The Shack Radio Shack is not known in these pages for its high level of customer service. That’s why we were stunned and impressed with Chris’s story, where Radio Shack salespeople were not only knowledgeable and immensely helpful, but sent him to a competitor.

I needed a USB->serial adapter for a consulting project I was working on. I called ahead to RadioShack to make sure they had those in stock, and they did, so I went to the store. The ability to return this item if it didn’t fulfill my needs was important to me, and I was assured I could return it easily. However, when the item rang up, it rang up as “software”, meaning it was un-returnable once opened (exchange only). The CSRs present expressed incredulity at this policy, seeing as how I was purchasing a cable. They checked with their manager, who verified that I would indeed not be able to return the cable once opened. To make a long story short, they went way beyond what was necessary to ensure that I got what I needed – to the extent of calling the nearby Best Buy for me when my cell died.

I’m obviously not going to mention where this RadioShack was, or who the CSRs were, because surely their management would frown upon sending a customer to a competitor. I’d just like to say thank you to them for their honesty and in doing more than necessary to get me what I needed. It’s not often the needs of the individual are put before the needs of the corporation – and CSRs that actually help a customer are rare.

Had Chris not already redacted the location of this store, we would have removed it for the employees’ own safety. Now, we’re no communists and don’t deny that a store’s purpose is to sell stuff. But it’s nice to hear of employees acting in the consumer’s best interest. Chris will think more kindly of Radio Shack in the future when he is in need of other widgets.

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(Photo: Mike Hepp/Penn Can Mall fan site)

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