Brand loyalty?

[brett]

No brand loyalty whatsoever.

We both buy and the basis of value....price and perceived quality. Definitely a mix of store brands and name brands depending on the product.

 

[Dash man]

Apple for iPhones and Laptops.
Kirkland brands are pretty reliably good quality.
Hellman’s mayonnaise
USAA for insurance and banking
WaWa for convenience stores

 

[Time2]

I don't know that I had brand loyalty, but I certainly lost any loyalty I had today. I went into Joanne Fabrics, I needed 6 pieces of felt. 2 pcs 14.5" and 4 pieces 18.5" long. it comes as 6ft long. They would not cut it, they would only cut me one piece 103" long. Now I'm stuck trying to make 6 parallel cuts 6 times with 5" scissors. I'm thinking about returning it for a refund and going into the store 6 times for the six items I need. Arrgh!

 

[euro]

I'll always try store brand first. If I don't like it, then I go with a brand (very rare). Off hand, I can think of only Coke/Pepsi as an example. I don't much care which one (Coke or Pepsi), but I have never had a generic that I liked. That said, I buy carbonated, sweetened beverages maybe once or twice a year, so I'm not a big market influencer there...

As far as cars, I do tend to be brand loyal once I find one that I like (Subarus and Toyotas for the last 20 years, before that mostly Fords), but there aren't really any "generic" choices. For consumer electronics, we are an Apple family all the way.

 

[euro]

... speaking of generics, back in my student days (early 80-ies, grad school), we had a generics-only grocery store in Seattle where EVERYTHING was generic and labelled with a bright yellow label and sold at steep discount. Odd store - all yellow (see example in link below). Can't recall the name of the store or whether it is still around, but I do recall shopping there often - especially for cigarettes which went for 8o cents a pack (at that time a pack of Marlboros went for 2+ bucks).... fortunately, I quit smoking shortly afterwards, but at the time I had a 2 pack a day habit


https://imgur.com/aEkQBfx

 

[mystang52]

adding to my other post, how could I forget: IBC Diet Root Beer (Diet Stewart's is 2nd). Not that it matters; per another of my posts, I haven't been able to get either one in months So, right now I'm surviving on generic store brand of Diet Root Beer.

 

[Koolau]

I am pretty [-]cheap[/-] thrifty and use generics or house brands for almost everything, but there are a few that just have no equal:

Saran Wrap. I have never found another brand that does not reduce me to tears or cursing. Or both.

Windex. Don't know why, but everything else leaves streaks.

Peanut butter: I have found some that are OK when freshly opened, but if you want consistency, it has to be Jif or Peter Pan or Skippy. Next time we go to Europe, I'm bringing some.

Heh, heh, we tried taking PB on a flight (carry on) and it was considered a liquid - so be sure to put in checked luggage (we never check luggage any more, so that's how we got stuck.) YMMV

 

[Venturer]

... speaking of generics, back in my student days (early 80-ies, grad school), we had a generics-only grocery store in Seattle where EVERYTHING was generic and labelled with a bright yellow label and sold at steep discount. Odd store - all yellow (see example in link below). Can't recall the name of the store or whether it is still around, but I do recall shopping there often - especially for cigarettes which went for 8o cents a pack (at that time a pack of Marlboros went for 2+ bucks).... fortunately, I quit smoking shortly afterwards, but at the time I had a 2 pack a day habit


https://imgur.com/aEkQBfx

You made me think of my days in the mid-70's to 80's when I smoked. I was a "local" truck driver but occasionally would be sent to NC to pick up a product. When I would go several of my buddies would ask me to pick up a carton or two of cigarettes'. At home they were some where around .8o to.90 a pack but I could get a carton for .25 to .40 a pack according to brand. One day one of the "longhaul" drivers was out sick and the ask me to take his load to Upstate NY, I didn't take any extra smokes so I stopped in a truckstop to buy a pack. They were $2.20 a pack so I left saying that was ridiculous I quit b4 paying that for smokes. I ended up paying that and more b4 I finally quit my 2pack a day habit as well.

