Why do Americans still rely on big corporations?

[Deja Q]

I hear NOTHING but complaints about Geek Squad, a PC repair org that's a subsidiary of Best Buy.

Other big chains also have their own fix centers.

Where are the people who have their own businesses?

And for all the bitchin' and gripin', how come people go back to the big chains?

This can be applied to almost EVERY situation with every chain.

We make our own dependency to these creeps.

Maybe we should rely on each other. As real communities of real people. And no company or government (from local to federal) can distort the same words to their perverse liking.

Otherwise it's a McWorld. Pass me the cheese.

[derby378]

1. Advertising, my boy, advertising

No personal beef with Geek Squad, myself - they helped me diagnose a problem with my laptop free of charge.

[Deja Q]

2. Glad they were able to help.

Not glad that the big critters are out to kill the little critters.

On the plus side, they'll run out of other critters and have to bite into themselves.

[Broken_Hero]

3. In my experience...

Jim bobs car shop, they treat me like i'm an idiot, and I find out later, I got screwed over on a job they did...I can take legal action, but its all outta pocket, and I hope my lawyer is good

Meineke, Walmart, or any dealership car shop, if they fix it, and I find out they did a crappy job, or something of that nature, I bring it back, and they deal with it(usually)...and if not, what lawyer, won't salivate, having a chance to take on a big corporation...

For me, in my above circumstance, its a matter of trust...I do not just Jim Bob's Repair shop, but Meineke/walmart/dealerships, from face value, I would give them more trust, than Jim Bobs...

As for other things...at times, its plainly a matter of money. I go to walmart, target to get groceries, and spend 80 bucks...if i go to food 4 less, or price cutter or other grocery chains, and try to buy the exact same items, my cost is well over 100 bucks...with money as short, and unstretchable as it use to be, at times, I do have to do, what I gotta do, to survive...

[NewJeffCT]

6. I agree on car repairs

A friend of mine that is a whiz at fixing cars recommended that I go to a place like Goodyear to get my regular car maintainence.

As an example, I went to check for the price of timing belt replacement on my wife's Toyota Corolla. I first went to a small local guy. He looked up the price on his computer and recommended a charge of several hundred dollars (I think I also asked for the water pump to be done as well). To get another bid, I went in to the local Goodyear shop and the guy looked it up in the computer and said that my wife's Corolla has a timing chain, so it didn't need replacement. So, if I had gone local, I would have been out several hundred for unnecessary maintainence.

[leftofthedial]

4. advertising

unfair business practices

corruption of local authorities

and $$$$

the big box music stores put almost all the small independent music stores out of business over the past decade by over-expanding into every market and launching huge price wars on most popular instruments and equipment. This drove the independents out of business. Then the big boxes fought out the final war of attrition, with Guitar Center winning. Now, they own the lion's share of the retail music market.

Wal*Mart does the same thing, getting tax breaks and incentive from corrupt, desperate local governments that independents don't get. They drive independents out of business wherever they go.

Murkans would pimp their mother out to a gang of death row inmates to save a dollar on a dozen of something they probably don't need in the first place.

[Mind_your_head]

5. Anyone/any company that had any 'good ideas' were 'assimilated'

(read: bought) by the corporate 'borg'. The rest were left to die their own slow death as they couldn't compete with the efficiencies that corporations could achieve.

MANY good ideas/patents were purchased by the large (especially energy corps) and left to die - unlooked at/and un-developed. That's just how 'they' want it. And that's how it is. The creators of these ideas are left with huge (for them) sums and they do what they want - real estate development or whatever, they get to 'play with all of that money', but their great idea NEVER WAS ALLOWED to make a difference for humanity.

I've wondered if those creators lie awake wondering about that? Probably....but then again they must think, "I was only one person and 'they' made me an offer I couldn't refuse."

