IKEA.

Meatballs and flat packed sofas…heaven.

Target

google… hate it.. but i like it

Apple

I second IKEA! I also love ThinkGeek <3

Um, Fluther.

Also Virgance.

Oh yeah, ThinkGeek is amazing. A boy bought me this. I totally use it in class.

Pearson Publishing. They make really good quality books, but it’s too expensive (especially now during textbook season).

I’m gonna have to side with the OP on this one.

I have to say Victoria’s Secret.

BMW

Target, Ikea, and google do it for me :)

Larry Flynt Publishing Inc. (LFP)

Crayola.

American Apparel. They’re slightly overpriced, often ridiculous, and Dov Charney thinks he’s some kind of Jesus.

…but their T-shirts fit really good.

Google. I <3 anything google does.

Disney

adidas.

Starbucks. I even went there when I lived in San Francisco and had one of the best coffee shops ever literally around the corner. Now that I live in the land of the eternal strip mall, I have no choice….and I love it.

Oh, I just thought of another: Pixar!

Ben and Jerry. They have always been eco-aware and they finally put Cherry Garcia in those taster-size containers.

@augustlan OH YES! i LURVE pixar.one of my favorites

Dreamworks SKG

@Bluefreedom – SKG? What?

I intended this question to be about companies that are kinda sorta shady but impossible to hate. Unadulterated love is welcome here, too, though ;) ... Great answers, peeps.

Well I kinda sorta hate Ben and Jerry because of the temptation-it’s a love/hate situation

In that case, I have heard a couple of possibly shady things about Facebook. But I can’t help but love all the gifts I have received there.

@shadling21. The Dreamworks logo has SKG under it and it is the intials of the founding members of Dreamworks studios.

S – Spielberg, Steven
K – Katzenberg, Jeffrey
G – Geffen, David

@Trustinglife (gasp) Ohmigawd! Good Answer! I love Facebook. =]

Facebook, shady——Gwan wit ya. lol

Sony

Apple. I adore anything Apple. It’s a totally irrational love—intellectually, I know their products are probably overpriced (note the “probably” because I can’t bring myself to say anything truly negative). But the shiny, sleek, absolutely sexy makeup of all their electronics woos me, and I simply can’t resist.

Since galileogirl beat me to Ben and Jerry, I guess I’ll have to answer the company of my family

Fox Networks. Fox News is just creepy and gross but I can’t get enough Nip/Tuck.

I would never have purchased it for myself, but I do love my Mercedes convertible I got for Christmas! I also love Apple products.

Intel
Apple
Subway

Costco great products/customer service, free Costco Concierge

Lands End great products/customer service

Zappos great products/customer service

Ditto on BMW, @steve6 ! Once you have one of their products, you’ve gotta love them.

Sonic Drive-In. Love the drinks and their guts for reviving an American tradition.

Amazon, Apple and Trader Joes.

Ben and Jerries is now owned by a much larger corporation, although I forget which one.

Now, do you still like it?

I looked it up. It’s Unilever.

Do they still make ice cream?

Yes. They are an independent unit within the larger company, and their mission is still the same as when Ben and Jerry were the owners.

Disney
Costco
Converse
Starbucks

I feel the worst about Disney. But I just LOVE Disneyland.

Are we answering this by saying which company’s products we use the most, or are we saying we actually like the company? And what does liking a company mean, anyway? Is this like the way companies are treated as persons for tax purposes? Like, do we treat companies as persons for liking purposes?

I think the gist is we think there might be a few shady practices going on in how the companies we’re listing do business, but we like the products so much, we’re overlooking the shadiness.

Although if Crayola were actually shady, I’d be upset. :/

Crayola is all kinds of shady.~

General Electric because my father went from rags to riches working there over 40 years. He started out as a tool and die man, and ended up running the entire plant in Cleveland, Ohio before he retired. They are so diverse, and I will never let go of the stock my father left me no matter how grim the economy seems, because they will always be around. I truly admire John F. Welch, Jr. He was great for the company!

Mozilla, they make very innovative products, involving a community of volunteers, and aren’t driven by making money but by the will to make the web a Better Place :)

@Trustinglife Ha ha!! Great pun!! I read this yesterday and wondered why you thought they were unsavory, but I finally got it!!

Google, even though their motto don’t be evil exists, it doesn’t mean their massive store of data on us can’t be used for evil.
Google, small companies (coffee shops, textiles, food, farmers), Apple, Pixar, Mozilla, REI

i can’t help but love starbucks. i don’t go there often because they’re very overpriced, but man. delicious. and i love the environment there, it feels so cozy.

Volkswagen

idds taim to unpimp zee automobile…..yaaa

That and the bug got me

REI. Freakin’ love that place. They get me.

@asmonet
“So you can imagine how we danced with joy when we saw this Sonic Screwdriver set. Ready to handle a Time Lord’s tool?”
...also available at dorks r us—

what the shit ever! we’re amazing, me and my nerds. :)

@Trustinglife or anyone else. How do you do the link thing where you write something and it is the link. Thanks.

@Zen You’re trying to share a link to a website? See immediately below this text box for instructions (if you’re not on an iPhone). An example looks like this:

Google. “Words you want highlighted” :www.google.com. The only difference is you would take out the space between the second quotation mark and the colon. Voila!

