Radio Shack Bankrupcy

[linux-works]

 Now, thank God, I no longer deal with the public, I work at the government agency level.

sometimes, this stuff just writes itself... LOL

anyway, did you ever think that senior citizens are living on near poverty/fixed income levels?  give the poor old guys a break.  so what if they ask for multiple batteries (within reason, but I'd allow a pretty big lattitude if it was me).

you were young back then, and I get that; but it seems like you still think the same way and that's what is troubling.

[GreyWoolfe]

 Now, thank God, I no longer deal with the public, I work at the government agency level.

 give the poor old guys a break.  so what if they ask for multiple batteries (within reason, but I'd allow a pretty big lattitude if it was me).

What is your definition of within reason?  If someone came in with 2,3,4 or 5 cards, no problem.  "Here are your batteries, is there anything else I can help with or show you?  No, have a great day then."  It's the bands of the 30-40 card holders that was the issue and it was an issue for everyone including the managers.  They would take most of the cards also.  I don't know if you have ever worked retail sales.  If you haven't, you probably won't really understand the environment.  IF you have, you should have some understanding.  I have spent about 12 years of my 36 years in the service industry working in retail sales.  In the choice of dealing with the public or dealing with clients, I would rather take the clients.  Instead of dealing with the public who will lie in front of you to your manager to get what they want, I deal with clients that makes it easier to set expectations and build a solid working relationship.  Much more professionally and personally satisfying.  It is also nice not to have a manager that will throw me under the bus to make the shopper happy even when they are clearly and demonstrably wrong.

I have said all I will say.  I have a bad habit of speaking plainly, speaking the truth, not sugar coating my words and I am certainly not politically correct  I am of the age and at a point in my life that it is unimportant what other people think or say about me.  I have tried to paint a picture of the environment I worked in, but since you seem to have completely (mis)judged me and apparently nothing I can say will change your mind one iota, all I will say is have a nice day.  Be happy and be blessed

The proverb of the day is, 'Don't judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes.'

[linux-works]

I'll give you, that 30 is way too much.  (people actually did try to use 30 of them?  seriously??)

I can imagine people wanting a group, say 2 or 4 at a time (since things often used more than one, if not a 9v).

30 takes serious stugots.

just tell the guy that you'll give him 4 at a time, but he has to return with his Bingo crowd if he wants more

anyway, the battery club is no more.  when (year) did it finally stop?

[xrunner]

I found this a very interesting read -

A eulogy for RadioShack, the panicked and half-dead retail empire

[Tandy]

anyway, the battery club is no more.  when (year) did it finally stop?

1993

[nctnico]

I found this a very interesting read -

A eulogy for RadioShack, the panicked and half-dead retail empire

I'll forward it to my kids with the note: see why you have to stay in school and give it more than your best effort!

[GreyWoolfe]

I'll give you, that 30 is way too much.  (people actually did try to use 30 of them?  seriously??)

I can imagine people wanting a group, say 2 or 4 at a time (since things often used more than one, if not a 9v).

30 takes serious stugots.

just tell the guy that you'll give him 4 at a time, but he has to return with his Bingo crowd if he wants more

anyway, the battery club is no more.  when (year) did it finally stop?

I never objected if they were looking for enough batteries to power something.  I was very serious about the quantities.  They would have them in hand with a rubber band holding all of them together and just take off the rubber band and hand us the stacks.  A lot of the time, they would come in in groups of 3 or 4, like they were carpooling for the battery hunt.  I agree, serious stugots-haven't heard that term in quite awhile   I don't remember when they stopped the program.  I quit RS is 1994 and I believe it stopped shortly before I left.

edit-I posted without finishing the thread and saw that Tandy posted that it ended in 1993 and I left in August 1994.  I am just thrilled if I can remember what happened yesterday-working on the z in Alzheimer's  

[xrunner]

Another article on the soon-to-be bankrupt R.S. -

RadioShack: 94 years of hits and misses

[dannyf]

They would have them in hand with a rubber band holding all of them together and just take off the rubber band and hand us the stacks.  A lot of the time, they would come in in groups of 3 or 4, like they were carpooling for the battery hunt

Sounds like a group of bottom feeders,

[GreyWoolfe]

They would have them in hand with a rubber band holding all of them together and just take off the rubber band and hand us the stacks.  A lot of the time, they would come in in groups of 3 or 4, like they were carpooling for the battery hunt

Sounds like a group of bottom feeders,

I don't know that I would go that far on the terminology.  I understood the fixed income thing and wanting any break possible.  However, there is always a group that will abuse the system if possible and a surprising number of them lived in the more affluent over 55 communities.  I think what typically bothered me the most was the complete lack of shame.  They would line up with beaming smiles on their faces as if to say, "Here we are to take advantage again.  See you next month!"  They would even interrupt you if you were talking to a customer as if their getting their free battery was the most important thing in the world.

I do go into Rs occasionally for a part I need now, mostly switches, jacks, plugs and the like.  I am always polite as I have been on that side of the fence.  I do hope that those who lose their jobs through the bankruptcy will be rewarded by finding better employment.  Incidentally, I was in one a couple of days ago to see if there actually were any bargains to be found.  All the clearance items were left over RC toys from Christmas.  No other markdowns besides some money off Arduino shields.  Just not sure if it is worth the time to have a squizz, as Dave would say, every so often as I doubt the prices will come down enough to make me want to stock up on anything.  If the store closes, it will be interesting to see what will move in there as there are enough restaurants, a dollar store and a Big Lots in that plaza already. 

[Vgkid]

I will stock up on power transformers.

