Brands you feel you have an attachment to

[Bruce]

For a few electronics, Asus has won me over (monitor, laptop, tablet) because their stuff is cheap and doesn't come with extra baggage. Also the customer service was quite good at getting my warranty repairs done. It's too bad their phones generally don't get well received (or even distributed) in America, just the same as their compatriots at HTC.

For cameras, I'm stuck with Canon because it's what I was taught with. If I were to do it over again, I'd probably choose another company entirely, or just go mirrorless for portability.

I go out of my way to ride routes using Alexander-Dennis double-decker buses, which are the most comfortable in the fleet (reclining seats and bigger windows). As far as trains go, I do like Alstom's imported DMUs in terms of seating layout.

[roadman65]

Die Hard for car batteries, although with Sears on the ropes hanging (thanks to bankrupt Kmart for taking them down with them) I will most likely have to buy another battery brand.

[Brandon]

Die Hard for car batteries, although with Sears on the ropes hanging (thanks to bankrupt Kmart for taking them down with them) I will most likely have to buy another battery brand.

Sears Holdings sold Die Hard to Advance Auto Parts.

[roadman65]

Do they have the same warranty though?

[thspfc]

For clothing, Nike and Adidas.

[SP Cook]

I am SHOCKED that HB expressed a positive emotion for Adidas.  I had to say C A T S , cats, cats, cats; 10 times to get the thought out of my head. 

Anyway, I don't think I am as brand loyal as most of you.  I certainly could not care less if it is an Airbus or a Boeing, could not tell you the name of a bus company, and just buy whatever computer products are on sale.   As to my loyalties:

- Coke.  Specifically in my old age, Coke Zero Sugar.  Pepsi is a vile and disgusting product.  I avoid any non-alcohol restaurant that serves this swill. 

- Cars.  Any car made by someone unaffiliated with the UAW/CAW is just fine.  Would never buy a so-called "American"  car ever again. 

- I like Apple phones, but only because I am too old to learn whatever the differences are between it and some other brand. 

- Carnival cruise lines.  Although they did just switch to Pepsi, which is sad. 

- SXM.  Not buying a car without it. 

- DIRECTV.  The greatest invention ever.  Yes, you can "cord cut"  and save 40 cents, yes, the cable bandits CLAIM they have reformed from their monopoly days, whatever.  Life is too short to not enjoy the perfection of DIRECTV.

- Buffalo Trace.  Real bourbon is only made in central Kentucky, and Buffalo Trace makes the best.

                               

[formulanone]

I think this thread would be more interesting if people write out why they have an attachment to brands rather than barfing out a list of corporations.

I agree; that pyramid (which is similar to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs), I would also say that if many of the Functional needs are fulfilled, then any included Emotional wants which are fulfilled are just the icing on the cake. If you jump straight past most of the Functional ones, then that's spending on the level of a child. Attachment is what justifies your personal reason for this-brand or that-one; as companies outsource and change their structure by not meeting the demands or finances of the consumer. While they can lose that loyalty, it's can also be a personal service reason for the switch. In a lot of cases, people are likely to make changes to "brand loyalty" because of price, convenience, or just dumb luck (someone gave me this used thing for free and it's actually very good compared to what I used to own).

Canon - purchasing a SLR camera means you're more or less locked into a lens system, because of compatibility with prior and future cameras (usually). That's not to say there's anything inherently "wrong" with a comparable Nikon, Sony, Olympus, or Pentax. In fact, I bought my wife a Nikon J1 a few years back because she wanted a 4/3 mirrorless camera system, and because Canon was very late to the market. One could use the argument that once you're used to the controls of a camera (or any device), it takes time to learn differing methods and gaining familiarity to deliver the same results.

Delta Air Lines - out of convenience; greater scheduling availability (more flights) from my home airport. Their overall waiting areas at others' hubs are usually much less pleasant because everything else is a commuter jet, with all the trappings of a bus terminal. Airlines are only as loyal as you're willing to spend money with them through thick-and-thin; once you've gained status with one, you get all sorts of flexibility, reduced fees, less waiting, potential upgrades, more points, et cetera. But they're all bound to have mechanical issues, questionable delays, mishandle things, and let you down. How they react and bounce back from such situations is what makes one better than another; in some cases, the airline has a policy, but other times, the individual(s) at a location make them worthwhile. Your local hub or local airport is going to understandably make this a different experience for you.