[treestar]

7. Exactly. We don't dream of starting our own business and feel

entitled to be employed by the big guys and then complain. We don't want the big guys to have any competition because that threatens our jobs. We have a million laws in place to try to stop new start ups from competiting so our big daddy employers won't lay us off. When big daddy employer moves his whole operation to India to take advantage of cheaper labor, all we can do is cry.
If big daddy hires Mexicans because they will work for less, we cry.

But it never occurs to us to try to compete with him. He is supposed to take care of us, we are not supposed to ever be responsible for ourselves.

[Mind_your_head]

8. So, we should all have 10 people living in one house in the back of the

store, sharing one bathroom (saves 'rent money, ya know')....THEN we can compete. Is that what you are proposing for the people of the USA?

[sandnsea]

9. Enlightening, yet bizarre, thread

I avoid corporations for repairs, at all costs, because they don't give a shit about quality because no lawyer is going to waste their time going up against the lawyers of a huge corporation. The little local guy, otoh, will almost always try to accommodate you, even when problems are your own fault, because small claims court is right up the road.

[pitohui]

11. fixed your post :-)

here tis all nicely edited for you

I avoid corporations for repairs, at all costs, because they don't give a shit about quality because no lawyer is going to waste their time going up against the lawyers of a huge corporation. The little local guy, otoh, will almost always try to accommodate you, even when problems are your own fault, because small claims court is right up the road. :sarcasm:

p.s. just in case this wasn't a joke, you have experience w. how difficult it is to collect your small court claim from joe-bob under-the-table auto repair, don't you? :-) much MUCH easier to collect from the large corporation -- hell, my friend just received $130,000 from a settlement from a casino in vegas, try getting such a settlement from joe-bob's underground card room

[sandnsea]

15. Nope, not my experience at all

My son just spent almost a year trying to get his rightful workmen's comp benefits from Pizza Hut. He got enough to pay for some diagnoses doctor bills and barely enough to cover his lost wages, that's it. Out of work for almost 8 months, $7,000. Whoo, big pay-off there. No matter how badly I've been screwed over by a corporation, I've never collected a dime from them. Joe Bob down the street, he doesn't want the bad publicity that a law suit in a small town will bring, or the bad word of mouth. I never have a problem getting Joe Bob to help me get things right.

[pitohui]

19. have you ever collected $130,000 in a lawsuit from jim bob?

i think you are in for a reality check if you think your son would have collected more than $7K from a small local pizza enterprise

your suggestion may be well meant but it is sadly unrealistic

[sandnsea]

22. Jim Bob has never screwed me over for $130,000

And it wasn't a local pizza enterprise, it was a franchise that owned Pizza Huts all across the country.

But yes, whenever I've had a problem with a local business, I've gotten it resolved. I've never had to resort to court, I'm actually not a court type person anyway. Corporations on the other hand, don't give a shit if you're happy or not. They simply don't care and the only thing threatening a law suit does is puts "difficult client" on your computer account.

[pitohui]

37. i think it's safe to say that you are just wrong

ok, you are just wrong

pizza hut has millions of dollars behind them, if you had a competent lawyer and a good case, then you would be able to collect what you are due

i am going to have to assume that what you were due was...$7000

if you were up aga. a small unknown, where the owner has no spare money, then you would not have even gotten the $7,000

you admit you have no knowledge of big cases, so i can't appeal to your experience (you have none) so let us try the appeal to logic

i win a lawsuit aga. joe blow broke-ass for $130K and he doesn't and can't pay -- you know what -- you don't get paid, it don't matter that you won

by contrast, i win a lawsuit aga. big corporation and he doesn't want to pay -- in my friend's case where this actually happened, the attorney sent over a collection agent with a court order and the agent walked out of the business with $130,000 CASH

if you can't see the difference bet. dealing w. a small individual and a large corp. w. money to be chased behind them, then i can't help you, but frankly i believe you're being disingenuous

because it's damn obvious to me

do you actually know any lawyers? because the ones i know -- they always prefer the case w. "deep pockets" (as they call it) to the case aga. the nobody

[sandnsea]

39. Have you ever heard of insurance?

Good lord. The insurance has much more to do with a law suit than the size of the business.

