Has RadioShack gone too far with its sales quotas? Allison wrote us to say that when she tried to upgrade her phone recently, the employee had to add accessories to the transaction before the system would approve it. She said he canceled some, and she ended up paying $2 for “two plastic covers for phones I don’t own.” But she says her mom had an even more bizarre experience at a RadioShack, where the assistant actually paid for the accessories herself. [More]
radio shack
RadioShack Employee Buys Customer An Accessory In Order To Get System To Approve Phone Upgrade
By 9.27.10
Anyone Want To Buy Radio Shack?
By 6.1.10
Radio Shack, oh, I’m sorry, “The Shack” is on the auction block. Private equity groups like Blackstone Group are bidding for it, and Best Buy could be a possible secret contender as well, according to the Post. I guess that scheme to dominate the market by knowing the zip code of every battery purchaser didn’t work out so hot. (Thanks to Gary!) [More]
These Radio Shack Answering Machine Messages Are Excellent
By 5.7.10
Some humanitarian has purchased a cassette tape of answering machine messages produced by Radio Shack in 1985 for $0.10 at the library and has made them available online for you to use. [More]
Radio Shack Wouldn't Let Me Buy Stuff Without Email, Address, Phone #
By 3.22.10
Reader Molly needed a cellphone charger. She ran in to Radio Shack to grab one and paid with cash — but the cashier wouldn’t complete the transaction without her home address, phone number and email address. She’s wondering if this is normal. [More]
New York City: Where Manholes Explode And Destroy Radio Shack (With Video!)
By 2.11.10
Manholes have been exploding more than usual in NYC lately. For those of you who have never lived in NYC, the street randomly explodes at pretty frequent intervals. Sometimes it’s a steam pipe, sometimes it’s electrical. Right now firefighters are putting out a Radio Shack that was a little too close to an exploding manhole/transformer situation. We have video of that, plus three other recent explosions. [More]
Radio Shack Replaces Its Crappy Mouse Again And Again
By 12.10.09
Bobby has found that Radio Shack’s Gigaware wireless mouse to be shoddily made and breakdown-prone, but is happy that the company seems happily eager to replace it as many times as necessary. [More]
Radio Shack Responds To Livestrong Scandal
By 12.2.09
Good news for anyone who has accidentally donated a dollar to Livestrong while making a purchase at Radio Shack — the company is willing to give you your money back. The company sent us this statement to address the problem and solution: [More]
I Joked With Radio Shack Clerk About Livestronging, Still Got Livestronged
By 11.30.09
James went into Radio Shack determined to make a purchase without getting stung by the forced $1 Livestrong donation some customers say they’re finding on their receipts. He even joked with the clerk about the phenomenon. Then when he looked at his receipt, sure enough he found out he was an unwilling donor. [More]
I, Too, Was Livestronged At Radio Shack
By 11.25.09
Although Radio Shack employees insist they can’t make a customer donate a dollar to Livestrong at checkout, Cheryl’s tale is disturbingly similar to that of Ryan, who says Radio Shack swiped a buck for him in the name of cancer research. [More]
Radio Shack Employees Say They Can't Force Donations
By 11.24.09 — Updated: 2.4.16
Responding to the post about a customer who thinks Radio Shack forced him to donate a dollar to Livestrong, a couple Radio Shack employees wrote in and said that cashiers lack the ability to force such charges. [More]
Radio Shack Forced Me To Donate To Livestrong
By 11.23.09
Ryan says a Kentucky Radio Shack employee tacked on a $1 donation to Livestrong without his permission. This is the letter he sent to the company’s corporate office:
Geek Squad Agent Doesn't Have Time To Look For Multimeter, Let's Just Send Off Laptop For 3 Weeks Instead
By 11.11.09
The usefulness of Best Buy’s Geek Squad depends entirely on the competence of the employee you get when you go in for help, and unfortunately Scott landed one of the lazier ones. Here’s his sales pitch to Scott over a laptop that wouldn’t start: “It’s going to take at least 10 minutes for me to get the multimeter or another adapter. It’s going to be a problem inside the computer, let’s just send it in.”
Radio Shack Opening Mobile Phone Kiosks In Target Stores
By 11.3.09
One problem I’ve always had when shopping for jacked-up prices is I can’t find enough crazy to go along with it. Same thing for the crazy: I know where to go to get cart-loads of that, but I can’t find the 2400% markup! What I need, clearly, is for Radio Shack to open up specialty kiosks inside Target stores, so then— oh hey! It’s the Bullseye Mobile Solution!
Radio Shack Sales Staff Unfazed By 2,400% Markup
By 11.1.09
No one goes to Radio Shack to take advantage of low prices. They go because they need an electronic component on short notice, and Radio Shack is pretty ubiquitous. That’s how Chris and his fiancée found themselves at a Wisconsin Radio Shack in search of a mini USB cable, but they encountered such high prices and high-pressure sales lies that they walked out and found what they needed…at the dollar store.
Radio Shack Acts In Consumer's Best Interest, Hell Freezes Over
By 10.21.09
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.
How Radio Shack's Rebranding Makes It Even More Uncool
By 8.14.09
“Names, like fashion trends, often don’t age well,” notes Chadwick Matlin over at Slate’s The Big Money. In this week’s “Broadband” video segment, he looks at Radio Shack’s weird rebranding effort to get people to call it “The Shack,” even though it’s not changing its name, and even though “The Shack” isn’t any better. “Radio Shack has hedged its bets,” Matlin writes, “Splitting its identity in two and not choosing either. What’s worse, neither is especially impressive, or especially modern.”
Radio Shacks Rebrands As "The Shack"
By 8.4.09
Radio Shack will soon be known as “The Shack,” because not many people are tinkering with electronic parts to make experimental hobbyist radios anymore. But shacks themselves are still hot, it seems. [Engadget] (Thanks to William!) (Photo: The Joy Of The Mundane)
RadioShack Will Say Anything To Upsell Extended Warranties
By 7.19.09
An anonymous RadioShack employee sent us what he considers unethical talking points distributed by the corporate office to help employees upsell the RadioShack Replacement Service Plan. According to our tipster, “each example encourages lying.” Read the deceptive talking points, inside…
