21 times customers boycotted a business—and why they did it

Many shoppers use boycotts to express their displeasure with a business’s values, product quality, or decisions.

1. “They completely bungled a Valentine’s Day delivery”

“I will never spend a dime with 1800Flowers. One year, they completely bungled a Valentine’s Day delivery for my now-wife. Actually got them to call her and apologize. But never again.” —u/Think-I-Should-Move

2. “They tried to charge me for ice”

“When I was young, I worked in a small-town law office as a receptionist/gopher. There was a diner a few doors down where the office ordered lunch from twice a week, every week. It was about $100/order (in the early 90s), so not a small amount of business for them in our rural area. I once went to pick up the order and paid for it all with a credit card one summer day. While waiting for it to be finished and boxed/bagged up, I asked for an ice water to go. They tried to charge me the $1.49 or whatever of the cost of a regular drink, and I said, “Never mind,” and figured I’d get something from the office kitchenette when I got back.

I told the head lawyer about the funny interaction over lunch that day, not thinking anything of it, and he swore he’d never spend another penny there again. They called and asked a few weeks later why we hadn’t ordered recently after having essentially a standing order for so long, and he told them off. I worked there for another 2.5 years and never saw another order go to them.” —u/johndoenumber2

3. “No more 10% discount”

“That reminds me of a Coldstone I worked at. The guy who owned it when i got the job was friendly, super nice, gave a 10% discount to people who worked in the shopping center, amd even let me make white chocolate dipped cones (they were very popular). We usually had lines out the door, and it wasn’t even summer yet.

Then, he sold to franchise to a woman about mid June, and she took over July 1st. We started with our lines out the door the first week. But, she implemented policies. Very bad policies. The $1 off coupon could only be used for a medium size with 1 mix-in. Any additional mix-ins, nope (previous manager said just use it on whatever, like shakes or even a cake). No more 10% discount for shopping center employees. We went from lines out the door to maybe making $20 total in tips a day. I quit and went off to college. It was closed down a month later.” —u/powerlesshero111

4. “I had to fight them to get a refund”

“Ordered food from UberEats. Watched the tracker as the driver collected the food, then headed off in totally the opposite direction. Twenty minutes later, the food was marked as delivered, despite the fact the driver had never been within 3 miles of my village. I had to fight them to get a refund as they wouldn’t believe it hadn’t been delivered. I will never use them again.” —u/Another_Random_Chap

5. “They did not realize I was also a business customer”

“HP treated me like shit when I needed them as a non-business customer. They did not realize I was also a business customer and partner. Bricking my cheap printer and being a bitch about it afterwards has probably cost them millions in revenue by now. Serves ’em right.” —u/antwerpian

6. “Cut off my audiobook mid-sentence”

“Spotify cut my audiobook off mid-sentence in the last chapter while listening to Mickey 7. I canceled my account. The library partners with Hoopla so now I get unlimited audiobooks for free!” —u/emmadenice

7. “They admitted the driver lost the check”

“Papa John’s, for obvious reasons, and because 20+ years ago I ordered pizza and wrote a check, the driver lost the check. They admitted the driver lost the check. I offered to write a new one, dropped it off at the restaurant, and they cashed the lost check three weeks later.” —u/Peg-Lemac

8. “Targeting good faith charities”

“The Susan G. Komen organization. They aggressively enforced their trademark on the phrase “for the cure,” even against small, independent fundraisers like ‘Mush for the Cure,’ a sled dog race raising money for cancer research that Susan G. Komen sued. While trademark law requires some protection of registered phrases, targeting good-faith charities with similar missions diverts resources from research and damages public trust. This made the organization appear more concerned with brand control than with advancing its stated cause in my eyes.” —u/Fluid_Addendum4905

9. “Their ads are invasive and annoying”

“Temu, because their ads are invasive and annoying. Also their products are complete garbage and their prices are misleading. They’re just all around scummy.” —u/BrainSea7776

“The invasive ads were getting out of hand. If I see an ad that seems particularly annoying (or worse, particularly creepy, icky how tf do they know that kind of targeting) I mentally take note not to buy that thing even if it’s inconvenient for me.”—u/Higgz221

10. “He doesn’t need any of MY money”

