Do you let your customers know where you stand politically?

[Willy Lee]

I find this to be quite a conundrum. On the one hand, I am very proud of my politics. I want our business (when it opens) to be a kind of haven where people can come and discuss current issues. We want to play "Democracy Now!" every night on the radio. (coffee shop/bakery) We are heavy into organics and fair trade and donate money and goods to all kinds of charities, from the humane society to the historical society to the watershed nature center.

But of course, making your political views known may lead to a loss of customers. It could also gain some very loyal customers who believe in your cause.

What do you all think?

[mindem]

1. I tend to let people know what my views are.

Of course living in a small town and the fact that I am an officer of our county DFL makes my views pretty well known. Every chance I have in the store I tend to "educate" people about funding cuts to arts and it's effect on students, etc. I'm sure that lots of the folks I am pontificating to are of a right leaning nature but there is nothing they can do about it - I am the only one around who can teach their kids guitar, banjo, mandolin etc. Most people figure musical types tend to lean to the left anyway.

[Longhorn]

2. During the campaign

Mr. Longhorn had Kerry-Edwards and Patrick Rose (Texas state rep) stickers on his two trucks and got favorable comments. Now that the election is over, the stickers have come off and when I put a Slash-W sticker on my car, he said he didn't want one for his, which makes me think he's a little leery about being too in-your-face about it. He works in Austin which went 75% for Kerry so he doesn't have too much to worry about but I don't think he wants to get into political discussions with his customers -- he doesn't have a lot of patience for republicans right now.

[Polly Glot]

3. That's a good question. In my case,

we run a landscaping/organic lawn care business. We just let our good works speak for themselves. :-)

[LTR]

4. Working in sales...

...I don't talk politics. It's a 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' kind of thing. I try to keep all conversation as non-controversial as possible.

[2Design]

5. I am learning to be quiet -

I think I lost some business for my views

and with teaching - I realized I had to be able to be all things to all people - I changed some of my assignments

I originally thought I could teach the world about liberal ideas - then I realized that could come back to bite you

back in the 60's - it might have been accepted - but I have fundie students - I did not realize that when I started - I am much more aware

It would be the same if I was a fundie - it isn't right to stick that in my face

now I have to say I walked into a eating place for sandwiches and they had a station that was obviously rw and I thought I would never return there

It does make me wonder peoples politics - I do not want to support business with my money if they give their vote or money to rw

not sure how you find that out -

but I am more aware of not wanting to help them #$%#$%#$% us

[TX-RAT]

6. Most already know

2 term Sheriff
2 term County Judge
No where to run, no where to hide.
It's really never caused a problem that i know of.

[The empressof all]

7. Not in anyones face about it.

We don't overtly broadcast we are democrats but we did carry an Anti-Bush product in our store during the election. (No anti Kerry Products) We very openly discuss if someone brings it up but don't try to convert anyone while at work. (After work is another story)

[Ravenseye]

8. No

We try and avoid politics with our customers. My business partner and myself are both staunch liberals, married to even stauncher liberals. We don't however share our feelings with customers.

We don't take a client on though if we disagree with what they are doing, or if they are highly conservative politically. Granted this has only come up once, but we acted on it.

[SiouxJ]

9. Luckily my business leans liberal

I'm in music merchandising and it's pretty much Rock, not Country, but even still I'm very careful not to be too political. We put up a "Rock the Vote" link during the campaign and posted a notice about how important the election was and how it pertained to our industry but we weren't blatant about it. Of course by nature a lot of the merchandise we sell features political statements (anti-Shrub) so I'm pretty sure people know we aren't offended by it and probably support these views ;-)

An interesting note - about half my business is International and the people of the world are always a bit timid at first about discussing Shrub. Once they find out we can't stand him, they let loose with the statements of amazement that anyone here would vote for him. You usually can't shut them up once they know where you stand.

Oh, and down at the warehouse we had Kerry signs all over the place and listened to AAR almost every day during the campaign, so delivery people etc. got an earful ;-) . They don't buy from us so we weren't afraid of offending them.

[medeak]

10. unfortunately no.

employees are ALL repubs.. and clients as well.

They know where I stand but as employer of 60.. would probably face litigation if I proselytized personal political feelings.

