Welcome to my boycott list, Home Depot

I've shopped in Home Depot for the last time. Why, you might ask? This is what one of the chain's co-founders, Bernie Marcus, had to say during a radio interview the other day:

"If a retailer has not gotten involved with this, if he has not spent money on this election, if he has not sent money to Norm Coleman and these other guys," Mr. Marcus said, apparently referring to Republican senators facing tough re-election fights, then those retailers "should be shot; should be thrown out of their goddamn jobs."

No, Bernie, (at right) what I'm not doing it shopping in your goddamn store.

It will never ceases to amaze me how stupid people running businesses can be when it comes to partisan politics. I hear conservatives whining and complaining all the time about "lib-rul actors" in Hollywood for voicing their political views, but one seldom hears criticism levied against people like Marcus, who rely on millions of Americans for their patronage in order to run a successful business. It's just flat-out dumb, at best. I always get a kick out of businesses that willfully put up signs during presidential campaigns. You know what? I will drive further and even pay a little more to give my money to a business that, at best supports my candidate, but at least has the smarts to keep political opinions private.

To put it into context, Marcus was asked a question about the proposed Employee Free Choice Act, which will make it much easier for employees to join unions. Home Depot has a strong anti-union reputation, and the fear mongering has started now that we'll have a Democratically controlled Congress in January. The new Congress will almost certainly pass the EFCA, and Obama will certainly sign it into law. And that has Marcus in a twist.

Tough. Unions have been getting the shaft for too long in this country, and it's high time we brought them back. We should be making it easier for employees to join a union if they want, not more difficult, which is what millionaires like Marcus want.

Yes, I know that Marcus is retired, but he no doubt still owns a significant amount of the company's stock, and I'm not in the mood to line his pockets after reading these comments.

By the way, I'm loving it that a Lowe's is right across the street from Home Depot in South Philly, so I don't even have to drive any further to get stuff for our condo. Thanks, Lowe's!

Target considers blogosphere meaningless

I'm rarely forgiving of arrogant companies who make it pretty clear that they don't give a damn about offending large swaths of people, including members of the blogosphere. Whenever a company or an individual acts like one of the newest mediums through which people get their news and share their views doesn't matter, I don't get mad, I just won't do business with them. And that includes watching their movies or shows, or spending my money in any way associated with the offenders.

The latest company to draw the ire of many bloggers is Target. From today's New York Times:

Target to the blogosphere: you're irrelevant.

That was the message the cheap-chic retailer seemed to convey in an abrupt e-mail message to ShapingYouth.org, a blog about the impact of marketing on children. Early this month, the blog's founder, Amy Jussel, called Target, complaining about a new advertising campaign that depicted a woman splayed across a big target pattern — the retailer’s emblem — with the bull’s-eye at her crotch.

"Targeting crotches with a bull's-eye is not the message we should be putting out there," she said in an e-mail interview.

Target offered an e-mail response:

"Unfortunately we are unable to respond to your inquiry because Target does not participate with nontraditional media outlets," a public relations person wrote to ShapingYouth.

"This practice," the public relations person added, "is in place to allow us to focus on publications that reach our core guest," as Target refers to its shoppers.

Word of the exchange quickly spread and the blogosphere did not appreciate the slight. "Target doesn't participate in new media channels?" asked the Web site for the Word of Mouth Marketing Association. Target "dismisses bloggers" commented the blog for Parents for Ethical Marketing. "Ahem! So bloggers don't count!" Ms. Jussel chimed in on ShapingYouth.

Could Target, the ever-hip, contemporary retailer, really have such a low opinion of blogs, the ever-hip, contemporary media channel?

Yes, at least for now. "We do not work with bloggers currently," said a company spokeswoman, Amy von Walter, who agreed to speak with this traditional media outlet.

"But we have made exceptions," Ms. von Walter said. "And we are reviewing the policy and may adjust it."

