The Consumerist: Worst Company in America 2012

[Taylor]

The Consumerist, which is probably my favorite blog, hosts an annual "Worst Company in America" contest. This gives consumers an opportunity to vote on truly terrible business practices. Predictably, airlines and telecoms frequently make the final four, but last year BP stole the top spot following the gulf oil spill, edging out a narrow victory over Bank of America.

Round One is complete. Start voting in round 2 (i.e., the Sweet 16).

Please Join Us In Welcoming Your Worst Company In America 2012 Sweet 16! - The Consumerist

 

[Hunters' Moon]

My pick for worst company in America would be WalMart because I work there and know how things are done in that company. The business practices toward employees are awful. In one interview with a former WalMart CEO,it was stated that he,the CEO,saw no problem with the store-level employee having to depend on food stamps and government handouts. I'll have to find that vid to show it to people here. It was a serious foot-in-mouth moment for the former CEO.

Edit: This isn't the vid I wanted to share first,but it gives a prime example of how WalMart treats their employees.

[youtube]3h1PB9TIpQk&feature=related[/youtube]​

 

[Vlaude]

Comcast gets my vote. I was with them last year and they are so shady. I switched over to CenturyLink and haven't looked back. Gamestop and EA are up there on my list too (EA because of their CS mostly, not their products), but waaaaaaay below Comcast.

 

[Taylor]

Comcast actually won in 2010. Frankly, I can't believe Verizon was knocked out so quickly. It has my vote for worst.

 

[Triberius]

My pick for worst company in America would be WalMart because I work there and know how things are done in that company. The business practices toward employees are awful. In one interview with a former WalMart CEO,it was stated that he,the CEO,saw no problem with the store-level employee having to depend on food stamps and government handouts. I'll have to find that vid to show it to people here. It was a serious foot-in-mouth moment for the former CEO.

I'm with you on this one. Here's a good report on the subject.

Key Studies on Wal-Mart and Big-Box Retail | The New Rules Project

And a few select quotes from it.

California taxpayers are spending $86 million a year providing healthcare and other public assistance to the state's 44,000 Wal-Mart employees....

The average Wal-Mart worker requires $730 in taxpayer-funded healthcare and $1,222 in other forms of assistance, such as food stamps and subsidized housing.

Even compared to other retailers, Wal-Mart imposes an especially large burden on taxpayers. Wal-Mart workers earn 31 percent less than the average for workers at large retail companies and require 39 percent more in public assistance.

Part of the problem are the politicians that work to protect companies that are notoriously burdening the tax payers, and the media that caters to them. Wasn't just a year or so ago they were trying to say having a refrigerator is a luxury? And if you have one you aren't really "poor"?

 

[Taylor]

The Elite Eight have been announced.

Bank of America vs. Ticket Master
PayPal vs. Wal-Mart
AT&T vs. Facebook
Comcast vs. Electronic Arts

 

[Shelra]

My pick for worst company in America would be WalMart because I work there and know how things are done in that company. The business practices toward employees are awful. In one interview with a former WalMart CEO,it was stated that he,the CEO,saw no problem with the store-level employee having to depend on food stamps and government handouts. I'll have to find that vid to show it to people here. It was a serious foot-in-mouth moment for the former CEO.

Edit: This isn't the vid I wanted to share first,but it gives a prime example of how WalMart treats their employees.

[youtube]3h1PB9TIpQk&feature=related[/youtube]​

I watched this vid and did I hear right.... "This woman won a million dollar suit AFTER paying her lawyers 53 MILLION..........."??? Also Hunter, I'd be interested in seeing that vid on the CEO if you ever find it, thank you

 

[Hunters' Moon]

I watched this vid and did I hear right.... "This woman won a million dollar suit AFTER paying her lawyers 53 MILLION..........."??? Also Hunter, I'd be interested in seeing that vid on the CEO if you ever find it, thank you

The news reporter misquoted. She won a million then had to pay her lawyer 530k.

Edit: This is the first part of the video that will cover how walmart runs their company. I am not sure which part the interview is found. I am off tomorrow,so I'll be able to dig through the movie to find it.

[youtube]P6AgKG-f4Tw[/youtube]​

 

[kelmo]

I worked for a big chain eatery... I made pretty good money. It all went south when the vultures were hired to squeeze it a bit more. Seriously, Outback hired on several new levels of management to think about ways to squeeze more dollars out of the folks they had hired. Cut hours and wages , increase productivity of the hourly folk to justify the salary of people sitting around thinking of ways to be productive.

 

[Vlaude]

It would be funny to see EA in the final four, but there's no way they're taking down Comcast.

 

[kelmo]

Never thought I would see EA where it is. Never say never.

 

[Vlaude]

Wal-Mart will most likely make it past PayPal, but it's a long shot for them to beat Ticket Master. Wal-Mart is essentially trying to become the Ticket Master of convenient goods and services, but they have much more competition in their field of business, which makes them less evil in the eyes of consumers.

