11 Most Hated Companies in America in 2017

There’s a lot of hate in the world, unfortunately, and the 11 most hated companies in America in 2017 are getting at least 23% of that global hate directed at them. You can’t talk about these 11 companies on any online forum without 100 hate-filled messages popping up, regaling you with how evil they are, how they price gouge, have terrible customer service, and probably hate kittens.

Certainly, customer service plays an integral role in people’s perception of companies and whether or not they hate them. Nothing riles up customers more than listening to elevator music for 20 minutes while waiting to talk to a bonafide human being, not even Wal-Mart rolling up its price on something by 11 cents. For that reason, many cable companies are among the most hated in the world, as they’re one of the few companies you’re probably going to need to call up every now and then.

In broader terms, many oil companies are at the receiving end of a lot of ire from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which criticize them for their destruction of the environment, among other issues. Tax avoidance has also become a heated topic of late, with many groups and people growing weary of corporations using loopholes and foreign domiciles to avoid paying their fair share back into the system.

To compile such a hateful list, we utilized rankings from three different sources and spliced them together, giving equal weight to each list. Those lists are: Sigwatch’s 2016 list of Corporations that NGOs loved and hated in 2015, The Harris Poll’s 2016 Reputation Quotient, and 24/7 Wall St.’s 2017 list of America’s Most Hated Companies. The higher a company ranked on each list, the more hate points they got, starting with 20 points for a first place finish, 18 for second, 16 for third, and so on, down to 10 points, at which point the gap was lowered to 1 less point for each lower placing.  The company with the most hate points won…or is that lost? Either way, the 11 with the most points made the list of the 11 Most Hated Companies in America in 2017, which begins on the next page.

If you haven’t yet gotten your fill of hate after reading this article, then head over to the 16 Most Hated Companies in America for more. Now then, on with the list.

11. Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SHLD) –Total Score: 13 Hate Points

The list of most hated companies in America in 2017 kicks off with Sears, which seems to be an unusual target for a lot of hate, considering it’s an iconic but struggling company that has become a bit of an underdog; and everyone loves an underdog right? Apparently not. Sears ranked 9th on 24/7 Wall St.’s list and 10th on The Harris Poll’s list, giving it a total score of 13 hate points. The company ranks extremely poorly in customer satisfaction among department store chains, besting only Wal-Mart. Employee satisfaction is also low, being dragged down by low wages and unprofessional management.

10th Most Hated Company in America: McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) –Total Score: 14 Hate Points

McDonald’s is a more obvious target, being the most popular fast-food chain in the U.S. And with popularity often comes an equal measure of hate. McDonald’s ranked last among 17 rivals on the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), which led to it ranking 4th on 24/7 Wall St.’s list. McDonald’s may be suffering additional hate for its stance against a $15 minimum wage, and because it’s often cited prominently in any discussion regarding that movement, alongside Wal-Mart. However, interestingly enough, McDonald’s also ranked third on Sigwatch’s list, but in a positive light: as the third-most praised company.

9. DISH Network Corp. (NASDAQ:DISH) – Total Score: 16 Hate Points

DISH Network ranked on both 24/7 Wall St. and The Harris Poll’s lists, for its terrible customer satisfaction scores and equally terrible employee satisfaction scores. Just 38% of DISH employees would recommend working at the company, while 47% of customers have reported having an unpleasant experience with it, which led to it having the lowest reputation score among satellite providers.

8. Mylan NV (NASDAQ:MYL) –Total Score: 16 Hate Points

Mylan ranks eighth on the list of the Most Hated Companies in America in 2017, with its points all coming from its third-place ranking on 24/7 Wall St.’s list. That poor showing was due to the controversy surrounding the price of the company’s EpiPen, which has jumped by 500% over the past decade. Mylan CEO Heather Bresch, who made $18 million in salary in 2015, defended the rising costs before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee last year, claiming that the company only makes $100 in profit on each $600 2-pack of EpiPens, despite the fact they could somehow sell them for just $100 a decade ago. No one was buying it.

7. Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) –Total Score: 18 Hate Points

The number seven on our list of most hated companies in America in 2017, Halliburton ranked second on The Harris Poll’s reputation list, falling from fifth a year earlier, beating only Volkswagen. As it’s not a consumer-facing company, the hate is entirely based on public perception of its transgressions, though surprisingly, it did not rank on Sigwatch’s list, despite several other oil giants making the cut. Halliburton is infamous for the Deepwater Horizon spill, as well as its connection to former Chairman and CEO Dick Cheney, who became one of the least-liked politicians in U.S history.

6. Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A) –Total Score: 20 Hate Points

Whereas Halliburton missed Sigwatch’s list, Royal Dutch Shell topped it for the second-straight year. The company drew the ire of many NGOs for its efforts to drill for oil in the Alaskan and Canadian arctic. While those efforts have since been abandoned, partly due to low gas prices putting a damper on such costly endeavors, the company still sees the potential for future drilling in those regions, so they may not be safe from Royal Dutch Shell for long.

5th Most Hated Company in America: BP plc (ADR) (NYSE:BP) –Total Score: 22 Hate Points

BP ranked third on The Harris Poll’s list and tenth on Sigwatch’s list, as it continues to be hated for the same primary reason as Halliburton: for its connection to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, for which BP was largely blamed by US District Judge Carl Barbier, who declared their actions “reckless”, while Halliburton and Transocean were considered to only be “negligent”. In fact, Judge Barbier placed 67% of the blame for the disaster on BP, with just 3% being placed on Halliburton, despite their nearly equal hate.

4. Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) –Total Score: 25 Hate Points

Coming in fourth on the list of most hated companies in America in 2017 is Bank of America, the only financial institution to rank among the most hated companies in the US. BoA came in second on 24/7 Wall St.’s list, while ranking ninth on The Harris Poll’s list. However, ninth on the latter list was a big improvement for Bank of America, which topped the list back in 2014. However, while its overall reputation is improving somewhat as the scars of the financial crisis scab over and are picked off, it still ranks at the bottom in terms of customer satisfaction among banks, and has also dealt with racial and gender discrimination suits being brought against it by its employees.

3. Volkswagen AG (ADR) (OTCMKTS:VLKAY) –Total Score: 29 Hate Points

The next in line on our list of most hated companies in America in 2017 is the Volkswagen that soared to the top of The Harris Poll’s list while also ranking seventh on Sigwatch’s list after its emissions scandal broke, in which it was uncovered that the company’s cars were designed to provide false emissions readings to regulators. The scandal led to a $15.3 billion settlement, the largest ever lawsuit against a car manufacturer in U.S history. Volkswagen’s sales crumbled after the scandal, though they’ve begun to pick up the pace now, with China serving as an important growth market for the German company.

2. Monsanto Company (NYSE:MON) –Total Score: 30 Hate Points

On my recent list of the 10 Most Interesting Companies in the World, I stated that Monsanto (which ranked 9th on that list) would probably rank highly on a list of most hated companies in America in 2017 if we ever did such a list. Well, here it is, and Monsanto does indeed rank highly, landing in second spot. While it did not land on 24/7 Wall St.’s list (no company had the dubious distinction of making all 3 lists), it ranked second on Sigwatch’s list and fifth on The Harris Poll’s list. While its reputation score on the latter list has improved somewhat following Monsanto’s campaign to raise public acceptance of GMOs, the company is still one of the most hated and distrusted in the world. Monsanto often bears the brunt of the criticism surrounding GMOs and agrichemicals in general, as it’s come to be the poster child for the industry.

Most Hated Company In America: Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) – Total Score: 34 Hate Points

Not even people’s distaste for genetically modified food and tragic oil spills could outdo their distaste for Comcast’s horrid customer service, which landed the company in the top spot as the most hated in America in 2017. Comcast ranked first on 24/7 Wall St.’s list and fourth on The Harris Poll’s list, giving it an unenviable 34 hate points. The good news for Comcast is that cable companies are relatively unaffected by having a negative reputation, as they enjoy a near monopoly in some markets and their competitors are often almost as reviled as they are (despite not making this list, Time Warner Cable, now a subsidiary of Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR), is also one of the worst rated companies in terms of customer satisfaction).

That’s it, we have no more hate to dish out. What do you think of the list of the 11 Most Hated Companies in America in 2017? Are any of these companies undeserving of all the hate? Which companies that didn’t make the list deserve more hate? Let us know in the comments.

Disclosure: None