[Update 7/2/07] When I first wrote this post, it was more of a rant. But as this blog has continued on for many months, this post has brought in a lot of hits. That’s not what matters, though, what I want to say is a quick thank you to all who’ve taken the time to respond and voice your thoughts!
Not to hop on the recent but well deserved bandwagon on why Radio Shack sucks, but I’m sad to say their management isn’t the only thing that sucks, their front-line does too.
Radio Shack had a customer support issue with me today. I bought two things from them a week ago. One of which I returned earlier, and I was now coming to return the second item. My only problem was that I hadn’t realized until I was in the store that they took my receipt from the earlier return. So I’m in the process of returning my item when I realize I don’t have my receipt (I keep all recent receipts in my wallet). I tell this to the associate and ask him if there’s any way to look up my purchase… his response?
“Had you given us your name, we could have looked it up by that.”
Oh. I’m sorry, had you asked me for my bloody name I would have given it to you. That sure sounds like my fault. Although I thought that in my head, my response was nice:
“I was never asked for my name.”
“We used to ask for peoples names, but so many people complained about it, we stopped doing it,” responded the Radio Shack Associate.
Outstanding. Way to poorly phrase a sentence to make it seem like it was my fault that your lousy ass company is too lazy to keep a policy that helps customers because you didn’t feel like putting up with them. Two thumbs-up for that one. It gets better though. My response was something like:
“Had I known about the name thing, I would have given you my name. Thanks for letting me know for future reference, though. So, is there’s no other way?”
Keep in mind, when I said this, I said it respectfully. I wasn’t being disdainful or rude. This guy, however, didn’t seem to care.
“Well… I suppose I could try to look up your purchase if you can give me around the day you made it and the cost. But we don’t normally do this.” the prick at Radio Shack said with a disdainful sigh.
This guy made it seem like I was drop-kicking his dog he was so against trying to help me. God forbid I try to get my money back on a useless item while their store is empty. This guy acted like I was the most unreasonable person on earth when I asked or requested something that may require him to ‘help’ me. I found it especially ironic since all the issues occurred on there end.
I admit I should have been more attentive to keeping the receipt and to avoid how much Radio Shack’s front-line sucks (just like their management methods). I also admit I should have drop-kicked that guys puppy (no offense intended to animal lovers). I wouldn’t check my e-mail if I was that guy.
74 responses so far ↓
Ben // September 29, 2006 at 6:37 pm |
Hey
I work at RadioShack and it’s a bullshit job I am looking to leave. We (RadioShack employees) are commission based pay, which means when people return things it goes against the person’s sales and may affect his or her paycheck. This is not the sales associate’s fault he feels the way he does, it’s because he is commission based. I can’t tell you how many people buy things they don’t need only to return them later. I’ll be honest to you, I start to feel a grudge against all the people being stupid and buying things they don’t need. I’m not saying you are buying things you don’t need, so no offense intended. I’m just trying to portrait my frustration.
What I really wanted to say to you is about how RS used to take customer names and phone numbers. It’s a great program for the company to track purchases, but the customers absolutely didn’t like the program. It’s just unethical to collect all the information for a purchase as low as $1. I am glad we stopped it and I’ve had many customers tell me before how the program was stupid and a hassle. Unfortunately, customers in your situation might run into a problem.
Your information was collected when you returned the one product. The employee did not realize we can look up the original receipt info by looking up the return receipt. He should have known he could do that. Unforunate for your I guess.
Anyway, I’ve had too many problems working here. Some problems are similar to what you run into. Some are just behind the scenes crap that I shouldn’t have to deal with.
Good Luck next time
Ben Booker
Nathan // November 28, 2006 at 9:21 pm |
Most retailers often have the policy that a return goes against your daily sales quota. That’s simply part of the business. However, upselling still worthless products and then hasseling a customer about a return.
And while it was something that was indeed “unfortunate for me,” really, it was unfortunate for radio shack as they don’t get my business and as others are disuaded.
And for the record, I have no issue with their lack of the program. None at all. In fact, it was probably a good idea, like you said. I have no issue with having to get a gift certificate because I couldn’t find the receipt. That’s also my fault. However, I do have an issue when blame is placed on me for the removal of the program that held customer information, and I do have an issue when a sales associate treats me with zero respect. Irregardless of whether I am returning a product, receipt or no receipt, respect should still be solicited. The customer experience is in all aspects of a company, and it’s apparently an aspect that radioshack lacks, and will continue to pay for because of it.
Thank you, though, Ben & Lee for both taking the time to read and comment to what I posted. :)
AJ // January 12, 2007 at 12:11 am |
First of all, Lee is full of shit. I know for a fact that you have to be 18 to work at that shitty store. Secondly, I got royally fucked by Radioshack the other week. I went to their store and ordered an optical cable for 10 bucks. I wanted it shipped to store. Somehow, they placed two charges on my debit card…one for shipping to my house, and one for ship to store. My account went negative (add the $30 penalty fee to the action). When I asked the guy about changing the order, he told me to basically take it and bring the product to them so they could ship it back for a refund. When I told the guy about the overdraft fee, his response was “Talk to your bank.” So, you don’t even know how to place a fucking order, so I have to do shit to get my $46 back. No. Not good enough. I shouldn’t have to waste a minute of my life on this bullshit. Of course, my bank wouldn’t give my $30 back (while we’re at it, fuck Chase as well). A week after that, the order came. I brought to the store. They said they would take care of it. Here I am 2 weeks later. No refund. No e-mail. No phone call. Nothing. I called radioshack 3 times. I forgot the number of e-mails I sent (3 or 4).
Nathan // January 26, 2007 at 3:31 am |
I’ve removed some comments for excessive swearing and some threats. Please, let’s try to keep it to opinions, events and such.
The general idea of the comment was that Lee responded saying that AJ should call his boss for some reason.
Frank // May 19, 2007 at 4:09 am |
I also work at Radio Shack and things have dotten worse. The company is clearing merchandise from stores and not replenishing. Low overhead makes stock prices go up. I am sure Julian wants to sell the company and pocket a tidey sum for himself. I am usually one of the top five salesmen in my district as far as sales, profit, cell phones, etc. Wanna know what this week’s pay check was? $404 – and that is for 2 weeks! They expect me to bust my butt for $5/hour, and they keep wanting me to do more and more. The company is a total joke and a disgrace to Charles Tandy.
A non amous // July 14, 2009 at 5:36 am |
If your check was 404, you were NOT the top salesman. People, quit griping just to gripe.
Stacey // July 1, 2007 at 9:39 pm |
81.
I’ve been with the company for nearly two years before I had left. The initial pay plan in 2005 kicked ass. It was good money if you were a student, at college and only worked 20-30 hours a week, selling large amounts of cell phones and profitable items (and the service plan spiffs in 2005 were awesome when I first got hired). I was hired at a mall store in Tacoma, WA, and we were #1 in the district, and we were a 2 million dollar store. I had an awesome manager, that trained me to be an awesome sales associate who became the number one profitable performer for many months, and the atmosphere was pretty cool. I transfered after my first year back home to San Diego, and things went down hill from their. First, they changed the pay rate a couple times since then in 2006, to the beginning of this year. Second, I got promoted to be in the Assistant Manager Training class. Third, I didn’t realize how unethical Radioshack as a company is! In Washington State, there wasn’t a huge penalty for being a sales associate who didn’t speak Spanish… but things were different in San Diego, just because the city is so close to the Border.
So I got transfered to a store whose clientel was 85%-90% Spanish Speakers (or so our dick-headed DM states). And since the pay plans have changed drastically, I also saw a huge cut in my paychecks. Not to mention I didn’t speak Spanish fluently. Our DM wanted so much to remove all the non-spanish speaking sales associates. We had a team of 8 (our manager and 7 associates). Half the sales associates spoke Spanish, and thanks to the stupid YTD “plan”, we had high numbers that were impossible. Now this store wasn’t a million dollar store, nor was it anywhere near it, and the DM was pitting us against numbers like 80000 on a slow month. And our 2 million dollar store? Like 60,000, and they would be killing that number by dozens of thousands more than their plan. So our stupid DM constantly calls our Manager and starts saying stuff like, “Did I make the right choice? Didn’t I make you a manager because I felt you can handle your own store? Show me I made the right choice, tell me that I didn’t screw up! I don’t want to have to make changes here because you can’t meet your goals.” And my manager would reply by saying stuff like, “Well, what can I do? The traffic will pick up, and half my associates don’t speak spanish?” So then the DM threatens that he has to get rid of us, or it would cost the manager his job. Hmmmmm…. and I know Radioshack as a “company” claims to value their integrity. And so many times the DM has tried to get rid of the non-spanish speakers… and he did get rid of a couple by firing. He found stupid reasons to fire people. There was an african-american associate that we worked with who got fired because she didn’t process a deposit for a Sprint phone for 50 bucks. HOWEVER, we had a Spanish speaking associate let 2 Cingular phones go out the door without processing a deposit of 300 for 2 lines; he told a customer once that he could make a Precash deposit with a check and finalized 150 bucks in the system, but the check wouldn’t go through (who’d figure? it was a precash payment), and 150 bucks was credited to the account of the customer; and he also gives change back incorrectly (we have missed 100 bucks from the till because of him). And he has never gotten a write up or even fired, nothing, not even a warning. I feel that’s just wrong. That’s totally unethical, and Radioshack claims to want to have a team thats “diversified, and cultured” and that they never discriminate “against skill”. Totally wrong.
Now as for myself, I got accepted into the MIT program at the beginning of the year, and met all the necessary standards to be in the program: full time associate, Associate’s degree, 1 year retail work at Radioshack. I took the classes, never missed one session, and on the day of the test, I passed on my first try with a 93%. Even people that have been with the company couldn’t even pass their first time. I had this guy that was like in his late twenties need my help passing the damned test because after 5 years of work with the company, he couldn’t even pass after his 12th or 13th try (shows what morons work for the company sometimes). Anyway, I was scheduled for an hour panel interview with my DM. Upon arrival at the DO, I told my Area recruiter and DA that I passed a huge midterm at UCSD with a A, the DM overheard this, asked me into his office, and began the interview. He really didn’t ask anything having to deal with the company, he actually was more curious that I was a full time college student, and he ended the 3 minute interview with, “You can’t be an assistant manager, because you’re a full time student.” And that was it… Ihave read the SOM, all files and articles about rules, and nowhere in there did it say I couldn’t be an assistant manager. Also, the DM promoted another person in a two million dollar store an assistant manager, but that associate was a student too. So every time my old manager would ask about that situation, the DM would yell at him and say shit like, “I already told her! End of conversation.” He’d yell at him in front of all the managers, talk about the lack of professionalism. I have talked to Bill Turner ( a VERY close friend of mine, and a VERY well known loss prevention officer for the states of Washington, Oregon, and a neighboring state by the two), and he told me that was a form of discrimination against my occupation as a student and an unjust act of favoritism. He told me to call Speak up. I left the company and did call speak up, and I filed a report. They got back to me a week later, saying they can’t do anything. I said I wanted that associate that got promoted at taht was a student to be demoted, because that was unfair. Corporate said they would further investigate into it. And nothing yet….
Radioshack as a company sucks. During meetings too for the district, I was ALWAYS threatened that i would lose my job because “the meetings were important, and it was mandatory”, and somehow school interfered with THEIR stupid scheduled meetings. Shows the lack of how they feel for their associates who are having higher education….. I would never go back to this company. I know a manager that owns a 1.5 million dollar store, who made 80,000 a year, and now has a drop to making 40,000 a year. The company as a whole stinks. They always say that RS sales associate make the most money. Well guess what, I work for Verizon, make a base of about 16 bucks, plus commission. And I only work 32 hours. They understand i go to school, unlike Radioshack. 16 bucks as base plus commission, hahahaha wayyy more worth it than what Radioshack in San Diego was offering (minimum wage of 7.50 + comm).
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Arizona Desert Rat // July 2, 2007 at 6:52 pm |
Radio Shack went down the toilet years ago. Upper manaagement became a “people eater”, driving people out as soon as they be came proficient at what they were supposed to do. At one pont I was a Group Manager for the Dealer/Franchise Division. That was a chinese fire drill. The basic premise was to sell the dealers all the crap the company stores couldn’t sell. One year I had built up a sales bonus in excess of $50,000 (yes – that’s right FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS!) I did this mostly by watching out and protecting my stores from the corporate crap and helping them to get the right product mix for EVERYDODY to make money. Apparently the Dealer/Franchise Upper Management decided that this was a good year to get screwed in the computer business. The committed to literally truck loads of computers, monitors, etc. When the dealers didn’t buy them, they made them a deal they couldn’t refuse. (All of this was done behand the Group Managers backs.) The long and short of this is that they absorbed the company loss through the Group Managers bonuses. My $50,000 went to less than $5,000 in less than 20 days….and…the dealers will still stuck with the crappy Tandy and AST computers that wouldn’t sell. This is just one of many disappointments dealt out by Radio Shack in my short career. There used to be a website, Radio Shack Sucks.com, but it’s gone now. My guess is the company put legal pressure on the webmaster and closed it down. Doesn’t change things though…in my opinion Radio Shack still does SUCK!
Joe // July 5, 2007 at 9:56 pm |
Interesting. I haven’t been to Radio Shack since they asked for your name, address, DOB, phone number, mother’s maiden name, urine sample, whatever. The other day I went in and bought a scanner as a gift. Couldn’t find it anywhere, they were the only ones that had it. So I bought it. I was surprised they didn’t ask for all my info. Anyway, turns out the person I was giving it to had already gotten another one. Crap. Oh well, I’ll return mine and get a refund. The process went pretty smooth but I have yet to get a refund which is a credit card refund. I’ll give it a few days and hope there aren’t any “problems”. I always find it funny and a bit disturbing that places have no problems grabbing money off your card the second you make a purchase but take their sweet time putting it back if there is a problem or a credit/refund is needed. It should be “instant” both ways, IMHO.
Anyway, I don’t think I’ll ever shop at Radio Shack again.
Mark // July 13, 2007 at 2:26 am |
Joe,
Please don’t blame Radioshack for something your bank does. When rs or any retailer processes a credit card refund, banking regulations allow banks 3 to 4 business days to credit the refund to your account. Most, if not all banks take full advantage of this, allowing them to play with your money for a few days for free. It’s one of the ways banks make money. It has nothing to do with the retailer through whom the transaction was processeed. The retailer looses out in the other direction. When you make a purchase with a credit card, the money is instantly debitted from your account, however the money does not reach the retailer for, you guessed it, 3 to 4 business days. On top of that, in addition to the money the bank makes by charging you intrest on the purchase, the retailer is charged a fee of up to 5% of the purchase for the transaction. Bottom line is, it ain’t Radioshacks fault your refund is taking this long.
-Mark
David // July 16, 2007 at 6:46 pm |
I worked for RS part time in the early 90’s. What a hoot. The payplan was awful, based on dollar per hour and TSP(tandy service plan) sales. It was riduculous, if you sold a $2500.00 computer system that day and nobody else came into the store your “dollar per hour” and commission would diminish to nothing. I was used to flat rate %commissions at other sales jobs. I left a few months later. I got tired of asking people for there names also. We had three district managers in the 4 months I was there…I never shop there now as Radio Shack is nothing but a junk toy store. I remember in the 80’s if you wanted to build a transformer or short wave radio and needed electronic parts (shunts, diodes,capacitors)they would have it on the shelf. Nowadays try asking a RS associate to explain the color-coding on resistors or talk basic electronics ..good luck.
Owens Whitcroft // July 22, 2007 at 2:50 am |
Currently I work at Radioshack and it’s a love-hate relationship with the job. The “love” part of it is being able to help out those people who don’t know how to hook up things properly and getting the chance to meet some really cool people. The “hate” part of the job though is my freaking moron of a manager. Yeah, he is a somewhat nice person but when it comes to any electronics what so ever he is about as bright as a rock. Then it comes to my stupid DM too “Rafik” he is one of the most arrogant twits I have ever met! He has this attitude that he is better than you type of thing… IT DRIVES ME UP THE WALL! Then the constant pushing of cell phones. I’m not going to bother an elderly person trying to just buy some batteries for his earing aids about a cell phone.
Yeah, its an easy(most of the time) job but damn it has its annoying points.
-Owens Whitcroft, the Snow Leopard furry who works at RS 01-3285
Joey // July 26, 2007 at 1:20 am |
I have worked at the shack for almost 3 years and about to leave. Cause college is over. I will be really suprised if RS is still around in another five years. Alot of good people are leaving because of the crazy hour crunching going from 20 hours part time a week too 5 hours is killer just so they make the managers work like 60 hours a week and cut the lower commison payout. The DM we have in Baton Rouge, Louisiana is a num nutt that thinks a training session on friday evening is a good idea. He is freaking retarded. well one thing about people and blaming us on the credit card refund 3 to 4 day period it makes me wonder if these people know how anything works.
Mike // July 30, 2007 at 4:54 pm |
You got better service than I did!! I paid by credit card and when I went to return they wouldn’t credit my cc (only store credit) because I lost my receipt. Called the corp help line, left voicemail – no response.
Solution – disputed the cc charge and my cc company will get a receipt from Radio Shack to prove it is a valid charge. I will then have a receipt for the return to get my cc credited.
