"RadioShack's days are numbered"

norton · Post by **norton** » Mon Oct 06, 2014 8:08 am

I love radio shack.... Why?

Because when a diode rectifier goes down on a Friday at 7pm....I can (most of the time) get that emergency part and make the fix.

I would be sad to see them disappear....even if they carry very few parts and pieces....very few is better than none.

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Mon Oct 06, 2014 11:00 am

^^^^ Precisely my feelings (although I do no diode rectifier repairs before or after 7pm, I do go there for last minute adaptors and cables a LOT, which you can't do with the Internet)...

GJ

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Mon Oct 06, 2014 11:35 am

JGriffin_formerlyDWLB wrote:
Fortunately there's still a Sam Ash up in Buffalo Grove. Unfortunately the nearest MusicGoRound is in fucking Kenosha.

Just saw this.

For me, on the So. Side, Buffalo Grove might as well be Kenosha.

Randyman... · Post by **Randyman...** » Mon Oct 06, 2014 1:15 pm

Didn't read all of the responses, but I had an awful experience at Radio Shack just last week. Reminded me a lot of the stories I always hear around here about Guitar Center.

So, I'm building some DIY 500 series gear (DIYRE "Colour" modules), and I break a leg off of an 8-Pin DIN IC Socket. I went through the time and trouble to research the exact Radio Shack part # I needed and confirmed it showed in stock at the Radio Shack by my house (let the Interwebs do the walking). Printed out a pic of the part along with the part # and stock availability and hopped in the truck.

I was on the way to pick up some phone-in food as well, and thought since I had done my legwork ahead of time, I should be in and out in 5 minutes. That's not an unreasonable expectation in my book.

I show the print-out to the ~20 year old Radio Shack clerk and he shows me to the semiconductor drawers, and says "It should be around here somewhere" and then just stands there. So I start sifting through the drawers and crap but can't find it. He doesn't really offer any further assistance (just stands there watching me search for the part myself), just that "The Item # is close to these, so it should be around here" (in the Semiconductor drawers).

I clarify it's not actually a semiconductor I'm looking for, but a passive IC Socket. He still claims it should be by the Semiconductors based only on Item # range. Another customer walks in and he immediately runs off to help him as I start scouring other areas for the item I need.

He comes back to me about 5 minutes later, and then takes the paper to his sales terminal, and confirms "it shows we have 2 in stock" (no shit, Sherlock, I told you that when I walked in the door!), and still just stands there (basically suggesting I'm going to have to locate it because he has done all he possibly can).

About 20 minutes into this adventure, I push further for help locating the item that has been confirmed to be in the store as my call-in food is getting cold. He goes in the back and asks for help. In the meanwhile as I scour EVERY ISLE OF THE STORE, I locate the item on a different isle, and indicate "I found it" as he was still in the back.

As he is ringing me up, I friendly state "I'll generally find what I'm looking for as long as it exists - I get this from my Mom". He seriously said "Yeah, Me too". I thought to myself: What did he say after just making me locate the item I researched for 20 minutes and confirmed was in-stock before I ever entered his store? Wow. I didn't even know what to say to that. Complete delusion going on there...

Basically, if I would not have found it myself, I would have walked out of the store without the part that was confirmed to be in-stock by me and the clerk!

The general "millennial" attitude completely turned me off. They truly believe they are doing great work when they aren't even being remotely helpful. Common Core working it's magic? Something going on here - a large portion of millennials seem to share this odd/misguided attitude that they are doing great work when they haven't done jack shit. Part of the "No one loses" mentality perhaps and over-parenting? It's plain messed up whatever is causing it...

I'd much rather fight through the Big-Box nature of Fry's (where I can generally find stuff much easier) than deal with Radio Shack even for a 99 cent part like an IC Socket, and Fry's is 3x-4x the drive from my house!

Good riddance. I'm glad they were around when I was a pup (built many a Realistic DIY Speaker using Radio Shack drivers and crossovers in my young days), but there are much better alternatives these days (Fry's; Local places like "EPO" in my area, online places like Parts Express and Mouser, even Amazon, etc).

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Mon Oct 06, 2014 1:23 pm

Should asked for fries with that - for which he mighta been qualified to give ya!

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Mon Oct 06, 2014 9:45 pm

Well, that's a problem in _every_ service area now-days. Everywhere. And yeah, it's probably too late, unfortunately. Have catastrophic long-term care insurance; these kids will be running what's left of the world when we are (really) old...

(And-- I know... "Get off my lawn!!!")

GJ

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Tue Oct 07, 2014 4:57 am

You should hear what they say about us!

"Check it out, this dude wanted me to find some little 'lectronics thingie what he coulda just ordered offa the 'zon when I was in the middle of tweeting my latest nekkid selfie. And then he didn't even tip me! And why do these old dudes keep talkin' about their lawn I ain't even ever seen?"

floid · Post by **floid** » Tue Oct 07, 2014 10:20 am

i went in rattling shack a couple weeks ago, inspired by this thread.
'got any etchant solution?'
blank stare
'should be by the copper clad boards.'
blank stare
'yep, here it is, right by the copper clad boards. heard you guys were going bankrupt.'
blank stare.
thing that gets me, is the job application primarily consists of an intelligence test.

