This is topic AKA, you suck! the Radio Shack floorstaff in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 09-01-2005, 02:59 PM:
 
Okey, I'm gonna start a new thread on how ill-trained these floorstaff people are trained at RatShack.

Why I bring this one up is that the other day, visiting a theatre, the manager had to go out to RatShack and by a new walwart (plug-in wall AC adapter for the newbies) for the modem, but the one the manager bought didn't work. I buglit the walwart with a meter and it was wide open like nobody's business.

I looked at the old one and noticed that it had an output rating of 1200mA's. The one that was purchased at RatShack was only 500mA's. The clerk at RatShack told the manager that this 500mA unit would work......DUH!!!

So, I took both walwarts back to the store and showed the clerk how to read walwarts CORRECTLY. The clerk was somewhat embarrased and the store manager was twisted some about this.

Got the refund on the burnt up one and purchased the correct walwart needed.

How many times have we've gone to RatShack and had to practically "retrain" their floorstaff/management people due to their "procedure of ill-training", since RatShack is, technically an electronics/speciality store, NOT a frikken Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target, or any other variety/department store where stupidity is allowed to exist there?

These people should be trained to where they know what they are selling, not to be there trying to look intelligent.

But, whats sorta fun is to see how smart these bozos really are by throwing out some questions on some simple item, and it's amazing that they really don't know anything at all. Then, you tell them HOW the damned thing works and they seem "wow..why aren't you working here instead of me...?"

GRRRRR!

-Monte
 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 09-01-2005, 03:17 PM:
 
Monte, don't you remember their slogan?

quote:

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"You've got questions? We've got answers.

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Nowhere did they say they had the CORRECT answers. Sheeeesh!
 

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Posted by Mark J. Marshall (Member # 1409) on 09-01-2005, 03:30 PM:
 
Do we have to comment on Radio Shack?

I deal with similar incompetance every time my company buys a piece of software from somebody. They tell us what's required to make it work communications-wise, and they're always wrong to some degree or another. We end up digging into the program, sometimes with a packet sniffer, to figure out the correct way to set things up, and end up educating them on how their program REALLY works.

But you're right, Radio Shack people generally suck. There are exceptions, but they're becoming harder and harder to find.
 

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Posted by Wayne Keyser (Member # 2420) on 09-01-2005, 03:44 PM:
 
The "Shack"??? I'll second that!

Also, "Circus City" ... the only thing they know is how to push the items they get an EXTRA commission for selling - never mind what your needs are or what works (or how).

But they do somewhat better at "Jest Buy".

Don't even get me started on "CompUSSR".
 

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Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 09-01-2005, 04:01 PM:
 
It got to where I dreaded going to Rat Shack, knowing I'd have to do "the dance":

I look for part(s). Clerk intercepts me, insisting that only he can help if I will just tell him what I'm looking for. *sigh* I give in, just so he'll shut the hell up and leave me alone. "Okay, I need a +12v regulator in a TO-220 case." Blank stare. He hesitates, turns to the wall, and hands me a vacpak card with an IC chip on it. Okay, almost over now. I insult him by asking questions he has no answer for, like: "You mean, you're in the electronics parts business and you don't even know what a TO-220 case is?! That's pretty basic stuff. How'd you get hired here?"

Either that, or you get the one who says, "Let's look in the catalog!" Then he spends 15 minutes trying to do the same thing the first guy did, only without walking to and from display racks. 9 times out of 10, I've already looked in the catalog before I walk through the door. Besides, sometimes, I just want to check out stuff that may give me ideas. I don't need an Orange Julius reject trying to advise me on 'appropriate' options.

Don't get me started on Rat Shack!
 

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Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 09-01-2005, 04:40 PM:
 
The main profit center for RS is cellphones....not those stinking electronic parts try are starting to hide in drawer cabinets
 

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Posted by Mike Heenan (Member # 392) on 09-01-2005, 05:45 PM:
 
There's still Radio Shacks open for business? Wow.
 

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Posted by Bruce Hansen (Member # 281) on 09-01-2005, 05:48 PM:
 
RatShack is your typical greedy corporation. The upper management (who do nothing that directly brings in money)takes 10's or even 100's of millions out of the company, so that they can only afford to hire the cheapest labor, and not give them any training (training costs money). What the management-morons are just too stupid to figure out, is that this cheep labor is who is in direct contact with their customers, and are pissing off their customers. If they would hire better (and more expensive) labor, they would make more money.

