Best Buy scores big in “Worst Company In America” contest

Local big-boxer Best Buy has seen its fair share of publicity woes lately. Last May, there was a major lawsuit filed in Hennepin  County against Best Buy’s Geek Squad computer-support department for allegedly stealing photos and other private materials from customer computers. Then, just a few weeks ago, another employee confessed to copying a woman’s photos onto his flash drive, according to the Star Tribune.

And as Best Buy continues to gobble up space and present itself in nearly every region of the world–the company opened or acquired 127 new stores last year–analysts have questioned the company’s moves that come in tough economic times and as competition for the retailer has greatly increased. Just this week Best Buy announced it will spend $2.2 billion for a 50 percent stake in Carphone Warehouse, a company with a horrible name that has 2,400 stores in nine different countries.

The seemingly endless yellow-tag proliferation hasn’t produced favor among many consumers, either. In the Consumerist’s annual “Worst Company in America” contest, Best Buy is currently topping the evil meter with 13,081 votes, scoring more hate than such customer-loathing vets as Wal-Mart, Comcast, Clear Channel, CitiBank, and Sallie Mae. It even beats out United HealthCare, a local company that’s been seriously publicity damaged by scandal and greed, among other things, over the years.

Of course, a company that denies its customers health care versus a retailer that can’t stop producing stores and unnecessary rip-off add-ons wins out as the worst in my book every time. But the contest has just begun. What do you think is the worst local company that deserves to top the list?