# Can I go into Radio Shack one fucking time without walking out pissed off? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 13, 2012, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-go-into-radio-shack-one-fucking-time-without-walking-out-pissed-off/643909 "2012-12-13T06:34:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-go-into-radio-shack-one-fucking-time-without-walking-out-pissed-off/643909/61 "2012-12-13T19:58:20Z")
> [@Nature\_s\_Call](#): > > No, the clerk could not speak to the presence of that display in any way shape or form. Nothing. Price? nope. Buy/lease? nope. Is there someone here that does know? nope. It was surreal - a product so prominently displayed and no means to acquire nor inquire about it. (though there was a brochure dispenser, so there’s that). Have you ruled out the possibility that the guy was not actually a kiosk employee, and perhaps that wasn’t even a real kiosk, but an FBI surveillance post, trying to catch a criminal who works at the Piercing Pagoda? ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-go-into-radio-shack-one-fucking-time-without-walking-out-pissed-off/643909/62 "2012-12-13T20:01:32Z")
> [@Nature\_s\_Call](#): > > Well, what if the project is a time machine? I will not have needed it NOW 😉 “What do we want?” “A TIME MACHINE!” “When do we want it?” “IRRELEVANT!” I called Radio Shack near my house not too long ago to ask if they had an HDMI to DisplayPort adapter. The guy told me I needed a Mini DisplayPort adapter but they were out of stock. I then explained that no, I did not need a Mini DisplayPort as I had a Dell Laptop, not a Mac. He then said, in a condescending tone, that Mini DisplayPort was compatible with all computers and that there was **no such thing** as a “DisplayPort.” That ended my business relationship with them for the rest of my life. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-go-into-radio-shack-one-fucking-time-without-walking-out-pissed-off/643909/63 "2012-12-13T20:04:54Z")
> [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](#): > > This isn’t always true. Maybe the lowest worker on the totem pole can never change anything, but every store has a manager and one or two assistant managers, and those folks can in fact solve some (not all) company-wide problems, in their store. They also speak to district and regional managers who can also change things. > > Now, I’m not saying be rude to these people, but to say nothing just because you think the store-level workers can do “nothing” is crazy. Tell them what the problem is and give them a chance. If they, in fact, can do nothing, then you can move up the chain. The clerk can’t change the price. The manager can’t change the price, although the manager might be able to tell HQ that s/he’s getting complaints about the price. ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-go-into-radio-shack-one-fucking-time-without-walking-out-pissed-off/643909/64 "2012-12-13T20:11:46Z")
> [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](#): > > This isn’t always true. Maybe the lowest worker on the totem pole can never change anything, but every store has a manager and one or two assistant managers, and those folks can in fact solve some (not all) company-wide problems, in their store. They also speak to district and regional managers who can also change things. > > Now, I’m not saying be rude to these people, but to say nothing just because you think the store-level workers can do “nothing” is crazy. Tell them what the problem is and give them a chance. If they, in fact, can do nothing, then you can move up the chain. I try to politely bring up stuff to managers for this reason. Last Friday I went to Walgreens and stood in a line of three people with my purchase in hand. I watched as the woman at the head of the line slowly filled in a computer form asking for her address and other info for a loyalty card. After that painfully slow process was finished, she made her purchase and left. Then the clerk asked the next lady “Do you have a Walgreens card? No? Would you like to apply for one right here?” Then I waited another five minutes while that customer filled out the form. The clerk was very polite to me and he pointed to another open register elsewhere, but I figured as soon as I stepped out of line five people would dogpile the other register. When I got to the register I simply handed him a 20 and said “Here’s how it’s done: I give you cash and you give me change.” (I think I had a bit of a snarky tone, but the delay was annoying). Later on I sought out the floor manager and politely explained to him that I as a customer do not like having people fill out forms (very slowly) at the point of sale, and I did not like thinking that Walgreens was bogging down all of the lines in order to collect customer data. I explained that the clerk had been very courteous and that I understood that this was company policy, but I hoped he would let his own management know that one customer was not happy with their process. Maybe he flipped me the bird behind my back as I left, but I can always hope that he really did take this to his district manager. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-go-into-radio-shack-one-fucking-time-without-walking-out-pissed-off/643909/65 "2012-12-13T20:18:13Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > I try to politely bring up stuff to managers for this reason. > > Last Friday I went to Walgreens and stood in a line of three people with my purchase in hand. I watched as the woman at the head of the line slowly filled in a computer form asking for her address and other info for a loyalty card. > After that painfully slow process was finished, she made her purchase and left. Then the clerk asked the next lady “Do you have a Walgreens card? No? Would you like to apply for one right here?” > Then I waited another five minutes while that customer filled out the form. The clerk was very polite to me and he pointed to another open register elsewhere, but I figured as soon as I stepped out of line five people would dogpile the other register. > When I got to the register I simply handed him a 20 and said “Here’s how it’s done: I give you cash and you give me change.” (I think I had a bit of a snarky tone, but the delay was annoying). > > Later