If you think working on Thanksgiving is bad, the crummy retail store I work at (bookstore in Canada) is open New Years Day. Its actually open every day of the year except Christmas Day.
A Eulogy for RadioShack
151–160 of 171 posts
Re: A Eulogy for RadioShack
#152Radioshack, want to save you business? Turn every single one of your stores into a hackerspace. You don't even need much. Get a laser cutter, a 3D printer, a drill press, free WiFi, some tables, and a stack of arduinos and you'll be doing awesome. Then build an instructables-esque community website for people to show off their projects. I'll even consult with you guys on this if you make a big enough donation to the…
I tried to tell this to the RS closest to my home, they won't. I even offered to give them a 3d printer for two months to try, they won't. The manager there told me that the electronics stuff is basically overhead, they're there to sell phones 11 months a year and RC cars in December. The funny part is, the guy is a hardcore libertarian.
I suspect he is telling you the truth, that most of their net revenue comes from phones and toys. It's risky to change to something that sounds like a current loss leader as the primary business, even if in reality there is a significantly different emphasis.
Sadly, the opportunity costs of running a 2nd rate phone store must suck. Sounds like it would be more profitable to use the space to make and sell hamburgers or pizza.
Hmmm. Maybe they could have a "maker" workshop that also sells pizza and beer???
Re: A Eulogy for RadioShack
#153Radio Shack at this point is a sad caricature of itself. I remember being able to buy all sorts of ICs, analog parts, interesting radios and kits. Now it peddles cell phones and overly prices things -- I recall needing a battery for my cordless phone recently, they wanted $23 for a battery for a $50 phone? Uh, no. Two other bay area places that have changed a lot are Frys and the now closed Quement Electronics. Fry's…
Remember the original Fry's in Sunnyvale? It was pretty much a cross between a 7-Eleven and a components store and not much bigger. I remember thinking to myself, that it was certainly a strange place. Then they built the big Sunnyvale store and it became the go-to place for me. But not in this century. The prices are too high, the service is terrible. I realized that it is faster and cheaper to go online.
I remember the bigger Sunnyvale store.
Back in the late 80s / early 90s, a friend and I used to go out there about once a year (usually after the Borland/CompuServe picnic, of all things) to shop around for upgrades. Compared to what was available in the back country of the San Joaquin valley, it was pretty cool.
More memories, made obsolete by change :-)
Re: A Eulogy for RadioShack
#154Christ, I can't imagine what their corporate IT must be like. Probably the Windows XP syndrome of never ever ever never investing into your infrastructure, but stretched over fourty years.
It's all TRS-80's with null modem cables, as far as the eye can see.
Re: A Eulogy for RadioShack
#155I'd be willing to bet that this is exactly the way it was at most, if not all, corporate RadioShack stores. On the other hand, the franchise stores (which mostly no longer exist) could be great places to shop and to work, because they were owned by actual breathing human beings, not faceless corporate overlords. My first "real" job after high school was at the local RadioShack, which was owned by one of the most amaz…
We have a fantastic Radio Shack in our town too. Granted, they've branched off quite a bit and sell firearms and ammo as well as electronic components, but the owner is incredibly helpful and knows that his business only thrives because he is service minded. I've long swore off Radio Shacks as a whole, but spend money there whenever I need a component or two even if things are cheaper online.
Ummm... where is this store located?
Re: A Eulogy for RadioShack
#156I shopped at RadioShack just one time in the '90s. I bought some walkie talkies, and the cashier insisted that I provide my name and address to make the purchase. I said I didn't want junk mail. He assured me that it was only for recordkeeping purposes and that my info wouldn't end up on a mailing list. Within weeks, I started receiving RadioShack catalogues and flyers. I'm pretty sure they spent more on postage, paper and ink over the next few years than I had originally spent on the walkie talkies.
Re: A Eulogy for RadioShack
#157I learned to program in the early 1980s by playing with a TRS-80 floor model for an hour or two at a time while my mom shopped elsewhere in the mall. My first program animated a sine wave in BASIC by printing a single character one line at a time, and letting the lines scroll up the screen. I would've loved to own one of those computers, but my dad refused to buy one because he said it would be too tempting for me. H…
Yep, I used to hang out at Radio Shack every day after school, playing around programming on the TRS-80, along with a few other kids who I still know. They had a box of cassette tapes we could keep there for our programs.
Re: A Eulogy for RadioShack
#158"We all line up in expectation of hordes of customers. Six on one side of the store, six on the other side, pallbearers of an invisible casket." Lol.
Re: A Eulogy for RadioShack
#159I guess one of Radio Shacks biggest problem is the same as most brick and mortar stores, many us just want to order it online have it show up.
They could have tried/could try to become the home tech store. Take your home to the newest level, LED lighting all around, wireless integration of home automation and security. Sharing video all around the home. Then show it off in store. Hell, sell solar panels or such, I don't care. Just give today's geek a reason to come in. I don't need a phone or a computer; but a specialized home automation turn key system... well...
Re: A Eulogy for RadioShack
#160Earlier quoted context omitted.
They transitioned through many variations of the "lots of inventory of small things" markets: Batteries, media, cables, connectors, converters, etc. Ebay and Amazon, both launched in 1995, spelled doom for a store that relied on selling you the overpriced battery, CD-R, or $90 HDMI cable.
>$90 HDMI cable Ah, I don't miss being required to hock those at customers. We used to have to watch training videos (in Macromedia Flash!) about how Monster's special braiding technology transferred the bits with more fidelity. But they really weren't the worst offender. "Overpriced" doesn't begin to describe the markup on their batteries. When I worked there -- and i'm sure it's even more now -- it was several hund…
We used to have to watch training videos (in Macromedia Flash!) about how Monster's special braiding technology transferred the bits with more fidelity.
The really sad thing is, I don't think they were consciously lying. Monster's BS wouldn't work anywhere near as well as it does if they didn't believe it themselves.