Brand Loyalty: Tell us a story about switching brands.
 

I like to think I have no brand loyalty, but I do have severe brand preference most of the time. There are some things that I tend to be just brand loyal for sure. I only buy Hanes underwear and tshirts. I buy Levi's jeans and Intel processors.

Recently I have been trying to buy a digital voice recorder to replace the and Walmart had the for $34 on sale from $99.

I have always had an Olympus recorder going back to the Pearlcorder micro cassette days. It was a hard struggle for me to buy this Sony even though it was priced much cheaper than the that I wanted for $168.

It should work for my applications, but I found it rather strange that I like Sony's other media products, but I have never liked their voice recorders. If it wasn't the design of the unit, it was the software on it.

I'll be using it for the first application in a few hours. I've already done a test run, so it should suit my needs.

Share a story about how you switched brands or almost switched brands.

I'm not sure if you're only talking electronics, but the majority of the time, when I change brands from one I liked or worked well for me, it has a poor outcome. I completely screwed an entire pot of chili once just by changing brands of beans. Most times when I buy pants, I stick with one kind and when I change, people notice they don't look as nice.

There was one exception. I've always been a Windows/PC and Linux person, but I'm pondering changing to Mac for portable computing after exceptional experiences with both MacBook Air and a MacBook. The ease of use is amazing. But I just worry with some of the compatability with some of my school programs. I'm learning that I can run a virtual Windows Desktop on a Macbook, so I'm looking into it.

any kind of brand loyalty, from food to electronics and anything else

what happened to the beans?

Oh man, the beans were somewhat sweeter than the ones I use and it totally threw off the balance of the chili. There is cocoa powder, brown sugar, guinness, coffee and spices in it, so there is a very specific way that this chili tastes that people love (myself included) and if I change anything, it sucks. Even the canned tomatoes and stuff. The only thing that gets mixed up now is the peppers and the onions because you never know where they're coming from. People laugh when I get so specific about the ONE type of canned tomatoes and the ONE type of beans and the ONLY place that I'll buy the meat. It's a dish that I'm exceptionally proud of and any time I've tried to be non-brand conscious or more frugal (it's around $40/batch), it's had disasterous results. Who wants sweet chili?

I just got my first macbook pro a week ago after being a lifelong pc person. I have to admit, I'm pretty pleased with the switch.

I too was worried about being able to run PC apps. I downloaded and installed a copy of VirtualBox and installed an old copy of XP I had. Seems to be working just fine. I'm going to try installing SAS on it this evening.

I kinda did the opposite. I'm a lifelong Egghead (that's old school speak for Mac fanboy), but built my own PC last year and I've been content with it. The only complaint I have is that Garageband/Logic are Mac only, so I can't edit any of the songs I wrote on my Mac mini without actually pulling out and hooking up the Mac mini. Otherwise, though, I'm happy with it. It's certainly fun to play Cyrsis Warhead at full specs with no problems in performance whatsoever.

Nearly every shoe purchase I make is a Skechers product. Since 2000, I have gone through 4 pairs of these: SKECHERS Parties - Mate - Zappos.com Free Shipping BOTH Ways . I have problems with my feet and Skechers always fit and are comfortable. I can't wear heels, so I don't have to worry about Skechers not offering dressy shoes. On the rare occasion I stray away from Skechers, I nearly always regret it (I have blisters on both feet today as a testament to this). The only exceptions are athletic shoes and flip flops; I tend to buy New Balance, as they fit my feet well, and I'll buy any flip flop that fits.

I am trying to think of having a brand loyalty for anything and the only one I have is the switch I made a few years ago from PC to Mac. I don't ever want to go back to PC.

I just can't imagine being loyal to a brand as such.

I switched from Coke to Pepsi products after making the switch from regular to diet soda. I drank a lot of Coke as a teenager/early 20something. There's no beating the taste of a Diet Pepsi compared to that of a Diet Coke. I'll drink a Diet Coke if that's all an establishment offers, but when it comes to the taste of a soda in a can, or a soda in a bottle, I prefer Diet Pepsi. I prefer it to the point that when I went to visit friends for the weekened a few weeks ago, my old roommate had stocked his fridge with Diet Pepsi for me.

I've used Mrs. Baird's bread for about 37 years now, and it used to be sturdy and soft at the same time, but now the texture is more coarse, and it breaks apart in the course of eating the sandwich.
I guess they're trying to reduce costs during these rough times, but it's made their product subpar and lost us as customers.

We've been searching for a new brand, but haven't found any we're happy with yet.

