It may have been tongue-in-cheek, but I agree it's super off-topic.
Anything is possible, Brandon Olivares Law of Attraction Coach - www.CoCreationCoaching.org <https://www.cocreationcoaching.org/> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cocreationcoaching <https://www.facebook.com/cocreationcoaching> Twitter: https://twitter.com/coachcocreation <https://twitter.com/coachcocreation> > On Feb 1, 2018, at 8:06 PM, Christopher Chaltain <[email protected]> wrote: > > Wow, talk about bait and switch! I was expecting to see Apple listed as one > of the 20 most hated companies when in fact it was just mentioned as a > company that uses Foxconn manufactured components. Not only was that pretty > misleading hype to get me to read this article, it's also really stretching > the on topicness of this post! This was all said tongue in cheek! > > > I'm wondering how many people will respond without reading the article > claiming how unfair it is that Apple gets on such a list. > > > I was also expecting to see Samsung on the list due to it's Note 7 fiasco. > > > On 02/01/2018 06:33 PM, M. Taylor wrote: >> Hello All, >> >> Because Apple is mentioned, I am posting the following article. >> >> Mark >> >> America's Top 20 most-hated companies, USA Today >> By Samuel Stebbins, Evan Comen, Michael B. Sauter and Charles Stockdale, >> 24/7 Wall Street, >> >> A company can live or die by its reputation. >> Year after year, the vast majority of familiar companies and brands maintain >> - or build - their bond with the American consumer by offering dependable >> products and services and by cultivating a clean image. >> >> Maintaining the public's confidence is not a foregone conclusion. A single >> misstep - such as a price hike or tone-deaf tweet - can be enough to keep >> corporate public relations departments scrambling. >> >> In other cases, corporate blunders rise above the threshold of an honest >> mistake. Public perceptions of an internal scandal, a toxic work >> environment, lax security, or unethical business practices can be enough to >> garner disdain from a large segment of American consumers - and in recent >> months there was no shortage of such revelations in the business world. >> >> Reviewing a range of information, including major news events from the last >> year, customer survey results from the American Customer Satisfaction Index, >> employee reviews on Glassdoor, as well as our own annual customer >> satisfaction survey, 24/7 Wall St. identified America's most hated >> companies. >> >> Many companies on this list are struggling with discrete incidents that may >> be remedied with time and + strategic public relations campaigns. For >> others, problems appear much more deeply ingrained within the company's >> culture or business model. >> >> 20. >> The Weinstein Company >> Once the darling of the American independent film movement in the 1990s, and >> the producer or distributor of over 80 Oscar-winning films, Harvey Weinstein >> is now one of the mosted hated public figures in the United States. >> Weinstein has been engulfed in controversy since an October 2017 New York >> Times expose revealed multiple accounts of sexual abuse committed by the >> disgraced movie mogul. Since the story was published, dozens of other sexual >> assault victims have spoken out against Weinstein. >> Much of the public outrage over the growing scandal has been directed at The >> Weinstein Company's leadership, which may have been complicit in Weinstein's >> actions. One complaint filed with the U.S. District Court in the Southern >> District of New York alleges that the company knowingly enabled the criminal >> behavior of its co-founder Weinstein. The board of TWC fired Weinstein three >> days after the Times' expose, after several board members had stepped down >> themselves. The Weinstein Company will likely be forced to completely >> rebrand or dissolve as a corporate entity. >> >> 19. >> United Airlines >> The video of a passenger being forcibly removed from his seat on an >> overbooked United Airlines flight went viral last year, sparking outrage >> across the country and triggering a public relations crisis for the >> Chicago-based company. United's handling of the incident only made matters >> worse as many perceived CEO Oscar Munoz's apology as half hearted and >> dismissive. >> United's stock dropped 4% in the days following the incident, wiping as much >> as $1 billion off the company's market value. The company has since made >> considerable efforts to regain investor and customer confidence. Munoz >> announced measures that include increased monetary incentives to leave an >> overbooked flight, reduced overbooking, additional employee training, and >> reduced paperwork for lost luggage reimbursement. Still, the company ranks >> near the bottom among airlines for customer service. United Airlines scored >> a 70 out of 100 on the 2017 American Customer Satisfaction Index, well below >> the average score of 75 among U.S.