“I doubt a company as large as Amazon will even notice my ‘boycott,’ but it’s there. I have a simple philosophy about it: Jeff Bezos has a lot of money but hoards it instead of doing good with it, therefor he doesn’t need any of MY money. Now he does occasionally make a few cents on the shipping when I shop eBay but get an Amazon seller by coincidence. Any billionaire could pick a global problem (hunger, poverty, etc.) and make a good dent in ending it completely, and by choosing not to do good they have embraced evil.”—u/ToothlessGuitarMaker

11. “Denies the rights of others”

“I will not spend my money in any company that proudly uses its self-proclaimed Christian ideology as an excuse to deny the rights of others. Hobby Lobby, Tractor Supply, Chick-fil-A.” —u/kathop8

12. “I can’t support someone who stands for hate”

“Not a business, but I was the biggest Kanye fan growing up. His music allowed me to express myself in ways that I initially wasn’t confident to. However, when he started to go crazy with his antisemitic remarks and merchandise, I had had enough. I can’t support someone who stands for hate, especially hate of my own identity. Once I laid my foot down and started to avoid his music my friends noticed and they have stood in solidarity with me.”—u/JeromeW

13. “They treat people, the planet, or animals like crap”

“I boycott businesses all the time, any that test their cosmetics on animals, Nestle and all their offshoots if I can identify them: Asda (UK), Albert Bartlett, Anything owned by Mike Ashley, BrewDog. Mostly because they treat people, the planet, or animals like crap.”—u/PoinkPoinkPoink

14. “Kicked out a long-term tenant”

“The owners of a building in my neighborhood kicked out a long-term tenant that was a wine bar everyone loved. Then they started their own bar in the same space, so I won’t visit their new bar.” —u/agentkolter

“Something similar happened in my town. A coffee shop was getting popular. The landlords kicked them and then opened their own. The original shop has a new location that is doing really well, but I rarely see anyone in the landlord’s shop.” —u/darkd360

15. “Their declining quality”

“Chipotle. After their declining quality and third price increase during the pandemic (while reporting record profits). I got out before they started skimping people, which presumably happened when they realized they couldn’t frisk their customers for any more than they already had.” —u/ohbyerly

16. “Delayed wage problems”

“There are lots to boycott everywhere, but one coffee company I swear to never buy from is this local shop franchised by a celebrity called Pickup Coffee.

Ever since I read about delayed wage problems and unfair labor practices, I never think of this coffee shop when I get the cravings.” —u/anima99

17. “Admit what happened after I called a lawyer”

“Took my car into the mechanic for a routine oil change/check up and got it back with a very noticeable dent in the front. They claimed I had brought it in like that, but I obviously knew better. I checked the dash cam footage and saw that a mechanic hit the lamp post outside.

They did eventually admit what happened after I called a lawyer, but I refuse to go back to that location again.” —u/darksaber522

18. “We were asked to leave because of no shoes”

“Local pizza place. We did a barefoot marathon to raise money for kids with no shoes, and some of us went to get pizza after, even though he had a sign that said “Welcome barefoot runners!” When we walked in, we were asked to leave because of no shoes.

It’s been 14 years, ain’t been back since, and about 30 other participants are in that same boat too.” —u/Pabst_Malone

19. “They did a commercial making fun of the band Hanson”

“Started boycotting Coca Cola when I was 12 because they did a commercial making fun of the band Hanson (who I cared deeply about at the time). It wasn’t easy because I grew up just outside of Atlanta, but it ended up working pretty well for me because I quit drinking soda altogether and only drank coffee, water, and tea (which i still pretty much do to this day, except now I’ve added alcoholic drinks to the mix).” —u/Impractical_Meat

20. “They didn’t serve flan”

“They didn’t serve flan and I was aching for it.” —u/Gunofanevilson

21. “They were anti-union”

“We boycotted a bunch of businesses when I was growing up, mainly if they were anti-union. My dad was big into workers’ rights. We just didn’t buy those products. There was a grocery store in our town that we never went to because it busted their union. To this day, if I know a business is like that, I don’t go there. I might not make a difference to their bottom line, but I feel better about where my hard-earned money goes.”—u/EmmalouEsq