Trust is hard to earn and easy to lose. That’s true for most situations in life, but in the business world, the stakes are even higher. There, your mistakes don’t just affect your reputation and opportunities—they can eat into your profit margins and put your employees’ careers at risk. In short, the ethical and smart thing to do is to focus on brand loyalty, product and service quality, and returning customers.
Recently, a group of disappointed customers vented their frustrations about companies, stores, and restaurants in a viral online discussion on AskReddit. They opened up about what brands they’ve learned to avoid and why. Scroll down for their stories and warnings. Do these posts sound relatable? If so, don’t forget to upvote them as you read on.
We wanted to learn more about brand loyalty, so we got in touch with Matt Johnson, PhD, a marketing psychology expert who specializes in topics such as consumer psychology and serendipity. You'll find the insights he shared with Bored Panda below, including why some companies might have different priorities, as well as what drives consumers away from brands.
#21
Chik fil la.
The most boring chicken sandwiches I have EVER eaten in almost 60 years.
Whyyyyyy do people go crazy over this c**p?
The most boring chicken sandwiches I have EVER eaten in almost 60 years.
Whyyyyyy do people go crazy over this c**p?
57points
#22
Vrbo.
Their policies don't protect their customers from something like this happening: Some friends and I booked a house in San Diego (for Comic Con) and drove in from out-of-state, pulled into the driveway, and discovered other people had already checked in. (A door had been left unlocked, so we entered and scoped it out but then decided to go back outside and get some answers.) 20 minutes after our check-in time, *as we were sitting in the driveway of the home we booked,* Vrbo sent us a cancellation notice.
The service had double-booked the property.
So here we were stranded in San Diego, having paid a massive amount of money to attend the convention, with no available rooms anywhere (except for some exorbitantly priced options), and Vrbo wouldn't help us.
Many hours later, we were finally able to find something, but it was pretty run-down, and still cost much more than the place we'd booked through Vrbo.
Their policies don't protect their customers from something like this happening: Some friends and I booked a house in San Diego (for Comic Con) and drove in from out-of-state, pulled into the driveway, and discovered other people had already checked in. (A door had been left unlocked, so we entered and scoped it out but then decided to go back outside and get some answers.) 20 minutes after our check-in time, *as we were sitting in the driveway of the home we booked,* Vrbo sent us a cancellation notice.
The service had double-booked the property.
So here we were stranded in San Diego, having paid a massive amount of money to attend the convention, with no available rooms anywhere (except for some exorbitantly priced options), and Vrbo wouldn't help us.
Many hours later, we were finally able to find something, but it was pretty run-down, and still cost much more than the place we'd booked through Vrbo.
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47points
#23
I might be downvoted for this, but.... Chevy. I finally couldn't take the endless repairs, the s****y dealerships who wouldn't repair stuff even when it was in warranty 50k miles ago, never knowing when the car was going to conk out. Now I'm driving a camry. Hopefully for the next 200k miles. 🤞🤞.
47points
#24
Applebees. Went once and they took so long for everything despite it being empty and our server acted like us being there was an inconvenience. Had been there and hour and my wife was so hungry that when they messed up everybody’s orders she got up, walked across the plaza to Publix, and got a sub. I cancelled her plate and my plate and they rushed the kids meals so they could eat and comped the meal. We never went back to one after that.
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44points
#25
ADT by far. I called them after 2 years because there was an issue with the alarm. They informed me that, although I was paying every month, their tech never activated our house in their system. Refused a refund.
Edit: this was like 10 years ago in my first house. I’m not going to take any action.
Edit: this was like 10 years ago in my first house. I’m not going to take any action.
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43points
#26
H f****n P. They made the Compaq laptop I bought in college for nearly a thousand dollars. That thing s**t the bed almost immediately. I sent it off to be repaired multiple times but eventually demanded a refund because it was a lemon. Their customer service was non-existent and the service manager was a prick. He laughed when I told him that I'd never buy another HP product again. It's going on 20 years, but I kept my word. F**k HP. Never again.
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43points
#27
LA fitness. Their cancellation policy made me so mad. Only can do it in person and you have to do it with a manager who’s there m-f 9-5.
No issue signing me up outside those hours though. F**k LA fitness.
TheDefiantGoose:
I used to work at a bank and people would always come in complaining about canceling LA Fitness. They would cancel and the gym would continue to charge them and then they would have to dispute it. I saw the struggle over and over again.
So more recently, for a similar type gym, I was preparing for battle when cancelling our membership. I did it online and it worked the first time easy. I was like...oh. Cool.
No issue signing me up outside those hours though. F**k LA fitness.
TheDefiantGoose:
I used to work at a bank and people would always come in complaining about canceling LA Fitness. They would cancel and the gym would continue to charge them and then they would have to dispute it. I saw the struggle over and over again.
So more recently, for a similar type gym, I was preparing for battle when cancelling our membership. I did it online and it worked the first time easy. I was like...oh. Cool.
Report
41points
#28
American Airlines.
Absolutely horrible from front line employees to online customer support.
Absolutely horrible from front line employees to online customer support.
Report
41points
#29
Dodge. Every Dodge i ever owned and every person i ever met who had a Dodge had trouble after 50k miles.
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32points
#30
1800 flowers.
Actually I never thought I would hold a grudge this long. 15 years I think. I just figured they'd be out of business by now. Shocking they aren't.
TheFacelessMann:
My wife got so mad when I ordered this one Valentines day and the flowers never showed up. It took probably 3 hours and 4 different calls to finally get a refund. They kept asking for another chance to send flowers....
Actually I never thought I would hold a grudge this long. 15 years I think. I just figured they'd be out of business by now. Shocking they aren't.
TheFacelessMann:
My wife got so mad when I ordered this one Valentines day and the flowers never showed up. It took probably 3 hours and 4 different calls to finally get a refund. They kept asking for another chance to send flowers....
23points