Nick // August 4, 2007 at 9:05 pm |
Their are some bad sales persons and some good ones as well with manager if you have a problem with customer service call the District office may take time but instead of quietly bitching make a diff that way the store can fix it, and for future ref if you have more than one purchas on a rec ask for a copy back if they dont hand you one or keep your return rect cause it will have the orignal rect order number and date and other store ref info..also if you had a purchase with a cc they can look it up if its a recent charge if you know what day it is and its less than 30 days, a sales store can only do so much, they are in buisness to make a profit if they gave without proof their would be a serious shrinkage problem plus there is strict rules on credit cards that stores have to follow or they can be hit with heavy fines,
John // August 14, 2007 at 1:36 pm |
I worked at RS for 15 years. The best day of my life was when I quit. Crappy job and crappy salary for a manager. I have never waled into a RS store again.
disgruntled // August 23, 2007 at 2:55 am |
We have a new ‘procedure’ in our district now. I’m not sure if this is a company wide thing or just something our District Manager dreamed up:
Each store is paired off with another store and we are to keep each other accountable on making our daily sales goal. If we make our day.. good. If not, The Manager has to email the other store (and our DM) explaining what we did wrong for not making our sales quota for the day and what we are going to do differently tomorrow.
Well we didn’t make our day today. We were up against $3700, but only sold $2900. I didn’t write the email because I think it is the stupidest idea I have ever heard. I feel like I am being sent to the corner to think about what I have done… bad, bad me for not making my sales quota. Shame on me. This whole idea comes across to me like I am a child and being punished.
However, If I had wrote the email and could say it anything I wanted (the truth) it would have went something like this:
The main reason we didn’t make our day today is because we had less customers come in than this time last year. I attest that to the fact that corporate has decided to cut advertising drastically, which has in turn lowered foot traffic. Our ticket count was down over 30 tickets than this time last year, which means that we had at least 30 less customers come in. If corporate had not been so concerned about saving money by cutting the advertising cost people might actually be interested in coming into my store. Sure, saving the money has increased profit which in turn rose the stock price and helped Mr. Julian Day get his stock option bonus. But, that does nothing to help me at the store level.
I also attest the drop in customers to the fact that our main customer base is over the age of 70, and lets face it- there are more and more dying every year, which is dropping the amount of people alive who shop at RadioShack. Perhaps if RadioShack were more hip and sold more cutting edge products, we might attract younger people into our store. But instead, our store is stuck in the 80’s and looks like it is straight out of the movie “Short Circuit”. Johnny 5 would be proud that we have not had a face lift in over 20 years and our employees still wear button up shirts and khakis.
The other reason we have not made our day is that we no longer have relevent inventory. We don’t carry what customers want and our off brand radio shack products are seen as ’sub-par’.
I’ll admit that we would have made our day if we had sold more cell phones. The problem is, all we had to sell for Cingular were 3 Motorola Razr’s and a Blackjack. I had 2 customers come in ready to upgrade their cell phones with Cingular, however they both had Razr’s and wanted to try something different. Neither wanted a Blackjack and to be honest it didn’t fit their needs. I tried selling them phones with our wireless direct service, and even offered to go to another Radioshack to pick them up different phones, but the couple told me that they will just go down the street to the Cingular store where they have a wide selection of the coolest new phones.
We may have made our day had our prices been more competitive. I had a customer come in for a set of RCA cables, he complained that our prices were just way too high. He told me that he saw basically the same cables over at Wal-Mart for almost half the price. I tried to explain to him that ours were superior cables and they were gold tipped-thus giving him better conductivity and would last a lot longer. He responded with “I am hooking up a 10 year old VCR what the heck do I need gold tipped RCA cables for?”.
In order to make our day tomorrow, I suggest we fire Julian Day. He has depleted my store inventory, cut my pay, and forced me to send employees home thus leaving the store short staffed. Since he has taken over this company, our prices have been raised to a level that we are no longer competitive, the quality of our products have dropped, our customer service department has been pawned off to us at the store, and normal store upkeep (window cleaning, carpet shampooing exc) have been out of the question just to save money. I also suggest that Radioshack as a whole takes a good long look in the mirror. All Tenured managers are leaving and it is getting harder and harder to keep knowledgeable sales associates around as you can no longer live off the money you make here. The one asset this company does have is good employees… but because corporate has cut our pay and the crap we have to go through is getting ridiculous most of these people are leaving.
So don’t blame me that we didn’t make our day.. I am doing everything possible given what I have to work with. I will own up to not shoving a cell phone down every customers throat, if you own up to trying to run a company on a outdated, unrealistic, business model.
Thank you for listening
Johnny 5 // August 28, 2007 at 4:40 am |
As a former employee of a RadioShack (Golden quarter 2005) and recently coming back as a full time employee I have a few things to complain about. Pay scale has gone to poo, it’s stupid, as long as I make my $75 an hour I can be lazy and just try and push cellphones, there is no incentive to help customers, or sell. Even 2 years ago I would make more the more I sold. They don’t care about profitability or anything, as far as on an associate level. If they did they’d bring back the old commission scale. In S. Cali they have ordered that the air conditioning must stay above 72 degrees for profitability… now this might work for the 40% of Hispanic customers coming in to pay their sprint bill, but I can’t keep a customer in the store long enough to explain how to setup their wireless internet or any of the other things.
I admit, I don’t provide the best customer service a lot of the time, but if corporate would give me an incentive, well I’d probably go all out.
Michael Shanklin // September 17, 2007 at 8:50 pm |
I too worked at RS for 2 and a half years. I must admit, some of the things that RS did made me wonder such as hiring people with no electronic education. On a lighter side I do want to say I enjoyed RS. I love satellite TV and their cell phone deals can be better at times than the carriers that they sell for. One thing that kills me is when someone says they didn’t want to bother an old lady with a cell phone sell. How selfish. Did this person ever think about safety reasons the old lady should carry a phone??? I always tell my Gma to have her phone on her. Such an inexpensive charge for something that could help her out if she had a flat tire. To me there is just no reason for every senior not to have a phone. Some might look at this and be biased because it falls under capitalism but it is true. To not care about our seniors safety is just crazy! To everyone who complains about commission. I studied alot of products and I made a killing at RS. I helped many people set up science projects to home computer systems. If you are not making enough money blame only yourself not RS. Maybe you should stop thinking about your pocket and start helping people. This is the only way to truly get good in sales. Yes there are lots of shady people out there. That’s why we have to force people into competitve markets. The truth is if you aren’t making enough money then this is absolutely not your industry. The potential is great but you have to work hard. Things don’t just come to you!
Nathan // September 18, 2007 at 5:14 pm |
This is some remarkable feedback from some great people. Especially those who have taken the time to write so much. I just wonder if RS will ever come to realize any of this, or its employees.
Michael, you have a fair point. Working in sales is tough and exhausting, constantly demanding nothing but top performance.
ron // September 19, 2007 at 5:34 pm |
I worked for Radioshack for about 5 years. I have no hard feelings towards the company. They have a good plan set and some very good practices. The big promblem with this company is all the stupid lazy people they employ. The last DM I had only stayed at home and lied on all the reports he ever sent in. He would claim that he was at the store for 5 hours training when he was at home on his ass watching video games or tv. He always made the easy decision. Meaning he did what ever required no effort by his part. i was one of the top performers in the area and was always on track. I finally had enough of him and quit.
C.B. // September 27, 2007 at 8:47 pm |
Listen, I am a RS store manager from the Detroit area and I have no idea what any of you are talking about. Yes, the associates will try to add on to the sale, they get get paid to do that. What most people do not understand is that RS is NOT a parts store, it is a technology store. We are here to provide “Today’s Technology”(as it is stated in Radio Shack’s mission) and frankly your resistors are not “Today” anymore. The associates are not clerks or cashiers, their salesmen and women. When a Radio Shack employee is doing their job correctly they will help find the solution to solve your problems, then ask more questions to find out if there is anything else you need help with. We will show you the promo’s we have with our Vendors (ATT, Sprint, Dish Network, etc.) and if you are not interested at least you know where to find a deal when you are interested. We do have rules we have to follow when issuing returns, as do ALL retail stores, however, RS has possibly the most flexible return policy I have ever encountered. I have seen customers return things that they had for over a year as long as they had the reciept. On the other hand it can be frustrating to deal with the associates that some of the managers allow to work in their stores. Sometimes people are more concerned with filling a position than the quality of service their associates provide. That is unfortunate but it is also common in retail. 99.99% of the time our customers leave completely satisfied with a product doing exectly what they need it to. It’s when the customer is more concerned with the price than quality, or goes with something other than what we suggest just because they think we’re wrong do things get messy. RS has the most extensive product training programs. There are hundreds of certifications our employees have to complete before a specific amount of time goes by to even earn the chance to work on the sales floor. We may not have every single answer to every specific question, but we know where to find it and with a little help we’ll probably be able to resolve the issue for you. For all these Ex-RS employees bitching about the pay and stating that we rip our customers off I can only say this: Your pay sucked because of you, not RS. PERFORMANCE based pay mean pay based on YOUR PERFORMANCE. If you can’t sell this is not the job for you. And as far as ripping our customers off…that is completely untrue. Our service plan is like a safe guard on the product, it is far less expensive than the price of parts and labor or replacing any one item. Our wireless prices are less than the ATT & Sprint dealer stores and we’ll bend over backwards to service your product any time you have an issue…even if you didn’t purchase the service plan. We take care of our customers. Now I understand a handful of people have had a bad experiance at a Radio Shack one time or another. With more than 5000 stores nation wide and stores in Puerto Rico, Canada, Europe, and Australia that handful makes up for a very small percentage of our business. It is not good business to have upset customer but it is impossible to please everybody all the time. Also, take into consideration how many bad experiences you’ve had at a Best Buy, Circuit City, Target, or Wal-Mart…certainly more than anyone has had at a Radio Shack. I do not mean to rant and I did not want to ramble…I just wanted to set a few things straight. I loved my job from the time I was a temperary holiday helper all the way until I got my own store…and I know dozens of other managers that took the same rout. People unhappy with this job are not fit for it. As long you are busting your ass 100% of the time (At sales as well as operations) you will be paid nicely, you will advance, and you will love it here. Stop blaming us for your issues. Thank you.