And an agent walked out of a business with $130,000 cash. Okay. Sure.

It is really getting deep..

[Broken_Hero]

12. I have the exact opposite experience.

went to jim bobs repair shop to fix our ford windstar(never again, will i buy a ford), and he took us...new engine only lasted two months, and we consulted a lawyer, and there was no way, to get our money back...

Ford dealership, fixed our ball bearings, and brake pads...a month later, bearings started acting up again, we took it back...Ford dealership, apologized for their mistake, and fixed it...no problem...:) I'm sure their are many stories from each side...:)

[Mind_your_head]

13. ehm, where to begin.....

Did you purchase your Windstar new or used?

P.S. welcome to a new moderator :hi:

[Broken_Hero]

25. no the mini van was used,

the engine, that we put in was "new". My wife and I tried going after both, the used car dealership, and the mechanic...car dealership, we had nothing, we were pass the one month lemon law, for missouri. As far as the mechanic goes, our lawyer said it would be hard to prove if it was the mechanic that messed it up, or the manufactor of the engine(ford)...and, when money is short, gas prices outta the roof, our mini van, is a piece of crap...we didn't go down that road. We went down the road of, trade it in, get something better...

[Broken_Hero]

27. btw,

thanks for the welcome...:) :toast:

[sandnsea]

16. Go to small claims court

If you have someone else that can verify that Joe Bob did something wrong, then take him to small claims court. I imagine your lawyer told you it wouldn't be worth your while to PAY THE LAWYER to advise you through the process - not that there was nothing could be done. Of course there are always bad mechanics, but generally if you talk to a lot of people before making a decision, you'll weed them out. And sometimes the dealership is the best choice.

[pitohui]

21. small claims court -- what a joke!

you are complaining that your son only got $7K from pizza hut -- then you tell us to go to small claims court

in my area your son would have only been able to collect $2K if he went the small claims route

the MOST he could have collected in any state i'm aware of is $5K

so you're bitter about your son's small settlement so your answer is to give advice that GUARANTEES our top remedy will be thousands less than he got?

do you honestly not see the illogic in that or you are just playing with us? because i don't mind a joke but this one is going on too far

small claims is NOT a remedy for serious disputes over $2,000 in most areas!

[sandnsea]

24. For being injured on the job???

Oh yeah, that's the same thing as a bad engine repair. :eyes:

Yeah, our state is $5,000 small claims which ought to cover the cost of engine repair. Again, I'm sorry you live in a state that doesn't believe in government and consequently lets your government create laws that allow you to get screwed over.

[Broken_Hero]

26. read my post 25...

in my experience, i have had a rougher time, with smaller business, than with big corporations. We could have went to small claims court, but when you are close to broke, need cash to fix "said" mini van, or cash for a newer vehicle, and other necessities, you start putting things into perspective, and my wife and I decided, that we couldn't afford to hire a lawyer, or go to small claims court.

The three lawyers we consulted out of Joplin, said our case against the car dealership, was zero, and against the mechanic, it was going to be 50/50.

[sandnsea]

28. Ford manufactured the engine??

So the local mechanic put in a new engine manufactured by Ford, and the engine blew. And nobody wanted to take responsibility, not even the corporate manufacturer, Ford. Is that what happened? They said there's no way they can know whether you caused the problems by driving too fast or not following the break-in instructions or whatever. Right?

Yeah, I've heard that before, from local mechanics and dealerships. New engines in old vehicles are always risky business. Sucks, I know.