Toyota - general reliability, ease of repair, stoutness of overall product, and personally...they gave me a major break into the auto industry. That's not to say I don't enjoy driving something different as a rental car each week. Not everything they make is gold (or even silver), some of it is truly boring and forgettable in a market that has a good bit of variety. There is a certain personal familiarity of the product, which probably gives comfort and concentration to other things. One could probably also find the same sorts of behavior and personality in any manufacturer they like.

[frankenroad]

The only non-food brand I have 100% loyalty to is Verizon Wireless.   They have always given me excellent customer service and have never dropped a call in the 17 years I have been with them.   It would take a LOT for me to change carriers, even though I probably pay more.

In the kitchen, I have a few:
Catsup/Ketchup - Heinz
Mayonnaise - Hellmans (aka Best Foods)
Chili Sauce - Bennetts

OTOH, there is one brand I will avoid at all costs:  GM vehicles (I have owned three of them in my life and all three were total lemons).   I usually buy Ford or Dodge, but my latest vehicle is a Nissan which I am very happy with.

[kphoger]

I have a nonconsensual attachment to capitalism.

What product are you being forced to buy or sell?

[Scott5114]

I have a nonconsensual attachment to capitalism.

What product are you being forced to buy or sell?

I mean, if you live in America you are forced to sell your labor so that you can buy goods and services. There really is no alternative.

[kphoger]

I have a nonconsensual attachment to capitalism.

What product are you being forced to buy or sell?

I mean, if you live in America you are forced to sell your labor so that you can buy goods and services. There really is no alternative.

Don't tell millennials.   

[Scott5114]

I have a nonconsensual attachment to capitalism.

What product are you being forced to buy or sell?

I mean, if you live in America you are forced to sell your labor so that you can buy goods and services. There really is no alternative.

Don't tell millennials.   

Don't tell us what?

[kphoger]

That there's no alternative to getting a job.

[DaBigE]

That there's no alternative to getting a job.

I thought that was more of a hippie thing, not a millenial.

[Scott5114]

That there's no alternative to getting a job.

I thought that was more of a hippie thing, not a millenial.

Right. Hippies don't want to get a job, millenials want to get a job but can't because all of the entry-level jobs require three degrees and 35 years of experience.

[kphoger]

I thought it was a millennial thing to live in your parents' house till you're 30 years old, refuse to get a job that doesn't make you feel fulfilled and allow you to afford free-range organic groceries from Trader Joe's, then take a number of "mental health days" for when you just really don't feel like working but don't really have a good reason not to.

Maybe I'm wrong about millennials.  It's hard to know what stereotypes are correct when I'm on the inside (I was born at the very beginning of the 80s and thus qualify as a millennial).

[Scott5114]

No, it's a millennial thing to live in your parents' house till you're 30 years old because, despite having a degree, you can't get a job that pays enough to afford housing that isn't at least six counties away from your job, then take a number of "mental health days" because your position is responsible for a workload that was split between four employees in 2008, consolidated into one position during the financial crisis, and the department has never been restaffed since then because the CEO needs that money to make payments on his eleventh yacht.

[vdeane]

I have a nonconsensual attachment to capitalism.

What product are you being forced to buy or sell?

I mean, if you live in America you are forced to sell your labor so that you can buy goods and services. There really is no alternative.

Don't tell millennials.   

Actually, I would say that millennial have greater awareness of this than most.  There is no opt-out - if you want to live in society (for which there also isn't a legal opt-out except death), you have to buy services and sell labor, even if the only opportunities you have to do so are unfavorable (or somehow convince someone else to support you) - and if those opportunities don't exist for whatever reason, you're SOL.

