ShyLinuxGuy

January 07, 2011 at 11:17am

Basically *all* cell phone carriers should be the most hated companies in America. Personally, I hate them more than the money-hungry oil companies (which aren't all to blame for high gas prices; you can thank our OPEC countries too)--BUT, unless you want to go the pay-as-you-go route (and who wants to do that), a cell phone bill averages $50-75 on the LOW end. And then they want to charge you an early termination fee that is VERY prohibitive--like $300 or $500. My sister went through Verizon, and her phone became stolen. She placed an order for a new phone, and they claimed they never received the order. My sister got the runaround, and finally decided to cancel due to POOR SERVICE. They had the audacity to send her a bill for $300 for an early termination fee. I am a strong believer, contract or not, that a consumer should have the right to cancel future purchases of products or services if he/she becomes dissatisfied with either the product or service, without being penalized. Which is why I do not have a cell phone plan! Cell phone contracts and ETFs would be like if Costco decided to make you pay a montly fee of $200 per month for membership rights for ONE YEAR. Let's just say Sam's Club had better deals and you want to switch. You can't, unless you wanted to pay a $1000 ETF!

Dell--I've been there, done that. Had bought an Inspiron 1525 my sophomore year. Towards the end of my junior year (last year), it had that infamous Nvidia chip problem where the laptop would lose video.

Comcast--*ALWAYS* have heard negative comments about Comcast.

Best Buy--Well, I avoid the "helpful" customer service people trying to help you make a purchase BECAUSE THEY KNOW NOTHING. I go in to get a spindle of DVD-RWs, and they act like I'm in the showroom looking to buy a Mercedes. So, I firmly say, I need no assistance, get my goods, pay, and promptly exit. 

McDonalds--Obvious. Squished dollar-menu hamburgers, very salty fries. Restrooms that smell of urine. Sticky tables (though who sits inside and has a meal in a McDonald's???)

Toyota--seems popular here in W. Washington. My mom had a 2001 Avalon that was good until it gave her many problems, particularly with the transmission, within the third year since it has been bought new. We've been Honda buyers since then. I have a 2003 Acura RSX that has given me NO problems, and my mom seems pretty happy with her 2006 Accord. My dad is a Ford guy, though (2004 Ford F-150...).

bling581

January 07, 2011 at 10:57am

Not surprising at all. I've learned the hard way that AT&T sucks. Lucky for me I don't shop at Best Buy most of the time but I've heard many stories from burned customers.

mls067

January 07, 2011 at 10:56am

I have to agree on comcast not making it. My mother-inlaw works there (she has for 25 years, before comcast bought out the local comapny) and she cannot believe how bad they treat customers. They actually force her to treat customers bad and if she wasn't so close to retirement she would have left as soon as they took over.

someuid

January 07, 2011 at 8:55am

From the header of the article:

Douglas A. McIntyre, Michael B. Sauter, and Ashley C. Allen are editors of 24/7 Wall St., a Delaware-based financial news and opinion operation that produces content for sites including MarketWatch, DailyFinance, Yahoo! Finance, and TheStreet.com.

This is an opinion piece of 3 people.  Take this with a huge ancient seabed of salt.

blackzarg

January 07, 2011 at 7:47am

Surprised Dish Network made it but not Comcast!