 

[calmloki]

... speaking of generics, back in my student days (early 80-ies, grad school), we had a generics-only grocery store in Seattle where EVERYTHING was generic and labelled with a bright yellow label and sold at steep discount. Odd store - all yellow (see example in link below). Can't recall the name of the store or whether it is still around, but I do recall shopping there often - especially for cigarettes which went for 8o cents a pack (at that time a pack of Marlboros went for 2+ bucks).... fortunately, I quit smoking shortly afterwards, but at the time I had a 2 pack a day habit

https://imgur.com/aEkQBfx

Ahh the 80's generic fad. Repo man was full of generics - "heat it up son" "it doesn't get any better than this Ma". The generic store scene, in which bad words are used. Golly.

 

[Boose]

Ahh the 80's generic fad. Repo man was full of generics - "heat it up son" "it doesn't get any better than this Ma". The generic store scene, in which bad words are used. Golly.

One of my favorite movies!

 

[Boho]

For certain products, proven reliability is the most important consideration, but I also really like companies that stand behind their products. My Nite Ize flashlight died after a few years of light use and I just had to fill out their online form and tell them the approximate date of purchase and where I bought it and they're sending me their improved version. I ordered a different brand to replace it before I contacted Nite Ize but luckily the other brand has a swivel head and Nite Ize has a lantern mode so they serve different purposes. I also like an adjustable beam which neither has, but anyway, I think Nite Ize is a reasonable brand to be loyal to if they have the kind of product you want.

 

[mystang52]

I'm pretty sure they made a mistake, but Mattress Firm gave us a great credit for our warranty claim. My wife's 9 year old mattress popped a spring, or something - it didn't penetrate the mattress cover, and the mattress was otherwise usable.
We had a 10 year warranty. I figured they'd give us a virtually worthless pro-rata credit. Nope, full original purchase price of $550 credit. DW got new mattress and we were out of pocket about $400. Sure glad I had saved the original receipt!

 

[Koolau]

For certain products, proven reliability is the most important consideration, but I also really like companies that stand behind their products.

<SNIP>

I'm pretty sure they made a mistake, but Mattress Firm gave us a great credit for our warranty claim.

<SNIP>

There seem to be two kinds of warrantee these days. Warranties offered because the company believes they will rarely need to make good on it because there product is so good. The other is to encourage you to buy the product, even though you doubt its reliability OR think it is overpriced. In many cases, the company counts on you getting rid of its product before ever making a claim.

Case in point: I was traveling by car and the orig. muffler went out. I was in a hurry so stopped at Midas. Their charge seemed ridiculously high, BUT I was in a big hurry AND they said the warrantee was for the life of the car. I stuffed the warrantee in the glove box. I kept the car for 16 years total. I got two more Midas mufflers - free from the warrantee. I'm guessing they didn't figure on folks keeping their cars that long.

Rest of the story is: The last "free" muffler, they tried to charge me for labor (IIRC). I pointed out I had a life time warrantee. They said, "Oh, we only warrant for the parts now" (or whatever - I forget the exact circumstances.) I showed them the original warrantee and they agreed that I owed nothing. Apparently, their warrantee program had changed as folks began keeping their cars for longer periods of time. YMMV

 

[foxfirev5]

With all the cross branding and outsourcing I'm less inclined to have much brand loyalty. We're currently in a 25 year replacement phase of an HVAC system. Our personal preference in the past has been Lennox but we're getting several prices.

Our close dryer , a Maytag only 9 yo, is dying but I'm inclined to go cheaper since the name brand didn't fair too well for two people.

On the other hand our oldest DS wrecked his Escape colliding with a deer so we sold him our 2015 Equinox. Our replacement is a new 2021 Toyota RAV4. After the luck we've had with our 2005 Lexus ES330 it was a no brainer.

 

[Koolau]

With all the cross branding and outsourcing I'm less inclined to have much brand loyalty. We're currently in a 25 year replacement phase of an HVAC system. Our personal preference in the past has been Lennox but we're getting several prices.

Our close dryer , a Maytag only 9 yo, is dying but I'm inclined to go cheaper since the name brand didn't fair too well for two people.

On the other hand our oldest DS wrecked his Escape colliding with a deer so we sold him our 2015 Equinox. Our replacement is a new 2021 Toyota RAV4. After the luck we've had with our 2005 Lexus ES330 it was a no brainer.

It's unfortunate that companies that earned a reputation as reliable are often-times no longer reliable. We were convinced that our various appliances which lasted 30 years meant the company was reliable. Well, they WERE, but not any more. I wonder if ANY of the major appliance companies now offer a product likely to work for 10 years or more - I doubt it. YMMV