[democratreformed]

11. No. Although some of them do find out unintentionally.

I had one very awkward moment this political season. I had a lunch meeting with our best customer in my home town. I knew he was a * supporter. The local restaraunt was having "ketchup wars". They gave each customer a token to place in a jar on the way out to vote for either *, Kerry, or other. I just kept mine in my hand. So did he.

I'm sure that, at some point, though, he saw all the bumperstickers on my truck....

[Missy Vixen]

12. I'm very cautious

I own a yarn shop in the middle of FReeper hell. As a result, I am very, very careful whom I discuss politics with.

There is a small group of liberals in our hometown. We managed to find each other shortly before November 2nd, and thankfully, they shop in my store.

Julie

[Longhorn]

13. A yarn shop?

Cool! Do you take online orders? I'm in the middle of crocheting another afghan right now. I was thinking about crocheting a Marine afghan for my son. I could just use Marine colors, I guess. Know of any Marine-specific patterns? I could knit one, too, but I have to re-learn how first. ;)

Thanks! :D

[flamingyouth]

14. Only if they start the conversation and I agree with them

I've been amazed by how many liberal customers I have, frankly, as my shop is in a conservative suburb.

I do donate items to auctions for NARAL, a feminist women's health clinic, environmental groups, etc., so people can put two-and-two together I'm sure, but I don't overtly advertise it, no.

[CAcyclist]

15. I do - it's one of the reasons why I own

I try not to get into political discussions unless I know the person welcomes it, but I have a peace sign in my logo and I have a bulletin board on a wall in the front that states that "this clinic is opposed to the Iraq war" and flyers about the war, the peace movement, and the elections.

I have only lost one client (who I was not sorry to see go) and I have gained many more clients because others who are politically motivated have an additional reason to recommend me to their friends.

I think being progressive and politically active is something people would expect in a coffee shop. I am a veterinarian, so they do not expect me to display my political beliefs. Even though I live in the CA Bay area suburbs, I thought I would get more opposition, but I haven't.

Even if you don't espouse your beliefs loudly, you can help stimulate debate by providing bulletin boards for people to post their flyers and by inviting people to come speak.

[JI7]

16. where do you live ?

do you live in an area that is mostly democratic,republican or pretty much split ? based on the population are there enough democrats or left leaning people there to keep your business running in case republicans end up boycotting ?

if you live in a small town type place with mostly republicans then it might hurt your business to be open about your politics since there wouldn't be enough democrats or non republicans to help your business survive.

another thing is how long has your business been up, how much competition do you have in the area ? if you have been up for a while and there isn't much competition then many wont have much choice then to go to your place. and there are cases where if the person likes the product enough they will ignore the politics they disagree with.

you can promote certain causes rather than a specific party or candidate also. how could anyone say they want to boycott over things like fair trade, humane society etc.

maybe it's a stereotype but a coffee shop type place seems like it would attract mostly left leaning people anyways so it might not hurt at all to be open about your politics.

[Wickster]

17. Not overtly.

Most of my customers are repubs. I don't want them talking to me about politics. I know where most of them stand and some have their suspicions about me I'm sure. However, they do know that I am really against this war (I can't keep quiet about that).

I am not in the business of politics or religion so don't encourage political or religious speak in the conduct of my business. However, if I am in a social situation, well then all bets are off! :-)

[TexasLady]

18. in Texas? Hardly EVER

We would lose 3/4 of what customers we do have in our small area.

[sundog]

19. I have a small restaurant

There are a lot of regulars, so I pretty much know where certain customers stand politically. A lot will offer up their opinion whether you want it or not.

If someone makes a righty comment I usually just don't say much. I realize a conversation with that person will be counter-productive to both myself & the business.

If someone, however, makes a comment that makes sense to me, I might engage in light conversation.

I live in a small town, and pretty much everyone knows where I stand politically. I contribute to the local Democrats (cater some of their events & make donations), so it's no secret.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

20. Since I usually deal with them on their home turf, no...

UNLESS they bring it up first. Example-- I had a client this morning who brought it up, making it known very clearly how much he loathed what is going on in Washington. Since he opened the door I felt free to respond in kind.

They have to open the door-- I won't broach the subject first.