Nathan // September 28, 2007 at 12:51 am |
Hey C.B., there are a lot of things to say in response to you.
Although, I would be curious how I would in fact know you’re a manager. I’ll accept that you are for now, cuz I am really not that skeptical.
When it comes to customer service, the point isn’t how much less worse you are than other companies who suck (for the record, I’ve had great experiences at WalMart and Best Buy) – unless of course you’re a status quo business. The point is to always try to provide a fantastic experience, both for employee’s and customers. I can’t speak for employee’s, but frankly, for customers, telling them to stop blaming you for their issues is not a step in the right direction. The issue started because they purchased something from you. (Then again, maybe that was directed toward former employee’s, it wasn’t exactly clear.)
Yes, it is unfortunate RS is providing “Today’s Technologies.” It’s what’s causing them to be a bit hazy and out of the picture compared to the competition. Maybe sticking to resistors isn’t so bad after all? In fact, John Moore has a great post about it: http://brandautopsy.typepad.com/brandautopsy/2007/05/refocusing_radi.html
A non amous // July 14, 2009 at 5:42 am |
Hey author, I would be curious as to how I should know that you are a respectable person. bleh. I stopped reading the rest of the garbage on this page at that.
C.B. // September 28, 2007 at 3:01 pm |
“Stop Blaming us for your issues” was directed at former employees, I would never use a phrase like that toward any of my customers. As far as debating whether or not I am a store manager my store no. is 01-6351 in district 0563 in the Great Lakes Area. Not that it matters. It is obvious you missed the point- I was not stating how much less RS sucks at customer service, I am saying it is not possible to please 100% of the customers that come in 100% of the time. I do not deny you’ve had great experiances at the other stores, what I am saying is the level of service they provide does not compare to that of RS. Some people see walking in, grabbing what you need, and paying for it great service as long as they do not have to wait in a line. What kind of service is that? What kind of service is it when you walk in to a Best Buy and all the associates are suddenly busy doing something else? What kind of service is it when it is only your 2nd time in a Wal Mart, you can not find something and ask a manager- they wave there say “Its down that isle” and keep walking? What people tend to forget is that we are not a business where you come to wander around the store and then cash out. We are here to provide one on one service to each customer. We spend time with every customer and make sure they get everything they need to make whatever they were trying to do work correctly the first time. Even those resistor customers, we do not spend any less time with them than we do a customer buying a TV or cell phone. Is it a crime to help you with what you came in for and before I ring you up ask “Have you heard about the free phones we’re giving away with ATT right now?” to start a conversation about that? Tell me no a couple times and I’ll gladly just ring you up and let you be on your way. Every store I have worked at and every manager, district manager, area director I have ever worked for has always had one thing in mind, the customer. If we can turn a profit while serving our customers- GREAT. This is not the Red Cross, we are not a non-profit organization. Maybe people tend to forget that as well. But have you ever walked into a Radio Shack and not been at least ackowledged in the first minute? It’s not likely that you have. At the same time, I can only speak for RS in the Detroit area. I do not know what level of service the other stores provide in the other areas. But being a corporation, we all follow the same rules and guidelines and we all work to the same standards, it is not likely there is much varience in the level of service.
It seems I got side tracked and responded mostly to what other people wrote. In regards to your return, it is possible that you may have had a defective associate helping you because if you had returned one on the reciept- we take name and address for the return and could have looked it up. I can not apologize on his/her behaf but I can say that the return was not executed properly. That is unfortunate especially if I know that your would have been taken care of and left happily had you come into my store. But that neither here nor there. Good luck in the future.
Will // September 29, 2007 at 3:57 am |
I work for RS, and I have for half a year now and I understand that customer service isn’t perfect but please don’t judge all of us on the actions of one person I work very hard and I help my customers so don’t completely dismiss RS, as for fellow employee’s I was hired after the new pay scale started but I earn on average close to 500.00 a week so there is still incentive to work and sell so don’t make a bad name for us other employee’s because you want to be lazy because you aren’t making enough money, and for the short time that Ive been with the company they haven’t done me wrong and in another 6 months I’ll be running a store so the harder you work the more it pays off so work harder and you’ll make more money, even as an example today I made 106.00 dollars in wireless Spiff I average at least 40.00 a day, it seems like Mr. Shanklin has the right attitude too.
Nathan // October 2, 2007 at 3:21 pm |
Sorry, C.B. I wasn’t holding back your comment for any reason that I am in the process of finishing up a deadline. I generally like to hold the comments to read and then respond immediately, but in this case I just don’t have the time yet.
C.B. // October 2, 2007 at 4:52 pm |
What I love about this job is they can teach you everything you need to know to be successufl at it. You do not need an experinced electronics background to start. All you need is the right attitude and the drive to perform well. I just hired two new associates that have little to no electronics experience but that is ok because the level of training we use and the number of certifications we are required to obtain teaches us how to answer questions. Given, we may not know everything about everything, no one does. We teach and are taught to have a general understanding of a wide variety of products as well as parts. Will is the perfect of example of what this job being done correctly is all about. Taking care of the customers but keeping in mind that it is a sales position are key to being successful here. I really have nothing more to add to this subject. I saw the title and had to find out what was being said.
M. // October 5, 2007 at 6:38 pm |
I was with Radioshack for 3 years before I left…Not going to lie my first year and a half was freaking awesome. The store I worked at was #1 in the district (1.4 million dollar store) making great commission, loved my customers,(most of them) co-workers, my manager and upper management. We had lots of regular customers, people in everyday!
THEN…we lost the contract with Verizon and we lost 60% of our business. No one really to blame for that, we were seriously putting out on average a month about 100-175 phones (more during golden quarter) and most were Verizon. Everyone that worked with me left every single one even the manager(who had been with company and same store for 20 years). So, I end up dealing with a new manager who has no people skills and can’t hire people worth a cent. Radioshacks hiring process for one sucks…no drug screening or real background check. Bringing in people who just need a job, which is fine, but some people qualify better than others. So they wonder why customers are getting ticked off? Because employees are there only for the pay check but they soon would realize that you really have to try if you want more than that base rate. Customers aren’t getting the honesty and quality service they deserve. If someone is going to come into a store whether for a simple watch battery or a LCD tv they deserve the same service. THAT IS HOW YOU GAIN CUSTOMERS! I think radioshack’s “Think Customers First” slogan is a crock. The last year and half that I was with the company I was constantly correcting the managers mistakes and retraining new employees because all he cared about was offering that cell phone to every customer. I am a salesperson and like to sell products of course…it only benefits me in the long run. But before I sell a product, I listen to the customer and their special situation before I decide what is best (in my opinion) for them. That, I believe is really “Thinking Customers First”.
I am working for a independent wireless dealer now and get alot of customers coming in with problems with their phone or account. Where did most of them buy their phone? They Radioshack that I once took pride in working at. I am sad to say but Radioshack you are digging your own 6 foot hole and don’t even know it.
