March madness: Target, Best Buy in ‘Worst Company in America’ tourney

Come March, madness isn’t reserved for just college hoops. The Consumerist, a Consumers Union blog, is seeing which corporations will earn Worst Company in America honors, based on reader voting. Local companies Target and Best Buy are in the running — and, in one case at least, aren’t faring well.

Participating companies — which include AIG, GM, Sears, Citi, Bank of America and Wal-Mart, among others — were nominated by readers and seeded based on the number of votes each got. (Companies seem to get the nod for overcharging, having poor customer service records or return policies, among other complaints.) Number-eight seed Best Buy, the Twin Cities-based electronics big-box chain, faces off with cellphone giant T-Mobile (#25), and so far, it’s a blowout, with Minnesota’s own garnering 84 percent of the “which company is worse” votes. It’s no surprise that AIG is the tournament’s top seed, but that the bailout recipient is paired with Target (#32) is. But no worries for Big Red: AIG is leading with 96 percent of the vote.