-based airline companies. >> >> 18. >> Facebook >> Since the 2016 presidential election, Facebook has been scrutinized by >> lawmakers and media outlets for acting as a medium for fake ads and news >> designed to be incendiary and divisive. While initially downplaying its >> role, in mid-2017 Facebook's chief security officer made public that the >> company was paid some $100,000 for ads connected to 470 inauthentic Facebook >> pages that were likely operated out of Russia. A Facebook official also >> noted that the vast majority of these ads appeared aimed at amplifying >> political and social divisions - often specifically targeting Muslims and >> the Black Lives Matter movement. In a reversal of his position from one year >> prior, in September 2017 Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg pledged to make it >> much harder for such manipulation to occur on the social media platform. >> Currently, American consumers are relatively dissatisfied with Facebook. The >> company has a score of 68 out of 100 on the ACSI scale, nearly the lowest of >> any social media platform and well below the industry average of 73. >> >> 17. >> -CenturyLink >> Telecom company CenturyLink is one of the largest internet and telephone >> service providers in the United States. It is also one of the most widely >> disliked in an industry of companies with poor reputations. The company's >> ACSI score of 59 for its internet service is among the worst of any company >> in any industry. In the customer service poll commissioned with Zogby, >> nearly 43% of respondents reported a negative customer service experience, >> one of the largest shares of any major company. >> In addition to low customer satisfaction, CenturyLink receives a subpar >> rating from employees - less than half of all workers submitting reviews on >> Glassdoor would recommend the company to a friend. Employee satisfaction may >> fall even further in near future. In early January 2018, the company >> announced it was suspending merit-based raises for all employees. >> >> 16. >> Monsanto >> Few companies have garnered as much public ire as Monsanto, or for as long. >> Over the past century, the company has been behind some unambiguously >> harmful chemical products, including DDT, PCBs, and Agent Orange - a >> herbicide used extensively in Vietnam that has been blamed for 400,000 >> deaths and half a million birth defects. The use of DDT and PCBs was banned >> in the 1970s. Many also take issue with the company's production of >> genetically modified organism seeds, or GMOs. >> Capping off a long rap sheet of chemical products that have posed grave >> public health threats, Monsanto is the subject of a class-action lawsuit >> alleging that exposure to the company's popular weed killer, Roundup, caused >> cancer in hundreds of consumers. While the National Cancer Institute >> recently announced that the product is not conclusively carcinogenic, >> California is fighting to require cancer warnings to be printed on the weed >> killer. >> >> 15. >> Comcast >> The industries in which Comcast works - internet service, subscription >> television service, and fixed-line telephone service - are hotbeds for >> customer dissatisfaction. Yet Comcast does even worse than its competitors. >> On the American Customer Satisfaction Index, consumers rate Comcast just 60 >> out of 100 for its internet service, 58 out of 100 for its subscription >> television service, and 65 out of 100 for its fixed-line telephone service - >> lower than the industry averages of 64, 64, and 70, respectively. >> Comcast's poor standing is not a recent development. The company was rated >> America's most hated last year, based on similar metrics. Some 47% of >> customers who responded to 24/7 Wall St. and Zogby's customer satisfaction >> survey reported a negative experience with the company - the largest share >> among all companies considered. The company was forced to pay a $2.3 million >> fine in 2016 over allegations that it charged customers for unauthorized >> services and equipment. >> >> 14. >> Uber >> Few companies had a worse year in 2017 than ride sharing app Uber. An essay >> published by former Uber employee Susan Fowler in mid-February detailed a >> prevailing culture of sexism and sexual harassment at the company. Less than >> a month later, a video of then company CEO Travis Kalanick getting into an >> argument an Uber driver surfaced, prompting him to make a public apology. >> Uber also faced a number of lawsuits in 2017, including one filed by >> Alphabet, Google's parent company, for alleged theft of intellectual >> property related to self-driving car technology. As a result of the myriad >> of lawsuits and investigations into sexual harassment, 13 company executives >> resigned in the first half of 2017 alone, including the June departure of >> Kalanick. >> The company's trouble's did not end with Kalanick's departure. A Wall Street >> Journal article published in September revealed the company is the subject >> of an FBI investigation for illegally interfering with rival company Lyft. >> Later that month, the company lost its license to operate in London due to a >> lack of corporate responsibility. >> >> 13. >> Sears Holdings >> Over one-third of respondents in a Zogby's poll conducted in partnership >> with 24/7 Wall St. reported a negative customer experience with Sears, one >> of the largest shares of any company. Sears also has one of the lowest >> customer satisfaction scores of any department store in