on I sought out the floor manager and politely explained to him that I as a customer do not like having people fill out forms (very slowly) at the point of sale, and I did not like thinking that Walgreens was bogging down all of the lines in order to collect customer data. I explained that the clerk had been very courteous and that I understood that this was company policy, but I hoped he would let his own management know that one customer was not happy with their process. > > Maybe he flipped me the bird behind my back as I left, but I can always hope that he really did take this to his district manager. I don’t have a Walgreen’s loyalty card (or want to bother getting one), but the last time I was in there, I DID want the sale price on the Coracidin I was picking up for **kaylasmom** , so I entered my phone number as (area code) 867-5309, just like I’ve been taught. It not only authorized the sale price, it informed me that I had earned enough loyalty points to get the pills for free. All I had to do was guess the ZIP code of the person who established that phone number as being part of a valid account. Umm, no. ---
**Author:** ![dzeiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/46a35a/32.png) [@dzeiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzeiger)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-go-into-radio-shack-one-fucking-time-without-walking-out-pissed-off/643909/66 "2012-12-13T20:33:38Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Really? They’re only looking for information regarding where their customers are coming from. If anything it might help them serve you better by placing a store closer to your home. > > I don’t see any reason to be assholish about it. What possible harm is there in giving your correct postal code? Part of the reason Radio Shack gets grief over that is because for many years they were a good bit more invasive–wanting full names/addresses/etc no matter what you were buying. ZIP is better, sure, but you’d be surprised what companies can data mine out of what seems like very little information, so it’s not surprising a lot of people are cautious. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-go-into-radio-shack-one-fucking-time-without-walking-out-pissed-off/643909/67 "2012-12-13T20:58:44Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > Sad thing is, 25 or 30 years ago you **could not** stump Radio Shack on anything. You could go in wanting to feed the audio from a WWII era wire recorder into a Maytag drier, and the clerk would hand you a cable with two alligator clips on one end, a volume knob in the middle, and a big suction cup on the other and tell you step by step how to attach it. And it would only cost $1.53. This has me giggling like a school girl. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-go-into-radio-shack-one-fucking-time-without-walking-out-pissed-off/643909/68 "2012-12-13T21:20:15Z")
I’ve only been inside Radio Shack once in the last five years or so. The experience was satisfactory, actually. I needed a battery of an obscure size in order to power one of my child’s toys. None of the other stores I could think of carried it. I needed that battery right away – my child, who was around two years old, was crying incessantly because his toy didn’t work. The Radio Shack clerk took one look at the battery and immediately found a replacement. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-go-into-radio-shack-one-fucking-time-without-walking-out-pissed-off/643909/69 "2012-12-13T21:21:50Z")
Radio Shack is useful an odds-and-ends store. Right-angle adapter for your earbuds? Check. A far greater variety of batteries than you can usually find elsewhere? Covered. And I’ve often found the prices on micro SD cards to be lower than elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/47e85d/32.png) [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3_20_59_or_bust)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-go-into-radio-shack-one-fucking-time-without-walking-out-pissed-off/643909/70 "2012-12-13T21:26:10Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > The clerk can’t change the price. The manager can’t change the price, although the manager might be able to tell HQ that s/he’s getting complaints about the price. Well, not to get into a back and forth here, but managers at some stores can change the price. In fact, some can give the damn stuff away for free, if there’s a good enough reason. There are lots of keys on those registers. It’s surprising what a forward-thinking manager can accomplish. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-go-into-radio-shack-one-fucking-time-without-walking-out-pissed-off/643909/71 "2012-12-13T21:26:51Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > _sings_ Five golden rings. Winning. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-go-into-radio-shack-one-fucking-time-without-walking-out-pissed-off/643909/72 "2012-12-13T21:27:00Z")
> [@Spiff](#): > > I’m in the U.S. and I always give the ZIP code 17534. > > (It’s for Intercourse, Penn.) That’s a good one - I’ll try to remember. An easy one to remember, O’hare International Airport: 60666 ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-go-into-radio-shack-one-fucking-time-without-walking-out-pissed-off/643909/73 "2012-12-13T21:37:43Z")
> [@3\_20\_59\_or\_bust](#): > > Thank you for this. > > When you work for a company, you are a representative of that company. You absolutely have to expect customers to be able to vent about the company to you. To them, the worker in the store IS THE COMPANY. > > And please, spare me the “poor retail worker” comebacks. Um … NO! you will not be spared. At least not until people working in retail make a living wage. No one will be spared. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-go-into-radio-shack-one-fucking-time-without-walking-out-pissed-off/643909/74 "2012-12-13T21:38:38Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Really? They’re only looking for information regarding where their customers are coming from. If anything it might help them serve you better by placing a store closer to your home. > > I don’t see any reason to be assholish about it. What possible harm is there in giving your correct postal code? Well, some asshole could decide they need to open another Radio Shack, for one. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-go-into-radio-shack-one-fucking-time-without-walking-out-pissed-off/643909/75 "2012-12-13T21:44:30Z")
I told my Radio Shack story in a mini-rant a while back, but it’s a good one. I actually like the fact that Radio Shack exists. I frequently find I need odds and ends…connectors, resistors, etc and there is ALWAYS a Radio Shack close by. On this particular day I had a plug in power supply that had gone bad. The power supply died at a REALLY bad time and I was very frazzled…it had died in the middle of an upload and I needed to complete the upload so the facility could have working lights. So I run to the Radio Shack on the corner. The woman asks me if she can help me. Because I was rushed I made the mistake of saying “yes” figuring she could save me the time it took to find the power supply display. So I told her I need a 1/2 amp power supply. She spends a long time exploring the rack then turns to me and says “We don’t have one.” I said …Yes, you do, it’s right there. I reached past her to grab a power supply marked 500mA and she phsyically blocks me, saying " that power supply is 500 Amps, it will damage your device". I said " No sweetie ( and I did say sweetie or honey, I don’t remember ) it is 500 milliamps. That is the same as half an amp. See, you learned something today". So I got my power supply and finished my upload. I think what astounded me the most was not that she didn’t know that 500mA was the same as 1/2 an amp but that she thought it was conceivable that there would even be such a thing as a 500 Amp plug-in power supply. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-go-into-radio-shack-one-fucking-time-without-walking-out-pissed-off/643909/76 "2012-12-13T21:58:41Z")
Last time I went to Radio Shack? [When these cool things were being sold.](http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/radio_shac_150_in_one_electronic_pro.html) Yeah, the last 35 years have not been pretty to this company. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-go-into-radio-shack-one-fucking-time-without-walking-out-pissed-off/643909/77 "2012-12-13T22:05:52Z")
> [@Yeticus\_Rex](#): > > Last time I went to Radio Shack? > > [When these cool things were being sold.](http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/radio_shac_150_in_one_electronic_pro.html) > > Yeah, the last 35 years have not been pretty to this company. You can still get [kits like that](http://www.hobbytron.com/electronics-lab-learning.html). [Thames & Kosmos](http://thamesandkosmos.shptron.com) is a company that specializes in different types of educational kits. In fact, in another year or two I plan on introducing my nephews to this kind of thing, if my sister thinks they would be interested. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-go-into-radio-shack-one-fucking-time-without-walking-out-pissed-off/643909/78 "2012-12-13T22:14:33Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > GQ answer: No. Ha! So “The Shack,” as they are calling it these days, does suck, but my last experience went well because the employee helped me out in what I’m pretty sure was a violation of the rules. I was out of town, had left my charger at home, and just needed hours’ worth of juice before returning home later that day. I had absolutely zero idea where I was, happened upon “The Shack,” and went in to buy one of those $10 USB chargers. Turns out they only had the $35 wall kind, which was annoying because I really didn’t want to pay roughly $40 to charge my phone for a few minutes. I whined a little, and he let me charge my phone in the store. You rock, Radio Shack dude! So now I have a positive image of them even though they’re terrible. ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-go-into-radio-shack-one-fucking-time-without-walking-out-pissed-off/643909/79 "2012-12-13T22:17:21Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > You rock, Radio Shack dude! That sounds like one of those ‘Real Men of Genius’ things. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2012, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-go-into-radio-shack-one-fucking-time-without-walking-out-pissed-off/643909/80 "2012-12-13T22:26:55Z")
> [@Ann\_Hedonia](#): > > I told my Radio Shack story in a mini-rant a while back, but it’s a good one. > > I actually like the fact that Radio Shack exists. I frequently find I need odds and ends…connectors, resistors, etc and there is ALWAYS a Radio Shack close by. > > On this particular day I had a plug in power supply that had gone bad. The power supply died at a REALLY bad time and I was very frazzled…it had died in the middle of an upload and I needed to complete the upload so the facility could have working lights. > > So I run to the Radio Shack on the corner. The woman asks me if she can help me. Because I was rushed I made the mistake of saying “yes” figuring she could save me the time it took to find the power supply display. > > So I told her I need a 1/2 amp power supply. She spends a long time exploring the rack then turns to me and says “We don’t have one.” > > I said …Yes, you do, it’s right there. I reached past her to grab a power supply marked 500mA and she phsyically blocks me, saying " that power supply is 500 Amps, it will damage your device". > > I said " No sweetie ( and I did say sweetie or honey, I don’t remember ) it is 500 milliamps. That is the same as half an amp. See, you learned something today". > > So I got my power supply and finished my upload. I think what astounded me the most was not that she didn’t know that 500mA was the same as 1/2 an amp but that she thought it was conceivable that there would even be such a thing as a 500 Amp plug-in power supply. I think it’s questionable if she actually knows what an amp is. But I’m loving the idea of a 500 amp plug-in power supply. I could jump my car from my wall socket (and yes, I know you couldn’t get that kind of amperage from house wiring.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-go-into-radio-shack-one-fucking-time-without-walking-out-pissed-off/643909.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-go-into-radio-shack-one-fucking-time-without-walking-out-pissed-off/643909.md?page=5)