Snarl 12/8 · Post by **Snarl 12/8** » Tue Oct 07, 2014 11:30 am

Jeez. I totally forgot that back in the day I applied for a job at Radio Shack. It was a really weird experience. I remember sitting in a really shitty back room for a long time staring at white boards that said weird shit about selling stuff on them. The training was very theoretical. There were posters up with inspirational messages about selling things. I think I walked out of there for lunch and just kept walking.

RadioShack Interview - Sales Associate:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ww3haN9_jTI

digitaldrummer · Post by **digitaldrummer** » Tue Oct 07, 2014 2:47 pm

I'm not trying to defend Rat Shack, however, what do you think his pay scale is? I doubt it is more than minimum wage. The same as Wally World or McHeart-attack (and probably banjo mart too) so why do you think they will get a different kind of employee? This is the consumer world that we have created by expecting everything to be so cheap.

Mike

Orpheus · Post by **Orpheus** » Tue Oct 07, 2014 4:33 pm

digitaldrummer wrote:I'm not trying to defend Rat Shack, however, what do you think his pay scale is? I doubt it is more than minimum wage. The same as Wally World or McHeart-attack (and probably banjo mart too) so why do you think they will get a different kind of employee? This is the consumer world that we have created by expecting everything to be so cheap.

Mike

+1
This is the exact same point I make when I defend the salaries of mailmen and public transit workers. Which is ironic, because by no stretch of the imagination am I even remotely left-wing, but do people really want unmotivated drooling imbeciles making sure their streetcar isnt going to jump the rail?

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Tue Oct 07, 2014 5:53 pm

I happen to be a flaming leftist-type liberal, but I also have a strong work-ethic.

If you take a job, fucking do it. If that means learning the difference between a resistor and a cap, or a condensor and a dynamic, then do it. Otherwise, yer just a timeclock-puncher and useless to all. And, at Rat Shack at least, know where the crap is; it's not like the store is huge or anything ...

There's no excuse for the ignorance (in the actual sense), bad attitude and general dooshbaggery of too many - not all, but too many - people in the retail industry.

BTW, I think GC sales are on commission, no? That's what, IMO, makes the ignorant ones the worse - they wanna sell, but no not what they do.

floid · Post by **floid** » Tue Oct 07, 2014 6:34 pm

i filled out the application and several others a few years ago looking to supplement my income with a part time job. it was like most others, online or at a kiosk. after a few dozen of these multiple choice 'aptitude tests/personality profiles' full of mind games, i started thinking they might actually be designed to weed out anyone with any aptitude or personality - i.e. anyone who might think they're worth more than minimum wage - before the company wastes any labor on an actual interview to pick the cream of the dreggs. but i'm a confirmed pair 'o noids, so, hey.

i mean, c'mon, the phones only take up the front half of the store. how is it okay to know nothing about the entire OTHER HALF of the store?

and 5.99 for an off-brand xlr ain't cheap, especially when you factor in aggravation of finding it for the 'sales rep' so he can sell it to you and ask if you need any batteries to go with that.

jgimbel · Post by **jgimbel** » Tue Oct 07, 2014 9:11 pm

floid wrote:i filled out the application and several others a few years ago looking to supplement my income with a part time job. it was like most others, online or at a kiosk. after a few dozen of these multiple choice 'aptitude tests/personality profiles' full of mind games, i started thinking they might actually be designed to weed out anyone with any aptitude or personality - i.e. anyone who might think they're worth more than minimum wage - before the company wastes any labor on an actual interview to pick the cream of the dreggs. but i'm a confirmed pair 'o noids, so, hey.

I had the same experience. I was applying to places to supplement my income with a part time job before things were really taking off here. Two places I applied (one being a big music store, one being something completely different) were places I've shopped (or at least visited) on a regular basis. As far as the music store goes, I am far more knowledgeable than 75% of the workers there. I do understand that there is more to being good for a job than having a list of facts in your head, but I'm also very approachable, passionate about whatever it is I'm doing, honest, and really look to help people. Hell, I spend hours, days even, putting together videos for Youtube helping people with recording techniques, gear demos, etc, and I get zilch for that - I just do it to try to help people and put something good out into the world. I honestly do think those crazy multiple choice applications are to weed out people who are either a thread to the interviewers job, or smart enough to recognize when they're being hoodwinked. They want people who can do a decent enough job for them to not get in trouble with their superiors, but not be a threat to the way they choose to do things and their potentially unfair practices.

Oh well. Business has taken off so fuck em!

About Radio Shack, when I first saw this news it saddened me, thinking back to my days going there as a kid, when my brother was really into circuitry and electronics. I started going back there once I got into audio, learned to solder, all that stuff. Most of the Radio Shacks around here have now gotten rid of their audio components/connectors, and when I've found an extra XLR connector so I don't have to wait for one to ship if I need it for the next day, it is indeed about $6, vs. around $1.75 for the ones I love online (these - http://www.speakerrepair.com/page/produ ... 23x20.html - they are cheap and amazing! I've got my entire rack wired up with them and they are so well-built and the assembly makes them so easy to solder).

digitaldrummer · Post by **digitaldrummer** » Wed Oct 08, 2014 3:21 pm

this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isdHaKn9QD8

Message Board

"RadioShack's days are numbered"

Who is online