Posted on 09/15/2014 8:19:49 PM PDT by Jack Hydrazine
Gentlemen and gentlewomen of a certain age harbor fond memories of trips to RadioShack. In days of yore, ham radios and homemade guitar amplifiers would emerge from the mysterious jumble of wires and audio components hawked by this unpretentious electronic retailer.
Whatever one’s view of this American institution with about 27,000 employees, it is near death. On Thursday, RadioShack warned that it may file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I always gave Sticle as my last name to RS. The first time they asked for my first name , I said I went by my initials - T.E.. They entered it into the computer. Every subsequent time I went in, they would ask my name, I would say Sticle and they already have it in their computer. They would pull it up and say " T.E. ? ". I'd say yes, and they would say "Thank You Mr. Sticle" I don't know if they ever caught on :-)
Just about everyone today one can find a flea market..and depending on the size, there's usually one or more vendors carrying the same stuff that RS stocks nowadays, but a lot cheaper..and that person is actually willing to talk to you, and knows his stuff.
Personal reflection. In the early 60's when I was a young teen... RS was in its heyday, I bought a Heathkit tuner and amp..the store manager..and back then they were long time employees..they were paid based on how well the store did..they were almost like owner-operators...before I built them..he had me come back a few times for soldering lessons..needless to say, they came out working superbly..had them for years..
That was a big turn off for me too. One of the last times I was in a RS many years ago, it was a RS in a mall and I popped in to buy a pack of D batteries while I was there at the mall, rather than making another trip somewhere else, and paying cash, less than $5 and the little snitty “boy” behind the counter wanted my name and address and I said, “No. I choose not the share that information”. He then told me that the cash register would not ring up with sale without it so I told him to put in his address, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, the address for Wrigley Field or whatever he wanted but I wasn’t giving him my address, didn’t want to be on their mailing list or for whatever purposes they wanted it for including selling it to telemarkers (they used to be able to easily get your phone number, even unpublished numbers from cross lookup phone books). He said he couldn’t do that and then stood there dumbfounded and wouldn’t ring up the sale, so put the batteries down on the counter and walked out.
I’ve been in other stores that “ask” for an address or an email addy (Yankee Candle is one that always asks) but none of those retailers have ever refused to ring up my purchase for politely telling them I choose not to give it to them. I have also pointed out to the clerks, and any customers in line, especially other women, that while you are giving the clerk your home address, anyone standing nearby can overhear it, including a potential stalker or rapist. That might sound paranoid but I have heard of isolated cases were exactly that happened. Better safe than sorry.
The very last time I was in a RS, one right around the corner from my house, back in the mid-90’s, the older man working there greeted me with “Hello there little lady”. OK. Not the worst thing in the world and given his age, I gave him a pass even though it came off a bit condescending. I was there looking for a replacement battery for my cordless phone, knew the make and model of my phone and the size and specs of the battery I needed (voltage, mAh, etc.). And then he asked me, “Are you sure that’s what you need? Don’t you want to check with your husband first or go home and bring him back with you?” He wouldn’t even look to see if they had in stock what I needed. Grrrrr!
First of all my husband was technologically impaired when it came to any and all things electronic. He never did learn how to program the VCR – LOL! And I had built our first home PC and had upgraded several others (memory, hard drives, power supplies, replaced fans), was working in an IT department at the time and I wired our new light fixture and a ceiling fan after my husband couldn’t figure it out. My husband was the last person who would know what type of and or how to even replace the cordless phone battery.
I walked out and drove to my favorite electronics store, an independent store in Towson MD – Baynesville electronics – really techie haven. I had purchased all sorts of computer parts, stereo cables, and turntable cartridges from them in the past and they never talked down to me as a customer like the guy at RS did. I never set foot in another RS again.
When my father built his Heathkit color television I was too young to give him hands-on help. I just sat at the table in my jammys studying him. With a Tareyton hanging out the corner of his mouth, cig smoke mixing with the lead solder smoke, I learned more watching him than in any school year at any level. The set included a remote control(!). When you operated the remote, you would see the massive channel knob turn with a big clunk. I remember him putting the fear of God in me when it came time to “degauss” the tube.
My first computer was a trs80 too.
Don’t know how much you paid at RS, but any cable at Best Buy is priced 3 to 5 times higher than what you can get the same piece for on Amazon. NEVER by cables at Best Buy.
BBY has some amazing items in stock though, the 75 inch 4D ultra high resolution and curved TV’s are stunning. They are at least trying to say in the game, RS is run by a bunch of shyster clowns.
We’ve not used our teevee in years. All that was ever watched would be FNC and that can be seen streaming over the net. After 7 years, DH decided we’d get a new, stronger antenna but was certain our tv would no longer be working. He fiddled with it for days attempting to get it to play a VCR. When he at last figured the combination correctly, what a pleasant surprise. IT WORKED! This man never learned how to set a VCR, let alone hook one up to a TeeVee. He was so proud :) He actually got something up and running without having to first repair 8 other items in which to do so. Must say, haven’t missed the tube much but it would be great to see local news and the severe storm alerts which come thru Texas each year. It’s the beginning..perhaps with age, wisdom at times is a little slow on the uptake.
I was helping a friend with an HDTV installation and needed a cable. Went to a Best Buy and looked at their selection. They were all overpriced Monster cables, and none of them were long enough anyway. I asked a salesdrone, and he went in the back and came out with a cable of the right length that was a fraction of the Monster Cable price.
The worst part of Best Buy is the constant oppressive throbbing of hip-hop “music” that fills the store and assaults you as you walk in the door.
I miss the Radio Shack of the budding inventor and scientifically curious.
Some idiot suit tried to make them mini me best buy.
how about the days when the parts were displayed proudly on pegboards and not exiled in drawers? (or selling cables at 6x the price of anywhere else?)
The trobbing rap music is reason one I don’t go to best buy. The overprice everything is reason two.
If on the rare occasion I do go in, it is with a very specific mission to look at a product in person and then leave ASAP so I can buy it elsewhere for far far far less. (total time less than 2-4 minutes). Rap music pushing you to leave every single second.
Do-it-yourselfism is not dead. You can find it in the 3D printing area. Maker faires are very popular and crowded. People are building their own 3D printers and accessories. Americans are creating, while the Chinese are copying American 3D stuff. Also check out TechShop. Their shops are busy with young people crafting stuff using CNC, lathes, welders etc. There is still hope for do-it-yourselfism.
My late uncle worked for Railway Express. I haven’t thought about that outfit for years! DEEP archive, for sure!
The clerks probably won’t be out of a job for long.
The telemarketing and spam outfits are surely dispatching recruiters into every RS looking for ideal employees. :-/
Jeff Bezos killed Radio Shack. It’s just the way it is...get innovative or die.
Good price, it falls in with Walmart pricing, Panasonic makes Walmart’s.
The nearest Ikea store is four hours away...still cheaper at RadioShack, lol.
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