I hate the process of having to pick out a new brand of product because I am so unnecessarily picky about things, so I tend to be loyal to the brands I use. This applies to cosmetics, milk, crackers, shampoo, anti-perspirant, butter, toilet paper, jeans, socks, soap, cat food, pens, etc... and the list goes on and on. I had to stop myself from listing more. You can probably predict what happens to me. Inevitably, a brand of product is altered or DISCONTINUED. This leads to a minor crisis in my life. Anyway, a funny thing happened on the way to New Orleans. For several years I had used a particular Merle Norman color of lip gloss. It's the only thing I bought at Merle Norman, and I loved it. One December our local MN was out of stock and informed me that the entire line of lip gloss had been discontinued. I had no warning so I had not had time to buy extra to get me through the process of finding something new. We were heading to New Orleans for the weekend, so we called every Merle Norman in the small towns along our route to find out if any of them had any of my lip gloss remaining in stock. We ended up stopping at 4 Merle Normans on our way to NO to buy what they had left. This was before we had GPS or Onstar, so we had to call these stores to get directions when we got close to them on the interstate. It made the trip a little longer, but we saw some very small towns we had never seen before, met some interesting Merle Norman southern women and it made a good story to tell?

The only brands I'm loyal to are my mayo and ketchup because the others don't taste the same.

I did try to switch from Mac to PC a couple of years ago but wasn't impressed, so came back to Mac within less than two years. Other than that, I shop and read reviews from various sources, I try on clothing, makeup etc and will change brands in a heartbeat.

Ah... this sounds a bit funny now, but almost two years ago I told my husband we need to change friggin' entire chain store! Because I detected he had created infatuation to one of the store cashier women in the store, we used to frequent.

The change was not as easy for him as it was for me... however since then he has ordered lots of stuff by mail - in this area they are delivered to the local store, I tried to avoid... :paranoid:

We had earlier been discussing getting the advantage card (?) for the other chain store, since we often visited, but couldn't use the bonuses, we would have gotten as registered clients. This quickened the decision making.

Many brands they sell are different to what we had been used to.

We used to have AT&T for our long distance carrier for about 10 years. We also had cell phones and a credit card with them.
When we moved, we carried over everything. About that time, her brother got sick and required major surgery. He lived overseas so she was making a lot of long distance calls to him daily. One day, she tried to call but it wouldn't go through on the house phone, so she resorted to using the cell. The next day we tried again but couldn't get through. When I called AT&T, they told me that because of the sudden frequency of long distance calls and that we didn't have much of a history with them, they had shut off our long distance till we paid the current bill in its entirety. When I asked him what he was talking about, he said that we only had a few months of billing at our current address. When I pointed out that we had used them for over 10 years at the previous address, it fell on deaf ears. The stance was pay up or no phone.
I asked them what the exact payoff number was, hung up, wrote a check for that amount, then called Comcast to sign up for their VOIP long distance. Immediately called them back and cancelled their service and told them to note that the check was in the mail. 2 months later, I got a bill for $30-something from AT&T. Several phone calls later, they were still insistent I owed them the money. They couldn't/wouldn't tell me how they came up with that number 2 months after I cancelled my service. At that point, I refused to pay it. The bill went to a collection agency. After I explained to them why I wasn't paying, I never heard from them again. It went to a collection agency again about 4 years later. I explained again why I wasn't paying it and never heard from them again.
I changed cellphone services,which I had had for several years as well, to Cingulair and promptly changed to T-Mobil when Cingulair was bought out by AT&T. I paid off and cancelled the credit card, which I had also had for years, as well.

Some companies have earned our loyalty. My husband and I love Wells Fargo. Both of us had our first personal checking & saving accounts with Wells Fargo, we even stopped by the Wells Fargo to start a joint PMA before running off on our honeymoon. But they don't have an HSA account that is compatible with my husband's work's health insurance. We have recently opened an HSA with a local bank. We haven't had any big problems, but we aren't impressed either. We'd rather keep Wells Fargo, even though they don't have a bank in our state. Bank-by-mail and Online banking are sufficient.

We typically love anything Quaker brand for breakfast, especially love their Life cereal and Oatmeal Squares. But their prices have been inexplicably steep recently. I started looking at the Natural/Organic section for cereals, in the hopes of finding an alternative at a similar or better price. Now I've found Barbara's, and there's no going back. Their Shredded Spoonfuls and Shredded Oats are delicious!

'If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

I tend to stay with the same brands, but mainly just because I like to stick to what I know. I found a pair of pants I really liked from AE a few years ago. I bout 6 pairs. They discontinued the pants, or I would by 6 more(the first six are worn out).
Last spring I found a V-Neck T-shirt that I really liked at Old Navy. I bought 10 of them.
I eat at the same the restaurants. I by the same groceries every week.
If I was not married I would probably trim that down to one restaurant and just eat the same thing every day.

Not to get political, but I switched from Chevy to Ford. Have to love a company that told Congresss to shove it up their asses. I like the used Ford I own. I'll buy another used Ford when I need a car.

Two baking related brands that have earned my loyalty for life:

King Arthur Flour home page Love, love, love their unbleached all-purpose and bread flours. I switched from Gold Medal a couple years ago after my local grocer started carrying King Arthur. I do think the quality of their flour makes a difference in my baked goods.

and

Bob's Red Mill

Love their specialty flours, specialty grains, and especially the giant bag of steel-cut oats they now sell at Costco. I also love that they're a local company.

Agreed.
I used to use White Lily, a southern brand... it might be against the law in the south to make Biscuits w/o it.

I have completely switched to King Arthur's. Good Stuff!




