The 6 Most Hated Brands In The World

In business, public opinion matters a lot. Customers have many options for where they can do business in a global economy. Thanks to the internet, information spreads quickly. One minor blunder and the entire world is aware of it before the PR department has a chance to devise a strategy to deal with it.

Don’t get us wrong: some companies and brands are loved for the way they conduct business. Some of them even have followers. Take Wegmans as an example. Wegmans is a well-known grocery chain based in Rochester, New York and customers frequently write letters praising their service.

Wegmans is the most popular company in the United States, followed by Amazon.  And both businesses are thriving, not surprisingly.

What is surprising; however, is the large number of businesses that consistently make mistakes. While some of these gaffes may have been nothing more than poor customer service, others have injured or killed people. Is it any surprise that people despise such corporations?

Not at all. Not after reading some of the truly heinous things, they’ve done.

1. Dolce & Gabbana

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People are now boycotting the Italian designers Dolce & Gabbana, who have recently been added to the list of Most Hated Businesses. Sure, many of those protesting couldn’t afford their ridiculously overpriced items in the first place, but that’s beside the point.

This company made a mistake. They not only offended the LGBT community, but they also upset heterosexual couples who are having difficulty conceiving by criticising in-vitro fertilisation (IVF). Their words were “I call children of chemistry synthetic children.” Which hey, maybe he’s being clever. You know – designers and synthetic and fabrics and all that. But guess what? No one is laughing.

Even though the two men are gay themselves, they faced enormous backlash from the LGBT community, and rightfully so. Elton John responded, sounding the call to boycott the designers. And many others followed suit.

2. Hershey’s

Chocolate is a serious industry. And, recently, when Hersey put a stop to the import of British chocolate into the United States, they discovered just how important chocolate is to some people. Many Europeans (and some non-Europeans) believe that American chocolate simply does not taste as good. The recipes are simply not the same, with some describing Hershey’s as “smelling like dirty feet” and tasting like plastic.

Brits are used to the richer flavor as their chocolate has a higher milk and cocoa content than anything made over here, and Hershey’s will simply not do. For many Americans, that’s all they know. And because of Hershey, the only way they may ever get to taste the more delightful versions of chocolate is by traveling overseas.

Of course, Europeans living in the States are not too pleased with this. When you move to a new land, you often miss the foods you grew up with. After all, food is comfort for a lot of us. It brings back memories. It’s what we enjoy, what we’re used to. And by not allowing the British chocolate to be sold over here, it leaves many international residents with a bad taste in their mouth – both figuratively and literally speaking.

There’s currently a petition going around, trying to get Hershey to reverse the lawsuit, as well as threatening a boycott.

3. Wal-Mart

Another case of a company that people claim to hate, but that continues to do well year after year is Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart, like McDonald’s, is a corporate giant. In fact, Wal-Mart pulls in more money than many countries in the world. Kind of mind-blowing for a company everyone hates, isn’t it?

So who actually shops at Wal-Mart?

Like McDonald’s, Wal-Mart is hated for being so large. Often when a store comes into town, the big box retailer takes out many local stores in a number of industries. It’s not called a Category Killer in the real estate development world for nothing. And that right there is enough reason for most people to hate them. They destroy small business, which is ironic considering Sam Walton’s original goal was to help small business – or so he said.

But not only that, Wal-Mart is criticized for the low wages it pays its employees, they stick to right around minimum wage like most retail jobs tend to do. Add on misstep after misstep, and the company just can’t get things right, making them more hated than any other retail outlet including Target – which really, is just one step down from Wal-Mart in many regards, they just haven’t gotten that big yet

Even today, many people find the idea of paying $5.00 for a cup of coffee absurd. Nonetheless, Starbucks has managed to thrive and establish itself on nearly every street corner. Seriously, in many major American cities, you can find one Starbucks right next to another.

That is one of the reasons why so many people despise them. It, like many large corporations, is driving out competition. The concept of mom-and-pop coffee shops is a thing of the past in many cities. If you want coffee now, you’ll have to pay Starbucks prices or make it yourself. And perhaps this wouldn’t be such a big deal if it weren’t for the fact that their actual coffee isn’t all that great.

Most people even describe it as tasting burnt. McDonald’s is said to have better coffee than Starbucks, so of course many local shops could easily produce better drinks. That is, if they existed in the first place.

5. Apple

Apple. You’re either a diehard fan who owns every Apple product imaginable, or you despise those who do. There’s not much in between here. Whether it’s laptops or smartphones, the debate over which is superior – Android or iPhone – is never ending. PC or Mac? Everyone has an opinion, and it appears that while Apple began as a hip and cool company, it is now becoming too big for its own good. It now appears to be too mainstream, and as a result, people are looking for alternatives.

But it goes beyond that. Apple has its own set of issues to deal with. Problems such as the working conditions in the overseas factories where the products are manufactured. Also, for users, one thing that many can’t forgive is that Apple forces you to use their proprietary apps for the iPhone and iPad. Yes, you can download alternate browsers, but never make them the default.

Also, what’s up with all those useless apps they keep adding to the iPhone every time there’s an update? At least give us the option to delete them, right?