the ACSI. Consumers >> rate Sears just 77 out of 100, lower than any department store other than >> Ross and Walmart. Sears' falling sales are another indication of the >> company's declining popularity among consumers. The company reported $22.1 >> billion in sales in fiscal 2017, less than half its $53.0 billion revenue in >> 2007. The number of Sears and Kmart stores - both owned by Sears Holdings - >> in the United States fell from 3,467 to less than 1,300 over that time, and >> the company plans to close over 100 more stores through the spring of 2018. >> More: Workplace fatalities: 25 most dangerous jobs in America >> Declining revenue and imminent store closures likely do little to boost >> employee morale. Only 33% of Kmart employees and 28% of Sears employees >> would recommend the job to a friend, according to Glassdoor reviews. >> >> 12. >> The Trump Organization >> Donald Trump is the least popular president in the history of the United >> States - at least at this point in his presidency. Trump's approval rating >> sat at only 35% at the end of December. Before Trump, the lowest approval >> rating of any president one year into his term was Ronald Reagan's 49%. For >> many of the majority of Americans who disapprove of the president, anything >> bearing the Trump name is equally disliked. >> The commander in chief is also the former head of The Trump Organization, a >> conglomerate controlling golf courses, a hotel chain, international real >> estate investment, and a winery. The company is now under the microscope of >> Democratic lawmakers. Earlier this year, 17 Democratic members of the >> Oversight and Government Reform Committee signed a letter addressed to the >> panel's Republican chairman urging the organization to further investigate >> potential conflicts of interest between Trump's corporate interests and his >> obligations as a public servant. >> >> 11. >> Wells Fargo >> Following revelations that bank employees created millions of fake accounts >> without customers' knowledge in an effort to meet quotas handed down from >> the top, John Stumpf stepped down as Wells Fargo's CEO in 2016. The >> company's problems related to the scandal did not stop there. In mid-2017, >> the bank revealed that the fraud was more pervasive than initially thought, >> and that employees may have created as many as 3.5 million accounts, up from >> the 2.1 million reported in 2016. >> Compounding the public relations crisis, the bank was also found to have >> charged over half a million customers for car insurance they did not ask for >> and did not need. As many as 20,000 of those customers may have had their >> vehicles impounded for defaulting on the unnecessary insurance charges. >> Further, in October 2017 news broke that the bank charged over 100,000 >> customers late fees on mortgage payments when the delays were in fact the >> fault of the bank. Wells Fargo ranks as the worst American bank with a >> rating of just 74 out of 100 on the American Customer Satisfaction Index - >> well below the 81 industry average. >> >> 10. >> Cigna >> Few industries are as widely detested as the insurance industry, and >> American consumers appear to dislike health insurance giant Cigna the most. >> In a Zogby poll commissioned by 24/7 Wall St., some 34% of respondents >> reported a negative customer experience with Cigna - the largest share of >> any other company in the industry. Additionally, the company scored only 66 >> out of 100 on the American Customer Satisfaction Index, well below every >> other American health insurance company. >> Allegations of fraud do not help the company's public image. In recent >> years, Cigna has been the subject of multiple lawsuits alleging the company >> artificially inflated medical costs, causing some customers to pay as much >> as 10 times the true cost of their medical services. Even many of the >> company's own employees are dissatisfied. Negative employee reviews on >> Glassdoor regularly cite inadequate health insurance benefits. >> >> 9. >> Spirit Airlines >> Because flying can often be stressful, many airlines attempt to make the >> experience as comfortable as possible for their customers. Spirit Airlines >> follows a different philosophy, aiming to strip air travel down to its >> basics by ensuring no frills, inexpensive flights. >> This business model, however, is not always appreciated. Spirit has the >> absolute lowest customer satisfaction score among airlines, according to the >> ACSI, with a rating of 61 out of 100, compared to the industry average of >> 75. Additionally, 44.4% of respondents in the customer service poll >> commissioned with Zogby reported a negative experience with the company. >> This is the third largest share among all the companies considered. >> >> 8. >> Vice Media >> Known as a cutting-edge - and deliberately edgy - media organization largely >> aimed at the millennial market, Vice has been a disruptive force in the >> world of digital news content. Like a number of other better-established >> competing news organizations, including NBC and Fox, Vice has recently been >> embroiled in a public relations crisis due to allegations of systemic sexual >> harassment. >> A New York Times investigation published in late