What arrogance. It's public relations 101 in today's super competitive economy - do all you can to attract customers, and don't stupidly and mindlessly offend people who patronize or who could potentially patronize your retail establishments. (Oh, and people who shop in a store are not freakin' guests - how stupid is that? Someone who stays in a hotel is a guest, not someone who goes to Target to purchase Chinese-made crapola for a bargain.)

Nice job being stupid, Target. My money's going elsewhere.

Back, by popular demand - my boycott list

Several people have asked me recently, "Where is your boycott list?" So, here it is - I've updated it to include some new ones, and a few oldies are included as well.

America Online - Where to even start with this horrific company? I would just as soon not have any Internet access at all than to ever, EVER deal with this company ever again. I had a bad experience with them over six years ago, and I'm still hopping mad at this company. In short, I was screwed out of three months' fees (back then, about $90) for service that I didn't even use. This after I called and tried to cancel my service. These people literally would not take no for an answer. It's little wonder that AOL's service was named #1 in PC World's list of the 25 worst tech products of all time. The company has lost millions of paying customers, and it's basically offering most of its content for free. In hindsight, that's probably asking too much. Its old slogan, "So easy to use, no wonder its number one," could be amended, "So queasy to use, no wonder it's almost done."

AT&T Wireless - It's more than a little ironic that the two cellular companies I despise most joined forces a few years back - Cingular and AT&T Wireless. Both companies have customer service that could make a Wal Mart cashier beam with pride. Note to this idiotic company - if customers have cell phones that break, and they are willing to sign a new, two-year contract to remain a customer, let them buy another phone at a discounted rate. Morons.

Circuit City - (Update: Obviously, they are out of business now, and that makes me very happy! I'm leaving them up here to show what happens to companies that don't give a damn about sincere, good customer service and compassionate employee relations.) I have a long list of complaints about this former darling of the electronics industry, but the company's latest gaffe is by far its most egregious - laying off senior workers, effectively because they make too much, so it can hire green workers, for less money (and who will have, in most cases, less knowledge for people like you and me, who come into Circuit City for expertise). The worst part? Fired workers, after a mandatory 13-week layoff, can reapply for their old jobs, at greatly reduced wages. Company executives holding up employees at gunpoint in the break room would have been a less obvious, more humane way to financially rape the workforce. I will never spend another dime in this company's stores again. Ever.

Cracker Barrel - Allegations of racism and homophobia have long dogged this company. Think it's just rumor? They why did it pay millions to settle lawsuits? Guilty companies don't, and shouldn't, have to pay to make lawsuits go away. This company puts the cracker in Cracker Barrel.

Dell Computer - Piss-poor customer service is about the only way I can describe our experience with Dell. There have been a few bright spots, but its mostly been a drag. I should have known better, too; the company has been flogged quite a bit in recent years about outsourcing its tech support to India. Quite frankly, I don't care where it outsources its help lines, as long as I can understand the person on the other end of the line. That's not intolerance, it's intelligence - if people speaking English are calling in, get someone on the other end who can speak, comprehend and communicate in English who can be understood. What company would do otherwise? Just foolish. What's next? A Catholic Church altar boy dating service?

Denny's - See Cracker Barrel entry. Any company that has had as many racial incidents as Denny's is not getting a dime of my dough. Oh, and conditions (and food) at most of their locations make a truck stop bathroom look clean. The last time I was in a Denny's, about five or six years ago, there were flies everywhere, no one paid attention to us for 10 minutes (until we walked out without purchasing anything), and the place was filthy. The final straw? When I looked over at the window we were sitting next to, and saw a booger the size of a walnut smeared on the window. I'm not kidding.

DirectTV - I've got three letters why this company remains afloat - N-F-L. If you take away the company's exclusive Sunday Ticket deal with the NFL, this company would be bankrupt in a year. Why? Its customer service. (Are you noticing a running thread with this boycott list?) Our nightmare began when we tried to have a dish installed.