[Max Rockatansky]

I thought it was a millennial thing to live in your parents' house till you're 30 years old, refuse to get a job that doesn't make you feel fulfilled and allow you to afford free-range organic groceries from Trader Joe's, then take a number of "mental health days" for when you just really don't feel like working but don't really have a good reason not to.

Maybe I'm wrong about millennials.  It's hard to know what stereotypes are correct when I'm on the inside (I was born at the very beginning of the 80s and thus qualify as a millennial).

Isn't there contradictory reports on where the break between Gen-X and Millennials begin?  I've seen reports showing the break occurring during; 1982, 1984, and even 1986.  I can certainly say for myself (born 1982) and my younger Sister (born in 1984) that we grew up in an environment with people who most Social Scientists would classify as Gen-X.  At minimum it seems like individualism and career growth were what was preached to us by every facet of society.  I mostly grew up in the Mid-West so maybe things were different in other parts of the country?  Having moved out on my own at 18 (Michigan to Arizona, had I not made the move there would have been no opportunities at the former locale) and having a well established career (which is more trade than something a four year degree would obtain) by 22 kind of runs on more in line with what to expect for the Gen-X crowd of stereotypes are to be believed. 

[kphoger]

No, it's a millennial thing to live in your parents' house till you're 30 years old because, despite having a degree, you can't get a job that pays enough to afford housing that isn't at least six counties away from your job, then take a number of "mental health days" because your position is responsible for a workload that was split between four employees in 2008, consolidated into one position during the financial crisis, and the department has never been restaffed since then because the CEO needs that money to make payments on his eleventh yacht.

Potato, potato.

[Beltway]

No, it's a millennial thing to live in your parents' house till you're 30 years old because, despite having a degree, you can't get a job that pays enough to afford housing that isn't at least six counties away from your job, then take a number of "mental health days" because your position is responsible for a workload that was split between four employees in 2008, consolidated into one position during the financial crisis, and the department has never been restaffed since then because the CEO needs that money to make payments on his eleventh yacht.

I could name a list of millennials I know that have well-paying jobs and have lived in their own home since 18 or 22, some own a house, and some are married with children.

[Scott5114]

No, it's a millennial thing to live in your parents' house till you're 30 years old because, despite having a degree, you can't get a job that pays enough to afford housing that isn't at least six counties away from your job, then take a number of "mental health days" because your position is responsible for a workload that was split between four employees in 2008, consolidated into one position during the financial crisis, and the department has never been restaffed since then because the CEO needs that money to make payments on his eleventh yacht.

I could name a list of millennials I know that have well-paying jobs and have lived in their own home since 18 or 22, some own a house, and some are married with children.

I could name a list of Virginians that don't miss the point of my post.

[Max Rockatansky]

No, it's a millennial thing to live in your parents' house till you're 30 years old because, despite having a degree, you can't get a job that pays enough to afford housing that isn't at least six counties away from your job, then take a number of "mental health days" because your position is responsible for a workload that was split between four employees in 2008, consolidated into one position during the financial crisis, and the department has never been restaffed since then because the CEO needs that money to make payments on his eleventh yacht.

I could name a list of millennials I know that have well-paying jobs and have lived in their own home since 18 or 22, some own a house, and some are married with children.

I could name a list of Virginians that don't miss the point of my post.

To your point a lot of white collar jobs that didn't used to require expensive degrees two decades do today.  Even in what I do there was an industry move to attempt to push for certifications and/or degrees which largely failed.  To that end it seems like most of the younger generations want to get into white collar fields rather than anything blue collar or requires trade level skill.  The problem is everyone seems to be piling into industries that already have a entrenched work force.  So even having an expensive degree is negligible for younger people because they don't have career experience.  Thus in turn you see the problems with people living at home longer, facing long commutes from affordable areas, or even finding viable career minded employment.

[kphoger]

Sorry, I meant that it's a millennial thing to go tens of thousands of dollars into financial debt to get the same college degree that every other one of your peers has, then expect to have a high-paying job in your career field waiting for you when you graduate, then complain about how hard it is to make it financially.

[Scott5114]

The alternative is to get a college degree that nobody else has, because any jobs associated with it can't pay the bills.