December 2017 uncovered >> multiple settlements in sexual harassment lawsuits dating back to 2003. The >> accounts detailed a toxic culture of sexism and sexual harassment, permitted >> and often carried out by senior members at the company. During the course of >> the Times' investigation and amid the company's own probe into the >> allegations, Vice fired three employees. The sexual misconduct outlined in >> the Times expose also led to the suspension of two senior executives - >> president Andrew Creighton and chief digital officer Mike Germano. >> >> 7. >> Sprint >> Some 44% of respondents in Zogby's poll conducted in partnership with 24/7 >> Wall St. reported a negative customer experience with Sprint - the fifth >> largest share among the 150 companies included in the survey. This is a >> higher share than all other mobile telephone companies surveyed such as >> AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon Wireless. >> Poor customer experiences are likely due in part to lackluster service. >> According to wireless network performance insight company RootMetrics, >> Sprint ranks behind all of its competitors in speed and data, and second to >> last in calling, texting, and overall reliability. The company's customer >> service may be improving, however. According to data from the American >> Customer Satisfaction Index, satisfaction with Sprint has increased 4% from >> 2016 to 2017. >> >> 6. >> Foxconn Technology Group >> While the name Foxconn may not be as familiar as some of the other names on >> this list, the company is responsible for manufacturing and assembling >> consumer electronics for some of the biggest brands in the world, including >> Apple and Nintendo. The company captured the world's attention in the last >> decade with a series of employee suicides and suicide attempts that were >> apparently driven by poor working and living conditions on the company's >> compound in Shenzhen, China. In what most considered to be a tone-deaf >> response to the suicides, which were mostly carried out by workers throwing >> themselves from the building where they worked, the company installed safety >> nets. >> The company has recently made headlines once again in the United States. >> Currently, homeowners in Wisconsin are suing the company for improperly >> using eminent domain - the power to take private property for public use - >> to build a complex in Mount Pleasant. Foxconn wants to build the complex in >> an area where multiple homeowners will lose their land. By some estimates, >> the new complex will cost taxpayers and state and local governments $4.5 >> billion in road improvements and tax incentives for the company. >> >> 5. >> Electronic Arts >> Electronic Arts, or EA, has been making highly successful video games for >> decades. EA has produced dozens of wildly successful franchises, including >> "The Sims," "Battlefield," and "Need for Speed," and the annually-sold, >> fervently-purchased sports titles, Madden and FIFA. While it has helped >> shape the face of gaming, EA has also unfortunately earned a reputation as >> the industry's evil empire. There are many examples of EA buying up smaller >> studios or operations for a specific game and then either stripping the game >> of its originality or running the studio into the ground. >> The company added to its infamy recently during the early release days of >> the latest installment of another of its big franchises, "Star Wars >> Battlefront II." EA released an early access version of the game, and >> immediately drew widespread ire from gamers, who discovered that unlocking >> some of the more popular characters required over 40 hours of gameplay or >> spending hundreds on in-game purchases. The public outcry surrounding the >> perceived greed led the studio to temporarily suspend in-game purchases. >> >> 4. >> University of Phoenix >> The University of Phoenix is perhaps the most well-known for-profit college >> in the country. In recent years, the school's parent company, Apollo >> Education Group - as well as a number of other for-profit colleges - has >> been the subject of a series of state and federal investigations that allege >> the company used for their aggressive and deceptive recruiting, advertising, >> and financial aid practices. After alleging that the University of Phoenix >> preyed upon veterans with little chance of graduating in order to receive >> federal aid money, the Department of Defense briefly barred the school from >> recruiting on military bases. >> Negative perceptions of the University of Phoenix may be one factor >> contributing to the decline in enrollment at the school. In 2012 the >> university announced it would be closing 115 locations and laying off 800 >> employees - approximately 5% of its workforce. Between 2010 and 2017, >> student enrollment fell by 70%. The downsizing is likely doing little to >> boost employee morale. According to data obtained from Glassdoor, only 32% >> of University of Phoenix employees would recommend working at the school to >> a friend. >> >> 3. >> NFL >> Despite growing concerns and evidence, it has taken the NFL more than two >> decades to finally acknowledge the link between head injuries and their >> long-term effects - and to initiate