Is boycotting a company pointless?

[ACTIONpack]

I ask that question because I really hate Comcast. The compaNY is a monopoly In the internet service in my area. They are now enforcing 300 GB caps and will charge $10 per 50 GB. This could not be a problem if I have choose to jump to a different company to provide cable internet but that's the problem. I can't, because they have a monopoly on cable in my area and not going to jump to ATT DSL which cap too.

I would love to boycott Comcast but I'm one person and find it pointless to do so will only hurt me and Comcast would not give a damn.

[+Warwagon MVC]

You should just start a comooged campaign.

[Lachlan]

it feels good.. bigger thing you could do is raise a stink on twitter about how they are a monopoly and actually spread the word..

[astropheed Veteran]

No, not pointless.

 

In most (almost all) cases it accomplished little to nothing. Although, every so often, it turns into something bigger, far out of your control and actual results are achieved.

 

Believe it or not, your opinion matters.

[exotoxic]

no because other people out there will feel the same, you just have to spread the word and join together.

[+Red King Subscriber²]

Pointless.

Occupy Wall Street

QED.

[+LogicalApex MVC]

No, boycotting a company isn't pointless. Of course, how companies act in monopoly markets is very different from how they act in competitive markets, but the basics are the same. They want your money...

 

Even a monopolist has to ensure that he is actually serving some of the needs of the customers to ensure that they return. Comcast is test marketing the new broadband cap pricing in your area for a reason. They want to see how people in your area react to these prices. If most people go "boycotting/cancelling my service is pointless" then the message that Comcast will conclude is "our customers are not sensitive to metered pricing" and they will do this more...

 

Your decision not to patronize them matters... Just remembering that is important as people today seem to have the attitude that you should just lay down and take whatever corporate bosses tell you to take.

[Nogib]

Boycotting/protesting/whatever is THE most pointless and futile action anyone can do.

[DavidM]

The only thing that would make Comcast pay attention is a long term boycott, where they lost money for months, and then you'd have to outlast them, and it's just not going to happen. Most people would rather bitch and moan while they over pay for ###### high speed service with data caps, than say get a great deal for great service over dial-up/dsl/whatever.

 

Some will even start threads on forums asking if it would do any good to boycott Comcast, while in the same post admitting they won't change providers and will contine to pay since they have the best option available to them.

 

Are you really going to ask others to do what you won't? Then I guess you have you answer...right?

[theyarecomingforyou]

Boycotting certainly isn't pointless. I boycott numerous companies for ethical reasons, like SodaStream because it operates in the illegally occupied West Bank. If other consumers do the same it can send a powerful message; if not then you're at least depriving them of revenue that they would use to further exploit the market. However, if you really care about such matters you should look to take further action - sharing it on forums is a start (as you have done), signing petitions, writing to local politicians, writing to the company to explain why you are boycotting them (otherwise they won't know), etc.

 

You can't expect your boycott of a company to change things overnight but just know that it does have an impact.

[McKay]

Boycotting alone? Yes. As in boycotting you cut yourself off from their services out of principle then they won't even notice.

[Izlude]

Boycotting got Subway to remove some harmful ingredients from their bread just recently.  Boycotting is never useless :)  Organization, that's the secret, no waste motions.

[astropheed Veteran]

Boycotting certainly isn't pointless. I boycott numerous companies for ethical reasons, like SodaStream because it operates in the illegally occupied West Bank.

 

B-b-but I love my SodaStream. :(

[macoman]

Boycotting/protesting/whatever is THE most pointless and futile action anyone can do.

I totally agreed... I have seen mass protesting and does not do anything. It is just a waste of time :P

[McKay]

My old English teacher has been boycotting Coca Cola for years. I don't think they notice  :rolleyes:

[compl3x]

Boycotting in your case will be pointless. There is no competition in your area, so unless you can get hundreds or thousands of people to disconnect their internet from that company they won't give a ######.

 

Companies, especially in monopoly situations, act like right ######. 

[margrave]

The trick is to not be the only one boycotting. Make noise about it. Get others involved too like family and friends. Find others that agree with whatever stance you're taking, and band together. For a boycott to work well it needs multiple people working together towards the same goal. Think of it like a union of consumers going on strike. If you can cost a company money, they will notice, and take actions.

 

Doing it alone might make you feel better although nothing will come of it.

