Yeah Radio Shack is one of those places that will always ask for your ZIP code when you check out. I've been told several times by employees that they cannot complete my transaction without this info, since their computer apparently will not let them.

However, I thought I had a right to refuse providing such information if I do not wish to.

I have a Boat in Florida and bought some boxes at Brand Mart USA. They do require a name/address for the invoice.

I should add, that for all ticket pulled purchases (where you go to the back room and pick somthing up) they require a name/address, not just for the DTV boxes.

@dragonfire81: I'd prefer to just taint their data by giving them the zip code for some place far away.

Radio Shack always seems to want a name and address for everything. If you are paying cash, always give them a fake name and plausible sounding non-existent address something like:
John Picard
1701 E. 47th Street
Apt. 4D
New York, NY 10017

@snowburnt: 90210 is my favorite fake zip :-) Oh TV what would we do without you.

@dragonfire81: BULLCRAP! I used to work at RadioShack, I never asked for such info (as I wouldn't want to give it out myself)... maybe that's why I got fired? Anyway, that's crap, they can enter 00000 and the computer will accept it. Their employees are just too lazy or inept.

Glad I don't work there anymore.

@Plates: that is classic! or should i say NextGen?

i always give a bogus answer when asked for an addy or zip code when making a purchase where it serves no purpose other than to provide data.

if on the other hand it is needed for warranty purposes, shipping of out of stock merchandise, etc. then i will give my true information.

@snowburnt: That is always the best policy.
Although I was in a Trader Joe's once and they were asking for people's zip codes so they could figure out where to put a new store.

They always bug me about that crap at Rat Shack and I just politely told them to screw off. Sometimes they will ask for it for warranty purposes but I never go through the stores for that stuff anyway.

@s25843: That's a commercial purchase. And your being invoiced, not paying upfront. That's different.

@s25843: See above comment.
That's a commercial purchase. And your being invoiced, not paying upfront. That's different.
That's why there are tickets. So they don't give the item to the wrong person.

See: Granger, Fastonal, MSC Industrial Supply, etc.

Look up definition to: "Will Call"

Direct from this RS employee: The only reason we need the name & address on this transaction, is that our POS (I mean that in both ways) requires this information when we adjust tax. Many states are offering to waive the sales tax on the DTV coupons, but since it varies by state, we have to manually adjust each DTV purchase with a coupon. This isn't "data-mining" so much as a stupid technical limitation, as we need to keep records of tax adjustments in case of a state tax audit.

Of course, I know this still wont placate most commenters; we are an evil corporation that loves stealing information and possibly eating babies.

Agreed that Radio Shack usually wants too much info but in this case Pennsylvania one of the states where DTV sales tax was incorrectly added. Radio Shack needs your name/address to send you a tax refund check.

[i40.tinypic.com]

Years ago I was at a conference and they had a motivational speaker who told of a similar tale at RS. He went to buy some batteries and the cashier refused to sell them without his phone number. The man asked why he needed it for batteries he was paying cash for and he said that's just the way they do it, so that's the way he has to do it.

The moral was to think outside the box and question the why of things, but the ending was that the manager wound up involved and had the cashier simply enter the store's number.

I do remember that RS invited the speaker to come talk at one of their conferences recounting the story. I guess they didn't learn anything.

Same thing happened to me! I bought my box at a Radio Shack in Minneapolis, and was asked for my address "for the coupon." It was the end of a long day, so I gave it, even though I knew better, and yeah... fast forward to receipt of dumb Radio Shack ads in my mailbox. Argh.

Four words:
Unauthorized Practice Of Law

Unless the radio shack employee was authorized to practice law in that state... in which case the economy is even worse than I feared.

@Plates: Elwood Blues, 1060 W. Addison, Chicago, IL 60613

@MrsLopsided: Thanks for the info--however, that's for Best Buy only.

Radioshack it the worst. between the inquisition you get when you buy something, and the constant up selling you endure, there's no store that treats their customers like a numbered commodity better than Radioshack.

@menty666:

Just give one of your surrounding ext followed by 867-5309.

See if they chuckle

@dragonfire81: You definitely have the right to not give them that information, but they also have the right to refuse service to you. I can understand concerns about address, phone number, etc. , but your zip code is fairly innocuous. Also, as the above poster mentioned, they use these zip codes in a way that benefits consumers: deciding where to put new stores. So really, by providing fake information you're hurting everyone, including yourself.

@Jaynor: I can't see that one flying. He's not saying that he's an attorney, nor is he giving legal advice. He's just attempting to claim that the government is making him do something that it is not.

The real question is, did the employee know better or was he told by a manager?

@eelmonger: Uh, hurting "everyone including yourself" by refusing to help Radio Shack figure out where to focus their next marketing effort or open a new store? How does that follow, exactly? (Hint: It doesn't.)

How is Radio Shack even in business anymore?

Between the nightmare stories about poor customer service and dying off of the greatest generation how are they able to operate?

@Plates:

Normally I wouldn't give my real zip to most crappy companies, but I am a huge Trader Joes fan and would probably not have a problem doing it for them. I only wish there were more really good companies like Trader Joes. They develop cult followings who are very devoted. In-N-Out in Cali/AZ/NV is a good example of that.

I had the same experience with a RadioShack in Cary, NC last fall. The clerk told me they had to have my info for the government. I told them they were wrong. Eventually, the manager came out and repeated the same story, that they had to get my information. I left and used my coupon elsewhere.

@Eyebrows McGee:
That would be a fake name, but a real address, which I think most people would know if they watched The Blues Brothers or were a Cubs fan.

