An article about Radio Shack - Videokarma.org TV - Video

Carmine · #1 07-23-2007, 06:03 AM

Thought you might enjoy this...

http://www.theonion.com/content/news...figure_out_how

compucat · #2 07-23-2007, 07:00 AM

That article sums it up really well. I stopped going there after I got tired of having to explain to the sales staff what a tube is everytime I needed one. I used to live for the Radio Shack catalog every year but now there is very little that interests me when I go in there. I've been predicting their eventual demise for about ten years now. I still think it's only a matter of time.

dc270 · #3 07-23-2007, 07:16 AM

To me they were once a decent "mid fi" store that was fun and interesting to go in and look around- now it's deal is to sell me a cell phone (with warranty) a dish, or a credit line- very impersonal and the shelves are loaded with imported electronic junk. It bothers me to have to go into one now.....
DC

Sandy G · #4 07-23-2007, 07:48 AM

I despise having to give them my family history for 3 generations just to buy a pack of batteries...And no, I DON'T want a cellphone or a dish....Lots of times, when dealing w/Boatanchors, you have to get around using an Unobtainium antenna or power connector...Ratshak used to have a very good selection of those, & you could generally "work around" until you got something that would work...Not any more...Just those cheap, disgusting toys, & know-nothing sales staff.

3Guncolor · #5 07-23-2007, 08:35 AM

Man after reading that it seems to me they have the wrong person at the top. After the line about "hams" and "digital age" it's all over for them. They just don't understand there are people out there that understand how the equipment works and need part sources. At least we have the internet to help find parts. When I was a kid I liked Radio Shack now I hate going in to one. They could have grown up to be Fry's but they made all their money selling cheap parts and electronics and now they even do that right. Just my two cents...
Steve

CUlater · #6 07-23-2007, 09:38 AM

You guys do realize that "The Onion' is a parody/humor site, and not actually "America's Finest News Source", right???

Looks like the humor was both a bit too subtle and on-target...

OvenMaster · #7 07-23-2007, 09:53 AM

That's the allure of The Onion: there's always at least a grain of truth to their stories, some have more than others, and their stories are always perfectly plausible. I'm betting that a lot of the brass at Rat Shack are wondering how in the world The Onion got their situation so accurately.
Tom

Carmine · #8 07-23-2007, 10:05 AM

That's what made me post it... I was just surfing around a deadmall site (another little web-interest of mine) and if you ever pay attention to failing retail centers, you'll always find that Radio Shacks (and GNC stores) are there until the bitter end!

Around here there's a plaza with about 3% occupancy... A HUGE power-center type place. The Super K-mart is dead and buried, so is Pet Smart, HQ, KB Toys, IHOP, Don Pablo's, etc. etc. It's funny because they installed this big pond out in front, and the last time I cruised through the lot, these huge geese were looking into the (empty) store windows.

The only thing hanging on for dear life is Radio Shack and a check-cashing store!

I have no idea how Radio Shack stays alive, and I guess I'm not alone!

Brian · #9 07-23-2007, 10:08 AM

Having nevr heardf The Onion my fist thought was this guy deserves a raise as he is the first executive to admit he does not have a clue about abusiness model of a company that is makig money. At the same time I thught, he'll be looking for a job aboutthe same time I finish reading the aticle. Though RS is no longer in Canada having been renamed "The Source" it is still herein model as The Source is as disjointed though in some of the bigger locations thereis emerging at least a theme and some continuity of product. I di hve a laugh whe I wasin 1 recently and the salesperson saw me looking at radios, stereos and teles. He approachedin all his glory and askedif he could show me somethng. I politely thanked him but tld him that since buying a crystal radio frm RS in the '50s and it was working so well, I was not thinking really of buying anything. He proceeded to ask me if I needed any batteres for it as they had battery sale going at the moment. I nicely explained that it is not a battery set as it operates on dylithium crystals. His respnse was that they did no have any crystls in stock but he was sure he could find some at another store or even special order them for me. I told him I'd keep it in mind next time I needed some.

radotvguy · #10 07-23-2007, 10:17 AM

radio shack at one time was a great store . You were able to buy record player needles, semiconductors, batteries and much more . However the store has changed so much . Here in NJ , the radio shack here does not carry any semiconductors or components . And everything in the store is like twice what it is elsewhere . The sales help seem eager to assist you and make a sale however they really dont know their poroduct all that well . I rarely ever go there anymore . They usually dont ever have what i need and if by chance they do , it rediculiously priced .

