Has there been a company that has won you over during the pandemic? Which stores might you love or dislike? Who excels in challenging circumstances? Who screwed up the joints?

Since the lockdown started around March 2020, I have been watching the relationship between consumers and companies.

After all, companies are run by people, and people occasionally make mistakes in judgment. Every now and then, a company turns a blind eye to its relationship with its customers and stumbles. When these mistakes were pointed out, their reactions said a lot about their management team and how they viewed their relationship with the people who kept the business going.

There are some broad policy changes and corporate actions that have changed the way some companies interact with customers (and society). I wonder how much this affects whether some customers want to vote with their dollars to encourage the company to keep doing what they’re doing — or not. Mind you, I’m not discussing anything trivial with anyone (what’s more deaf than a celebrity on Twitter complaining about flight delays on an airline’s Twitter account?)

Where do people “feel love” – ??or not?

The pandemic has created very specific winners and losers – but I suspect we haven’t realized the long-term effects of the likely shifts in sentiment over time.

Some companies that stand out; here are my subjective observations:

delta: Travel (especially airlines) was one of the first companies to be hit by the lockdown. Airlines have few options, but I’m very grateful for the response from some — Delta in particular — that their CEOs emailed travelers that COVID-cancelled flights will be refunded, or you can choose to get it permanently Credits (thanks a lot). Frequent flyer miles will continue indefinitely; your flight status (Silver Medal!) will be flipped (meaning you won’t be penalized for not flying in 2020).

It’s just $DAL’s smart customer relationship that I’ll remember next time I have to book a flight.

Starbucks: I’m a longtime consumer of Starbucks coffee (and their breakfast). When we moved our office from the Park Ave South area to Bryant Park a few years ago, I had to move my local Starbucks there.

What’s different about 3 blocks: It always takes longer to get an order, even with the app. My favorite breakfast (turkey bacon on egg whites/English muffins) was out of stock four days out of five; amazingly different service and capacity a few of the avenues bring.I’m sharing this to let you know I’m ready to be disappointed with $SBUX before the pandemic

Some article About how successful the company has been with the app and gift cards and how much customers have lent them (note: this is old news) piqued my curiosity a bit. Instead of being grateful for the free capital, Starbucks kicked off the pandemic by telling app users that their Starbucks points, which have gotten worse than ever, are about to expire. What a flippant approach to this pandemic! This was the last straw for me, and- bye guys! – I deleted my Starbucks app.

The company has gradually moved away from what made them so successful in the first place. I wasn’t angry, more of a disappointed shrug.as my buddy Todd Harrison always point out, The opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. This is how I feel about them now.

I’m not advising anyone to boycott Starbucks, I’ll still go, just a lot less than before. They don’t give me the warm fluff like they used to.

Amazon: A funny thing happened during the pandemic: Amazon is no longer my automatic choice for online retail purchases. Before the pandemic, I would automatically go to Amazon.com for almost everything and never think twice. But during the lockdown when goods were in short supply, I started to search and find things elsewhere, often at much better prices. For the longest time, Amazon was the low-cost provider; today, this is no longer true.

The site is full of third parties of often questionable quality and sometimes price gouging. Every page is littered with ugly ads — and often the wrong item.

it used to be a huge advantage Keep your credit card + address info on file, but due to the decline of the entire Amazon experience, people set up accounts at competitors: Chewy, Walmart, Target, Google Wallet, etc.

Don’t get me wrong: Amazon will still be a beneficiary of my online spending; but the pandemic has led me to many new relationships with many other companies. Assuming everyone else does the same, the net result will be a decline in Amazon’s market share over the next decade.

YouTube: We all know Netflix, Amazon Prime and HBO Max, and I think I know YouTube. But for the past two years, I’ve been amazed by the breadth and depth of YouTube’s vast array of videos. My appreciation for what they create continues to grow and compound. This is simply surprising.

Before the pandemic, I spent some time with some car and music videos. Today I use this site as a resource for cooking, home repairs, figuring out how to do it. change date on antique watches, Adjust the carburetor An old Werther, build one bat house, Install nerve rod in a jeep, potty training puppy, pretty much anything you want to learn how to do. That was before we had endless options for entertainment and education.

Regardless of my previous opinion of YouTube, it’s probably 100 times that size. amazing!

What is an app/Google Translate/World Remit/Remitly: I mentioned this Before, but What’sApp ($FB) combined with Google Translate ($GOOG) and a global transfer app makes doing business anywhere in the world very easy. This enables specific overseas sales, purchases, shipping, etc. Just ten years ago, this required incredible expertise and resources. Today, there is an app.

local restaurant: The restaurant has been hit hard by the pandemic and we are saddened to lose some of our old friends who are like old friends. But many restaurants are showing entrepreneurial spirit and savvy as they adapt as much as possible to a challenging environment. Some built sidewalk sheds, others filled their patios with gas heaters that all survivors were ready to take out.

I’m particularly impressed with how productive and efficient some restaurants have become in this regard. One of our favorite local joints separates burgers from buns, fixers, and fries to keep everything from getting soggy. Others do similar things with all their dishes. This effort has not gone unnoticed.

Even if you’re doing takeout, you should tip generously, as most of the restaurant’s employees are paid by tipping.

Others had mixed results: I was outraged that Toyota was one of the first car companies to back insurgents in Congress, but others (like Ford) were quick to follow. Live Nation/TicketMaster did a great job, they were barely alive, but I’ve heard of people having a much worse experience than me. There are plenty of companies that donate to local food banks and are generally good corporate citizens, but there are far too many exceptions to this observation.

Which companies have impressed you the most in the past year or two? Which let you down?

Before:
most advanced (September 30, 2021)

America’s CEOs had a great year (February 19, 2021)