 

[Vlaude]

Well, I'm done trying to predict this thing. EA has beaten all of its opponents in landslides so far. I'd say BofA should win, but I didn't have them getting past ticketmaster.

 

[Taylor]

Wow. I didn't think it was possible to beat Comcast. At this point, I'm thinking EA may go all the way.

But all of these competitors might fall victim to this year's rookie juggernaut, Electronic Arts. Though it gets very little attention from the mainstream press, the video game publisher is notorious for buying then destroying smaller companies, gouging customers on game prices and then tacking on costly (and occasionally worthless) downloadable content and generally making the whole gaming experience more expensive and less entertaining.

 

[Vlaude]

Wow. I didn't think it was possible to beat Comcast. At this point, I'm thinking EA may go all the way.

EA has won each round by more than 30%, including over Comcast...

 

[Hunters' Moon]

I put $100 on WalMart to win it all. WalMart vs BoA? I bet BoA has a much better average pay for it's employees and better benefits as well.

 

[Taylor]

I put $100 on WalMart to win it all. WalMart vs BoA? I bet BoA has a much better average pay for it's employees and better benefits as well.

This is true. Then again, BoA is horrible to consumers (speaking as an ex-customer). Both of them deserve to be in the final four.

 

[Hunters' Moon]

This is true. Then again, BoA is horrible to consumers (speaking as an ex-customer). Both of them deserve to be in the final four.

Are the companies only being graded on how the customer is treated? Or how the companies treat everyone? There are two WalMarts. The one that customers see and the one that the employee see.

 

[Taylor]

Are the companies only being graded on how the customer is treated? Or how the companies treat everyone? There are two WalMarts. The one that customers see and the one that the employee see.

I think it's all done through votes, so let's see how many Wal-Mart employees vote. XD

 

[Vlaude]

I put $100 on WalMart to win it all. WalMart vs BoA? I bet BoA has a much better average pay for it's employees and better benefits as well.

This is only looking at one factor though. Wal-Mart may not treat their employees well, but they offer cheap goods to consumers. People also blame them for shutting down smaller businesses. They barely beat PayPal, by less than 2% of the votes. But there is no way I'd bet against them either, this contest has been crazy enough already.

 

[Vlaude]

I didn't look up how they decided on the original 32 businesses, but I'm surprised Microsoft wasn't included.

 

[Taylor]

I think they choose the initial 32 based on how much they write about the company during the year. Lots of complaints/stories on the Consumerist or in the news can earn a company a spot. That's how BP won last year.

 

[Triberius]

I didn't look up how they decided on the original 32 businesses, but I'm surprised Microsoft wasn't included.

Microsoft lands on list of world's “most ethical” companies

Microsoft got onto that list instead.

 

[Vlaude]

Microsoft lands on list of world's “most ethical” companies

Microsoft got onto that list instead.

So did Best Buy and Target, which were both in this contest. But Syrus' explanation made sense.

 

[Taylor]

Finals!

 

[Vlaude]

The best part is the likely outcome of either company winning will result in complete indifference.

 

[Taylor]

I read that on some official EA forum, EA suspended a user who posted about the WCIA 2012 result. Outstanding.

*Edit: Found the story: Mentioning Worst Company In America In EA Forum Is Apparently A Terms Of Service Violation - The Consumerist

 

[Cirno]

Classy.

Really, though, EA are getting a bit of a raw deal.
Not only are gamers outspoken (and somewhat highly strung), but EA are the largest publisher of games on platforms that go hand-in-hand with the internet.

Not to say they mightn't deserve a bit of bad press, but they mightn't deserve it as much as some of the other companies (EA publish entertainment products, Banks deal with peoples' "means").

 

[Taylor]

Over 250,000 votes were cast in the final round of voting. The results are in: EA is officially 2012's Worst Company in America. Second place was awarded to Bank of America. AT&T placed third.

Read the story here: The Voters Have Spoken: EA Is Your Worst Company In America For 2012! - The Consumerist.

 

[kelmo]

 

[Taylor]

Usually when we announce the winner of the annual Worst Company In America tournament, the victor chooses to quietly reflect on their triumph rather than make a public comment. But not this year's champ, Electronic Arts, which has responded to being voted the WCIA winner by hinting that it's not as bad as other companies.

Read more: EA Responds To Worst Company Win By Name-Dropping Past Worst Company Winners - The Consumerist

 

[Ron Silverbeard]

Funny Americans...me as European would have voted every single credit rating company to be epic winners of the worst Companies of the UNIVERSE 2010 to 2012
realy poor...standard's and poor to say...or something...

And i realy wonder McDonald's didnt show at the Top 30....i miss alot of other companies too...guess they payed their bills early enough to not be choosable

rofl

 

[Vlaude]

So let's see. They beat a producer of consumer electronics, a retailer of consumer electronics, an internet service provider, a phone company, and finally a bank all by an average of ~42.6%. About 36% if you don't include the first round.

 

[Hunters' Moon]

Seeing WalMart "lose" this tourney is baffling....

 

[fengzi597]

Definitly EA. What a greedy company!