[Broken_Hero]

30. I ordered

the engine from Ford, online...cause Jim Bob's mechanic couldn't find another engine for it, so I ordered it and had it delivered...a few months later, kablooey...If i had the money, and the time, I would have went after them, but its a rock and a hard spot...we decided to take it on the chin, and move on. We got a nice, 04 Dodge Intrepid though, I highly recommend them!...:) No problems with them. My wife got into a car accident in feb of 05, she was in a Dodge Intrepid also. She got hit, on the drivers side by a four door ford truck(hit and run)...she was okay, nothing a chiro couldn't fix.

At the time, we were dealing with a busted mini van, a bs engine, fighting with our car insurance company, and then dealing with the warranty company(fords)...it was a mess. At the time, it was causing a TON of distress between my wife and I, so we just let it go...we got a 3,000 trade in with the mini van, and got the Dodge.

In retrospect, Ford is 50/50 with me, conerning customer service. When they fixed our brakes/bearings, that was good customer service. When I complained about the engine failure, they caused a nice little stink, and Jim Bob/Ford where pointing fingers everywhere, but to themselves...

[sandnsea]

31. Most of us opt for the stressless route

I think a lot of businsses, corporate and small, have figured that out too. As have insurance companies. I think customer service improves to a certain extent based on how long you've lived in a particular town. I know the longer we live in a place, the less likely any kind of businss is to give us a hard way to go. My husband is one of those kind of guys who is everybody's buddy. There are certainly local people we wouldn't do business with too, so I know it works both ways. I guess maybe I just like the idea of being able to look somebody in the eye and tell him he'll rue the day, ya know what I mean? lol.

[Broken_Hero]

32. I agree

just with dealing with our auto insurance, was enough for me to see "red" big time, and more things just kept pilling up on us. With insurance companies, I swear, they tell you to do the wrong things, or sign forms wrong, so they can send the same forms back, and trade mail forever, before they finally got all the paper work, they wanted, done the right way.

We hit a big time snag, this insurance guy, was telling us to fill out our forms...well, wrong. We would send them in, and we would patiently await our money, so we can improve our situation, and then a week later, we get a letter back, saying we didn't do "this" right, or "that" right...arrghh...I'm glad last year is over! Last year, was the year of the black hole money pit, which was our ford, and dueling with insurance companies...and to make it worse, I quit smoking for 9 months last year too, so nicotine withdrawls, i'm sure, had something to do with it...;)

[sandnsea]

33. Oh do I know

My sil was hit in my daughter's car a month before the wedding. The other lady lost control and spun around and hit him head-on. The things that went wrong would actually make a novel and I'm not kidding. One being that they didn't tell him there were 2 caps on the rental vehicle, daily and overall. So TWO DAYS before the wedding they told us he had to drive 300 miles to drop off a rental vehicle under our insurance and pick up a different rental vehicle under the other lady's insurance. No, we couldn't just switch them because the two companies use different agencies, we had to drop off one rental vehicle and pick up another one and then drive back home.

They told us to do everything wrong, like you say, and even the tow-truck company lost the keys to the car. It goes on and on, and then finally, 3 months later, yes MONTHS, they get to go get the car. They drive 300 miles again, take the car for a test drive, and it doesn't feel right. Get it on the machines, and the friggin' AXLE IS BROKEN. How in the hell? Another month goes by, they finally get her car back. I think we went through 4 adjusters between the two companies and they didn't have a functioning brain between them.

And the only reason I can think of that this stuff happens is because it is so stressful we just want to get it behind us and forget about it. The companies have no accountability and can just chuck it off to a bad incident and so sorry.

Oh, and pain and suffering for my sil due to his injury of several weeks which also, shall we say, hampered their honeymoon, $2,000. Oh yeah, tell me about how the little guy is ripping off the insurance companies.

Aargh.

[Broken_Hero]

34. *hugz*

I know what you mean...it took us...hmm, accident on the 2nd of febuary, and we finally got our money in the first part of July...four months...it sucked. We got the mini van, through a bank loan, and had payments coming outta our ears over that, and then, when engine started failing, we werre screwed...cause we didn't have any more collateral to get anofther loan from the bank...so, it was, stressful..I am so glad its over with

[sandnsea]

35. I wonder if that's common now?

It never used to take that long, I wonder if dragging it out is just the way they do it now. Wear you down so you'll just take any old thing they offer. Sorry about all your problems. Some days I think we should go back to horses. Although they're as expensive as cars these days.

