't have to deal with the rude stores anymore. Yay!

I still love Amazon, since a bit over four years ago they wooed me with the ability to get less-popular books with a minimum of hassle. And to find the book I want without having to constantly try to figure out where it would be shelved. This becomes especially an issue when places like our local Border's shelve Frankenstein and Dracula in the True Crime section, and a book on card tricks in the metaphysical section... Anyway. I like impersonal transactions, I guess. (At any rate, it is better than actual in-person rudeness)

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2000

I've heard that Carl's Jr is far more charitable to the right to life cause than Wendy's is. In fact, I've been told they give to Operation Rescue... Dave Thomas just tries to promote adoption, because all of his kids were adopted.

I used to work at CompUSA and they do have some rather unethical business practices and they treat their employees like crap, but I would rather go there than Fry's any day. They treat women like morons and sell them the wrong things or extraneous items.

And I won't go to Starbucks on general principle.

That and the fact that the coffee tastes like utter shi

-- Anonymous, August 09, 2000

AOL. I'm too cool to get my internet access AOL.

I've got my own server Mr. Case. Bite my big red one.

*Ahem*

-- Anonymous, August 10, 2000

This is in response to Beth's post about small businesses and their hiring practices.

The point of patronizing a small, local business is not so much in who they hire, but in who owns the business itself. When you patronize a locally owned business, all of the dollars you spend will stay in your area. The owner of the small business may own the building that his store is in (like I do) and you will be contributing to the tax base of your area, and so on.

Big chains, on the other hand, are machines designed to export money out of the area. The top person at a chain store is generally some sort of middle-manager that doesn't make nearly what an owner does. A good part of the money you spent there is funneled into the corporate offices in Nutley, New Jersey, or somesuch place.

As for businesses I avoid: McDonalds and Wal-Mart. I also avoid Dominos for the reasons stated above. That, and the fact that their pizza tasts like cardboard.

-- Anonymous, August 10, 2000

I love Amazon for the availability of obscure books, and I also sometimes read the customer reviews to get a feel for a book, though I don't pay them a lot of attention.

I do appreciate discount prices. We have a Bookstop near us that sells at comparable prices to Amazon, without the shipping charges. I often will surf Amazon, find a book I want, then call Bookstop to see if they have it. I'll drive and get it, even though that's more trouble, to support a local business. (I know it's not owned locally, but the people who work there are locals, for what that's worth.) Or if I'm not sure about a book, they'll special order it and I can actually look at it before buying. Or if I'm not in a hurry I'll special order.

Otherwise, if they don't have it and I'm in a hurry, I'll order from Amazon. Because Amazon is faster than a special order from a local book store.

OTOH, I'm likely to pay full price for books when I'm out shopping and in the mood for books.

-- Anonymous, August 10, 2000

Big chains, on the other hand, are machines designed to export money out of the area.

Unless, of course, the big chain is headquartered in your area; which is why I don't have a problem with Border's. (Headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI; formerly owned by K-Mart, which is headquartered in Troy, MI)

And, as for Wendy's; if memory serves me right, Dave Thomas no longer owns Wendy's. As the story goes, he went to Canada to try and buy out Tim Horton's. (If you have never heard of Tim's; think "Stan Mikita's" from Wayne's World.) When the dust settled, Tim Horton's wound up owning Wendy's. They kept Dave around as a figurehead/spokesman; but I don't think he has much day-to-day responsibility.

One question I have about Dave Thomas/Wendy's, though. Is being pro- adoption mutually exclusive with being pro-choice? Dave, who was adopted and who adopted the epynomous Wendy, is using his wherewithall to provide another 'choice'; but does that necessicarily exclude him being fully pro-choice?

I am not asking this as a smart-assed retorical question; by the way, I am really curious to hear what people think....

-- Anonymous, August 10, 2000

Obviously, one can be pro-choice and pro-adoption. My little brother is adopted (he's 18 years younger than I) and because of the wonderful experience we've had, and the obvious need of so many children, I am now committed to adopting instead of birthing (when, if ever, we're ready.) I am also pro-choice.

There are pro-life organizations that promote adoption (not in itself a bad thing) but use terror tactics to prevent women/girls from considering abortion. They advertise as warm n' fuzzy pregnancy counseling, and then spew the hellfire and brimstone. That, in my opinion, is a bad and cruel act. I have heard that DAVE supports at least one of these organizations (although I have yet to be able to back up this claim!) Therein lies the issue, not with his support of adoption. I approve of his support for adoption--in fact, as I said in my post above, this kinda cancels out the other issue for me.

