7PM today, in an Inland Empire Store...
Radio Shack guy: "Hi Welcome to Radio Shack. Can I help you?
Me: "Not really, I need a TNC male to SMA female antenna adapter for my router".
Radio Shack Guy: "Uhhhhh.. I don't know what that is"
Me: "Yeah, I knew you'd say that. It's probably over in those drawers that are full of things you keep wondering what they are for."
I Walk to the drawers, and look in the adapters, but can't find what I need...
Me: "I need to go to Fry's, I think."
Radio Shack Guy: "Soooo.. I see you have a Blackberry, interested in a cell phone upgrade?"
I know this forum is 7 months old but I stumbled upon it and have to say something. I am the son of a ham radio operator and have been around amateur radio all of my life - I know what great guys most ham guys are from meeting my dad's friends and listening to him talk to people in cool, far away places. I also worked at radioshack for 2 years. Let me give you a background to the employee that you're dealing with.
I'm sure you're a decent human being who has compassion, but for you it's expected that someone who works at radioshack should know, you know, a little about radios (I understand where you're coming from) well here's the other half of the story.
The employee you're talking about is probably making minimum wage, even when I made good commission I was usually only 1.50 to 2 dollars per hour above minimum wage and I was the #1 salesman for the district several times. He also didn't study electronic engineering or RF theory in college. So this guy gets paid the same amount as someone who cooks french fries or holds those spiny signs by the road.
The training he actually was provided is a series of good classes that teach you all about things from speaker wire to cell phones to bnc connectors to fuses to all the other electronic components, except those classes are so rushed with impossible deadlines that he can't retain nor is he encouraged to actually learn anything. (Imagine trying to cram a semester of basic electronics into a few hours here and there for a week in which you are encouraged by your manager to cheat your way through because you're still responsible for helping customers, answering the phone, unloading and inventorying shipments, breaking down boxes, throwing out garbage, cleaning the bathroom, and passing those tests within a couple of days). Also imagine that in addition to a semester of electronics classes, you also have to learn about all those other products in the store, which for someone new, is a lot.
(Quick side note: Fry's guys are all compartmentalized and don't need to learn about everything like we do, nor can we treat someone like **** and hide like they can, there are only 5 or 6 of us that work there: apples and oranges).
Now imagine that he gets yelled at by people every single day who are upset about their phone, being called names, cursed at, and all the other stuff people do when they're frustrated because they went over their minutes and now expect you to fix everything. Imagine that despite not know a lot, he gives it his best and goes out of his way to help customers, even calling his dad, the avionics technician, to get his advice.
Imagine that in addition to the cell phone customers, he's on edge because all of the experienced employees were fired for minor offenses like returning a cell phone without crossing their t's or dotting their i's or perhaps they were conned into accepting a bad check, either way that company is notorious for making examples and treating it's employees poorly (see the article about the mass firing of corporate employees via email) This results in a high turnover rate, hence the inexperienced guy in front of you who, I know it's hard to believe, sincerely wants to help you.
NOW, imagine that he's trying so hard to help everyone with a wide gambit of problems and despite his best efforts, he's still getting yelled at by the cell phone people and the other a-holes and then in walks the amateur radio guy! The amateur radio guy who gets his kicks by being condescending, patronizing, and generally a real butthead towards this employee who's getting **** on left and right from customers, bosses, and not getting paid much.
What have we done to deserve your scorn? We work hard, most of us at least, and we sincerely try to help you. Yes we push cell phones and other things as part of a sales pitch and try to get you to buy batteries because not only will it give me enough money to buy a beer after work to relax after getting berated all day, but also because I will get fired if I don't offer you a cell phone and my boss is going to terminate my employment if I don't do my sales pitch to everyone.
Next time you walk into a radioshack, please think about the poor guy who's going through all of this and feels stupid enough already without you piling it on him.
