Ask Lemmy

Arizona iced tea is still 99 cents.

Arizona Iced Tea

Dudes a multi-billionaire and doesn't understand how someone could want more.

That's why he puts the MSRP on the cans even tho he can't control store prices. Most stores still sell it at 99c, because they're still making profit on it.

He could sell them for 2x and barely lose any sales, but why?

LEGO comes to mind. Not cheap, but definitely knows how to keep a healthy and active relationship with their customers.

Chewy dog food will send you flowers and a refund if you pet died.

Steam.

Haven't done extensive research on it, but the lifetime guarantee on Darn Tough socks has made me their loyal fan and I recommend them to others too. I feel like they stand behind their product I stead of trying to constantly find new ways to nickel and dime me.

Another one is an Italian winemaker, Podere Pradarolo (https://www.poderepradarolo.com/). They make table wines, are not ashamed of it, don't try to position themselves as premium wine producers, and the owner refuses to raise the prices beyond the bare minimum that allows him to keep operating. They're not in it for profit, and it shows in their wines - they are fantastic for what they are and I always have a couple bottles at home.

There is a local employee owned hardware store near me that will go out of their way to make you a deal. No idea how they do it, plenty of employees around to ask questions and some of the best prices around.

Patagonia is solid. Osprey (packs) recently sold to a conglomerate but I have an old pack I can send in soon to test their "we will repair it no matter what" guarantee.

Saddleback Leather springs to mind. Their stuff is expensive but they have a 100 year warranty and their tag line is "They'll fight over it when you're dead". I have a couple of their bags, belts, and wallets. I don't expect to ever need to replace them.

First thing I bought from them was a briefcase back in 2011. About three years after I bought it one of the steel D-Rings for the strap failed and they paid courier fees for me to return the briefcase from the UK, replaced the part, cleaned the bag up, and sent it back, no questions asked.

Full disclosure: 1) they're an American company which might put some off buying in the current climate and 2) the founder is a devout Christian which might put others off but none of their products have ever tried to make me a believer so I'm ok with it.

Chapman's ice cream! They have continuously been in the best interest of their employees and local communities. During COVID, they made sure that all their employees kept their jobs and even raised their wages. The company even went as far as to buy several deep freezers to store to COVID vaccines, because the town where their factory is located has a lot of elderly people and wanted to ensure their protection from the virus.

They will always be one of the few brands that I am completely loyal to.

Inherently all brands care about profit as they need money to function but I get what you mean.

I'm generally not one for brand loyalty but if you need a motorcycle you really can't go wrong with any Yamaha and if you need a knife Benchmade has been unbelievably good to me even when I send it ones with snapped off tips years after purchase to get repaired/replaced.

In France, we have this : https://cestquilepatron.com/

The concept is that customers are asked questions to make a new product that satisfies them. For example, they want to sell apples. They will ask in what country they should buy them, how well the farmer should be paid, what size… and you see in real time how it affects the price. Then, the product will be sold in supermarkets at that price

There is also mutual insurance https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutual_insurance

Costco, Bosch

Dean's Beans coffee. The owner was an amazing guy, fair trade, all that. When he stepped down, he handed ownership to the employees.

I'm not sure if this is any longer the case but I've heard that Leatherman, despite "only" having a 25 year gurantee will pretty much repair/replace any of their multitools you send them no matter how old.

Los Pollos Hermanos where customer satisfaction is guaranteed

Seems like these guys: https://nubo.coop/en/

They provide email, calendar, contacts, and cloud storage.

On their mission statement page they explicitly have:

not seeking to enrich shareholders

I thought few minutes abou this question. And honestly were wasn't a brand that i can recommend without any reservations.

Probably a very niche answer, but Korbel winery in California has gone above and beyond to help me out on several occasions, and real people actually answer the phone when you call customer service. I don’t know anything about their owner or politics, but I’ve had nothing but outstanding experiences with them.

-> more than profit

Literally none. Where they vary is in how maliciously they'll engage with consumers for a quick buck, and within that spectrum some are definitely better than others, but every single one of them draws the line at profit.

Oddly, I got some of the best customer service in my life from Union Scale; the company who makes the office chair I bought from Staples.

Dischord Records.

dischord.com

Fugazi record label.

Record/CD prices are capped low to cover production and distribution costs.

Personal contact and service, with real people, when ordering.

Live show prices were capped at $5.

A focus on real connection between artists and fans, rather than extracting maximum profit using music as a vehicle.

Live shows were excellent.