Michael // November 1, 2007 at 1:38 pm |
I’m sorry but I have to defend some (not all) radioshack employees. I have been an employee of radioshack for about 3 yrs now and i’ve seen A LOT of shady things go on (mainly with the management). I for one don’t like lying to customers, I try to get them what they want. The district managers are ALWAYS hounding us to “sell more wireless with plans, sell more service plans, and sign more people up for radioshack credit cards”. If we choose not to cram that crap down customers throats we can be fired for “lack of performance” (there have been 0 people paid unemployment by radioshack because of this excuse). Hell I almost lost m job by that reason! I’m in a ny store I get paid $7.65/hr. the “commission” we are paid is 2.65% on commission eligible items (cables, batteries, service plans). But in order to get commission I have to sell $75/hr ($95/hr during xmas) which if you do the math that’s $3600 I have to sell a week! I’m lucky if I sell half that in commission eligible crap, commission turns out to be a wopping $50. But anyways there are employees who do do their jobs and help the people with what they need. I have no problem looking up customer reciepts, answering questions (even if they don’t buy something). It all comes down to where you go and who helps you. Hell I helped promote a manager to customer for not helping anybody (customers, employees, the company). My suggestion is IF you decide to goto radioshack for anything know exactly what you want, then ask each employee different questions to find the honest one
sr // January 3, 2008 at 10:45 pm |
I gave up on trying to get my commission and push phones/credit cards/ plans on individuals that can’t or won’t have a use for them. I have been written up on a weekly basis for not doing such things and expect to be fired for “Not meeting sales expectations”. I’ve been harassed for spending more than 5 minutes trying to teach someone how to correctly hook up their tv or things to expect to happen to computers in the next year. Best part is when I’m told ” Oh you’ve been on break for 10 minutes now.” when the store is busy and my damn manager is sitting in the back room eating. I have been “put on break” unknowingly many times now while the store is busy and my manager hides. I mentioned it to our DM and to the hotline we have and was told to tell my manager to correct the hours? Well.. he’s the one messing with em.. so.. I get no help
sr // January 3, 2008 at 10:49 pm |
Almost forgot.. I had asked every person that I know “What do you think of when you picture RS?”… not a single person said cell phones.. So how am I supposed to keep a 30$+ ticket average then sell 90/hr then keep my manager from walking out of the back room stealing the only cell phone sales I had in the last month that were only upgrades….. I have gotten only 10$ in spiffs in the last month due to having many sales stolen and being pushed to selling phone batteries to older individuals…. thank you RS for showing me it’s Policy over Ethics.. actually.. writing this has made me decide to quit… Monday will be my last day working there. I have to do a mad rush to find a new job now, luckily I’m in college.
cheryl // January 30, 2008 at 11:49 pm |
I recently perchased a new mp3 player from radio shack. I am clueless to all of these new gizmoes and told the clerk so. I told him i’d rather not use a credit card to buy songs so what other option do I have. He told me to buy an itunes gift card so for another 20.00 I did. Well… after 4 hours of downloading music and playing with my new mp3 player I realize that I can’t download the songs onto my device. So I call my computer guy to come and he says” Oh itunes only works with ipods” After paying him yet another 25.00.. I am really pissed. This is such crap. I was just ripped off about 45.oo bucks and I just had to vent this somewhere. Thank you. I will certainly not go back to radio shack.
D.L. // February 7, 2008 at 2:34 am |
A real quick word on service plans. It is pretty simple they are the biggest waste of money one can buy. For a couple reasons. One, is that the number of people who actually claim is staggeringly low. Two, most people forget they purchased the service plan a year later if something actually goes wrong…which is incredibly rare. Three, the whole idea that manufacturers warranties make you pay for shipping parts and labor is a load of “curse-word”. If the issue that occurs with your protect is a defect…”wear or tear”…rarely will a company force one to pay for parts and labor.
For those who consider purchasing service plans think about your passed electronic experience has a product you have owned ever just stopped working…..odds are the answer is no….or incredibly rarely. For a product to actually fail due to normal use requires a great statistical anomaly.
The only reason to get a service plan is to replace batteries for phones…saves you a boatload in the long run…other then that your wasting your dough.
Realize that the company is their to make money…if service plans are claimed the company loses money…the cost to replace the product is normally 3 to 5 times the price of the service plan…if someone claims that is a huge hit to the company…so why would they offer unless they did not want people to claim…the company won’t sell products that raise the claim rate because it causes them to make money.
DON’T BY SERVICE PLANS
I am a current Radioshack employee and I am required to offer these plans.
My advice to you is to tell me no when I offer it. I tell my friends and family that if they come in to purchase something and I offer them the plan to tell me no…i am only offering because my manager will get mad at me if I don’t.
For me atleast I will never press a customer after they say no once because…ethically I don’t want them to purchase the plan.
mike // February 18, 2008 at 2:23 pm |
yea they fucked me too i sent a rebate in and they sent it back said they needed original upc the copy wouldnt work. so i did its 65$ i can jump through a hoop now 1 1/2 months later they have not recieved it and said i must resend the original i called them and said how the fuck am i supposed to send a original if i already did they said you have to send the original the customer service is garbage and over the phone they barely speak english i will not go back to radioshack for a glass of water in the heat.Good thing i paid for extended warranty maybe i should break my computer and go get a new one the warranty covers replacement if not fixable..
NOT HAPPY!
Drew // February 19, 2008 at 7:32 pm |
RadioShack is what it is; a dying dinosaur desparately clinging to each falling penny in its stock price. Its so obvious what is going on there for anybody with business acumen. They are keeping overhead low which is a smart business practice, right? Wrong. When you are supposedly trying to compete with big box retailers that buy on volume to undercut the competition you simply can not dwindle your inventory down to next to nothing because it will force you to jack up your prices.
Now, I was with RS for 5 years and that company changes their mind on which direction to go daily. First we were going to corner the market on robots; then we were going to challenge the discount stores, then we were going to be a boutique shop…it never stopped.
And all the while they treated employees terribly, focused on minute details of their store fronts, rather than address really big problems, like Dave Edmondson being an alcoholic who lied on his resume. (Dave was the CEO before Julian Day)
I never looked back after leaving the Shack and I suggest any employee reading this do the same because you hope it will get better, you think the next memo coming down is going to be a raise, or an increase in your standard of living, or the next big thing that brings RS back into relevance; but believe me, that memo will never come.
Matt // March 17, 2008 at 12:23 am |
I have been working for RS for over a 1yr 1/2 now. And i must say it has been hell ever since day 1. My 1st manager was never there, he cheated the schedule! Which means he got paid for 50hrs and was actually in the store for 20. I was nevery trained at first properly for anything, especially wireless. I have just about given up on the company, i’m sick of going to pointless meanings that tell us what we already know about the company, or on how we should push harder to make the sale. The company is a joke, My DM is a complete retard. I cant believe this company is still in business. Ever since Julian came aboard, the company went downhill. I work in 1 of the south chicago stores thats a 1+million $$ store. And let me say we do get a high volume of customers. But VERY VERY few want to buy phones. Its very hard to sell a phone to a customer who 1. Has Verizon or another provider whom which we dont carry. 2 Is still under contract with that other provider. 3. Came in for a button cell battery and expect to sell them a cell phone. 4. Can go right down the street to the AT&T store to look at their huge selection of phones. I’m just sick of this company and their antics, i’m sick of inventories, i’m sick of saturday morning meetings, i’m sick of driving to another store just to make $8 commision on a cell phone. I”m sick of driving 2 miles to do a freaking bank deposit! I’m sick of having a key and suddenly having management responsibilites , and NOT BEING PAYED LIKE A MANAGER. I cant wait to quit, and actually get a job where i can actually get a raise, and enjoy doing my work. And not be pressured by management for not selling enough, or not making the quota. FUCK RADIOSHACK IN ITS ENTIRETY!
KALEB // March 19, 2008 at 11:08 pm |
My name is Kaleb and I also am a former radio shack employee. I started working there when i was 18 years old. Its almost cult like how they try to make you attend those team meetings like happy little Scientologists in our freezing cold district office (the dm would leave the heat around 62 degrees to keep us “awake”). You start out by going to a orientation where they explain how easy it is to make on average 15 to 20 an hour. Yeah right! They paid minimum wage and the only possibility of making commission was if you could achieve however many thousands of dollars they expect you to sell in a week to hit their indiscriminate “grid”. So even with a good product knowledge and experience its still nearly impossible to make much, unless you work in a busy ass mall. BUT WAIT! WHAT ABOUT MY PRECIOUS SPIFFS FROM CELL PHONE SALES? Oh yeah, when you have to compete with your higher ups or managers for a cell phone sale it becomes even more ridiculous. They were like laboratory rats… scurrying to sell as much as possible and mowing down newer colleagues with little sales experience. I also hate shopping at Radio Shack but have been reduced to going there mostly because a best buy or walmart in either direction is a 20 minute drive. I am now working for Comcast cable as a sales person and averaging $20-25 dollars an hour. GEE THANKS RADIO SHACK!!!!
Former Shacker // November 13, 2008 at 1:54 pm |
I am a former Radioshack Manager. They treated me like crap and worked me till I couldnt take it anymore. They think they offer opportunity. Well, I took a job with another retailer for 20k more per year and I get 2 days off instead of one. Stock sharing etc….
Radioshacks best opportunity is for you to leave and find another job.