DirectTV pimps out, oh, excuse me, contracts, its installation to local companies. Not to put too fine a point on it, the people at Ironwood Communications, the company that does installations in the Philadelphia area, couldn't find their asses with their own two hands. The first visit out, it was raining, and the two scumbags that showed up didn't want to do the work, so they came up with 15 excuses to not do the work, all of which were b-------. The best one was "you need permission from your landlord." The fact that we own our condo didn't seem to dissuade the lazy bastards who didn't want to do the work.

Our most recent experience involved problems we were having with just one of our three boxes. That seemed kind of strange, so I went up on the roof to see what I could see. It took two minutes to isolate the problem - one of our boxes is hooked up to our neighbor's dish - it was a lot closer to hook it up there than to run a line to our dish, which is up on our second roof. When I told this to the technician when they came for a visit to check it out, he said to me, "You're gonna have to call them [DirectTV] to figure out what's going on." Um, how about YOU do it? After all, it's your damn JOB.

We're still customers, for now. The only reason we still are is, you guessed it, NFL Sunday Ticket. However, all it will take is a few more miserable experiences, and I'll blow my stack, call DirectTV, and tell them where they can stick their dish. Right now, the NFL makes us tolerate it, but when the day comes where the aggravation isn't worth it, bye, bye DirectTV.

Ed Devlin (Philly Contractor) - This guy's a Cubic Zirconium in a diamond store. He did two projects on our condo. The first time, he did a good job at a reasonable price. The second time? A disaster. His workmanship was shoddy, and his attitude surly. He became very angry when we pointed out that he installed the wrong sized molding on the new storage cabinet he installed, actually telling me, "Your wife made me very angry." As a retaliation, he left lots of trash behind, and he refused to send us a receipt, after three messages left on his answering machine. If someone you know recommends him to do any work on your home, send the person who recommended him a dead fish in the mail. What makes this all the more sadder is that Ed really can be a nice guy - I'm sure he's great to have a pint with at a local pub, but I wouldn't let him screw in a light switch cover in our condo.

ExxonMobile - Two words: Exxon Valdez (pictured above). One of the world's most profitable companies still refuses to pay the court-ordered compensation to the local community whose residents had their livelihoods destroyed by the biggest oil spill in American history. A federal court ordered the company to pay $4.5 billion to Alaskan fishing communities affected by the 1989 spill. But Exxon continues to fight the order, claiming the $3.5 billion paid in initial cleanup efforts and compensation is sufficient. The company made about eight times in earnings the amount it refuses to pay the people in Alaska.

Fox, Fox News, & anything associated with either one - If you even have to ask why, you are reading the wrong blog.

Mel Gibson - Self explanatory. No movies, no anything that has this jerk associated with it.

Michael Richards - See above.

Netzero - The company that once claimed "unlimited Internet access" for $9.99 a month once discontinued my account because of "excessive Internet usage." The company lost a class-action lawsuit related to the practice, but that doesn't change my mind about a company that uses false advertising as a company strategy.

New York Post - A Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper? On this list? Uh, yea. One of many outrages from this GOP tip sheet that comes to mind - when the paper's front page featured a picture of then-New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine on top of a crash test dummy for not wearing his seat belt after nearly dying in a car accident. Corzine deserves scorn for behavior the state spends thousands in advertising trying to prevent every year. But, how about waiting until the governor is out of critical condition? I'd say unbelievable, but hey, it's a Rupert Murdoch operation. Calling anything associated with Murdoch uncouth is a double negative. Anyway, I know it's a small gesture, but no visits to what Website.

Pearl Properties (Philadelphia Property Company) - Legal reasons prevent me from getting into this, but if you're scoping out properties to buy in the Philadelphia area and you find out Pearl is the seller, don't walk away - RUN! E-mail me if you'd like more details about these moron profiteers.

Tom Cruise - I don't have enough time to type all the reasons why I won't pay to even rent one of his movies.

Wall St. Journal - Not a chance I would purchase or support any Rupert Murdoch-owned publication. It was already a stretch to read it anyway, what with its blood-soaked editorial page and all, but once Murdoch bought it, the decision got a whole lot easier.