Arkay · #11 07-23-2007, 10:59 AM

Whoever wrote that is a genius! I got halfway through, thinking repeatedly "I can't believe the Ratshack boss says this... but if he does, it sure explains a lot!" before finally concluding it had to be a spoof. Brilliantly done, and it hits the nail on the head.

It has been about 3 or 4 years since I set foot in a Radio Shack, and it was a real disappointment, compared to what I remembered from twenty-plus years earlier. While I did finally get what I went in there for (the last ones in the store, and no thanks to the "sales" cretins, er, people there, who didn't know what it was or where it was until I found it and showed it to them!) I couldn't see that they were doing anything right, and wondered how they stayed in business.

Sad, sad, sad...

Arkay · #12 07-23-2007, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian

...I politely thanked him but tld him that since buying a crystal radio frm RS in the '50s and it was working so well, I was not thinking really of buying anything. ...I nicely explained that it is not a battery set as it operates on dylithium crystals. His respnse was that they did no have any crystls in stock but he was sure he could find some at another store or even special order them for me. I told him I'd keep it in mind next time I needed some.

That's hilarious. You should have seriously left your number with a promise to run back and pay immediately, if he found you dilithium crystals! Who knows... maybe you'd end up with an offer to share in his Lithium-based medication or something.

And to think that Radio Shack salespeople used to almost all be ueber-geeks who knew the characteristics and uses of nearly every one of the thousands of components they had in stock. The kind of guys who designed and built amps with their toes, keeping one eye closed while eating lunch, just for the heck of it.

I'm glad we still have components shops in Hong Kong that stock all the kind of stuff that RS used to in the States, and some salespeople who know their stuff. Those shops are diferent from the phone shops, but they still good staff and still have patrons, too. Hope we never "catch up" to the States in this respect.

bgadow · #13 07-23-2007, 11:50 AM

Carmine, deadmall site? Sounds interesting! Those things always fascinate me. There are some properties near here that are like that. And, yes, Radio Shack really does hang on to the bitter end. They did it at the old Salisbury (MD) Mall, and were the last thing open on that wing, leaving only when managenment decided to close it off to save money. My nearest Shack is the only thing left in its strip-mall. The supermarket, drugstore, dollar store, apparel stores, beauty shop, all boarded up-but there in the middle proudly stands the Shack! They have saved me a few times with some overpriced components in a drawer in the back, just don't expect the staff to know what you are talking about. Do what I did one day: walk in with a selenium rectifier and ask for a replacement. The guy did at least try to cross it.

andy · #14 07-23-2007, 01:21 PM

There was a time when they sold good stuff? Radio Shack has been synonymous with junk for as long as I can remember (I'm 29). They some how managed to find the worst quality suppliers for everything they sold back when they only sold their own brands. I used to go in for the occasional thing like a fuse, but now that I'm near a Fry's there's no need.

matt_s78mn · #15 07-23-2007, 02:10 PM

How many of you were users of the radio shack Tandy computers? I've always been an Apple guy so I used to not think much of the Tandy stuff, but some of it is quite collectible now. The Tandy 1000 pc clones were very advanced for their time, and were actually clones of the IBM PCjr, so they had better sound and graphics than a stock PC and there were a lot of game titles that had special Tandy versions released to take advantage of those features. The older TRS-80 machines also have quite a following. It would be fun to take a Model III back into one of their stores and watch the sales staff fumble about and try to figure out what it is, LOL