[xrunner]

Went back to the closeout RS today, because the guy said last week they would be getting more stuff.

They didn't.

Looks like it's just going to close. I only found a few trinkets worth buying at 50% off, but had a long talk with  the manager of the store. He looked pretty glum. Said he had left Home Depot a few years ago for RS, but regretted that decision. We talked of the days when RS had computers they developed and such. He said kids these days didn't care about what the store had - except for cell phones. I asked him if he had any ideas for the stores to bring in more customers. He said one idea he had floated was for them to get into solar energy for consumers, like provide a package deal and have installers. The management wasn't interested in that - they want glitz and bling stuff.

So I left the store and wished him good luck - it's the last time I'll go back to that one. It remains to be seen how many will be left next month, if any at all.

 

[linux-works]

I will stock up on power transformers.

I would not do that!

just a year or 2 ago, I had a radioshack trafo catch fire on me!  24vac smallish (an amp or so) trafo.  damned thing scared me to death!

low cost is one thing, but dangerous is something that cannot be tolerated.  not sure if a winding shorted - must have been the problem as there is not much else going on inside a power trafo..

[cosmicray]

I cannot find a release from the NYSE, but several news services are reporting that RSH will be delisted.

[xrunner]

I cannot find a release from the NYSE, but several news services are reporting that RSH will be delisted.

Yes, and in after-hours trading the stock price is now 15 cents! 

[Richard Crowley]

The financial news as well as the general news sources today are widely reporting that RSH is suspended from trading and delisting is in process.
They are reporting that half the storefronts will be sold to Sprint, and the remainder closed.

I drove by one of my local shops in a strip-mall (Tannesbourne) and it appeared that the back section of the shelves/pegs have been cleared out, but there was still lots of trinkets and gewgaws on the shelves toward the front of the shop.  The single clerk was just standing there behind the cash register with a forlorn look on her face.  Signs on the windows proclaimed "25% OFF" everything in the store but said nothing about "Going out of business".

[6sigma]

Saturday, I visited with two store managers (US). They were getting mixed signals as recently as the weekend about which locations were closing. "Outlet" locations, changing hours and inventory transfers were on their minds.

My interest was in buying the electronic component cabinets/drawers. For closed locations I was told those will be handled by the liquidator.

Conversations turned nostalgic about what Radio Shack meant to those of us who knew the stores in the 1960's & 70's. Virtually none of the value we saw back then can be found today without listing dozens of competitors who are faster, cheaper and better. Sad to see them go, but I still wish we could get pur hands on those component cabinets.

[cosmicray]

Sad to see them go, but I still wish we could get pur hands on those component cabinets.

Find out who will be handling the liquidation, and make them an offer. Their entire purpose is to recover best value from the remains, in a short period of time. They do not have years to squeeze the last penny, but months (at best). They may want one buyer to take all the fixtures tho.

[KJDS]

Sad to see them go, but I still wish we could get pur hands on those component cabinets.

Find out who will be handling the liquidation, and make them an offer. Their entire purpose is to recover best value from the remains, in a short period of time. They do not have years to squeeze the last penny, but months (at best). They may want one buyer to take all the fixtures tho.

In the UK, almost everything that comes from a liquidated company is either bought by a phoenix company or sold off at auction. Most of the auctions sites require you to be a registered business for you to buy as that saves them a lot of liability issues.

[dannyf]

who are faster

You can criticize Radioshack many ways but it is very difficult to beat walking into a Radioshack store and picking up your parts right there, especially for the internet age.

[Richard Crowley]

who are faster

You can criticize Radioshack many ways but it is very difficult to beat walking into a Radioshack store and picking up your parts right there, especially for the internet age.

Yes, absolutely. IMHO there are two things that Radio Shack clearly had a lock on....

1) As DannyF said, immediate "walk-in" availability.  And a pretty uniform product availability across all the storefronts.
Over a decade of using online forums (Usenet, and then web-based forums like this one),
it was very handy to be able to refer someone to their nearest RS storefront with an RS part number.
It is a shame that their management never seemed to understand that model and tried to appeal to a "broader market" with plush animal toys, etc.

2) Their range of power plug options (which fit their generic range of wall-warts) was unprecedented.
IMHO, they got that part absolutely right and had a killer product.
Many times I have taken in orphan gear to test the different plugs to find which one fit my gadget.
That plug tester and all the available plugs is (AFAIK) something not available anywhere else.
I really hope some other retail chain picks up that product line.  (Like Best Buy or some other widely-available operation.)

[dannyf]

Many people think Radioshack is expensive, no longer cool for the time, has poor parts selections, doesn't carry 'sophisticated' toys, doesn't have well trained employees (though its customers don't seem to willing to pay for such well trained employees), ....

All valid point.

However, these people will appreciate Radioshack after it is gone. Mark my word on that.

[KJDS]

Many people think Radioshack is expensive, no longer cool for the time, has poor parts selections, doesn't carry 'sophisticated' toys, doesn't have well trained employees (though its customers don't seem to willing to pay for such well trained employees), ....

All valid point.

However, these people will appreciate Radioshack after it is gone. Mark my word on that.

It's been a few years since Tandy vanished from the UK. They aren't missed.

[tom66]

I see Maplin going the same way. Year on year their sales have been about the same but their profit is falling. Their components selection has been occasionally useful, but I have a Farnell and RS tradecounter near me, which is easier than trying to find something in Maplin.

[Tandy]

It's been a few years since Tandy vanished from the UK. They aren't missed.

Tandy under the ownership of RadioShack did disappear, but if you look back in this thread you will see that Tandy is back in the UK all be it under new ownership http://www.tandyonline.co.uk