Back in the 1970s and early 1980s, Radio Shack was one of the greatest places to go. The stores back then were exploding with gear from CB radios to shortwave sets to do-it-yourself Heath kits. The shelves were teeming with radios (yes, Radio Shack used to sell radios). When personal computers started making the scene, Radio Shack was on the cutting edge. I think for a few years, they sold more personal computers, including their own brand (TRS-80), than anybody else.
About the mid 1980s, they started going downhill. Especially when they used to make you fill out a complicated form every time you bought something (even if it was just a battery) so they could put you on their mailing list. Even if you said you were already on the list, they wanted the form filled out anyway. I think the employees were rated on the percentage of forms they got the customers to fill out. It was all very obnoxious.
Nowadays they are a sad shell of what they used to be. Mostly staffed with pimple-faced teenagers who know very little about electronics but they push you very hard to get a cellphone with a two-year plan. Apparently they are comped heavily on how many cellphone contracts they sell and that is the only way they can make extra money.
That's nothing new. Years ago I had to endure a Radio Shack sales guy arguing with me that their $21 plastic horn speaker was as good as a JBL pro mid range horn that sold for something like $340 at the time, and could take over 100 watts input. I wanted to go out to the truck and bring in a Crown amp to give him a little demo, but I figured he'd want me to pay for the smoking speaker when I was done.