Radio Shack

[wombat666]

I'm with Caz, and we have one (1) only Radio Shack in my entire state.
But it is a decent size store with racks and racks of nifty odds 'n ends!
Model builders like us just love RS.

 

[GT182]

I get some of my Thermaltake parts at RS. I liked it too when RS was associated with Tandy.

 

[Odie]

Does anyone buy anything at Radio Shack anymore? While going through my newspaper the other day and advertisement for Radio Shack fell out. I was surprised, first because I didn't think they were around anymore and second, I have never seen a store in the town I live. Just wondering.

I go in if I have a paticular audio or video cable that I can't readily find and in our RS, every time I go in they seem to have a good supply of customers in the store.

 

[jmig]

I use them for small electronic parts and materials.

 

[Moparmike]

Also, I was very disappointed by the fact that the "new blood" in upper-management had obviously lost sight of the original vision, which had historically been that small electronic parts were the "bread and butter" of RS's success over the decades. In addition, "customer service yields customer loyalty" were the hallmark of RS. "The lifetime loyalty of the customer is worth far more than the loss of a single sale" was the mantra we demanded our employees follow...

Unfortunately somehow the mission had changed so much thatl RS was fast becoming JABR (Just Another Boring Retailer) instead of a hobbyist's source for parts and doo-dads.

As far as number of stores, RS once boasted that there was a store withing a five minute drive of 90% of America's consumers. In my own district here in NW Indiana, I had no less than six stores within five miles of one another! That's just plain nuts! :costumes:

Thank you Bill (and all the other old-school RS staffers out there too)!
If it wasn't for the "old" Radio Shack I wouldn't be the electronic geek that I am today.

When I was a kid I always had a shopping list for whenever I got near the local Radio Shack...about once a month. And I still remember that a lot of the guys behind the counter back then remembered me too.

Nowdays, the local franchises here are just all about the latest cellphones and cheap A/V systems. Earlier this year I needed a simple 2.5mm plug to fix my remote shutter cable for my camera...I had to explain to the kid behind the counter that I wanted just a plug to solder onto the wires and not some fancy adapter plug for a cellphone headset. Yep, I walked away empty handed...haven't been back since.

 

[jmig]

Thank you Bill (and all the other old-school RS staffers out there too)!
If it wasn't for the "old" Radio Shack I wouldn't be the electronic geek that I am today.

When I was a kid I always had a shopping list for whenever I got near the local Radio Shack...about once a month. And I still remember that a lot of the guys behind the counter back then remembered me too.

Nowdays, the local franchises here are just all about the latest cellphones and cheap A/V systems. Earlier this year I needed a simple 2.5mm plug to fix my remote shutter cable for my camera...I had to explain to the kid behind the counter that I wanted just a plug to solder onto the wires and not some fancy adapter plug for a cellphone headset. Yep, I walked away empty handed...haven't been back since.

I don't even talk to the clerks. I just go and look for what I want. They don't know anyway. :costumes:

 

[Helldiver]

About Viet Nam days my kid brother was an EE aboard the Destroyer Bronson. They still had old WWII Radar Systems aboard her. He couldn't get old filament tubes from the Navy. He had to go into Radio Shack to fill up his supply.
For being so resourceful the Navy gave him a Fleet appointment to Annapolis. I call him my kid brother since he was born when I was in the Navy.

 

[n4gix]

I don't even talk to the clerks. I just go and look for what I want. They don't know anyway. :costumes:

Back in the days when I worked for RS, everyone hired had an eight-week probationary period in which to complete 26 training workbooks successfully and pass the tests for each. Only afterwards were they allowed to be active on the floor. Until then, they were given grunt work out of sight...

During my time as a DM, I introduced a program that trained new-hires to pass what was then the Technician Class amateur license exam...
...some 20% or so of each training class were interested enough to also take the General Class exam and pass the code requirement at the same time. :ernae:

 

[Overshoe]

Hey Bill-
I worked for Tandy Corp. back in the 60's. I remember when Dave Tandy put together the financing to buy the existing Radio Shacks. We made fun of him for buying "Those junk stores." Little did we know.
His often quoted philosophy back then was "You can't expect a man to make money for you if he isn't making money for himself." Store managers got 25% of net profit as a bonus.
It seems to me the big turnaround you mentioned must have been around the time that Dave died.

 

[n4gix]

It seems to me the big turnaround you mentioned must have been around the time that Dave died.

I believe it began about that time as I recall, but... it really didn't start sliding downhill rapidly until about a decade ago when most of the upper management had retired and the "new blood" came into their own.

It really hit home with me watching my annual income drop 20% over the same four year period that net profits had increased by some 15%... :bs: