So how do you let a company know.....that you don't support them?

What is the fastest way to tell a company how you feel?

I have found myself wondering this over the past few days. I had a bad experience in a shop recently when the manager used a horrific term to describe a disabled customer in front of me. I was shocked, disgusted and haven't shopped there since.

In this instance, the shop was local, the manager is also the owner and there is no brand to complain to. So I did what I could, I stopped shopping there.

Shops are dependent on their customers to make money in order to survive. These are hard times. I felt that by writing a letter, it wouldn't be taken seriously as this guy is clearly the owner and the manager. In stopping my money going towards hatred I chose to walk away.

In other instances though, there is plenty to be said for having a word. However, choose your words carefully. If your issue is with a brand then go corporate. The sales girl who is holding down a part time job trying to fund her way through college is unable to do anything about it. She cannot change anything because the large brand she works for - will not listen.

If your issue is with her behaviour as a sales person, then by all means yes. That is the person (and possibly the manager) that you need to be speaking to. Disagreements and dislike happen. It's human nature but be sound about it. Have a quiet word with the person or supervisor and then if it is serious enough then go to a superior about it.

Understanding the power of your pound is important. Shops need your money - especially now. If you have an issue, then complain to the relevant office then stop shopping there if it persists. Shops also make mistakes. Customers complaining, complimenting and giving feedback is how things get changed.

I like to look at how a company does business before I spend my money. I boycott certain brands that sell to me in a way I find overly sexual and anti-feminist. I support brands that care about the way they do business. Large corporations are rarely politics free or rarely scandal free as the case may be. I chose carefully where I spend my money. If something happens, then I assess and complain accurately. If, like the above shop story, there is no way of complaining then I simply stop shopping there. That makes my statement for me. I'd rather go out of my way then to support your views and your business.

Websites have phone numbers! Use them!