“You walk into a regular RadioShack and it’s become like a neurosis,” Cohen says. “‘Sir, can I sell you a cell phone today? How old is your cell phone? What about your family, do they have cell phones?’” Depressingly true. Of course they have to worry about the bottom line, but I really doubt the long-term future viability of becoming a mini Best Buy - if all they sell is mid-priced consumer goods, I have no incentiv…
I was reminded of why I don't go into Radio Shack when I had to go get a watch battery there the other day. They keep trying to foist a cell phone off on me. If I had wanted a cell phone I would have said "Hi, I would like to buy a cell phone." not, "Hi, I need a replacement for this battery." Do people actually buy phones because of this tactic? It's just plain rude to try to sell me a phone multiple times when I've…
Yes. While I worked at RadioShack almost 10 years ago, asking about cellphones would frequently net me a sale and a large cash bonus. At the time, I would get an extra bonus (in addition to the cellphone bonus) for selling cellphone accessories, too, so if the customer said "actually, my cellphone battery has been running pretty low..." or "the clip keeps falling apart!" I could usually sell my way into an extra $15-20 cash in my pocket.
I don't remember exactly how much I made, but asking these questions were both required by managers (I can guarantee there's a piece of paper printed weekly in the back room of every RadioShack with the handset count per employee) and lucrative enough to double the base pay.