It wouldn't surprise me to see Radio Shack heading in the same kind of direction that Circuit City is at this point. They just charge too much for the products they sell, period. Happens because they've grown so damned large they have to push retail or even above retail on the customers to afford the huge number of stores and their own infrastructure, unfortunately.
Compare them to Fry's, with about 22 stores nationwide. If you've ever been to one, you know exactly what I'm talking about: prices that simply slap the competition across the face, figuratively speaking. If you haven't been to a Fry's, let's just say if you're a geek like many of us, or a Ham, or whatever... it's pretty much "Heaven on Earth" for us folk.
I made a post last week or so about the fact that in the early 80s I purchased one of those telescopic whip center loaded whip antennas with the BNC connector for a handheld crystal scanner (boy those were the days...). When I bought it
the very first time around 1981 - seriously - it was $4.99, no kidding. $4.99 for that stainless steel telescopic center loaded whip antenna with the BNC connector on it. $5 lousy smackers...
Contrast that with the exact same antenna, now 28 years later... the exact same specs, slightly altered packaging, but the exact same product:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103159
$17.99.
Talk about inflation... I am so peeved at that, and other aspects of "the store I grew up with" that I simply can't tolerate 'em anymore. Needless to say I
rarely ever go to Radio Shack anymore, and the last time I was at one about two weeks ago the young clerk (some girl barely out of high school) didn't approach me or my Wife for 4 minutes after we came in. She didn't greet us, she didn't say "Welcome to Radio Shack," she didn't even acknowledge our entrance when the "DING DONG" door chime sounded as we entered.
Lackluster service, ignorance of several rather popular items as well as several store policies forced me - yes, I didn't want to do it but I did because that stuff is unacceptable - to ask for the District Manager's card. They're required by company policy to display a placard with the DM's card and contact info on it, most stores hide it out of view which is yet another broken company policy. She was rather unsettled that I would demand such a thing, so she called her Store Manager and tried to hand the phone off to me. I politely refused and said (loud enough to make sure the SM heard me while still connected) that I wanted the DM's card. I don't know what the SM told the clerk but she went into the back - still talking on the cordless phone - and came back 2 minutes later with the card.
I filed a report the next day with the Admin Asst for the DM, and I still haven't heard back from him yet. That was just a hair over 13 days ago now. Honestly, if they cave and go under like Circuit City, at this point, based on how completely crappy the service and their pricing has taken a turn for the worse over the past few years, I won't miss 'em. And I've been shopping at Radio Shack since I could walk, I think. Side effect of having a Dad that was an Electrical Engineer I guess.
I'm lucky enough to have a Fry's right here in Las Vegas just down the road a bit. To get to it, I make one single left turn onto Las Vegas Blvd and drive south, make a right turn into the parking lot. That's it.
Can't get easier than that unless I lived there...
Ok, enough ranting...