As a Catholic I know I am not supposed to hate, but I hate radio shack. Hate it.
Bear with me. My Sirius Radio was on the fritz. I called the support line and the young man on the phone told me I needed to get a new antenna. I informed him that my radio had full bars but would get stuck with the message “acquiring signal.” After a full fifteen seconds of diagnosis the young man insisted it was the antenna. I told him I didn’t think so.
“Sir,” he said condescendingly “you need a new antenna. If you don’t get a new antenna I cannot help you!”
“Fine!”, says I. “Where can I pick one up?”
“Any Radio Shack should have them,” came the reply.
Nuts!
I hate Radio Shack. It seems I cannot go in to a Radio Shack with getting into an argument. I value independence and privacy. Radio Shack is determined to strip these from you. In many ways, Radio Shack is a microcosm of everything wrong with America these days. Let me tell you my tale(s) and then you may understand where I am coming from.
Let’s go back one year to the last time I went to Radio Shack. I was going on a trip and I lost my USB cable that I use to charge my Blackberry and I was leaving that night. I was near a Radio Shack and against my better judgment I went there to get it. I mean it was just a USB cable after all, should be simple enough.
I walked in the door and a pimply faced nineteen year old kid bounded up to me. “Welcome to Radio Shack, how can I help you?”
“Ok, where are your USB cables?”, I asked.
“What is it for sir, is it for a camera, a phone, or a printer?”, asks the kid.
“Its actually for a phone, but that doesn’t really matter. Can you just tell me where the USB cables are?”
“What kind of phone is it sir?”
“Listen son. Can you just tell me where the USB cables are?”
“Well sir, not all phones use the same kind of cable. Not all phones even use USB cables. If you don’t tell me what kind of phone you have I can’t help you!”
My voice rising I said, “You can help me by answering my question. Where are the USB cables?”
Now the manager, hearing my voice growing louder, comes over to smooth the situation. “Hello sir, can I help you?”
“I hope so. I asked your fella here four times but he refuses to answer what I think thinkis a rather simple question. Where are your USB cables?” I said rather tersely (which anyone who has known me for more than five minutes knows is an understatement.)
“What is the cable for?”, asked the manager.
At that point I nearly lost my mind. I eventually just walked away from them and found the cables myself. Since this was not my first such encounter at the Shack, I have avoided going back there. Sworn it off actually. However, since the Sirius support guy had told me that I could pick up the antenna at any RS and I had been without my radio for weeks, I figured I would brave those waters again. That was a mistake.
The Sirius guy told me that I could get the antenna at any Radio Shack. I went to five different stores and, of course, none of them had it. On Friday I went to my sixth store. I asked the young lady if they had it in stock and she informed that they did not.
“However sir, there is a basic Sirius Radio that comes with a car kit and it actually costs the same as just the antenna, so you are better off getting it just in case the antenna is not your problem,” she helpfully informed me.
“Well, that sounds great. I will take that,” I said, relieved I had finally made some progress.
“Oh, ummm, we don’t have that either, sorry”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Well sir, if you give me a moment I will check with some other stores in the area to see if they have it. While I tried to keep my cool she made a few calls. Ten minutes later she told that there was a store only ten minutes away that had them in stock. I thanked her and made my way over to the other store.
When I got to the other store a sales guy closing in on fifty, as energetically as the nineteen year old pimply faced kid, bounded up to me. “Welcome to Radio Shack, how may I help you?”
I started to explain the situation but all I got back was a deer in the headlights, so rather than do a question and answer session I said, “Can you show me where your Sirius radios are?” And to my great relief the response I wanted came “right over here sir.”
I found the model I was looking for and went to the counter to purchase it. I was so close to a clean getaway. But it was not to be. The guy went through what seemed to be a ten minute login procedure at the register before even scanning the item. Then he finally scanned it.
“May I have your address and telephone sir?”
“No thank you. I don’t give out my private information.” There are many reasons why I don’t wish to give out this type of information. In this age of identity theft and telemarketers, it is just my policy. Besides, its simply none of their business.
“Uh, sir. I need this information,” came the puzzled response.
“I don’t think you do and I am not giving it to you. I just want to make this purchase and be on my merry way. Ok?”
“Ok sir.” then some more typing, “Oh see here sir, the computer is asking for it.”
“But I am not giving it you.” said I. Truly trying to muster all the patience I could while sticking to my guns.
“But the computer says you have to!”
“Look, I don’t care what the computer says. I am trying to make a $39 purchase with cash. I am not giving you any personal information in order to do that. This seems pretty simple. Enter in whatever information you want but I am not giving you my address or my telephone number.”
“Ok sir. Why don’t you just give me your cell phone number then?”
“Are you kidding me? Look. I am not giving you any, ANY personal information. Why don’t you just put in the address and number for the store if you need to put something in?”
Flustered he began to type and then abruptly stopped. Unsure of the phone number of the store, he took out his wallet searching in vain for a business card that would have the number he so desperately sought. Now really getting agitated he yelled for a colleague to help him out.