Jim Zerga // November 22, 2008 at 9:43 pm |
Saturday November 22, 2008: Just left the radio shack store in Stroudsburg, PA. Mw and two other customers told the clerks there to shove the tentative purchases up their arses and walked out. At least this particular store DEMANDS that the customer provide a phone number, full name and an address for ANY purchase. They refuse to complete a sale without information. In the past, I’ve provided the name and address of a long time dead man. By this point though, I am tired of playing the same stupid game with Radio Shack. Tonight’s purchase, along with others in recent years, was quite small, being a pair of $1.29 connectors! When asked for a name and address , I said “George Washington, Bureau of Printing, The Treasury, Washington, D.C. The clerk told me that the address was no acceptable. My retort . . . “Are you out of your f – - king mind?” Told him where to stick the connectors and walked out while another roaring argument continued inside the store.
Do know that many years ago, the TANDY corporation who were then owners of Radio Shack, commissioned a consulting firm to find out why business had collapsed nationwide. Back then, in the 1970s, Radio Shack employees also demanded information of customers at the point of sale. It was learned that the practice had greatly pissed off most of the customer base and killed off sales. About 30-years ago, Radio Shack Corp announced in an AD campaign that employees would no longer harvest personal info, names and data from the customers. Today, in 2008. . .the strong-arm tactics are back. What kind of incompetent total assholes are these Radio Shack management fools? Why would any business work as angering the customers? It’s insane! Needless to say, Will not be returning to any Radio Shack store. I’ll be glad to see this company’s stores closed when that outfit finally goes belly up.
Ted Ninja // December 15, 2008 at 3:20 am |
Former Radioshit employee here, I was laid off for no reason, my sales where superb and second only to the manager (only because he had friends in high places who wasted money buying new phones every week and only HE could sell to them, they where to high and mighty to talk to anyone else)
After speaking with the district manager about my lay off he said that my customer service had been less than satisfactory, and that everyone else who had served customers as bad as me had been laid off as well. I provided him with a documented AWARD for THAT MONTH and three months prior stating that my customer service was recorded as the third best in the district. He said “well that’s just paper, your actual service does not match this record” and that’s when I blew up in his face. I told him what a douche he was for thinking he was better than me, told him how everyone in the store I was work at was a jerk to customers half the time, provided written customer complaints made out to the employees and told him how my customer service is better than all the rest of them because I never had a complaint for as long as I worked there. He was shocked that his “good” employees had so many complaints.
This is the problem with radioshack, it cares about selling phones, and not about customer service. COMMISSION is all that matters, get that dollar and keep it.
I was glad to not have that stupid job anymore, I’ve been jobless for over a year now almost (was laid off on Christmas eve) but I’ve enjoyed it since I don’t have to put up with that crap anymore. My advice is just go buy your electronics and stuff from Wal-Mart, if they don’t have it, Staples or Office Depot, and as a last restort, Best Buy. RS is crap, their stock is terrible, and they have so many issues with management it goes all the way up to the CEO, which is why no one trains anyone hard enough anymore to be NICE to customers, or maybe people just suck. I’d say both.
Jonny P // December 31, 2008 at 7:21 am |
Wow, guys…. Did anybody even CONSIDER the fact that there are MILLIONS and BAJILLIONS of RadioShack stores in the world? Like snowflakes, they are all different; no two stores have the same dumb-ass associate working there, they have ENTIRELY different shoppers showing up, and EACH ONE HAS A DIFFERENT MANAGER….
I am personally offended by many of the posts here. I am a RadioShack employee with a great sales record for the year and a half I’ve been here. My store is in central Nebraska, and the only other employee in the state who is better than I am is a Spanish-speaking Assistant-manager in a predominantly Hispanic area…. More power to him!! I don’t bitch, I am learning Spanish from my CUSTOMERS!! Its because they LIKE me, and enjoy my company.
My store is RIGHT next door to a Best Buy inside a mall. I don’t know what their motto is, but it certainly does NOT pertain to education of employees OR customers. RadioShack- de-mystifying technology in every neighborhood of America. Need a plug in for “the computer tower-thingy, not the screen”? Best Buy says, “i don’t know what you are talking about, go to a computer store” MY answer: “Thats right over here, would you like Black or white? Is this one long enough? You know, I put MY tower on top of the desk so the kids don’t keep touching it…(customer)…. A birthday?! How old is she? She’d LOVE this “Disney Princess learning laptop”. Lets get some batteries”
What does that say? To some, its me being a “salesman” and trying to push crap down my customer’s throat. In reality, my niece LOVES HER little pink chariot computer, and runs out of batteries ALL the time…. Have you ever tried to tell a 4 year old that she’ll play with her new toy TOMORROW because you don’t have BATTERIES??? Besides, where is the best place to go for INEXPENSIVE, FRESH, and even UNUSUAL SIZED batteries??? Darn straight…. You’re gonna go to RadioShack. If you have a beef with us, thats fine, but Uncle Joe didn’t have to make a little girl cry on her birthday…
I don’t do that because it makes the company money: i do that because my customers NEED batteries and NO elderly person should be out and about without a phone.
I WISH i had somebody like that with me shopping at Walmart:
Me:”I’m making Valentines dinner and I am a stupid boy… i want to make Lasagna by myself….”
Walmart: “oh, you’re gonna need noodles: i like the no-boil kind”
Me: “great idea!! that will go great with the fish sticks!!”
Walmart: “Wouldn’t she prefer garlic bread?”
Me: “OH YEAH!!”
The fellow above ADMITTED that he preferred to UNDER perform until he gets some more incentive…. Jeez….. If I wanted to peddle tv’s and cell phones FOR THE MONEY ALONE, i sure wouldn’t do it at RadioShack. If you’re in it for MONEY, get out of retail…
As far as bad service, PLEASE, as a favor to me, DON’T over generalize the RS associates… Some people don’t understand the system, but there’s ALWAYS somebody who does. The reason those policies are in place, is because people will ACTUALLY try to return items they purchased in the 80’s which is little more than TRASH to me… Thats not fair to ANYBODY and its bad for the economy.
Service Plans…. Granted, i will NOT guarantee that your cordless phone will go bad in a year, I can promise that if it does, you’ll get your investment back 3 FOLD!! The thing you all leave out is that the plans give you FREE BATTERY REPLACEMENT FOR EACH YEAR YOU HAVE IT!!
Example: a $100 Panasonic phone with 3 handsets has a service plan cost of 17.99 for a year. ONE BATTERY is 14.99. NO BATTERY IN THE WORLD can be guaranteed to last a full year. Three handsets is about 45 bucks for ONE NEW BATTERY in each phone, and its something you are GUARANTEED to have to replace. Plus, if the phone goes out on you, we’ll give you a new one…. Thats a projected value of $145 dollars.
NO retail employee should be expected to wipe your ass for you, but RadioShack will help you pick out the right tissue for the job and help you learn to do it right next time.
I agree that i work hard for my money, and that i could make more elsewhere, but i love my job. if every establishment that i visited had all “acceptable” or lower quality employees getting paid more than they deserve, i would be offended (and thats what i see frequently in other places).
If every associate in every store in every city took pride in their WORK and not their MONEY, the shopping experience would be a pleasure.
‘Shack employees get paid for what they DO, and they get NOT-PAID for what they DON’T DO.
Being a good salesperson has nothing to do with standing behind a cash-register and grumbling because thats what you are paid to do… Its all about leading your customer on the right track and protecting them along the way. And a GOOD ASSOCIATE GETS PAID EXTRA TO DO THAT!! Your “minimum wage” is your wage for doing the MINIMUM.
You can bite me if MINIMUM is good enough for you….
I see hundreds of people each day, and i hear “thanks, Jonny” almost as many times. Come to my store ONCE, and i PROMISE i’ll make you smile.
PS. I’ve you’ve ever had to personally defend the President of the United States to an 80 year old man who says that Digital TV is Communism…. A person who who is entitled to 80 dollars from the government for FREE to buy a “damn converter thing” for a black and white tv….. A person who claims that he was RAPED because i can’t fix his RCA converter box because it does not have analog pass-through and needs a Smart antenna to run, but it was 10 bucks cheaper at Walmart….. a person who calls you a liar because he didn’t put batteries in his remote OR plug in the box itself…..
If after all that in one day, you can help a lady learn to use her (best buy) answering machine, help a deaf woman fix her telephone system, race a remote controlled car with a 6 year old and lose on purpose :D, discuss how to make a model of the Starship Enterprise light up with LED photon torpedoes, discuss the possibility of an actual working Lightsaber (built from parts available only in the RadioShack parts drawers), explain how to tap into your neighbor’s wireless internet (with permission, of course)…..
all this, and STILL have a good time and enjoy your work…. Then maybe YOU are good at your job, and are doing your part to make it a better world.
Monksterd // January 3, 2009 at 2:11 am |
Jonny P – He’s my man – called him with my issue, took care of me. No complaints.