concussion protocol policy. The NFL's >> conduct in this matter has garnered significant criticism from the American >> public. The growing politicization during games this season gave even more >> Americans a reason to dislike the organization. President Donald Trump >> tweeted in September 2017 that the league should fire or suspend players who >> kneel during the national anthem - a trend that started in 2016 by now >> unsigned quarterback Colin Kaepernick to raise awareness of racial >> inequality in the United States. The act of kneeling is itself >> controversial, garnering support from some who claim it is a protected form >> of free speech in support of a righteous cause, while others claim it is >> disrespectful to the flag. >> Though it remains the most popular professional sports league in the United >> States, the NFL's viewership dipped considerably in 2017, due in part to >> boycott movements driven by the kneeling controversy. Nationally televised >> games in the current season averaged only 15.1 million viewers, down from >> 16.6 million last season. >> >> 2. >> Fox Entertainment Group >> Fox Entertainment Group is the parent company of Fox News Channel, one of >> the most popular cable channels in the United States - and also one of the >> most divisive. The network has a blatant right-wing slant, and politically >> conservative Americans overwhelmingly comprise its viewer base. As a result, >> the media outlet is either ignored or disdained by a large share of >> Americans with left-leaning political beliefs. >> This past year, Fox may have estranged even more Americans. The company - >> like many others on this list - was embroiled in scandal in 2017. >> Revelations that Bill O'Reilly - then anchor of "The O'Reilly Factor," which >> was once the most popular news show on cable - had settled multiple sexual >> harassment allegations to the tune of $13 million led to the show's >> cancellation. Similar allegations of sexual misconduct led the late Fox News >> CEO and founder Roger Ailes to resign in 2016. >> >> 1. >> Equifax >> Consumer credit reporting agency Equifax became the target of one of the >> largest data breaches of all time last year. Between mid-May and July 2017, >> criminal hackers infiltrated the company's servers and accessed personal >> data - including driver's license numbers, Social Security numbers, and >> birthdays - of more than 145 million Americans, potentially exposing them to >> the threat of identity theft. >> Perhaps even more troubling than the security flaws exposed in the hack >> itself was the way the company handled it. Despite discovering the breach on >> July 29th, the company waited a month and half to make a public >> announcement. The public was further outraged when the company forced >> consumers to agree not to join a class-action lawsuit in order to see if >> their information was hacked. Lawmakers have yet to take action to reduce >> the likelihood of such incidents from happening again. >> >> Detailed findings and methodology >> >> To identify the most hated companies in America, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed a >> variety of metrics on customer service, employee satisfaction, and financial >> performance. We considered consumer surveys from a number of sources, >> including the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) and a Zogby >> Analytics poll created in partnership with 24/7 Wall St. We also reviewed >> employee satisfaction based on worker opinion scores on Glassdoor - this is >> not a Glassdoor commissioned report. We also accounted for current events >> that have impacted the public's perception of companies. For more on how >> this list was determined, click here. >> 24/7 Wall Street is a USA TODAY content partner offering financial news and >> commentary. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY. >> Originally Published 6:05 a.m. PST Feb. 1, 2018 >> Updated 52 minutes ago >> >> Original Article at: >> https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2018/02/01/bad-reputation-amer >> icas-top-20-most-hated-companies/1058718001/ >> >> >> > > -- > Christopher (CJ) > Chaltain at Gmail > > -- > The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. > > If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if > you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or > moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. > > Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: > [email protected]. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at > [email protected] > > The archives for this list can be searched at: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ > --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "VIPhone" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- The following information is important for all members of the V iPhone list. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. Your V iPhone list moderator is Mark Taylor. Mark can be reached at: [email protected]. Your list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at [email protected] The archives for this list can be searched at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/viphone. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