Let's face it, RatShack management-morons have a long list of failures, Computer City, Incredible Universe, Tech America. Tech America started out as a wonderful place to buy parts, but than the management-morons turned it into a big RatShack, and down it went. RatShack has now gotten rid of most of their parts, and, as said above, just sells Cell Phones.

Years ago, I enjoyed going to RatShack to see what was new, now when I'm at the mall, I will walk right past them. They no longer have anything I want (I already have a cell phone).
 

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Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 09-01-2005, 06:18 PM:
 
I once went there for simple things (batteries, dual bananna plug, hi-fi cables. The price is VERY high for the very low quality on most of these items. (The bananna plugs had ONE thread on the screws...they were too loose and frail to tighten.) We are a small company; however I can buy the very best components for much less than Shack if I will invest in high quantities, sometimes bought years in advance in order to have something good to sell. Louis
 

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Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 09-01-2005, 06:22 PM:
 
A few weeks ago, my mom, who wont stand for bulls**t, went to Radio Frack to buy a small phone. She took the one she found home, and plugged it in, and called me. I could hear her, but she could hear nothing. She took it back. The store manager informed her that she had done the damage to the phone herself, after letting her explain everything, not once, but twice to two disinterested store employees. All mom did was plug the phone into the wall and call me. She left in tears, with the bad phone in hand. I went back with the phone, and the receipt, and informed the manager that I wanted a refund. Period. He said that this was fine. I asked why my mother had had such a hard time just getting an exchange, rather than a refund. He told me that the other manager must have delt with my mom.

After giving my mom the description of the manager, we decided that she and I both delt with the same person.

I hate going there anymore. The parts that they stock now are just crap in a drawer. The sales people are idiots.

3 years ago, I bought something for my 5 year old nephew before Christmas at RS for $80. I saw the same item marked-down after Christmas for $12.

A couple of years ago, I was looking thru a new RS catalog. It was all glits and glitter. The president of the company looks like a spoiled executive in his picture.

I think that RS is going to be gone soon. They have gotten away from their original intentions. Nothing for experimenters anymore, but every battery in the world, including $3 mercury-type batteries for a laser light that cost less than a dollar when it was purchased.

PLUS: I dont want a cell phone. They cant stop trying to sell me one. If I wanted one, I doubt it would come from RS. I'd rather not look like a geek.
 

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Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 09-01-2005, 06:51 PM:
 
Tim, you don't have to even TRY to confuse the floor salesmen anymore to get them to leave you alone. Seriously, I have asked for painfully simple things like an RCA to 1/4" audio cable and they start showing me every wire in the place EXCEPT audio patch cables. Try asking for a coax cable and watch their eyes as they say "coax??? I don't think we carry that brand."

Furthermore, the last time I went into a Radio Shack was to get a spare battery for my cell phone and a couple of other odds and ends. The guy wanted to help so I gave him the easy task of finding the battery so I could have some peace to find the other items on my list. He spent 10 minutes looking for it only to tell me they didn't have it but that he could special order it. I walked over to the wall saying "are you sure, this is a really common phone" and within about 15 seconds found it with my model number stamped really big on the front of the hanging bag. This was the manager of the store, and no I'm not kidding.

I do continue to go their for their basic home audio patch cables though, but that's about it.

Has anyone been in a Radio Shack and actually helped some of their customers when the staff couldn't?
 

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Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 09-01-2005, 07:10 PM:
 
In an audio visual trade journal this month they feature the Fort Worth corporate campus type headquarters of Radio Shack...Flat screen displays, video projectors, in house production capability....with not a speck of Radio Shack hardware in use ....they have come a long way from making leather ( Tandy ) goods Like Louis, rather buy bulk lots of connectors at higher quality and less than 40% of their price...
Circle K / 7-11 convenience store marketing in the electronics field.
 

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Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 09-01-2005, 07:19 PM:
 

quote: Wayne Keyser

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Also, "Circus City" ... the only thing they know is how to push the items they get an EXTRA commission for selling

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Circuit City sales staff are not on commission. They were taken off commission like the beginning of 2004 or thereabouts. Maybe they still get some kind of spifs for selling certain items though. That's common in every sales job.

The complaints about Radio Shack seem to mirror those in the "you suck" thread about booth people. There are good ones and there are bad ones. Kind of like every other business. Usually I gauge the Radio Shack person's initial response to my question and make a judgment whether he/she knows what they're talking about, and proceed accordingly. It's probably about 70/30 where they do/don't know.