[DaveinMD]

21. yes

but I'm a political consultant. :-)

[lady lib]

22. We don't talk about politics with our clients

mostly because there's no reason to broach the subject with them. My husband is an architect and when he's talking with his clients he's all business. We work out of our house so when we get phone calls we need to turn the volume down on AAR (which is usually blaring)! We don't make any secret of our politics, for example, I have bumper stickers that make our affiliation very clear and we talk politics with other architects, just not with clients.

[F.Gordon]

23. Only if they start the conversation

I was amazed how many Democrats "came out of the closet" this last election cycle.

But on the other side of the coin...when customers let us know they are Republican. One customer had a "I Stand With Bush" bumpersticker on their car. Our calculator must have been on the fritz that day because we ended up charging them about 30% more than normal.
:evilgrin:

Hey, they're saving all that money with the tax cuts....

[Stinky The Clown]

24. I usually work it into a conversation in one way or another

Funny story .... My business partner and I took a man to dinner the other evening. She had met him on a plane and they talked the whole flight from here (Baltimore area) to her place (Austin). He was in a business that could use the services we offer, so they agreed to catch up next time she was here.

We meet. Small talk. He decibels his business. We do the same. I let slip some little story or another ... actually, it was about how surprised I was when Wes Clark was asked on C-Span the day he testified before the HASC, something about Gen Myers. I thought it funny that he referred to him as "Dicky Myers". We had a chuckle about a general named "Dicky". Then the guy got a bit uncomfortable. He apparently mistook my remark as disparaging to Clark! Finally, he let it slip that he was a flaming liberal (He's also a native of Alaska).

That broke the ice and we have a new client!

Ya never know who you're talking to.

[zalinda]

25. I never discuss politics with my customers

Many of them are repubs and have made comments. I always let them lead the conversation, and have come off being whatever they want me to be. I can't afford to alienate ANY customer. Mainly because I'm online and word would travel around FAST, I avoid politics and religion.

zalinda

[CAcyclist]

26. Absolutely

I consider it one of the reasons why I am an owner. I don't care if I lose clients - this clinic caters to Democrats, D^&^t :) .

I have an Angelides for Governor poster in my window and I did have one guy come in off the street and pretend to be a client and say it was inapproriate and he was going to come back later to make sure the sign was taken down. He wouldn't leave his name. Ha, as if ! I'm looking around for another sign to add to the window, instead.

[paulk]

27. I had several Tom Tommorow comics in my window

that were critical of the Bush administration. That was several years ago, and I'm sure it cost me some business. I used to be pretty open about my politics. A local newspaper at the time even mentioned the store as a good place to talk about politics... especially local politics, which I'm way up on.

I have a smaller storefront these days, and I don't talk about politics unless the customer initiates it. Business has been sooo bad I can't afford to alienate a customer.

Still, there are times when I just can't keep my mouth shut!

[sybylla]

28. Personally, I think a business shouldn't display a political bent

unless you're willing to lose customers.

I have no problem conducting business with companies I know are owned by conservatives until they start putting political signs on their lawn or in their windows or broadcasting it some other way. At that point, as a customer, it feels like they are telling me I'm not welcome. It may be intentional. It may be unintentional. But that message still comes through.

Now it sounds like your particular business caters to a demographic that is probably a high percentage of left-minded people. In that case I don't think you'll have a problem with it business-wise. But you will still risk scaring away a few customers who might be inclined to see things your way but are one-issue voters in the other direction.

Mixing politics and business is always a risk. It's just a matter of how much risk you're willing to take.

[bliss_eternal]

29. I agree...

but I'd like to believe that this is more of a progressive tendency, to NOT want to alienate others based on politics.

For example, in my area I've seen far more W/Cheney signs in business windows than I've ever seen Kerry posters or any posters in business windows that would show one to be a dem.

Now, I'm not sure if that is because Dems know there's many repubs. in this area that may not take kindly to this, or if they sincerly don't want to alienate others.

It could also have to do with the fact that the rw is in power right now, so maybe they just feel more "comfortable" with sharing their political views because of that.

In my business, I would try not to do this though. BUT if I had a client that felt they needed to share their political views with me regularly and expected me to agree, I may have a problem with that. :blush: