Can you stage a protest outside a business/store? (credit card, judgement, buy)
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hi,
assuming that someone is dissatisfied with a service provided by a store, and all negotiations have failed and the store is not willing to accept responsibility, is it 'legal' to stage a protest outside their store to let others know about what happened?
Personally, I don't think protests work. They don't make the store look horrible - they make the protestors look like idiots that don't have anything better to do with their time but stand in front of a store. I can't say I have ever seen an effective protest at any store. There are better ways of getting your voice heard - through ratings sites, e-mails to friends, posts on facebook.
Personally, I don't think protests work. They don't make the store look horrible - they make the protestors look like idiots that don't have anything better to do with their time but stand in front of a store. I can't say I have ever seen an effective protest at any store. There are better ways of getting your voice heard - through ratings sites, e-mails to friends, posts on facebook.
you know what.....
i do agree with you. i look at protesters as crazies and people who have no lives....
it's just that i have done the rating sites thing (posted comments on 16 different sites), as well as facebook, didn't mention it to friends yet....but might.
i guess you're right though....i was hoping for him to freak out when he saw people outside his store....that's what i was going for.....but again, i guess you're right in what you said. i guess i'll rethink that.
thank you.
I once had protesters. It was the very first day of the very first Star Wars film, and every seat was sold out. There were HUGE signs in the lobby telling the people standing in line to buy tickets that their tickets were good for THE CURRENT SHOW, ONE SHOW ONLY, and that "stay-overs" would not be allowed.
Two dinguses bought tickets for a matinee show, then showed up in the evening. Did I mention EVERY SEAT WAS SOLD OUT? They demanded to be let in. Very politely, they were asked "Did you read the signs?" "Yes, but..." "Were you told by the cashier that tickets were for that performance only?" "Yes, but..." "Did I not make a personal announcement to the people in the line repeating what was on the signs?" "Yes, but... yada yada, harrumph harrumph." Sorry, your seats were saved open on that matinee show. Besides, there is a price difference between matinee and evening. No refunds.
The next day they were outside with placards protesting. People would come up and ask what the issue was, then shake their heads. After about forty-five minutes, a car pulled up to them with a VERY angry older couple (apparently parents of these 20 somethings, who had been called by a neighbor, going "You won't believe...") and they were summarily hustled into the car and away.
Sidewalk protests rarely have the desired effects.
What does work instead is standing your ground inside a store when being ripped off. Radio Shack once attempted to run a fairly large computer store. The technicians were ill-mannered, ill-trained, and just about every customer who went up to the counter walked away dissatisfied and angry. When the "treatment" started on me, I simply gave it back in spades. If you have ever read "Dune", you know of the Bene Gesserit voice. People who have to control large crowds (like theatre managers) have a variation of that "voice." It is loud, with a controlled tenseness that commands immediate attention. I used that voice to repeat what was being said to me, and my opinion of it. I guarantee that it was heard by every single customer in the store. By the end of the first round, the "service representative" completely caved, brought a manager, who was forced to apologize, and I was treated, not with respect (which they had for no-one), but with EXTREME care, courtesy, and precise protocol. I have no doubt that my one exposition of their customer treatment in a packed store cost them a couple hundred customers, and sped the demise of the store.
hi,
assuming that someone is dissatisfied with a service provided by a store, and all negotiations have failed and the store is not willing to accept responsibility, is it 'legal' to stage a protest outside their store to let others know about what happened?
State: VA
My understanding is that as long as you are on public right-of-way and do not prevent or impede their customers or employees from coming and going your first amendment rights cover you for freedom of speach.
you know what.....
i do agree with you. i look at protesters as crazies and people who have no lives....
it's just that i have done the rating sites thing (posted comments on 16 different sites), as well as facebook, didn't mention it to friends yet....but might.
i guess you're right though....i was hoping for him to freak out when he saw people outside his store....that's what i was going for.....but again, i guess you're right in what you said. i guess i'll rethink that.
thank you.
Then that is all you can do...the results aren't always immediate. But, I know I look at ratings on Yelp.com all the time. Same with the travel sites whenever I go anywhere. Some things I take with a grain of salt, but if I can ask, what did this business do that upset you so much? You don't have to name them...
Check with local law enforcement on your city's municipal codes. In a lot instances you will need a permit.
I picketed a local video store in 1986. Before Blockbuster and Hollywood Video came to our city. The idiots of the video store were charging my credit card for two tapes they say I never returned. I disputed the charges and they took me to small claims court for $200 dollars. They lost as I showed they never gave a receipt to their patrons showing a return had been made plus I provided photographs that showed their drop off bin was open to anyone who wanted to walk away with a movie without their knowledge. Long story short I reverse sued them and got a judgement for $500 dollars. After trying to collect for six months with no luck I picketed their store. I handed a leaflet to every patron coming out of the store explaining my story. I caused enough business to go to another store in one week that they caved and gave me my money.
Your just there to tell your story only nothing else. Everything must be factual. Do not slander the business. Stick strictly to your story. Also let the business know what your going to do after you have the permit. You must have a end to your plan which should be to get the business to act in someway whether it is a change in policies or compensation to you for mistreating you in some fashion. Don't try to make it a smear campaign that will only back fire with the public and they will think you are a tin foil hat wearing cuckoo.
no. it's not enough money for the hassle of court....but it's enough money to spend a couple of hours outside his store holding a sign. lol
You need to know teh laws i your sate and town. Bascaically not on the stores property;and not that you block driveways in most towns or block entrances. One other thing to consider is that if something happens and say some says you caused a wreck ;you can be sued likie anything else.Also make sure you say geenral things and if specific you can prove them in case of suit.
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