Jonny P // January 6, 2009 at 6:37 am |
Its good to stay on a person’s good side… Thanks, Monk… Thats very cool to say… When am I gonna see you in my store again?? :D
Radioshack Sucks // January 16, 2009 at 6:53 am |
worked at radioshack for 4 months and just quit today. what a freaken joke! when I got hired in december I was told I would become the assistant manager and would start my MIT training after christmas….YEA FREAKEN RIGHT! 3 months later im told our district didnt HAVE assistant managers and that getting into the MIT program was based on performance….which is fine, if radioshack didnt have impossible standards set up for all their employees. I worked at a mall store which saw a grand total of MAYBE ten customers per day on any normal day and maybe 30 during christmas, yet we were supposed to compete with the rest of the stores in wireless and sales and keep 95 dollars an hour on what?! TEN CUSTOMERS! I made 7 bux an hour plus commission, which at the end of two weeks came out to about 7.35 cents, I could make more at MCDONALDS working 10 hours a week…then come to find out you had to be in the top five in the district to even be accepted into the mit program, then go through a bs 6 month training gauntlet to MAAAYYYBE be considered to have your own store, which you’ll work 65 hours a week at, salaried at about 40. I worked with the biggest bunch of retards ive ever seen. one of our employees couldnt work two days a week because of AA meetings he had to go to because he ran from the cops while intoxicated…and the DM was a freakin moron who would come into the store once a month and tell us to do meaningless crap which would then be reversed two days later.
Once he told us to redo all the large price tags in the store, only to tell us to do it again two days later because he didnt send us the right tags…and my manager….oh god the manager…this guy was an IDIOT! he has worked at radioshack for 20 years (says so on his nametag) and is the worst manager ive ever seen. we had this one employee who was a total screwup yet he couldnt fire him or yell at him…yet had ME do it. he was sick all the time and never in the store whether it be due to his constant smoke breaks or walking around with his wife…
I finally had enough and today looked him in the eye and asked him when my current 20 hours a week would go up, and he said it probably wouldnt, then I told him to kiss my a$$ and threw my keys at him….20 hours a week and im a damn KEYHOLDER! radioshack sucks, its only filled with old people that will talk to you for 30 minutes about how the 10 dollar bettery in their phone USED to cost 5 dollars back in 1951…
Jonny P // January 17, 2009 at 9:20 am |
Ass. Manager ain’t all good… Nobody jumps from part time to ass man… You’ll understand when you’re grown up…
Nehemiah Pearson // March 13, 2009 at 10:11 pm |
I will NEVER do business with radio shack! Here’s what happened to me, I purchased a “Gigaware PC to TV converter, on Lancaster drive in Salem, and it didn’t works, so i took it back for an exchange, but they didn’t have anymore, so sent me 15 miles to one that did, so I went there got the “new one” and went home to make sure it worked, inside wasnt even the same converter! AND on the box it had a sticker that said “sell as is, $45,” when I had paid $79.99 for the one I exchanged with them! Jerks. So I took it back with the item, (which, btw was a simple Cable to RCA box) I say, i took it back within 15 min of purchasing it and they wouldn’t take it back! Regardless of the fact that it was the incorrect item, his main reason was because it said “sell as is” on it, which I was unaware of when I had exchanged it! Cheaters, he wouldn’t give me store credit, and I called the district office and they refuse to look into it or help me! wth! I’ve never seen anything like it in my life! Totally unfair store, Bad customer service!!! Please help me by calling this number and complaining to the district office near me, Please call them 503-255-7555
Nehemiah Pearson // March 13, 2009 at 10:14 pm |
Please call the district office for me, and complain for me!!! I am so upset at them!
503 255 7555
Jonny P // April 16, 2009 at 1:54 am |
For those of you who remember my rant from before…..
Two months ago I became manager of my own store. Not ONCE did I suck up to the DM or my old Store Manager.
It feels like a little community. RadioShack really is a “small town” kinda store. I am now finding it easier to understand why all you guys complain…
Each store truly IS different, and some actually have BAD associates. We know this, because they have been posting on this page.
I am proud of my crew. The old manager got them on the right track, and if he was reading this, I would not be ashamed for him to know that.
Some other stores are hard to work with, its true, But now that i am in Iowa, stop by and see me sometime, and I’ll prove to you that you can have fun in a RadioShack if you are willing.
If you go out of your way to make my job difficult, stay at home.
Frankie // April 19, 2009 at 2:19 pm |
My son worked for RS (I can’t say where to protect him) and he was let go due to their not needing as many sales people. My son was the #1 sales person for the most pushed cell phones in his store month after month but still got let go. Interestingly the manager (who is not a caucasian) kept his most recent hires who made less commission than my son and who were also non-whites! When my son applied for his unemployment benefits, his claim was challenged by RS, and they said he was let go for not doing his job (or some BS like that). The manager who let him go even offered a good employment reference! RS, in my opinion, only challenged his unemployment claim to save the bucks they now have to pay for unemployment…the unemployment folks accepted my son’s claim and RS now has to pay. I must agree that RS is a crappy place to work and if you’re interested in a good career, don’t even bother applying at RS.
Dan // April 22, 2009 at 2:15 pm |
I work at Radioshack. I am also about to graduate from college. I rarely make less than $10/hour even on the new pay schedule. I believe that I make this because I treat my customers with respect. I am sorry for all those people who get the bad sales associates that I do know exist, but there are good ones out there too. As an educated person who understands management skills (I also work part-time for a small non-profit as Vice President of Operations), Radioshack lacks skills in upper management. I do not think that it is necessarily their fault, my guess is that they have never worked in a retail store, and therefore have no clue what happens there. I have applied for management three times, only to get shot down each time. I have worked for five years! Frankly, when it is time for me to graduate, rather than having a competent, caring, and skilled manager, Radioshack will be filling my position with some high schooler (no offense, just less experience) who just needs a job. The old Radioshack is dead.
kyle // May 1, 2009 at 3:28 am |
Can someone give me insight on a practice where RS owners lease are based on their profits of the store UP or DN does anyone have knowledge of this. I would be interested in filing a class action on behalf of the RS owners. If you are an owner and feel you have been damaged by the corporation please email.
dragon // July 21, 2009 at 6:07 pm |
I am a dealer and RS seems to have no clue as to the current economy. They still expects us to be selling smart phones and HTIB’s when the unemployment rates are so high people dont have extra money for that type of product. I feel the corporation is damaging all of the dealers with their attitude!
john // May 3, 2009 at 8:09 pm |
Growing up, RadioShack had the market cornered on all small electronic, with a great inventory and expert salespeople. Now, you go in the stores, and they don’t have anything and they don’t know anything. What’s more, they don’t seem to care. Who is responsible for running this company into the ground? Len Roberts retired in 2006 and built an obscene mansion on a hill near my house. Like most of corporate America today, RadioShack appears to be led by management that is just trying to suck all the money out of the company; to hell with long term viability. What a shame; Charles Tandy is spinning in his grave.
lala // May 11, 2009 at 9:55 pm |
my son works for radio shack…hes been there 3 weeks…took training, sells almost 1000 dollars a day, sells many wireless sales, and now his hours are cut before they have to give him any medical, anything relating to benefits…they are hiring for one month , many of their salesmen..we know of 2 at this point who have been let go for no reason…they are shaving his sales amounts and taking them for themselves..his wireless sales go unpaid.. they have even gone so far as to say that people have been bringing hundreds of dollars of products a day back…just to not have to pay him his proper pay…wow the manager is crazy, and im not kidding..keeping the girls…firing the men…the girls stand behind the counter and dont follow proceedure..they are catty, and snotty, and dont know how to treat the customers, yet they retain their jobs…my son is highest honors student at I>T>T tech, and is very respectful and kind to his customers…he hasnt been given any hours this week…sorry he got involved with this company…lots of work..new wardrobe, new shoes, hopes and dreams for a future…could it be radio shack needs to fire their managers….and hire genuine people…but maybe radio shack is hiding behind these managers so they can deprive their wonderful employees of their benefits…and they know theyll be closing all stores for good a.s.a.p…lala
sami // May 12, 2009 at 4:26 pm |
Radio Shack is the BEST place to shop at.. at least I get attention right away when i present my self at a radio shacks tore, unlike any other retailers..
I will continue to shop there, because i feel really comfortable.
PS: you are just bullshitter, may have gotten fired from job or got caught stealing. cheap people talk cheap!!
Mackenzie // May 26, 2009 at 3:17 am |
I currently work at Radio Shack. I love it! I rarely ever make less than 10 dollars an hour! And yes, its true Radio Shack is always willing to help the customer no matter how long it takes. Walmart wont help at all. They will just point hoping maybe u will find them so they wont have to come over there!
Easy money // June 2, 2009 at 3:22 am |
I work at RadioShack going on 4 years now. I have to say that I love it because you get what you put into it. I am the leading seller in my district and find the job very easy. I am also the assistant manager at my store so I still have to deal with the ins and outs of the store, but still make pretty good money on spiffs and commissions. In my area assistant managers make 9.20 an hour, but I rarely make less than 24.00 an hour. If you are willing on working for your money and dealing with nagging customers who try to make them selves feel more important by harassing sales associates, then you should definitely give rs a go!!!
alex // July 2, 2009 at 10:41 pm |
wow RS return policy sucks!