[gohpep]

Well when boycotting is widespread, it will have a effect on companies. However, the bigger the company, the more people are required to produce such an effect.

[theyarecomingforyou]

My old English teacher has been boycotting Coca Cola for years. I don't think they notice  :rolleyes:

I wouldn't be too sure. At the end of the day a boycott ensures that the company receives less money than it otherwise would have, which is something that businesses certainly do notice. If someone is paying $100 a year to Comcast and they decide to boycott that's $100 less they receive - if ten people do that's $1,000; one hundred and that's $10,000; one thousand and that's $100,000. As you can see the figures quickly add up.

 

Boycotting in your case will be pointless. There is no competition in your area, so unless you can get hundreds or thousands of people to disconnect their internet from that company they won't give a ####.

 

Companies, especially in monopoly situations, act like right ######. 

That's no reason not to boycott, it just means that one should not stop simply at a boycott. In fact by not boycotting the company it is actually encouraging the very behaviour they detest.

[Krome]

I ask that question because I really hate Comcast. The compaNY is a monopoly In the internet service in my area. They are now enforcing 300 GB caps and will charge $10 per 50 GB. This could not be a problem if I have choose to jump to a different company to provide cable internet but that's the problem. I can't, because they have a monopoly on cable in my area and not going to jump to ATT DSL which cap too.

I would love to boycott Comcast but I'm one person and find it pointless to do so will only hurt me and Comcast would not give a damn.

Get more people onboard with the boycotting Comcast.  I hate them too.  I have wish Comcast would get in trouble sometimes.  They are a big monopoly for sure.  I am stuck with them for the simple fact that I do not want to loose my email alias.  I never use the email service but I hate to change address or alias.

 

It is not pointless if you can recruit a lot of people to support the idea.  Comcast will change.

[Nick H. Supervisor]

I don't boycott something because I think me abstaining from the company will make them change their ways. I stay away from companies because I don't like their ethics or product - I don't care if it makes a difference or not.

[+Mirumir Subscriber¹]

This is what I would do:

 

1) The first challenge is to get like-minded people on board. Spread your message through social networks, local community centres, shopping malls, your neighbourhood bus stops, use flyers, start a Facebook group, etc. The premise is straightforward: more people = more power. You need to build a critical mass.

 

2) Once you've done that, once your group has grown to 20, 50, 100+ people, you should prepare a "class action" message, have all the participants sign it, and have it sent to:

 

a) your city council;

b) your elected representatives (at municipal, state, and federal levels);

c) Comcast's top management;

d) Comcast's board of directors;

e) Federal Trade Commission;

f) consumer protection groups;

g) local media outlets.

 

The more people join your initiative, the more chances you'll have that someone will have some background in law or public relations to help you write the complaint in a proper manner and cite appropriate anti-monopoly and consumer protection laws, and then the group synergy will take you from there.

 

Cheers and good luck!

[+Neowin User 007 Subscriber²]

Boycotting corporations only works when there is organization and planning involved to relay the message. Simply refusing to buy a product tells them absolutely nothing (except that their profits were down for the month/quarter if a big quantity of people boycott).

 

They aren't worried about money, however, every company is worried about PR...always!

[_neutrino Veteran]

The problem with a Boycott has several points.

 

If you do not get enough people to Boycott, they will notice. Whereas if you have plenty, the Business will notice and the media will give you attention that might help your cause.

However at the same time your Boycotting might cause an issue in the business that they just pass on to the existing customers causing problems for them (such as higher rates due to membership number drops)

 

I know how you feel Locally there is only 1 internet service provider. Time Warner Cable. We cannot even get DSL from anyone so the only options are Time Warner, Dialup or if you don't really need the internet and you have a lot of disposable income you can get Satellite internet. They recently changed everyones rates that was not on a promotional contract from $46 a month for 15Mb internet to $91 for the same service. and that is for Internet only. No television service.

[spacer]

Point of fact, if you have two available options for internet service, then Comcast doesn't have a monopoly.

 

In regards to the question, yes boycotting a company is pointless. It accomplishes nothing. The company won't care if it loses a single potential customer. If you could organize a sizable number of people and boycott something, that may accomplish something. But most of the time even that amounts to nothing.

 

A better idea would be to get the local new channels involved or ask the government to look into the situation. But even those are long shots.