As for their prices, they can be outrageous for things like connectors. But where else in town are you gonna go for some of that stuff? Sure you can order online but sometimes you need it now. It's like buying a quart of milk at 7-11: You pay extra for the convenience.
 

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Posted by Will Kutler (Member # 770) on 09-01-2005, 08:57 PM:
 
Many, Many years ago in a Galaxy FAAAR FAAAAR wawy, Radio Shack was a decent place to go. They used to have all kinds of goodies for the scratch builder and do-it-yourselfer...and it was quality stuff.

I still cherish (and play with) the Science Fair 101 projects lab kit that my Parents bought for me in 1977. And I used to terrorize them with it. There was a Morse-code transmitter circuit that would broadcast over the television. I used to mess with my folks when they tried to watch a program ! There was also an "eavesdropping bug" circuit that I also terrorized them with! And to think I was still in elementary school!
 

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Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 09-01-2005, 09:26 PM:
 
Noah Nelson "the voice" in the Circuit City commercials is a good friend of the family
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 09-01-2005, 09:52 PM:
 
If I don't need the parts right away I order from Digi-Key. (Or Mouser or Allied.)

If I need some parts right away, there is a relatively new store in my town called "Falconer Electronics". Pretty much a Mom-and-Pop shop but the people there:

A) Know a damn sight more than Radio Shaft.
B) When they don't know something they admit it and go look it up.
C) If they don't have a part they will bring it in from another store in 24 hours.
D) If the other store(s) don't have it they will order it for you.

Normally, if a store doesn't have an item I will go home and order it myself from Mouser, et. al. However, I like the people at Falconer enough to let them order it for me. It's worth it to keep a store like that in business.

There USED to be this great place in Cambridge, MA called Eli Hefferin. (Sp?) The guy was in the electroncs salvage business. He'd buy old copiers and computers and stuff and strip them for parts. There was row upon row of boxes on and under the tables. They had just about everything there! As a matter of fact, Eli's is where I bought my first Helium Neon laser. (Power supply sold seperately. )

Radio Shaft is usually my last resort unless it's an emergency and the other store doesn't have it I know they have (a high probability of having) the part I need. Even then, I walk in the door, head straight for the parts drawer and then straight to the register.
 

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Posted by Chase Hanson (Member # 2779) on 09-01-2005, 09:54 PM:
 
I too am knida bummed that Radio Shack went by the wayside. When I was a child, we had a radio shack in our little "Shopping Plaza" and it was THE COOLEST PLACE EVER. Then it turned into commercial crap like 5 years ago. I was lucky enough to find a small RS near the Community College that I attended in 02-03 that had somehow escaped the metamorphisis and retained its hobbist feel. I miss that place, . Anywho, now I rarely go there, the commercial goods that they do sell are of unimpresve quality/over priced, and their selection of hobby/DIY items just keeps shrinking and shrinking, its almost more worthwhile to fend off the savages ar Frys.
 

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Posted by Martin Brooks (Member # 1269) on 09-01-2005, 10:05 PM:
 
I don't know why anyone is surprised that the staff at Radio Shack knows nothing. They make minimum wage or something close to it. Many are high school graduates at best. Expecting someone at Radio Shack to know anything about electronics would be like expecting the person working the grill at McDonald's to know about fine wines and nutrition.

This is not just true at Radio Shack. It's pretty much the same at any other chain, like Circuit City. Stores like this used to hire salaried employees with benefits and gave them careers. These are no longer career jobs.

But I don't blame Radio Shack for not carrying parts...there's simply no demand. There aren't any electronic hobbyists anymore. People don't even have hobbies anymore aside from BLOGs, video games, illegally downloading MP3s and porn. Even the geeks who collect things like Star Wars action figures buy them pre-assembled and pre-painted.

Remember Allied and Lafayette Radio? I used to love to get their catalogs. I spent hours in their stores.
 

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Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 09-02-2005, 03:34 AM:
 
Yeppers. Remember LRE (Lafayette Radio and Electronics - the "LAFF" Store, we used to call it) had the greatest electronic stuff to find on a retail basis. Granted, there were those wholesale places, where an individual had to be of a organization or something, but LRE was the place to go..

Allied, Burnystn Applebee (sp), and others were strictly mail order for us...