I actually have a funny story about White Lily Flour.
My mother was coming to visit me in AZ a couple of years ago and I asked her to bring me 10lbs from GA. Airport security asked her about it and all she had to do was say, "my poor son lives in AZ and he cannot get White Lily flour out there. He needs some good biscuits." TSA said, "No problem. I understand." and let her through w/o any problems.
(and now you know how to smuggle 10lbs of coke)

This is how I am with toothpaste, soap, and deodorant, because I am allergic to many of these items on the market. When an item I used previously is discontinued or altered, finding a replacement can literally be painful.

It's interesting to read people's likes and dislikes - I am very happy with AT&T and I dislike Wells Fargo (both mentioned by other posters) - it's all in perception, I guess.

As far as groceries go, I think the only thing I never alter is my mustard purchases. I like classic yellow Frenchs and it's the only thing I buy. I'm pretty open to trying new items - I might find something I really enjoy.

When I think of it, condiments most often stay the same: mustard, ketchup, roe paste etc...

Oh... Heinz Ketchup, Hunt's? Maybe... no name brand? Ick.

Mustard? I have a few faves.

Worschestershire sauce? Lea & Perrins. Everything else just doesn't taste right.

http://www.hallekis.com/arkiv/xx050120-felix.jpg


http://www.meira.fi/files/images/tuo...kg-uusittu.jpg ...or... http://www.kauppareissu.fi/tuotekuva...5_g_mieto.jpeg


and this roe paste tube (and taste) has stayed the same since my childhood (if memory serves):

http://jaakaappi.fi/static/images/tu...70031835-i.jpg

I have brand *preference* for toothpaste, soap, graphics cards (for comps,) pizza, and women :D

Almost said beer, but nah.

oh wait, and preference for hotsauce.

I have to agree... Heinz Ketchup is the best option here. Local restaurants often serve Maggi Ketchup (Maggi is a Nestle brand) and it's way too sweet. My wife once bought Hunt's ketchup because it was free of high fructose corn syrup. It was crap.

That said, when we lived in Canada, I would be just as likely to buy President's Choice ketchup. It too was good. I would alternate between PC and Heinz depending on which was cheaper or where I was shopping when I needed to buy ketchup.

I don't have that option here.

The only type of sneaker, or athletic shoe if you prefer, I'll buy is New Balance.
Tried all the other manufacturers and found that they fall apart easy and I usually end up with foot and/or back issues.
For clothing, I'll go with Columbia products before others.

You bring up a good point. I was browsing this thread now and again, thinking, I'm not really brand loyal at all.....
And then you bring up PC. Yeah, I'll choose PC anything. They've never let me down.

She bought HUNT'S ketchup? The Horror!!!
I am totally brand-loyal with my ketchup... I'll go without before I'll eat Hunt's.
It's kinda like generic HP Sauce. Bleeeech.

And my detergents. I use All Free & Clear and Downy April Fresh softener. Any deviation has disasterous sinus and skin repercussions. I'll never willingly switch from a Bosch dishwasher again, either.

It's true, PC is a reliable brand. One that I can't get here. In the case of PC, I wouldn't say I have brand loyalty to them but rather, there aren't really alternatives to many of the products they offer other than making things from scratch.

Noodle, I used to use All free & clear but,
Yay! Our local store started stocking
a non- major brand fragrance & dye free laundry soap.
Clear Value. Good stuff. 128 ounces for much less than the other.

off topic: I become ill just walking down that perfumed soap aisle.

We also use All Free and Clear, but we use the free and clear Downy too--no scent. Hubby can't do scents on laundry. It makes him cry. Literally.

And Bosch dishwashers are the best.

I too buy exclusively New Balance sneakers - but because they're the only brand commonly carried sized in widths as well as lengths. My shoe size is 10 4E(US), and buying a 'standard' width shoe just doesn't cut it. In order to get them to fit width-wise I have to buy as large as a 12 or 13 (Nike shoes are the worst in this regard) at which point they fall to pieces prematurely because of the poor fit. I have worn out hundred dollar sneakers in less than a month for this very reason.

I have other loyalties, but no uncommon reasons not to switch.

Especially those chocolate chip cookie and their 100% peanut butter

But I have to say I am loyal to the Heinz Ketchup and French's mustard and Dairy Queen, no neighnorhood ice cream parlour can beat an original Smarties Blizzard ;)

When grocery shopping I try to get Paul Newman's brand if it is available.Great quality,
comparable prices and all profits go to charity.

I'm just lazy and hate shopping. The jeans that I'm wearing fit just fine, I'd rather buy a new pair on the internet than put any effort into shopping. The same applies to shoes, I have wide feet and know of two brands that always fit. I'm sure I could find others, but a great fit with zero effort works for me.

I'm a bit of a headphone snob. I bought my first pair of way too expensive Sennheisers when I was 16 and haven't considered any other brand since then. Sennheiser's latest top of the line headphone gets great reviews; but is also known for a sharp treble. I hate overly bright treble ... my new Beyerdynamic headphones are the best I've ever heard.