Brand Loyalty, Why Or Why Not?

[Brian Ski]

Most of my tools are Milwaukee because of the whole battery thing but I have a hedge trimmer, a power washer, and a chemical sprayer from Ryobi.

I do have a few Ryobi tools. Wife likes to trim around the yard and can't start a gas push mower. I got her a Ryobi battery operated push mower. She loves it. Rechargeable battery, matches the battery in the hedge trimmer and weed eater. The push mower only weighs a few pound. It is plastic and not sure how it would hold up. But for 3? years it has been doing great.

Power washer would have to be a gasser for the power. Even the 110 volt ones are to weak.

I haven't seen the Ryobi sprayer yet. But I have a pop can that can hold a 3 gallon mix and pressurize it with an air hose to 100 psi or better.

 

[KLB]

I have a Ryobi 40v post hole digger. It is the only Ryobi tool I still own. It is pretty awesome though.

 

[Mgderf]

I used to buy Craftsman hand tools exclusively.
When Sears died so did the Craftsman quality.

These days I consider ALL tools' hand and power' to be "consumables "

 

[Ingomike]

I used to buy Craftsman hand tools exclusively.
When Sears died so did the Craftsman quality.

These days I consider ALL tools' hand and power' to be "consumables "

The Craftsman name is for sale to the highest bidder, no quality restrictions…

 

[Gingerbeardman]

JTS Brown
Miller lite
Vernors
Red Wing
Marmot
O'Reilly's (my local one has good counter people)
Brownberry Oatnut bread
Pair of Thieves socks

 

[Brian Ski]

I have a Ryobi 40v post hole digger. It is the only Ryobi tool I still own. It is pretty awesome though.

Never heard of one of those either. Not sure if I would trust one. I have a HF gas one I picked up and made sure I used it under the 30 day warrantee. (It may be longer) But we beat the crud out of it hitting roots, rocks and concrete. I am really surprised how well it held up.

 

[KLB]

Never heard of one of those either. Not sure if I would trust one. I have a HF gas one I picked up and made sure I used it under the 30 day warrantee. (It may be longer) But we beat the crud out of it hitting roots, rocks and concrete. I am really surprised how well it held up.

40V HP BRUSHLESS 8" EARTH AUGER KIT - RYOBI Tools

40V HP BRUSHLESS 8" EARTH AUGER KIT

www.ryobitools.com

8" auger. Light enough I could use it myself. I used it for 20 or so fence posts for our goat pen.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

i’ve worked at GM for pretty much 40 years now. Every car and truck I’ve bought in that time (IIRC) has been one model or another of GM’s.

I found Wrangler/Riggs jeans a few years ago. They’re the only ones I’ll buy now.

Still buy DeWalt tools because of the common battery.

I’ve had 2 Scag mowers now in almost 20 years. I’d probably buy another if the current one dies.

I’ve had Stihl and Husqvarna power tools. The only thing I’ve had of both brands was a string trimmer. Honestly, if I were buying a new one today, I’d go Husqvarna.

 

[Brian Ski]

8" auger. Light enough I could use it myself. I used it for 20 or so fence posts for our goat pen.

HF was about half that... I made sure I ran it dry when I put it away... It may be a while before I need it again. With the rocks and concrete I hit, i was surprised I didn't blow out the gear case.
We could use it with one person pretty well. Except it was better with 2 people when you hit something it would not throw you as bad.

Ryobi stuff I have has been good, but I consider it more light duty. Pole saw has done a lot of cutting. A little flimsy and the electrical connections are a little weak. (I had to tweak them to get them to work better.) For the price I was happy.

https://www.harborfreight.com/gas-powered-earth-auger-57341.html

 

[Magyars]

Ruger, kershaw and Honda

 

[Phil502]

Duluth Trading Company. Pants, socks, underwear, shoes, hats, shirts. Good quality stuff, not cheap but outlasts other stuff I’ve bought.

 

[Zjhagens]

I think what brand loyalty actually is for most people, whether or not they realize it, is less about truly being loyal to a brand. Rather, it’s a risk averse mental model that helps us narrow choices to make easier decisions based on past experience. We automatically do things like this all day every day without even realizing it.

Sure, there some instances where you may buy from a company simply because they align with your values, but these are pretty rare IMO, and if most of us are honest we buy from whatever makes the most financial and operational sense in the moment. For most of us it’s more “all else being equal, I’ll buy from X company” and that’s about as far as brand loyalty goes.