Then Tandy's RatShack came into town and shooed out LRE hands down and RATShack had some pretty good stuff back then.

Okey, another story in which I tested the young clerk on this one: Remember when CDC (compact digital cassette) units came out back in the mid-80's, which flopped big time not too long after that? RatShack was one of the first stores to come with this device. OKey, I studied up on CDC units on how they work prior and was browing in a RatShack store to look for connectors and small junk for home projects and saw a CDC unit. Clerk came by to help me out and to ask him questions on the CDC stuff. I asked him on how does the CDC system works.....silence......<blank stare and his lower lip quivering..> .. then I told him how it works. He told me "if there is any more questions to come get me" and shuffled off quite quickly.

Manager came to me and asked me if there was anything wrong with that one clerk since he was watching us. I simply told him that the clerks are going to need some education on their products if they're going to help out the customers to make a sale.

Manager agreed...and I left with my parts purchase.

THEN...wasn't a while ago that RatShack used to ask their customers what is their phone number for tracking purposes? Any buzz on this one?

thx - Monte
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 09-02-2005, 08:34 AM:
 
When asked for personal information at a register I answer:

Name - Mr. Cash
Phone # - 555-1212
Address - 123 Sesame St.
ZIP Code - 99950 (Ketchican, Alaska... The highest ZIP code in the country. It really screws up their marketing databases! )

If I'm paying by credit card I'll let them look at my driver's license but not copy any information from it.

I use a "Shopper's Club" card at the supermarket but I haven't lived at the address on that card for over 5 years. I only want the discounts and the free turkey at Thanksgiving. (When you spend enough money during the rest of the year.) I don't rent videos and I don't cash checks at the supermarket.

If they press the issue any farther than that I'm not afraid to leave everything on the counter and simply walk out of the store. In fact, I have done it several times.
 

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 09-02-2005, 09:24 AM:
 
The canonical fake phone number is "311-555-2368," which was was printed on the number card in pretty much every AT&T/Bell System advertisement which showed a photograph of a telephone.

RS finally stopped asking for phone numbers/addresses a few years ago, apparently due to public pressure. Unfortunately, their product selection sucks right now and they are no longer the most convenient place to go when one needs a diode or capacitor on short notice. The stores around here seem to be mostly filled with plastic junk electronics (DVD players, telephones, etc.), rather than useful electronic components, odds and ends, and doodads.

I realize that one can't expect RS employees to be electrical engineers, but I'd like to think that they would at least have an interest in electronics (just as most theatre employees have an interest in movies).
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 09-02-2005, 01:26 PM:
 
Whenever Radio Shack or Best Buy or whoever asks for my number at the register, I simply answer "No". Or if the girl is cute I answer "Can I get yours?". I don't know why people feel pressured to give them some kind of response either real or fake. "No" is quickest and easiest.
 

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Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 09-02-2005, 01:40 PM:
 

quote: Martin Brooks

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People don't even have hobbies anymore

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quote: Randy Stankey

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Phone # - 555-1212

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quote: Joe Redifer

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I simply answer "No".

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I gave this number at a Best Buy last year, the girl typed it in & the computer shot back some answer to her & she said, "um... it says that's not a real number" and I said "I didn't really want to give Best Buy my number" and she said "when we ask, just say no" (she wasn't being rude or anything - I'm not sure if I'm making it sound that way)... anyway, since then, like Joe, I've just said "no" and it's never phased them.
 

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Posted by Will Kutler (Member # 770) on 09-02-2005, 02:10 PM:
 
Hobbies, whether it be railroading, rc, general model building, etc, etc is very much alive and well.

Unfortunately, many neighborhood hobby shops have gone by the wayside due to the increased popularity of mail order.

When it comes to hobbies, there are a few types of people. Those who like to have their model train layouts or rc toys professionally built so that they can play with them, those that just like to set-up out of the box (rtr - ready to run) stuff, and then the die-hard scratch builders.

For the die hard scratch builder, there are many resources. For example, if ya enjoy machining/scratch building model parts then something like Sherline Machine Tools www.sherline.com can be the answer (especially if space is limited). Most lapidary equipment supply stores sell smaller investment casting machines and other small metal working tools. Hardinge still sells parts for the old Atlas and Atlas/Craftsman lathes.