So I got a new to me car last year too. Really nice condition, not a scratch on it. Two weeks later, a shopping cart flies across the parking lot and dings the front fender. A month later, the back door gets left slightly open, and somehow catches our pick-up as we take off; and so now there's a ding in the door too. I can not win for losin'!! Ah, such is life.

[Broken_Hero]

36. its crazy

my wife has been in numerous accidents, none caused by her, and the insurance company, was EXCELLENT in those cases...but the one last year, it took ages. I think it was just a incompetent claim specialist.

[pitohui]

10. self-employed 20 some years -- and i DON'T advise this

it's volume of scale, have you ever had your own business? anything now that is profitable has been seized by the big corporation who can undercut the prices of what a real person needs to live

health care for myself as a self-employed -- my choice was to do w.out health insurance or to pay so high a price i could not make a profit

it's the domino's pizza model, did you know that in olden times when pitohui was but a bitty baby, then individuals could open their own pizza kitchens/delivery service and make a nice living?

then came domino's to knock the prices and profit out of the business, knowing that in the short term if the little guy can't make a profit he goes w/out food and his wife leaves him and his banker takes away his house

and at least pizza is something special, something an individual can make special thru their artistry and creativity in the kitchen

repairing a computer isn't creative, how it's done is how it's done, so if the big corp undercuts the little guy, the consumer is not even out anything

but asking people to start their own business now is asking them, quite often, to be willing to commit suicide for you, since health insurance costs just aren't there for new and sole proprietorships -- worse, it may be asking them to kill a family member who ends up being denied medicine

i would never tell anyone today to start their own business, honestly i'm sorry i did and got trapped on this road because now i am unemployable in any "real" job w. benefits

[cdsilv]

14. I try to patronize 'local' mechanics w/franchises.....

...recently bought a used car from my local NAPA mechanic. Matt owns the business but is franchised by NAPA. He's gone 'above and beyond' to keep my business. I've experienced this with other local mechanics - they can be quite good, but you do have to know how to see through their bullsh*t.

I grew up working on cars, and my brother is a professional mechanic (ASE certified in just about everything), so when I get an 'iffy' estimate, I have someone to call for a sanity check.

As for WM, I try to buy at local biz, or someone like winn-dixie, but end up at WM for things I can't find elsewhere - at least its cheap.

Yeah, I can pay more for some things, and do sometimes. But I do get p*ssed off when someone tries to
charge me a 300-400% markup.

[Sherman A1]

17. I got a great local mechanic shop

and they really take care of my truck. Things are done in a timely fashion, they let me know what to expect next in the routine maintenance line (back brakes are good for about 2 more oil changes, etc) and are generally good guys. Talk a bit of politics with the owner, who answers the phone and runs the register. Never had a problem with them... Dealerships on the other hand.... Well......

[lonestarnot]

18. Hybrid warranties are not good if the vehicle is serviced any

place but a dealership.

[blogslut]

20. I fix my own computer

n/t

[RB TexLa]

23. And what if the some of the small companies you are advocating

are successful and become big companies? Are they then automatically evil and bad?

[The Straight Story]

29. Cause we ain't the evil Amish :) (nt)

[LeftyMom]

38. Depends

For groceries or something I'll go local. My mechanic is local and fantastic, though it took ages to find one I'm happy with. Clothes I buy some combination of used and local, chain stores and mail order, depending on what I need and where I can find it.

Bob's computer and live bait is overpriced and thier stuff is outdated. For that kind of thing I'll go to a chain store. I can do most desktop repairs and they'll just ship my laptop back to the manufacturer for any significant repair the same as the little guy would.