S/O I'm Never Shopping There - What Businesses Will Forever Have Your Patronage?

[TylerBelle]

Olive Garden. The food is yum, the only regret is I wish they had pesto as a pasta sauce option. The staff at our local one here has always been above and beyond cordial and accommodating.
 
Another shout-out for a Credit Union. In one instance, they were there to steer me from away from making a wrong purchase when I was car shopping. I shopped further, and found a much better deal. Then the auto place where I got my vehicle were really nice and dealt so fairly with me.

Books-A-Million. I can get lost in there, and it's so easy to overindulge. Recently I went shopping for a study Bible and they had a better selection than one of the religious bookstores.
 
ebay. Though I don't shop on it as much as I used to, they took care of me when I made a big knot-headed blunder. I absentmindedly gave out my password. Then not two days later, I got an email saying my account had been suspended. I checked and yeppers, it was all froze up. I contacted ebay and they told me it was for my own protection, my account was in danger of being compromised, and it was then I realized what I'd done. How they'd discovered it and so quickly remains a mystery for me but I was quite grateful, and it took some effort to get reinstated. Thankfully it seemed no one, buyers or sellers, had been duped because of me, and I was happy too that my all-positive feedback remained intact .

[mmswm]

Add me to the list of Publix fans.  That's about the only thing I can think of that's positive about moving back to Miami.

I'm also a huge fan of the big bank that I used to work for.  I don't want to name them publicly, but I will tell anybody who asks in a private message.  The biggest reason I'm loyal to them is their policies about benefits.  I don't want to get into political territory, but I'll say I fully approve of their stance on the matter.  They also treated me very well while I worked for them.

There's a barber in the tiny town I'm staying in right now that I'd love to take back to Miami with me.  He's so wonderful and does an amazing job on the boys' hair.

The boys' hip/leg surgeon.  A more wonderful doctor has never been made.  Well, there is my old pediatrician as well, but I think he's retired.

[deety]

I had to look up their menu to see what the crud monkeys! burger was.  It looks yummy, and so does the 'Shroom one.  And sweet potato fries?  Yes, please!

[BarensMom]

I have to say, that after years of having to deal with PC problems, we will now only buy Apple products.  Everything works together, no compatibility issues, no hardware/software problems, almost everything is wireless and it just looks cool.

We bought stock back when Jobs returned and it's been very good to us.

[Lorelei_Evil]

Red Robin for a meal...

I went there for the first time yesterday. I usually carefully avoid chains (ethnic 'hole in the wall' places are my favorite), and Red Robin is a very casual chain (about on a level with Denny's or IHOP) which usually I'd avoid entirely, but I had to try the "ghost pepper" burger.

I'm old and use a walker, and I tend to eat alone, and I know I don't look like any server's idea of a lucrative tipper, but they fell all overthemselves greeting me and making me comfortable, and making sure I got the most out of a menu I'd never seen before, and got out within my time limit. That server got a 30% tip on my small check, and everyone else got a heartfelt "thank you, I will definitely be back" from me.

There are better choices than the "ghost pepper burger" (it seems like a pointless novelty) but there are other choices I'll have to try, and the onion rings are wonderful, and who can argue with unlimited well-cooked steak fries?

They do have wonderful service.  A couple of winters ago I was really having trouble with my leg and couldn't get enough leverage with my cane to get up out of the booth.  The seat was just so soft that I couldn't get my legs under me.  A busser came over and helped me get up.  Didn't make a big deal of it.  I put a $10 bill in his hand. 

Unfortunately, that location closed recently. 

[Wulfie]

Another great shout out for Red Robin. I love their BBQ chicken burger. The other thing I like about them is that if what you want is not on the menu, you can just let them know what you want on your burger and they will customize it for you. If they have the stuff in the restaurant, they will put it on your burger if you want it.

[magicdomino]

Hm, I just noticed a new Red Robin the other day.  I may have to try it out.

When I get my next root canal, my first choice will be the oral surgeons who did my previous ones.  I've two different surgeons, and both were excellent.

Podding Penzey's and Land's End.  I particularly like being able to return Land's End stuff at Sears stores with a Land's End department. 

[jedikaiti]

If anyone needs a root canal in the Denver area, I know a good doc for that.

Also, when I finally am able to get my dental implants, I'm going to the oral surgeon who took care of the mess that was my old bridge.

[CakeBeret]

Speaking of Red Robin, my best friend and I went there last night. We have a habit of being terribly indecisive on meals when we're together, so we always end up ordering two entrees and splitting them. Last night we decided to order one burger with regular fries, and one chicken sandwich with garlic parm fries (yum!!!!). The server found out that we were splitting them, so he had them plated all separately. Half a burger and regular fries in one basket, half a chicken sandwich and garlic parm fries in another basket, for each of us. I was impressed.

[Zilla]

Online, Amazon and Target.com.  Both have served me well.
IRL, I adore Smashburgers, Harris Teeter and Earth Fare.  I Am sure there others but I can't think of them now.

[readingchick]

Courthouse Coffee. I love their selection of food, plus their drinks are divine.

[Tea Drinker]

Porter Square Books, in Cambridge, Mass. They've got a reasonable selection of books for browsing, and a really nice tea and coffee counter. And it's handy to the T (subway) stop, so I can get off the train, get a cup of tea, look at books, and then take the bus the rest of the way to my girlfriend's place. One small nice thing is that they have a "buy n, get one free" deal for coffee and tea, like a lot of places (I think n is a dozen) but don't make me keep a card. I just give them my name, and they update the record. (Places where I have to get the card stamped, I mostly don't, because I forget to have the card with me, or it's buried in the bottom of my bag.)

[amandaelizabeth]

I know not many ehellions will be using this company but I cannot sing the praises of Coutts Cars in Auckland loud enough.  I bought a second hand car from them and long story short it was a real lemon.  They have spent over three times what I paid for it honoring their guarantee, always with a smile and a cup of coffee.  At one point when they saw my husband they would make him a long black without asking.  I was lent showroom cars, or driven around by one of the mechanics.  Nothing was ever too much trouble.  When the gear box fell out the day before my daughters wedding, they found me a white fancy car so I could celebrate in style.

As I can no longer buy a new model of the car, I have told them I am sticking with it to tghe bitter end.  They were most gracious about it.  However if I ever buy a new car you can be sure it will be from Coutts

[mmswm]

If anybody's ever in Enumclaw, WA, I have to highly recommend Les Schwab Tire Center. I took my car in this morning to have the tires checked for nails/leaks before embarking on my cross country journey.  When they found out what I was doing, they asked me if I was in a hurry, and since I wasn't, they proceeded to spend the next hour and a half going over my entire car with a fine tooth comb to make sure it was in good condition and wouldn't have any major issues during my drive. Best of all, they did this completely without charge, and wouldn't even accept a tip for their service.  All this for a person with North Dakota tags, who's driving from WA to FL, with only a slim chance of being back in the area any time soon.  That's service above and beyond anything I would have ever dreamed of expecting.

[magician5]

I can't promise eternal patronage, but ANY place that employs handicapped lower-level employees (baggers, etc) gets many extra points from me.

One regional grocery chain can be depended on to do this, without making a big self-promoting "thing" out of it. Once I understood what was going on, I made a point to adjust my "how ya doin, and thanks" conversation to a simple and direct level, and usually our parting few words of banter puts a smile on my face for the day.