Todays plastic model kits can be rather expensive. This is due to the expected level of detail, and how the plastic injection molds are made. Model kits from the 1950's-the early 1990's usually had rough detail and poor parting lines, because the molds were just engraved. This all changeded in the early 1990's. Todays molds are EDM'd, and the level of quality and detail really shows through! Not to mention the assortment of super detailing goodies (like chemically milled brass detail parts) from companies like Verlinden.

In many cases, todays plastic model rtr locomotives and rolling stock are equaling the quality of imported brass models at the fraction of the cost. However, the companies producing these models could produce brass versions from the same plastic injection molds, if they chose to do so. It would be a matter of shooting the mold with investment wax, then taking those pattern models and investment casting them.
 

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Posted by Jesse Skeen (Member # 586) on 09-02-2005, 03:00 PM:
 
I have a Tandy Name Brands sales-training laserdisc that I got from a VideoConcepts store when they went out of business, and it has some jaw-droppingly bad moments on it. My favorite is a scene that shows a couple going into a store to buy a new TV, and they mention that their next-door neighbor had a great sound system and they wanted to duplicate that. The salesman asks if the VCR they have is stereo and they say it isn't, and no further comments are made on that! So they end up buying a TV with Audio Out jacks to connect it to their stereo system, so they can amplify that wonderful lo-fi mono VHS audio! You'd think they would have used that opportunity to sell them a better VCR along with the new TV!
 

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Posted by Jim Bedford (Member # 4) on 09-02-2005, 03:30 PM:
 
Complaining about Radio Shack floor staff is like complaining about the heat in Phoenix in the summer. It comes with the territory.
 

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Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 09-02-2005, 05:16 PM:
 
Ooops! Wrong thread! Deleted by poster.
 

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Posted by Floyd Justin Newton (Member # 1316) on 09-02-2005, 05:26 PM:
 
Jim:

Amen & Amen to THAT!
 

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Posted by Bruce Hansen (Member # 281) on 09-03-2005, 12:00 PM:
 
A fun thing to do for those of us who like tinkering, is going to a local Hamfest. This is a big electronics flee market, with all kinds of used and new electronic stuff. Look on the web, or check your local Ham club to find one in your area. For those of us in the Atlanta, Georgia area, the Stone Mountain Hamfest (one of the largest in the area) is Nov 5 & 6 Stone Mount. Hamfest . You do not need to be a Ham to enjoy picking through all the goodies.
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 09-03-2005, 12:50 PM:
 
I've flown down to the July hamfest in Ft. Tuthill, AZ (since relocated to Williams) a couple of times. Lots of fun looking at other people's junk at the swapmeet and a great excuse to get out of the heat of Sin City for a weekend. And eat and drink and be with like-minded electronics/computer/RF geeks. Parked the plane on the edge of the ramp at FLG, walked 20' into the pine forest, rolled out the bag, and slept under the stars. What a way to unwind.

And the W6TRW ARC Swapmeet still carries on too every month in the parking lot of 1 Space Park (now owned by Northrop Grumman) in Redondo Beach, CA.

We've always had alternatives to RatShack for components here, though now we're down to just Kiesub, Amateur Radio Supply, and Fry's (and maybe Grainger or Gaybar). Lafayette, Metcalf's, Hurley's, and Sandy's are all gone now.
 

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Posted by Jon Miller (Member # 163) on 09-03-2005, 02:08 PM:
 
Sandy's...in Canoga Park, CA?

When I was young and growing up in the San Fernando Valley, I visited the Sandy's store out on Saticoy Street quite a few times...that place (and its sister North Hollywood branch, for that matter) was literally a supermarket of electronic parts! Even though my needs were rather basic at the time, Sandy's always came through.

Granted there is more to find on the Web nowadays, but a store like Sandy's was very hard to beat. Almost anything you needed was in stock and you got the goods right away, and the sales staff was friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. Unfortunately, the concept has become somewhat of a dinosaur...
 

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Posted by Jason Miller (Member # 2341) on 09-03-2005, 04:43 PM:
 
I worked at a radio shack in Golden, CO when I was going to school there.

I had to quit becasue I kept getting in trouble for fixing people's things instead of sending them off to the repair center.

probably was for the best anyway.. after a while I think word got out in town that we were fixing things for free and too many people would just come in for repair and not buy stuff. this made the manager upset. then he cursed at me in russian.

ahhh... those were the days...
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 09-03-2005, 05:15 PM:
 
Yup, the same Sandy's as in N. Hollywood. The 'Vegas store lasted about 10 years and was done in by the opening of Fry's.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 09-03-2005, 05:45 PM:
 
Golden CO is stupid. I wish they could be wiped off of the map. They think that if we put up transmitters for HDTV, the whole town will be fried, so they are blocking it. Morons.
 

