I’m no electronics wiz, but I occassionally need some sort of component - switch, led, resistor, etc.
I’ve found that virtually everything I want to buy at Radio Shack that differentiates it from Walmart has been condensed into a couple of poorly organized file cabinets in the back of the store, the contents of which appear to be mysterious oddities to the store clerks.
And they insist on collecting more information about me in order to checkout than the local gun shop. I can understand the need to market, but sometimes you want to just get in and get out, especially when you’re paying cash for something that costs less than $2.
Now I just buy online unless two exceedingly rare events occur - I absolutely need something right away, and Radio Shack actually has it in stock.
We usually buy all that stuff on eBay at 20% of the price unless like you said we need it immediately. Most of the stuff we buy on eBay is received in about 3 days anyway.
Wow, still nothing has changed.
My last encounter with Radio Shaft was over 15 years ago, maybe closer to 20. I needed a foreign adapter plug for some audio/video cord. RS was my last resort even then, but the item was not carried anywhere else in the area.
I was expecting annoying and aggressive service based on my occasional visits over many years and in different stores (and states), but it had been a few years since I had been in one because of these bad memories. I had hoped that RS really wasn't as horrid as I had remembered.
Wrong. The problem *was* systemic and the obnoxious sales clerk was operating on a whole new level of pushiness and snark. For a $3 cash sale he sure didn't wan't to take no for an answer when demanding personal info. Geez if I hadn't checked around to every other store first I would have walked out, but OTOH the arrogant punk needed to be put in his place.
He went from feigned politeness to snippy insistence to playing victim, saying that management expected him to obtain the info or it would reflect poorly on his performance. ? Seriously? I mean lol the little sh!t was doing pretty "well" on his own. Then he moved on to drama queen mode with a resigned huff of hostility and exasperation as he rang up the sale. Hey all I said was "No" (repeatedly), and that "This is a cash sale". :)
It was truly bizarre but my theory was that he was exactly the kind of employee management wanted, so why complain. I just decided never to go back.
Last time I shopped at a Radio Shack (which was over a decade ago. . . ) the clerk demanded my name, address, phone, and email, for a 99-cent battery.
I told him “no”. He said he wouldn’t sell it to me, unless I gave him the information. So I walked out. The guy chased me, demanding I come back and complete the purchase.
Several months later, the store closed. It was not a surprise to anyone, other than perhaps the store’s employees. . .