TurtleSoup

@Trustinglife YAY! Thanks buddy!

@Zen You’re welcome!

I like this place.

@shadling21 My son plays basketball – seriously. Every time I try to “save” and buy him shoes that are not Nike, we end up being disappointed.

Costco, McDonald’s and Apple

@CAQUE
Yes, McDonald’s is a perfect company from a business standpoint. I am always impressed as well with the efforts they extend to continually improve as well. Things like awnings over the drive thru with heat lamps in winter to conveyor belts for drinks. They are also an excellent investment in any economy as a stock.

See, yeah, I hear about problems with all these companies, but they are all so damn likeable that I don’t usually act against them or even investigate the problems.

Love Costco, too.

I get a warm and fuzzy feeling about Dow Chemical…just kidding! Probably Baby Einstein, my son loves their stuff!

I’m a Target queen. i’m so ashamed

mozilla, google, turner, CBC, McGraw-Hill, addias

I like it when my finacial adviser comes over as “company”. I make him writhe with so many uncomfortable questions, it is delightful..

McDonald’s. I am convinced they put a mixture of sugar, salt, and crack on their fries.

@Shegrin
I totally have a craving for fries…seriously, I’m going

@Shegrin @SeventhSense Dip them in honey!! Sooooo good.

@Allie
Fried food and pure sugar. I’m in. For a fat fandango try some mayonnaise..oh my

Best thing to come from my trip to Scotland other than the amazing salmon was a deep fried Heath Bar. So wrong..but so right.

@SeventhSense Oh wow. I’ve never heard of that before. I’ve heard of fried Twinkies, but never tried one. Really though… fries + honey = AMAZING!

@Allie
Yes, Christopher Sell (great recipe) is in Park Slope, Brooklyn. He deep fries Mars Bars and Reeses Peanut Butter Cups too.

Nintendo.

DS’s are awesome

I agree with @SuperMouse, but for different reasons:

Bones, House, Lie to Me, Dollhouse and Fringe.

(Fox is shady because they cancelled Firefly. Yes, I’m one of those nerds. But Fox is also shady because of their politics and American Idol.)

Hulu’s not shady, but I love it anyway…at least, I don’t think it’s shady. (?)

Also: @asmonet, I kinda want my own sonic screwdriver. Or TARDIS hub. Or a brown pinstriped suit + white chucks.

Does the Beeb count as a shady company you can’t help but love??

A great question with lots of great answers.

Ikea, H&M, JetBlue, New York’s MTA…

MTA- unless you actually have to use public transportation in NY and have to put up with the fare hikes every other week.

@shadling21—JUst wanted to say that this is one of my fave questions of all time, and I keep coming back to it hoping to find quality recommendations for all kinds of companies. Good show!

I have to say I’m now madly in love with “Build a Bear” stores in the malls. I’m a new grandma and have already made 2 bears for my grandson .. who is only 4 months old. By the time he can appreciate them, I’ll probably have about 20!!! What a nice place to just play and be a kid!!

Brazzers porn site!

Victoria’s Secret
Betty Crocker,
Pixer
Disney

Keurig
Bose
San Pellegrino

Google, Nintendo, Amazon, Netflix, Facebook, Ebay, Walmart, Mcdonald’s, Taco Bell

Honda!

There was a local business whose spokesperson was a crazy, wildly enthusiastic, geeky-looking kid (Super-Dell) named Totally Awesome Computers. Their ads made me laugh. After a while, Dell Schanze generated a lot of bad publicity, and fell out of favor, but he still cracks me up. One time he crashed his paraglider and when the EMT’s picked him up, he said “that was TOTALLY STUPID! In real life he seems to be a little crazy, but then I have seen the police arrest him for the dumbest reasons – no wonder he thinks he is being persecuted. Such as, when he crashed his paraglider, they arrested him for flying it where people on the highway could see him. They said he could distract drivers and cause accidents. WHAT!!

I also liked the radio ad, where at the end they always say, “we are Totally Awesome Computers and WE LOVE YOU!”

Apple.

So they’re no longer an underdog so it’s hip to deride them.

But the billions they have in reserve has allowed them to replace earbuds and cables for me multiple times without breaking a sweat.

@Sunny2

Honda! I’m on Honda/Acura number 6

I’m one my third with over 200K miles. the other two were still going fine when I lost them in accidents.

Not to mention Honda has supplied all engines for the Indy race series for years without a single failure.

McLaren Cars Ltd’s Gordon Murray’s Honda NSX was his inspiration for the legendary McLaren F1

Honda was also his first choice as engine supplier for his 245 MPH creation.

At one time Honda was one of only three engine manufacturers that made units that developed 100HP per Litre. The other two came in cars that cost dozens of thousands more.

Blount Inc. Oregon Products

They make chainsaw products and have the best product and customer service I have ever seen. I had a question about a certain chain type and wanted to buy one for a specific job. They sent me a chain for evaluation – for free.

Amazon

The staff at an establishment are the biggest draw for me. I shop where I feel I am valued by the people who work there. Time and circumstances make my ‘go to’ places change as my life changes. Good products and good service are a big draw for me. A clean and bright store, especially grocery store.

Nostalgia brings me back to places that are not as convenient as they once were. It is entirely subjective for me.