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Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 09-03-2005, 06:15 PM:
 
Relax Joe... they are right! They don't like the idea of having to wear tinfoil hats 24/7 to ward off the harmful radiation that broadcast HDTV produces.
 

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 09-03-2005, 08:15 PM:
 
Joe,

You need to tell Colorado to just go ahead and erect its OWN mountain for TV transmission!! They can certainly fit in another one someplace... perhaps OVER Golden..... Thats sorta what Utah did... and so we have Farnsworth Peak at about 9,000 plus feet... sure beats even the Sears tower for TV transmission .

Mark
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 09-03-2005, 09:59 PM:
 
We want to use Lookout Mountain which is right by Golden. But every single person who lives in Golden without exception is a freakin' 'tard and is opposed to the FCC mandated tower.

http://www.santellaproductions.com/dtv/denverdtv.htm
 

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Posted by John Walsh (Member # 168) on 09-04-2005, 08:52 AM:
 
It should be noted that RS has bailed me out while installing several booths, so they are handy to have.

My first 'real' job during high school was working for a RS that opened near me. This was the early 70's so I don't know if things are different now. I knew about Ohm's law, and reading resistor bands, blah, blah. I though I could really help someone with a problem, or project.

But they made it clear that there's no money in helping people like that. So, you are told to sell receivers, speakers, 'big items' and don't waste time on little things. It was the first time I heard the expression, "... if ya got time to lean, ya got time to clean.." long before McDonalds. You were encouraged to make up little things to make the sale; for example if a customer asked why one receiver was a few dollars more than another, you would (off the top of your head) say it had better sensitivity. It didn't matter WTF you said; just make the sale. They gave you a commission (1-2% if I remember) on your personal sales over $500.

Even back then they wanted to collect your name and address, which they used to send catalogs. I'm also sure they would sell their mailing lists. When I saw how reluctant people were to provide their address, I would say; "It's just to send a catalog- you can skip it if you want." I was too naive to think they would sell it. When my boss saw this, I got yelled at. He said, don't give them an 'out'- get the damn address unless the customer looks you in the eye and says no.

At that time, the business plan of RS was to sell products (stereos, radios, etc.) with a lot of features, even if the overall quality was poor. People who don't know any better about an item will assume that the more buttons and dials it has MUST mean it's high quality. To be fair, the price for their stuff was not too high, but high quality it was not. For IC's and such, I felt RS sent someone into Texas Inst. during the night, swept the floor and packaged it. It's a good thing that they force you to buy 4-8 connectors in a package (when you really only need one) because 1-2 are not going to work.

I lasted there 6 months; I couldn't take lying to customers any more. But one good thing came out of it; it taught me to only take jobs that I actually like.
 

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Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 09-06-2005, 12:58 AM:
 

quote: Randy Stankey

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ZIP Code - 99950 (Ketchican, Alaska... The highest ZIP code in the country. It really screws up their marketing databases!)

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Ketchikan, Alaska's ZIP code is actually 99901. I lived there for ten years. And they really do have a Radio Shack, although it's just a department in a video rental store.

Back when I lived there, it was actually called "The Music Shop" and, aside from selling the complete line of Radio Shack wonderment, they sold records, songbooks, and band instruments. It had probably four times the floor space of any modern Radio Shack. A perpetually old guy named Stan owned it. He lived in an apartment upstairs. The store died with him.

(About this time, Randy screamed "YOU'RE MISSING THE POINT!" and hung himself from the ceiling in frustration.)

Here's how I go about shopping at a Radio Shack on the occasion I need something only they would have...

1. Go to radioshack.com and look up the item.
2. Use the website to check store stock for my local store.
3. Write the item number and description on a post-it note.
4. Walk two blocks from house to store.
5. Give Smiling Counter Girl the post-it-note I wrote and say "Your website shows you have this in stock."
6. Watch Smiling Counter Girl get nervous as she spends several minutes trying to find the item.
7. Say "Found it!" after I find it first.

Of course, just ordering from radioshack.com always works too...
 

