Worst Company in America?

[ggw]

Alternative Thread Title:
 
 Cliched List of Companies That Hipsters Hate Because They Are A Bunch of Self-Absorbed Slackers Who Could Never Make It in The Real World.

[Herr Professor Doktor Doom]

Brandon's post goes a long way towards illustrating why libertarians are douchebags. Almost every paragraph in his post centers on "I," "me," and "myself." Basically the attitude is, "I don't care how many people get fucked over, as long as I get provided a service as cheaply as possible."
 
 Knee-jerk libertarianism taken too far can twist one into ridiculous knots of illogic, such as Brandon's defense of Comcast, which is a private firm that depends on a government-granted monopoly to be profitable.
 
 On the other hand, it's hard to argue with the Gov't being the worst company... how many other companies take your money by force and use it to initiate legalized mass violence (war) around the world?
 
 And I don't get why Target is on the list.  Some of the choices (including Microsoft) seem odd.

[miss pretentious]

Originally posted by They call me Doctor Doom.:
 
 And I don't get why Target is on the list.  Some of the choices (including Microsoft) seem odd.

I'm a pretty consistent Consumerist reader and from what I can tell, the problem most seem to have with Target revolves around the return policy. On the site, each of the companies has links to the horror stories people tell about each and way back in the beginning (months ago) it was all compiled pretty neatly together.
 
 Some of them, are a no-brainer - like Menu Foods.

[vansmack]

Originally posted by Brandon Brendall, the thief:
  Comcast provides me with an internet service that meets my demands for a reasonable price.

If you only knew...and you don't because Comcast won't let you know.
 
 The United States is now No. 16 and heading south in broadband deployment
 
 Folks in Korea and Japan are getting 10 times the capacity at a half or a third or a quarter of the price of the US
 
 Comcast does not provide internet service to low income households despite being guaranteed a monopoly in the area served
 
 And I haven't even talked about their cable serve or their customer service.

[Herr Professor Doktor Doom]

Originally posted by miss pretentious:
     

Originally posted by They call me Doctor Doom.:
 
 And I don't get why Target is on the list.  Some of the choices (including Microsoft) seem odd.

I'm a pretty consistent Consumerist reader and from what I can tell, the problem most seem to have with Target revolves around the return policy. On the site, each of the companies has links to the horror stories people tell about each and way back in the beginning (months ago) it was all compiled pretty neatly together.
 
 Some of them, are a no-brainer - like Menu Foods. [/b]

I don't know... a crappy return policy (something I've not experienced) doesn't seem to be in the same league with Wal-Mart's vicious treatment of employees, it's town-busting and quasi monopolistic practices.  Wal-Mart is famous for wiping out entire small town business districts --although crappy returns are more likely to directly impact the type of people who vote in online polls.  You can see the limitations of this kind of exercise.
 
 Same with Microsoft...computer geeks hold their grudges, but I'm guessing Microsoft treats its staff pretty well, and the Gates Foundation holds huge promise in addressing some of the world's ills.

[SPARX]

Originally posted by They call me Doctor Doom.:
  Brandon's post goes a long way towards illustrating why libertarians are douchebags.

That's a pretty broad stroke you're painting with.  I was gonna answer "a field full of drunken Skynard fans" when I saw this thread heading.

[Christine Moritz]

Originally posted by miss pretentious:
   

Originally posted by They call me Doctor Doom.:
 
 And I don't get why Target is on the list.  Some of the choices (including Microsoft) seem odd.

I'm a pretty consistent Consumerist reader and from what I can tell, the problem most seem to have with Target revolves around the return policy.[/b]

90 days is a bad return policy??

[azaghal1981]

Comcast is by far the shakiest and most unreliable ISP I've ever used and I've used at least five over the last twelve years including AOL. The fact that they're the only guy in town for so many is disgusting and sad.
 
 I've had FIOS since fall '05 and haven't looked back since.

[Herr Professor Doktor Doom]

Comcast has also recently been in the news for throttling bandwidth on downloads without informing customers.

[azaghal1981]

Why yes, yes they have.

[alex]

Change everywhere I said "I" or "me" to "us" or "the average consumer," and your argument on me supposedly being a selfish libertarian douchebag for defending these companies is null and void.  Sorry for assuming you had the insight to read into the fact that "I" and "me" were representative of consumers in general, not my own selfish desires.  That said, it's pretty funny when people still don't understand the basic concept of one's economic self-interest being in the interest of society.
 
 And it's funny you took my simple defense of Comast providing a vast majority of their consumers with an adiquate high speed internet service that meets or exceeds their demands as an argument on net neutrality or whatever you're getting at.  But if you want to go there, we can.  You can cry all you want about Comcast's business practices, and claim eternal entitlement to all the bandwidth you care to use as part of your basic $40 a month package, based on the fact that they use a government granted monopoly along their routes, but until you come up with a way to make bandwidth a truly infinite resource, at a fraction of the current costs, you'll keep losing this argument.
 
 

Originally posted by They call me Doctor Doom.:
  Brandon's post goes a long way towards illustrating why libertarians are douchebags. Almost every paragraph in his post centers on "I," "me," and "myself." Basically the attitude is, "I don't care how many people get fucked over, as long as I get provided a service as cheaply as possible."
 
 Knee-jerk libertarianism taken too far can twist one into ridiculous knots of illogic, such as Brandon's defense of Comcast, which is a private firm that depends on a government-granted monopoly to be profitable.
 
 On the other hand, it's hard to argue with the Gov't being the worst company... how many other companies take your money by force and use it to initiate legalized mass violence (war) around the world?
 
 And I don't get why Target is on the list.  Some of the choices (including Microsoft) seem odd.

[alex]

[alex]

Originally posted by vansmack:
   

Originally posted by Brandon Brendall, the thief:
  Comcast provides me with an internet service that meets my demands for a reasonable price.

If you only knew...and you don't because Comcast won't let you know.
 
 The United States is now No. 16 and heading south in broadband deployment
 
 Folks in Korea and Japan are getting 10 times the capacity at a half or a third or a quarter of the price of the US
 
 Comcast does not provide internet service to low income households despite being guaranteed a monopoly in the area served
 
 And I haven't even talked about their cable serve or their customer service. [/b]

I most areas where Comcast is available, multiple DSL offerings are also available.
 
 And there are other utility providers that are guarenteed even worse of monopolies in areas (power, gas, water, landline phone), and they do not provide their services to low income households either, as far as I know.  One would think you'd be more concerned for that, rather than assuming everyone is entitled to high speed internet just because it exists.

[godsshoeshine]

where do low income people not get water power or gas

[sweetcell]

Originally posted by Brandon Brendall, the thief:
 That said, it's pretty funny when people still don't understand the basic concept of one's economic self-interest being in the interest of society.

there are lots of examples where social good is trampled by individual need/greed.  for example, the commons dilemma.  i'd say your assertion that self-interest = interest of society is wrong, all too often.