Joe // July 14, 2009 at 1:04 am |
This is more of a trip down memory lane; as opposed to any kind of rant…
As a middle aged man who worked for RS back in the early 80’s, I find the current Radio Shacks to be nothing more than tiny versions of Best Buy. I can understand the shift from hobbyist electronics to stuff that’s more mainstream, but I miss the old RS. Back then, the “Shack” was downright awesome when the primary focus of the business was “real” electronics; not the disposable “breaks in one year and don’t repair it” garbage.
Nowadays, Radio Shack strikes me as essentially useless, simply because Best Buy has better prices and more selection. And yet, Best Buy sucks, so what does that tell you?
Radio Shack is just another example of a company with a great history being watered down into nothing; thanks to consumers who are far more impatient and uninformed than they are savvy.
A non amous // July 14, 2009 at 5:54 am |
There is good and bad in all. Do or don’t do. If you expect absolutes in human behaviour, you will absolutely get results in human behaviour. Listen, don’t talk. The person on one side of the counter is every bit as valuable as the person on the other.
Anonymous // July 22, 2009 at 12:57 am |
1
Jeremy // July 22, 2009 at 1:10 am |
I quit 4 days ago, wow ive worked for alot of really bad companies, but this is the worst, they treat you like a slave. I agree with other posters dont buy service plans! I was #1 seller in my store, always provided excellent service, and did tasks my lazy manager wouldnt do. my manager stole wireless sales from me, would leave the store with me by my self when an angry customer asked for him, and hardly ever showed up, sent my letter of resignation telling why, and before i know it he fills out a final evaluation saying I never showed up, that I was lazy and incompetent. And i called the district office and they said they can put and say whatever they want, which will effect my ability to get future jobs, especially with the economy! Can I sue them and put radio shack to rest for good?
Tamara // August 31, 2009 at 3:49 am |
I agree with you Jeremy you should do it im in the process of doing that too. my manager is a scumbag who does not know how to manage
mark o // October 6, 2009 at 2:43 pm |
Are you high on drugs easy money? Nobody
makes 24.00 an hour @ rs. They would fire
you before they let you make that king of money.
Mackenzie // October 9, 2009 at 3:29 am |
Your right Mark o! RS is very strict about stuff like that. the most i have ever made is 16 an hour but that was a really good 2 weeks
mark o // October 22, 2009 at 12:06 pm |
Speaking of scumbags, most of the DM’S are
as well.
Ryan // October 24, 2009 at 5:10 am |
Well, it is rather funny to read all these anti- Radioshack comments.
All the loser associates on here that can’t sell anything to anyone especially. RS doesn’t pay you… Sprint/ATT/TMobile does. Here is what you do: you get the customer who wants the annoying junk (parts, cables) out of your store quickly and happily. Learn what they need, learn every goofy name for every cable (these holier than thou types try to trick us) and get them out. Don’t offer them phones or anything else. Many of them will bitch about it “Oh all you ever do is sell phones to me blah blah….” SAVE IT. Move on to the next guy who won’t give attitude and sell him phones.
I am not saying be mean. Some of these people that seem rough are cool, they just expect us to have no product knowledge. Maybe former associates sucked. Most want to get their parts and get out, respect that and move on.
Second is some of you customers. Some of you guys make it hard on the newer associates, or those who don’t have technical knowledge. Most guys under the age of 30 wont have any experience with CBs or Police Scanners. You should ask the manager or the ASM.
My job as I see it honestly is to move wireless. That is what makes me the most money. It is what makes store goals. But the way I do it is by nicely and quickly getting the parts guys out of the store first.
Flash728 // October 27, 2009 at 5:33 am |
Hey guys I’m a Current radioshack employee in southern california. And i have to say this company is truly idiotic. I’ve worked for radioshack for a little over a year now. And the first store that i worked at was great. The manager worked on the store, making sure it was stocked and up to date on the “displays” while we the salesman either helped if it was slow or sold if it was busy. Then our DM issued a memo saying that managers now HAD to be the TOP sales man everyday or else be issued a warning for not beating they’re employees. My manager called him right away and said, “This is f**king stupid! My associates are paid to sell, I’m paid to manage them not compete against them!” The district manager disregards this and cuts the stores hours. Later that week I’m informed via text message that i start at another store the next day. He said he tried to keep me but the DM transfered me over everyones head because I was his best associate (as a punishment). My next manager was a F**KING RETARD! He stole sales from associates, he transfered comission from us to him. We tried calling HR but they said that that is his autority to do because he can decide whether it was his sale or ours. And that manager never ordered store supplies, we never had toilet paper, regular paper towels, and we were constantly running out of recipt paper. This manager was later replaced due to being caught up with fraud (not fired, simply transfered to another store) And we were given a new manager. This man is a PATHALOGICAL LIER! He once told a customer that he could “focus the signal from the cell towers to concentrate on her phone” when i saw what he was doing in the computer he was scrolling up and down on a webpage, as well as responding to an email. to appear busy of course. Another thing he would do is call me at all times of the day asking me to bring some random tool/dvd/item for whatever reason, after a week of this i blocked his number, at which point he started to text me messages such as “911 call me!” or “hey emergency call me now” or even once “go open the store imma be late theres traffic!” I (knowing better) ignored all texts from him no matter how important they sounded. Another thing he would do is that sometimes when people did bring items in that they need repaired (under the RS repair warranty) he would wait several MONTHS to send them out. there was a guy who bought a laptop, turns out the charge port was defective and almost immeatly broke, covered under the warranty I submitted his repair request and put it in “line” to be sent out (in feburary) not untill june and several threats made by the customer was the laptop sent out, it took 2 days to arrive a the repair center, 3 hours to “diagnose” 1 hr to fix, and another 2 days to get back to the store. a week it took… and he waited 5 MONTHS to send it out? Also myself being in school for the fire fighter program noticed there were some fire regulations that werent up to code, i informed the manager that the fire extiguisher has to be mounted on the wall and that the “exit” signs had to be illuminated, he said it’s not important and to worry about my own buisness. Ha ha, guess what? The fire marshall is a friend of mine, the next day he comes in for a surprise inspection, “Oh whats this? The fire extinguisher is on the floor? $5000 fine. Oh? exit signs not illuminated? $3000 fine. Get those fixed ASAP, i’ll be back next week.” My manager then texts me, “hey we got some tickets from the FD, i need you to make them dissapear.” i replied, “HA HA HA you’re funny, i told you to fix those no?” Anyways i was later that week transfered to another store, being once again informed at the night before via text… again. Overall this company is a company that does NOT respect its employees or care about its customers. I never once yelled, got mad, or screwed any customers over in any way shape or form. I’ve gotten in trouble for not meeting my quotas, Y’s that? because i get people what they need, sure i offer cellphones to people, sure i offer warranties, sure i offer radioshack credit cards, but people simply dont want those, so what can i tell my DM? i offer but people dont want them? He’ll say, just add them on and say its required. BS… i’ll soon quit and get my dream job as a firefighter, till then? the shitty shack
Flash728 // October 27, 2009 at 5:33 am |
sorry for the rant, i needed to vent
Joshua // October 31, 2009 at 4:45 pm |
I am a RadioShack Manager. Every new hire is trained on what we call the dreaded black bag policy. No one likes to see returns, but the company makes it abundantly clear that we are to treat the returning customers as best we can because it is neither our or their fault the item was unsatisfactory. Naive sales associates are just that, and it is no reflection of the company
Joshua // October 31, 2009 at 4:53 pm |
Mark O, your an idiot.Commision based pay is meant to drive sales up, if you were doing just that, why would they fire you? If that were the case you would strictly recieve Hourly rate.
PS As an Assitant Manager in a low volume store I consistantly made $18 an hour. Thats nothing compared to the potential of a mid to high volume location.
Joshua // October 31, 2009 at 4:57 pm |
It sounds to me like all of you whiny Associates and Ex Associates just dont have the capabilty of handling your own issues. People are corrupt, get over it. If your manager is treating you terribly and you actually read those training ATGs you’d know exactly what to do to mend the situation. Stop expecting everyone to do things for you. RadioShack is a great corporation.
PS the service plans are not for everyone, thats why we qualify, if you actually did the job the expect you to do, you wouldnt have so many unsatisfied customers.
Tinisha // November 4, 2009 at 4:23 pm |
RADIOSHACK REALLY DOES SUCK!! I applied for a job there and got an e-mail from a Donna Egbert to attend their hiring fair. After clearing my day and finding a babysitter for my son, I made my way to the job fair. After waiting in line for a whole hour, everyone left. There was no one there!!! No management or anything!! We were basically stood up. The next day I received an e-mail from Egbert saying that there was some sort of miscommunication and we the offer of the job was voided. I spent all that time and energy only to be told that I wouldn’t get the job.