Another consideration often confused for brand loyalty is switching costs. I always buy iPhones. Am I loyal to Apple? Absolutely not. I couldn’t care less about Apple as a company. I buy iPhones because the switching costs are high (new charge cables, moving everything off iCloud, learning a new OS, etc…). There are probably better phones out there, but I don’t care, because any benefit I would receive is less than the pain I would incur by switching.

Not saying brand loyalty doesn’t exist, but under the surface there are usually other factors underlying it.

 

[KLB]

Not saying brand loyalty doesn’t exist, but under the surface there are usually other factors underlying it.

What about for vehicles though? What are the factors that make someone loyal to a manufacturer, other than I work for them that is?

 

[Zjhagens]

What about for vehicles though? What are the factors that make someone loyal to a manufacturer, other than I work for them that is?

Mostly the same factors I referenced in my post. If I’ve had good luck previously with Chevy trucks then I’m more likely to buy a Chevy truck. Not because I’m loyal to the brand necessarily, but because it’s an instinctual human behavior to recognize patterns based on our experience and repeat things that have yielded good results, and vice versa.

We default to what we’re comfortable with. We have to be compelled to act outside of our past actions that have worked out for us.

There can be switching costs to cars too. Maybe you have a guy that works at the Chevy dealership that you trust not to BS you. You don’t have that at Ford. Maybe you trust the mechanics at your local Chevy dealer. Maybe you’ve made being a “Chevy guy” part of your personality. Buying a Ford would therefore require you to changing course on something you’ve preached to others about.

I do think this topic is somewhat generational. Older generations likely being far more prone to brand loyalty than younger. Part of that is cultural and upbringing, part of that is simply that older generations have more experience and thus a more deeply rooted mental model.

 

[Brian Ski]

We default to what we’re comfortable with. We have to be compelled to act outside of our past actions that have worked out for us.

Sounds like the way people keep voting Democrat.

I do agree with what you say. I always bought that brand and it works so I stick with it. May not be the best but it is what I am used too.

I am a Milwaukee guy, but I would not go with Dewalt because of the switching costs like you mentioned. I would say Milwaukee is better, but Dewalt is fine, but you are looking at a new battery system.

 

[Ingomike]

Sounds like the way people keep voting Democrat.

I do agree with what you say. I always bought that brand and it works so I stick with it. May not be the best but it is what I am used too.

I am a Milwaukee guy, but I would not go with Dewalt because of the switching costs like you mentioned. I would say Milwaukee is better, but Dewalt is fine, but you are looking at a new battery system.

Actually there are thousands of people that vote dem because grandpa was a UAW and they likely still buy grandpa’s brand of car also…

 

[indyartisan]

Duluth makes the most comfortable pants and shorts.
They are proud of them though so I wait for the sales.

 

[Ingomike]

What about for vehicles though? What are the factors that make someone loyal to a manufacturer, other than I work for them that is?

I think @Zjhagens has pretty well summed car loyalty up.

I grew up in a family of many GM workers. Almost the whole family had GM even twenty years after the fact.

Because of all those jobs and the plethora of GM brands there was a GM dealer in every town far less for other brands.

Then there is the social aspect. My GM team was always busting balls of the Ford guys and vice versa, switching teams would be like a senior ball player switching schools and teams.

The tactile feel of vehicles. In another brand I was always looking for switches and buttons but our old GM vehicles were mostly laid out similar.

Obviously if the vehicles are junk those factors are likely not enough long term but they have an impact.

 

[Magyars]

Actually there are thousands of people that vote dem because grandpa was a UAW and they likely still buy grandpa’s brand of car also…

Just proves God loves idiots, he made so many of them!

 

[TheGrumpyGuy]

Relative to industry specific equipment I've used daily/weekly for the past 35+ years:

Yamaha mixers (both analog & digital)
Crown amps
EV (passive) speakers & Yamaha (active) speakers
Shure mics (both wired & wireless)

Specific to Shure Corp., about 15+ years ago I bought a used, out-of-warranty antenna combiner only to find out it had some minor issues (freq. drift). Electronics friend of mine attempted to repair it, but couldn't get it right (His repair attempt was also very noticeable). Took it to the local Dealer/Repair center (IRC Audio) and 2 weeks later had a brand new, current model unit in my hands, at no charge from the factory. This was a $600 item (out the door price) they replaced at N/C, despite the fact that it was well outside of warranty, and had an amateur repair attempt on it to boot. You don't get that kind of customer service anywhere these days...