[Boatanchors] Re:Radioshack "catering" to hams...?

[Jim Wilhite]

My two cents!

The real beef with RS is not that they don't stock parts, don't have good 
cable or they don't have access.  They have all that if (and that is a real 
big if) you can find someone who will assist you with your order or show you 
where it is in the catalog and tell you how to order.  Their mail order 
service is fast and really very accurate.

Give me service beyond cell phones and other gimmicks and I will be a happy 
customer.  Everyone who goes into Wal-Mart doesn't find what they need, but 
the help does try to assist you find it, even at another store.

At RS, if you don't know what they call it, where it is, or how to find it 
yourself in the catalog, you leave in disgust.  That is the problem.  RS has 
any part, including variable caps, tubes beyond belief and  anything you 
could want but like the old Kmart of the 70s you can't get help.  Wal-Mart 
taught Kmart a lesson.  When we reach the saturation level (and we will) of 
cell phones, what lesson will RS learn.  For the technical types, they 
mostly won't return, thanks to the help of Mouser, Digi-Key or Allied over 
the phone.  Tell me why I should deal with employees who don't care if my 
problems are fixed or not.

You can find managers and some assistants who go out of their way to help, 
but I will bet their override comes from the store sales, not individual 
commission.

73  Jim
W5JO


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tony Martin W4FOA" <w4foa at comcast.net>
To: <boatanchors at mailman.qth.net>; "john" <johnmb at nc.rr.com>
Sent: Sunday, May 29, 2005 4:12 PM
Subject: Re: [Boatanchors] Re:Radioshack "catering" to hams...?


> John,
> I don't have a dog in this fight but I think the negative comments we've 
> seen here are a reflection of us as an ungrateful nation (U.S.A.). In the 
> not too distant past, there are probably very few hams who have not taken 
> advantage of the convenience of Radio Shack stores near their homes.
>
> This is the Memorial Day holiday period....let's reflect on those men and 
> women who gave their all for us and be thankful and not so quick to be 
> negative.  I appreciate their sacrifice that gives me the freedoms I so 
> often take for granted.
>
> My Two Cents.
>
> Tony, W4FOA
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "john" <johnmb at nc.rr.com>
> To: <boatanchors at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Sunday, May 29, 2005 4:55 PM
> Subject: [Boatanchors] Re:Radioshack "catering" to hams...?
>
>
>> "Radio Shack refuses to cater to hams anymore"
>>
>> Lets see....I can focus on a small number of hams, who are notoriously 
>> cheap, and who purchase big items at a discount mail order,  and who 
>> expect me to stock a store full of one dollar items OR  I can sell cell 
>> phones and PDAs by the hundreds to an eager customer base.... which 
>> should I do?
>>
>> Hmmm...I'm a business man, let me think about this a minute....
>>
>>
>>