Mine would be in the middle of the East River

@TCinIowa: Not to mention the fact that they carry almost nothing of value in their stores. Pretty much every single thing they sell is available at other stores for less. And when you talk about buying online, there is just no contest.

I use to work at a radioshack during the fall and I remember saying this to everyone that complained. I don't' know if was in a company newsletter or anything but I hated how I was practically lying to every customer that came in because I knew it couldn't be true.

Also the fact that they attack you when you walk in, is more mandatory than showing up on time. I was yelled at for the first 4 weeks because I didn't like acting like everyone was special needs and couldn't find anything themselves.

I used to work at Radio Shack about 5 years ago. Back then they had a policy of asking all customers for their name and address whenever making a purchase. Records were kept on what fraction of customers each employee got a name and address from, and we were judged on these statistics at our sales meetings.

Management would also send 'secret shoppers' to the stores to make sure that people were really asking for names and addresses rather than just entering dummy data to keep their stats up. I know of one person who was fired at least in part because on a busy day he didn't ask a secret shopper for her information.

Radio shack is a real cesspool, I haven't shopped there since quitting.

I work at a RadioShack currently. What we ask you for is *a* phone number. Doesn't really matter to us the validity of the information, but we need the information. And yes we were *told* it was government-required. I know better as I am an avid reader, but I just work here. I work Miamisburg, OH store 01-4407.

Radio Shack once forced me to give my contact info when I returned a 10 dollar computer fan. I raised my eyebrows a bit when I was asked about it, and the cash register jockey immediately got really defensive and argumentative, which indicates she had been questioned about that policy before.

I called their corporate CS line, and they fed me some crap about policy and such. It wasn't worth the trouble to pursue it, but it sounded like they had all sorts of holes in their story.

When I purchased mine (online...Tiger Direct?) the site I bought from had a popup window after the transaction asking for the last 4 digits of my SSN. I ignored it of course and my converter box arrived with no problem, but what was that all about?

give them 1060 west addison chicago illinois

@Plates: Nice use of a 47 there, Plates!

You could also give a house number of 11001001.

Former RS employee here. I can't speak as whether the govt. actually required the address or not, but that was the reason given in the training materials handed out when RS started getting the boxes. So it's not like the employee was lying- they were just repeating what they were told by management.

@snowburnt:

We think alike. haha.

@Eyebrows McGee: Box 350, Boston, MA 02134.

Phone Number? 5-8-8..2300...

@Plates: "Although I was in a Trader Joe's once and they were asking for people's zip codes so they could figure out where to put a new store. "

Trader Joe's is about the only company that I wouldn't care if I gave the zip to, they're not going to sell my info or bombard me with junk.

I work at a Radio Shack in San Francisco and our computer will not let us complete the transaction without a name, address and phone number. We were never told whether this was required by the store or by the FCC. I just tell people to give me a name address and phone number ANY one they can think of. John Smith at 555 main st. anytown, usa is fine with me.

@TCinIowa: My last two RS purchases went extremely well. I got a not actually Gorilla-brand Gorillapod for $15, less than half what ThinkGeek wants for the branded version. I paid and left, no inquisition. When my old cellphone died, I found a decent replacement deal at RS, but since the store I was at was out of stock on the model I wanted, one of the workers actually drove to another store to pick one up for me. In the meantime, they'd gotten the ESN so I was able to get most of the paperwork complete by the time she came back.

@Rhayader:

It's retarded, but it says right on the bottom of every receipt that the original receipt, name and address may be required for any refund.

@TCinIowa: Wasn't there a comedy sketch about this, how it's really a government spy front or the such? I'm not sure either, since every time I've been to a Radio Shack the employees outnumber customers 3 to 1, and it's only a must need to go to place if you're looking for electrical components for your kids project.

Give them this address. Is a real address. Not that you would EVER want to live there, as most who enter never leave.
1313 N. 13th Ave, Walla Walla, Washington 99362.

My God, how pathetic most of you are. What an indignity; Radio Shack asked you for data and you actually had to open your mouth and say, "NO".

Merciful heaven, what is this world coming to? I foresee the end of western civilization occurring at a local RS.

If this is the worst thing you can complain about it, you are not even on the same page as a real life in the real world.

I used to work at Radioshack (don't tell anyone). When I first started, we had to ask for people's name and address, even for a $0.99 fuse purchase. I asked people for my first few days, about half got upset. Finally I told the manager, "I'm not doing this anymore." He replied, "You have no choice." Lucky for me he was always doing "paperwork" in the back so he was never there when I didn't ask. But they printed out a sheet of paper and if you had less than, I think, 50% success in getting the info they would chew you out. Thank God, a month after I started they said, "Due to customer feedback we will be discontinuing" the practice. It only took them about 10 years to figure out it pissed people off.

Name and adresses are required in cases where Radioshack grants store credit OR cash/charge refunds to the customer, this way if any issues/problems come up the associate/manager can pull up the ticket for reference.

Its also used to store the ticket for review by upper management for sales tracking and LP review, this way a floor associate cant just cheat the company out of $40.00 by swiping his library card or someone else's coupon-and if it does happen, theres documentation to straighten the mess out.

AS far as fliers/info sales are concerned, ive not had anyone storm into the store demanding off the mailer list, so that's probably not the main reason.

Of course, Radioshack wont be in a hurry to say as official rule that the only way tickets can be internally sorted is via name and adress, otherwise theyll be pressured to change it , and then $$ has to be spent on changing the software and retraining staff.

So the company says nothing, and leaves it up the to the at-will associate to make up a reason ,as stated above.