Mr. D. Thomas also (according to the Wendy's Web site)promotes education about cross-cultural/racial adoption and the adoption of older children who have been removed from their birth families. Both are important issues in a country where adoption waiting lists for newborn white babies are prohibitive, and there are so many children in obvious need. Personally, I would like to see fewer cultural/racial boundaries in the adoption process--so many children go without homes because we are confused about how to deal with race issues. Oddly enough, those boundaries only apply to other races within the US. If you adopt from outside the US there are no similar restrictions, despite the fact that the cultural differences are much more pronounced. My brother is Somalian by birth, but it is unlikely that my parents would have been permitted to adopt him if he had been born in the US. (He continues to go to Mosque and observe Ramadan, BTW, although he is not so interested in maintaining other cultural identity.)

I love Tim Horton's!

-- Anonymous, August 10, 2000

Yes, being pro-adoption doesn't mean that someone is pro-abortion. But for me, it's a red flag because the two do often go together. I'd like to know more about what's behind someone's support of adoption.

-- Anonymous, August 10, 2000

People keep telling me I should buy my kids clothing at Old Navy, but I won't because Old Navy and the Gap don't sell women's clothes in my size. So if I'm too fat for them, so's my money, I guess.

I stopped buying from Domino's a long time ago coz of the anti-abortion talk. Their pizza is lame, though.

I won't go to Lame Giant oops I mean Lane Bryant in Lakeline Mall in Austin because the manager is surly and rude. I called the district office and complained. They assured me they'd discuss the matter with her. I went back the next week and she was even more surly and rude. And their crap's overpriced, anyway.

Even though K-Mart is a pit in hell with its filth and clinically depressed and/or incompetent employees, I still go there once in a while because ... well, because I can't go to Target *every* single day of my life. It's Target, K-Mart, or Wal-Mart. That's the choice they give us in semi-rural Texas.

If I go to a store and I'm ignored in favor of a better-dressed customer (happens all the time,) I never go back.

In Toronto, some friends and I went into a cosmetic boutique on Yonge. (The name started with an "A". Something like "Anthropologie". I can't remember.) Four of us shopped around in the tiny, tiny shop. The sales guy shot the bull with my friend Nicole for quite a while. He found out she was from Virginia and made a bunch of chitchat about VA's tourist attractions. She makes her selection. He walks up to me while I'm looking at some liquid eyeliner. First thing he says to me: "That's one of our least expensive lines." And he says it all confidentially, too, like he's doing me a big favor by pointing out such a thing to my apparently poverty-stricken-looking ass. So I was all offended and I said to myself, "Forget this crap, I can buy this at the grocery store."

But I never found liquid eyeliner in that color again. Sigh.

-- Anonymous, August 12, 2000

Oh yeah BLOCKBUSTER VIDEO -- well I try, but it is really inconvenient to go to other video stores because of the distance -

Apparently they will put an edited version of most films in their store -- but of course, that is someone else deciding what you will see other than what was intended because other adults know better apparently.

I think, only a handful of films have been censored in some form, but still...

------- this reputed quote from Oliver Stone I found on the net: "This is a new form of censorship that's come into being in this country. Essentially, it's the sanitization of entertainment. Studios like Warner Brothers won't even release a film rated NC-17. They point to economic pressure from Blockbuster and Wal-Mart, who won't carry those videos. People don't understand how much power these corporations have."

-- Anonymous, August 12, 2000

I'm quite the opposite of many respondents -- given my pro-life leanings, I run fleeing from Burger King (not hard being a vegetarian but I won't even buy a beverage from them) Pizza Hut, AT&T, Ben & Jerrys Ice Cream and Target. I don't buy Coca-Cola because of the still-unresolved problems with their discrimination against African- American employees.

I eschew Barnes & Noble because someone in my household makes a living at Borders. I eschew KMart because the KMarts in my area are a trailer trash horror: filty stores with poor selection favoured by people prone toward wearing pepto-pink stretch pants and plastic flip- flop sandals on grimy feet. All but one of the WalMarts are surprisingly and decidedly less so, so they get my business.

I loathe CompUSA, BestBuy and Circuit City. I buy computer goods via web or from a friend who builds custom PCs at wonderful prices. He did all of the desktops in the household except mine -- guess which one is currently fried?

I get prescriptions at the grocery store, and other H&B items online, because too many of the chain drugstores (CVS, Eckerd, RiteAid) have sprung up with anti-green, anti-people stores with bad customer service and rotten relationships with the neighbourhoods they've encroached.

I'm all about micromanaging where my money goes!