“Jim, what is the store number?”
“51290” came Jim’s response.
“NO NO. Not the store number! The store TELEPHONE NUMBER!”
Completely unhelpfully Jim responded, “Why do you need it?”
The Radio Shack guy now was coming completely unglued and he yelled at Jim, “This guy won’t give me his phone number and the computer is making me put in a phone number!”
Unaffected by the outburst, Jim responded casually “Well just put in the store phone number then.”
“BUT I DON’T KNOW THE STORE NUMBER! THAT IS WHAT I AM ASKING YOU!”
Even more casually if that were possible, Jim responded with the number. The sales guy typed the number in and finally got passed the screen which had tormented him so. Then, his whole mood turning on a dime, he looked up from his terminal at me. His eyes locked on mine and then without the least bit of irony or self awareness said “Sir, would you like to purchase the extended warranty with that?”
With all the Dirty Harry I could muster, I very quietly responded, “No.”
I finally completed my purchase and returned to my car. I pulled the antenna from the kit and plugged it in to my radio, turned it on, and then sunk low in my chair as the radio displayed an unchanged “Acquiring signal.”
I called Sirius up again and chewed an innocent technicians ear off for ten minutes after which he told me, “Well sir, acquiring signal never means the antenna is bad. It means the radio is bad. You can pick up a replacement at Radio Shack.”
So what is the point of this ridiculous tale? I suspect that this is exactly what Government run health care and the ACORN run census will be like, on a good day. Caveat Emptor.
June 29, 2009 at 8:42 am
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June 29, 2009 at 9:20 am
Well aside from anon shrinking you… I get so annoyed at the personal info that is asked for everywhere anymore when I go to buy something.
Radio Shack is like that even for batteries. Once I went in to buy a pack of AA rechargeable batteries for my Dad as part of a gift for him and they grilled me endlessly about what it was for even though I told him the brand, material type and strength of the batteries I wanted to buy, spotted them and told the guy "I want those ones" grabbed them paid for them all while he was telling me i should tell him more so that he could make sure they were the right ones.
Customer Service is nice, Customer interigation is not.
June 29, 2009 at 11:01 am
Patrick,
Stop whining, though I do fee your pain. I have had mostly good experiences with RS.
Try monoprice.com newegg.com for the cheapest hardware/connectors I have ever seen.
June 29, 2009 at 11:34 am
Well, it doesn't make me angry that they want my personal information, but I wonder why they want it? Some actually say, can I have your email address so we can email you coupons? That depends if I'm in the store for a one time stop or I'm a regular user.
Why do they want our phone numbers anyway? They never call me. In fact, once I asked that. A guy at Old Navy asked for it and I asked, "Why? You gonna call me later?" He blushed and move on . . . I'm sure that some of them have no idea why either, just that their computerized cash register is asking for it.
June 29, 2009 at 11:58 am
Yeah, I actually know exactly how you feel. I am with you.
June 29, 2009 at 2:00 pm
When asked for a number give them the one for Dial-A-Prayer. I've done that in the past with no problem (except when I gave it to my ex-wife, no sense of humor there!)
June 29, 2009 at 2:19 pm
I just give them random made up phone numbers.
June 29, 2009 at 3:08 pm
Even worse than RS–Best Buy (otherwise known around here as Best Guess).
June 29, 2009 at 3:38 pm
From the physician's perspective, I can tell you without any hesitation that government run health care is going to be nothing short of a nightmare.
Medicare is going to be a model that they base this plan on. It's what they have and to them it is unbroken. (There is none so blind as he who will not see.)
Let me relate my debacle with changing an address with Medicare. Very similar to Patrick's Radio Shack run in.
In 2006, I moved my chiropractic office into nicer, newer space. Shortly thereafter I tried to submit paperwork to affect this change with the Medicare office. I learned that the form necessary was a new 22 page application, just with the new information, but a standard government form. A couple pf months after submitting this form (855i I think), I was informed that I had to download a form ###b (who can remember the numbers, there are so many and I'm not an accountant.) which would allow Medicare to have access to my business checking account (a scary prospect, considering that we are dealing with both the government).
I prepare this form and send it in and wait a few more months. By now my payments for services and my patients' reimbursements for services are on hold. Then the emails that I have been sending to Cigna Government Services (the contracted manager for Medicare in my state) begin to get replies. (I resorted to sending emails because I could never reach any real person by phone)
Three or four question and answer emails later, I am now told that the two forms must be submitted simultaneously and that I should do them both again, and send them together. Two months later, I am informed that the zip code for my office had changed. Thinking the post office would forward my mail to the new zip because they would be more competent than Medicare. Plus, I did not want to inflame the current condition of my "simple" change of address, I did nothing. Mistake.
I then was required to change my address one more time (a new 855i and that other form, again) to update my zip code.