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Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 09-06-2005, 01:26 AM:
 
Course, I remember hearing stories on Rat Shack's line of audio equipment (Archer, Realistic, and others) was coming from the Japanese manufacturers that were either of a rejected product, or built with substandard manufacturing practices, and this was during the 70's and mid 80's.

Many times I've heard people who would say that their stereo component system would crap out and find out that it had a RS badge located on the front panel.

Course, I really don't know how the Tandy line of computers was back then since I wasn't into computers when IBM shot out with the PC 8088 back in '81 and it didn't take long for clones to emerge running DOS software as with Compaq and Tandy. But I know that Tandy didn't get a chance to survive past the era of the I486.

Even today, when one sees computer supplies at RS, one can see that they are so overpriced and lesser quality when comparing to CompUSA and other computer suppliers.

-thx Monte
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 09-06-2005, 02:19 AM:
 
The TRS "Trash" 80? We had a couple of 'em to play with on the production trucks at TAV. Had to start learning some flavor of DOS somewhere. Up 'til then I had been an Ohio Scientific (OSD) guy.
 

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 09-06-2005, 06:12 AM:
 

quote: Joe Redifer

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We want to use Lookout Mountain which is right by Golden. But every single person who lives in Golden without exception is a freakin' 'tard and is opposed to the FCC mandated tower.

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Yea, that is really retarded! I think about how many people live in both the Sears Tower and the John Hancock building in Chicago and how many 100kw transmitters there are up there..... It doesn't affect those folks..... it hasn't affected THEIR adnoids! I quite agree, this Golden CO thing is really retarded... Isn't there another mountain laying around that would serve this purpose near there? What the group of folks in Golden needs is a diversion..... something like a massive flood of say 80% of the town or an earthquake to divert attention AWAY from the DTV stuff. Then the TV folks can slide on up to the top and install the stuff on the mountain while the mop up occurs . The other ploy is to just switch of the NTSC stuff and leave em hanging wiithout any TV at all..... then lets see how fast that DTV stuff goes in.....

OK, Here's the view from Lookout Mountain, I think thats Denver in the background isn't it??? his is not a very good location if you ask me... This mountain really need to be up higher... you have a couple of large foothills over there that would shadow the signals..... but that service road is handy for getting up there. It should be possible to flood that valley!!



And by the way Joe, Whats so Golden about Golden anyway.... I've been there and its definately NOT golden around there.

Mark
 

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Posted by James Bjarnason (Member # 3237) on 09-06-2005, 06:16 AM:
 

quote: Joe Redifer

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We want to use Lookout Mountain which is right by Golden. But every single person who lives in Golden without exception is a freakin' 'tard and is opposed to the FCC mandated tower.

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That's Golden, Colorado not Golden, British Columbia right? Some of us small town folk who grew up in a Golden might get offended.

PS: My Golden has a lot of Birch trees on the mountains and in the fall it looks quite "Golden".
 

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Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 09-06-2005, 06:55 AM:
 
Joe: Have the transmitter towers painted in hippy colors. That will satisfy them.
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 09-06-2005, 10:51 AM:
 

quote: Bruce McGee was the last to post

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quote: Joe Redifer

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The cashier was trying to hit on you by initiating a conversation.

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I forgot to mention the cashier was a dude...
 

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Posted by Ron Yost (Member # 1850) on 09-07-2005, 09:07 PM:
 
If I remember right that Hell&Bowell speaker plug is some odd-ass size made especially for them. I think the reason was to avoid school teachers plugging a mic in the wrong hole .. real AV geeks would have known better, of course. Somebody probably remembers exactly what size it is, but I believe most B&H owners these days just change it to a standard 1/4" phone jack/plug.

Ron Yost
 

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Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 09-07-2005, 09:28 PM:
 
Forgot about Olsen's. Used to have a bunch of 'em here inside Wonderworld, a local chain that died years ago.

Those 0.206" phone jacks that B&H used are commonly used as microphone jacks for civil aircraft, and are available at any avionics or aviation supply shop. Which means they're expensive, but at least you can easily find them.
 

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Posted by Ron Yost (Member # 1850) on 09-08-2005, 12:08 AM:
 
Thanks, Paul. That's helpful!

Ron Yost
 

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Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 09-08-2005, 12:46 AM:
 

quote: Brandon Willis

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I forgot to mention the cashier was a dude...

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quote: Roger Manning Jr

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said "Wow what are all the light bulbs for?"

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