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2000

Oh, yeah, I forgot one ... there is (or was; I believe it's gone now) a computer store in Sacramento that Jeremy and I will not patronize because they turned a customer in to police because the store found suspected child pornography on the customer's computer. (I say "suspected" because I believe the children in question were actually teenagers. They happened to be male teenagers; the cynical side of me says that the store wouldn't have made such a fuss had they found nude photos of sixteen year old girls on a customer's computer.)

It seemed to me (and a lot of other people) that the employee should have been fixing the damn computer and not looking at the dirty pictures. If I pay someone to fix my computer, I want him to fix the computer, not poke around through my files to see if I've got anything good.

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2000

Oh, imprecision in language -- I should clarify my clarification regarding "suspected" child pornography: as anyone who frequents the many fine "barely legal teens!" porn sits on the net is aware, it's not always possible to tell from a photograph whether or not the subject is of legal age. That was my point.

I'm going to bed now.

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2000

Dreama, I'm like you -- I eschew discrimination against blacks. And then, when it comes to white people who wear less expensive clothing than I do and who live in mobile homes... well, ha ha, let me tell you...

Oh, wait. I'm not like you after all. Sorry.

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2000

Gwen, until NPR starts championing the causes of "trailer-trash" (such a lovely term celebrating diversity) it will be completely acceptable to put down the differently-dressed, economically- challenged white folk. Everyone knows that the "trailer-trash" are purposely trying to offend the aesthetic sensibilities of the more refined white folk. And, after all, they aren't allowed to make fun of or feel disdain for anyone else (except Republicans.)

I think I'm gonna go to K-mart now. Barefoot, cause it is Kentucky after all. Oh, and after that I'm gonna kill me a squirrel, fry up it's brains and then go marry my banjo-pickin' cousin. That's what we all do here in my socio-economic group. Whoo-whee! Fuckin A!

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2000

Two separate issues. One--it's okay to make assumptions about people because of the way they dress and the dirt on their feet and two-- once you make those assumptions it's okay to assume that the assumptions you make are not just signs of a different culture or lack of resources or the complete despair of the ignored and oppressed, but are in fact signs of moral decrepitude and inferior brain power. Oh, and then you should boycott the businesses who serve these degenerates (it's just so unseemly.) And finally, you should justify it by assuming that the redneck trailer trash are all bigots anyway.

Ack. All riled up.

-- Anonymous, August 13, 2000

In my world, where the sky is blue and the birdies sing, trailer trash is a generic term referring to anyone who is simply skanky and couldn't care less about it. I don't care what colour you are, how rich or poor you are, or how well educated you may or may not be -- you can have some pride in yourself as a human being. Following basic tenets of hygiene and cleanliness and dressing in something more akin to clothing than bedroom and/or locker room attire falls right in line with that. No matter who you are or your circumstance, being and acting like trash is always a matter of a conscious decision, and I will retain a prejudice against people who could better themselves and won't, because I think it's tragic, self- indulgent and pathetic.

-- Anonymous, August 15, 2000

um. wow.

Having spent some time working for a social services organization (skanky people r us), I have to say it's quite a bit more complex than that.

But hey, it's hard to argue with admitted prejudice.

-- Anonymous, August 15, 2000

Dreama, you do know that there really are dwellings known as "trailers", don't you? "Trailer trash" doesn't mean "person who doesn't practice good hygiene". It is a derogatory term for people who live in mobile homes.

Or are you one of those people who uses the N word and excuses herself by saying, "I call people of all races the N word! To me it means lazy!" and other crap like that?

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2000

Ummm. Got a confession here, folks. On rainy Saturday mornings I often take my son out to big box stores that open early, so my wife can sleep a little longer. When I go, I'm in sweats, my hair is a mess, and I haven't haved. Dreama, if I'm the one who put you off K-Mart, I apologize. It's really a fine store, with big aisles for little people to run in. Perhaps it'll be some comfort to you in future visits to K-Mart if you say to yourself, "Maybe those aren't actually poor folk. Maybe they're really skanky New York lawyers." Just tryin' to help.

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2000

Whoa. I will never patronize K-Mart again, not if they're letting skanky New York lawyers in the door.

Then again, if they are also driving away folks who would ignore real issues of mental illness, poverty, ignorance, and the indignity of having to take whatever clothing the Salvation Army decides to give you, and lump all of the wretched unwashed together under a derogatory term that is becoming less funny and more divisive the longer it's in use, well ... I just don't know what I'm going to do.

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2000

I think somebody should start an org to make sure that all those pro- life babies are raised proper, dress well and live in houses w/o wheels.

I mean. Really. Priorities, and all.

-- Anonymous, August 16, 2000