Long story (nightmare) short, eleven months later and a two-inch stack of paperwork (because although they require healthcare providers to submit our claims electronically, but they evidently can't change addresses or receive applications that way), I received a check from CIGNA for some of my patients and must resubmit claims for all the rest of my Medicare for that past 12 months.
About a month later, I start getting Explanation Of Benefits (EOBs) back from the resubmissions. The EOBs state that there are now two personal ID numbers for me (a new one is created whenever there is a change of address) and that because of this error they can't send me my checks.
This situation persists to this day, and fortunately, I don't see many elderly or disabled patients, although they really need the care I provide them. Now, if I treat a Medicare patient, it is off the record and I request that no payment is made to me, but accept a donation to my church instead.
What else can you do? We were much better off before insurance, especially Medicare.
Interesting fact: In the early '70s, where I live, the average fee for a chiropractic adjustment (ICD-9 code 98940) was $19.00. Today, the reimbursement by Medicare for that same procedure is $19.00.
Maybe the funeral business would make a good-paying and reliable part-time job.
June 29, 2009 at 3:39 pm
I usually say "it's unlisted" when they ask for my phone number, and if that doesn't work I tell them 555-1212. It works in the movies.
My wife and I went into Radio Shack last month to get some new gear for recording phone interviews. The guy pounced on us, led us to the section, and stood in our way furrowing his brow as he read boxes for ten minutes. He then declared that only a certain $100 device would work. I picked up a $10 device right next to it and a $10 corded phone, and said, "This will work fine." He seemed irritated and pretty certain I was wrong. I wasn't.
June 29, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Ever since I started working as a cashier at Sam's Club for a summer job, I've really started to appreciate the difficulty that some of these employees go through. Sam's cashiers are expected to push our Plus memberships and credit accounts, for example, and some people get very annoyed at the question. Sure, I understand, and ultimately I don't really care whether you upgrade or not (I don't get a commission), but why make my day more miserable than it already is when it's obviously not me asking, but the store policy?
In a matter of fact, I think it's dehumanizing to be so critical of individual employees. There's really nothing they can do about the fact that the RadioShack computer system is set up to require personal information. They're just doing their jobs, might as well be patient with them.
June 29, 2009 at 6:26 pm
I'm a child of the 80s, and recently purchased an Intellivision game console to relive that part of my childhood (yeah, I'm a dork, but deal).
So I went to a RS to see if they had a cable I needed – which I'm told isn't specific to the game system.
The guy was RUDE and actually MOCKED me. "We only sell stuff from the 21st century, ma'am" was his reply.
June 29, 2009 at 6:39 pm
About 1997 I went into a Radio Shack to buy a pair of batteries. I was going to pay cash and I ended up having an exchange something like this:
Radio Shack Guy: May I have your name and address, please?
Dutchman: Why? I’m paying cash.
Radio Shack Guy: For our mailing list.
Dutchman: Sure — William Jefferson Clinton, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, D.C. 20500.”
The guy typed in all in and then asked: How’s the wife.
Dutchman: She’s a bitch.
Radio Shack Guy: That’s what I thought.
June 29, 2009 at 9:52 pm
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June 29, 2009 at 10:13 pm
Yeah, but really, some of them take it personally and act like real asses when you refuse to give the information . . . much more common than not, actually. When I encounter a real person who acts like they LIKE their job and LIKE the customers, I say so. I'm always polite regardless of the situation. However, when I lived in MD, I wanted to cut a check (my license address wasn't the same as my check yet) so the gal at the register was digging in to me . . . and I showed her my military ID . . . the bank was local etc., and I saw no reason why they needed to be so mean to me . . . so I brought out my credit card to pay for my purchase when she says, "well, I can do it this one time." I hate it, because they tear you up just to offer you what you wanted in the first place so you'll suddenly be grateful for their "mercy" and "kindness". I see much of that in retail these days and find it really annoying.
Customer service is not what it used to be; people's responses to service workers aren't what it used to be either, because many are in a bloody hurry and forget to be polite.
June 29, 2009 at 10:41 pm
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June 29, 2009 at 11:42 pm
That poor cashier obviously did not know how to think outside of the box.
June 29, 2009 at 11:54 pm
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June 30, 2009 at 6:43 pm
WOW…lots of cranky RS employees leaving nasty comments that need to be removed?
Yeah, customer service is completely bass-ackwards these days. It is ridiculously more expensive to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing customer…plus, people that have a good experience might tell 3 or 4 people about it, but people that have a bad experience tell on average 17 people (geometrically increase that by blog posts). If you're going to eventually "give in" why put the customer through hell to do it?
July 1, 2009 at 10:23 am
I've always assumed they worked for commissions, and that's why they won't let you just go look for whatever you came in to get. I thought the post was pretty funny, but I took the butt of the joke to be Radio Shack, not the specific employee — it's the same at every Radio Shack. You go in and have to slap the poor salesmen off you like flies, and then they want personal information when you actually buy something, because their system is set up to capture all that before they even ring up the sale.
S. Murphy