I try to aviod Radio Shack unless I am desparate. So I was desparate and went there on Friday. When I got home the device did not work (why am I surprised?)
So I returned it on Saturday and explained the situation to a different clerk. He actually listened to me. Not only that he found the correct device and tested it for me. Maybe hell has frozen over, ;)
Dick
Someone wins the lottery every so often!
Sure there is no point to go there for an advice. You've got to know what you are looking for when you walk into a RS. However, when was the last time you could get a valuable advice at any other large retail chain store? Those stores have pretty much become free showrooms for other online retailers. I am always guilty of checking the stuff out at Best Buy/ Comp USA and then actually buying it at tigerdirect.com . I guess, as their earnings drop, they loose people that can actually provide any advise at all. Something's gotta change in the world of electronics retail...
\\//.
-------------------------------------
##-----------------------------------------------## Delivered via
Radio Shack bashing needs to be countered.
Radio Shack through out the years even when higher priced have always stood by electronic hobbyist and been a source of electronic parts. Keeping the stores stocked with low profit per space parts should be commended. Most retail outlets can't be bothered by including such parts in their inventory. You'd be hard pressed to find a local source for a two watt non inductive resistor but Radio Shack will have one, even if the guy behind the counter doesn't know what it is.
snipped-for-privacy@mucks.net wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com:
You have a good point. Sortta like an old hardware store huh? :-)
Years ago, while in New York on business, I needed a cable. RS was handy so I went in and picked out the cable, then gave the company credit card.
When the clerk asked for a phone number, I replied that it was a business credit card, I was from out of state, and I just wanted to buy the cable and get back to my client.
The clerk refused to sell me the cable.
So I returned it on Saturday and explained the situation to a different clerk. He actually listened to me. Not only that he found the correct device and tested it for me. Maybe hell has frozen over, ;)
Dick
It isn't local, which can be a pita, but Mouser or DigiKey will undoubtedly have anything you need...
--
I live in Texas, and Radio Shack has really been hit or miss for me as well. I am trying to build some electronic trains, and sometimes Radio Shack is my only bet. UGH!
Sonya
First I have to confess. I was once a RS employee.
This was over a dozen years ago and happened sort of by accident. I had retired from my real job and my wife was still working. I had a little home project and dropped into my local RS to pick up some bits and pieces. They had a sign in the window advertising for help. Well, I figured , what the hell, it would be like working in a toy store. In the application, I said no nights or weekends, full or part time. I though I would get a turndown. Who wanted a retiree with those requirements. (Oh, somewhere in my background was a BSEE)
I got the job, full time, no nights or weekends. I stuck it out for three years. During that time I reached longevity in that store. I went through five different mangers. Hiring was done by the district office and they were desperate for help. And I was on the third district manager when I left.
I saw new employees come in that had no clue about anything electronic. It was not uncommon for a newbie to go out to lunch and never come back. The turnover in the company when I was there was said to be greater than 100% per year.
This was during the time when the "you've got questions, we have answers" was started. No one ever said they were the right answers. There was enough out and out lying go on I told one manager I was going to turn him in if I heard him spout the crap he was doling out.
I attracted a faithful set of customers who trusted me. If some one had a really in depth question about a product, I had no problem using the internal telephone system to call someone in the company who was savvy about a particular product and could provide information that might mean looking up a parts list or even a voltage reading. We had a nearby repair center that was also a good source. The big difference was hat I could ask the right question and relay it to the customer in a way it was correct and understandable.
I am not surprise that they have reduced the small parts line-up There are fewer and fewer people who are looking to experiment or trying to fix a TV or stereo now that everything is surface mount and so many things are built with ic's that are custom and not obtainable.
I've got lots of stories, but I just wanted to give a perspective from someone who had been inside.
Please forgive me for past sins.
Charlie (now actively retired)
I've looked at tigerdirect, and always thought their prices were way high.
Bob
As long as the one they have is the value you need, great. I've rarely found that to be the case.
Bob
I have a warm spot in my heart for RS because during my college years in the 1950s I worked part time as a counter man in the original RS store on Washington Street, in the heart of downtown Boston.
That was when the founders, the Deutschmann brothers, still owed RS, before Tandy aquired the chain in 1963.
While you can't find every electronic component you might need at a RS store today, most larger cities have one or more retail customer friendly electronic supply stores which can help with your "need it today" purchases.
Here in the Boston area one such place is "You-do-it" Electronics in Needham:
Jeff
I agree. Without Radio Shack, every little component a tinkerer might need will cost at least a shipping fee, probably UPS (and a wait). When I need something small like a relay or a photoresistor, I wind up at RS. While I'm there, I like to browse. I'll examine their toys & their accessories, and maybe flip through their flier.
Radio Shack can't last forever the way it's going, but I hope it survives in one form or another. ... and I hope they start paying their store managers a living wage!
Only once in the last ten years or so have I had a bad time at a RS. I walked into one -- a different store than my usual -- that the manager had turned into his own personal 'hip-hop' studio, and I was an intruder. Generally, the 'help' isn't much help, but I already know exactly what I need, and in many cases I'll already have the Radio Shack part number on a piece of paper.
You thought right. The last place to consider, in my buying...
-- Oren
"I wouldn't even be here if my support group hadn't beaten me up."
I used to buy everything at Radio Shack until I bought my first "IBM compatible" computer there. It was many years before I returned.
The local RS has Internet Kiosk . Check the web site, while in the store.
-- Oren
"I wouldn't even be here if my support group hadn't beaten me up."
Our first computer was a Tandy, I think. Donkey Kong? Could rewrite the program to make it more fun.
What year is it in your neighborhood? Around here, the RS stores have dropped most parts from shelf display, and the selection in the catalog isn't much better. Almost nothing for the hobbyist. Basically a cell phone and toy store now- along with no parts, almost no shortwave/CB/scanner stuff- you know, the 'R' in RS?
Glad your store is still serving your needs. I go in the ones around here maybe twice a year, and usually leave empty-handed and wondering why I bothered. One has already gone belly-up, and as empty as the parking lot always is at the surviving stand-alone store, I'm pretty sure the 3rd one in the mall will be the only one left within a year. Like a lot of niche retailers, some marketing mistakes on their part, combined with easy access to oddball stuff on internet, and competition from big-boxes for disposable stuff, has made their corporate future very iffy.
aem sends....
I remember the TRash 80s. We had several when I was in college.
it was the most stupid store policy in the history of retail. i liked to tell them mine was 666-123-4567 slowly.
if they said it couldn't be i'd ask them if they are calling me a liar? i refuse to give people my phone number. none of their freakin' business. my wife cringes when they ask. tee hee
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.