Does Radio Shack Hate Their Customers?

[geekwithfamily]

Men and women have to shop differently. Men only enter a store to buy exactly what they have researched and bring it home for good. Women browse, buy many options and return what they don’t need later. It’s Radio Shack’s fault (or Best Buy or Fry’s or Home Depot). Here’s why.
My daughter, Paige, and I ran a short errand to Blockbuster last week to return Disney’s The Little Mermaid DVD. Paige thought we were going inside, but I just threw the overdue DVD (not “own-it” overdue, thank goodness) in the “Quik Drop.” I picked Paige up and scurried down the strip mall’s promenade to my secret destination: Radio Shack.
With Paige struggling to not slip down my winter coat, I rushed to the cashier and announced I had a return or exchange for a satellite signal booster (RS brand). How it went down:

RS Goon: “Yes sir…”
Me: “Yeah, I want to return this.”
Paige, dropping out of my grip to the floor: “Dinosaurs, Daddy!”
RS: “Do you have your receipt?”
Me, chasing after Paige before she mangles the remote control velociraptor : “Nope.”
RS: “Do you know when you bought it? Like in the last week or month?”
Me: “Yeah, no, I can’t really remember, sorry.”
RS: “Maybe I can look up the ticket, if it was recent. What’s your name and phone number?”
I give up the info while coaxing Paige over to the badly stocked drawers of electronic component parts. I search for 470 mF 35V radial capacitors for my CMoy headphone amp project.
RS: “I’m sorry, sir, but I’m not finding it, do you have any idea when you bought it?”
Me: “No. So you can’t take it back?”
RS: “Not unless we can find the receipt.” To Paige who’s standing behind me with her own cap, admiring a remote control convertible Mustang GT, “You can fit your Barbies in there.” What two year old has Barbies? Don’t make small talk with my kid.
I take back the coaxial booster: “Alright, forget it. Let’s go Paige.”
Just so you know, I bought the booster over six months ago, and I’m not sure it was even from that Radio Shack. So I’m kind of a jerk for trying to return it. But, shouldn’t I be able to? It is a Radio Shack branded product, after all. The booster is mint in box and I don’t think they would have any problem hanging it back up on the shelf to sell again. All I wanted was store credit to pick up some capacitors.
So men (or I) can’t shop like women (or my wife). I can’t walk into a store, try everything on, buy half of it, try it on again at home and then return what I don’t like within the 30-day policy.
Since I’ve moved into my house in the suburbs I’ve had to buy lots of plumbing supplies, TV cabling and other connectivity products. When I’m at the store I go brain dead and I never know whether I need a 5/8 or 1/2 inch p-trap. So I buy both, thinking I’ll return the wrong one. I currently have three plastic shopping bags full of pipes and faucets in my workshop that I need to return. They’ve sat there for months beyond their return grace period.
I can only hope that Home Depot, Lowes or Menard’s treats me like a customer who’s continued business they appreciate, unlike Radio Shack.
P.S. Because I’m a sucker who owns a Radio Shack brand soldering iron, I have to shop for a screwdriver tip tonight, ugh.
Tags: Family Portable ElectronicsFamily, Portable Electronics

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[F1 fan]

Humm,The RS employee was just doing his job properly and following company policy.NO reciept No refund.Nothing hateful about that.

[Sonnie]

I think someone was trying to be sneaky... heehee... "I bought the booster over six months ago, and I’m not sure it was even from that Radio Shack."

[Josuah]

Yeah. I find the article title libelous.

[drf]

Thats why I make a shopping list (so I don't get the wrong one) and I only return whats broken.
It pays to always keep the receipts until you know it can't be returned.

[geekwithfamily]

Yes, I was trying to be sneaky, but I only wanted store credit. Yesterday I went to Menard's Hardware and returned one of my shopping bags full of plumbing supplies from last March. I had the original receipt and they credited my card even though they are supposed to only give out store credit after 90 days.

I think I've been reading too much Seth Godin and The Consumerist.com lately. They would ask the question, How is RS's policy encouraging me to shop there? It's not, I shop there because I have no other choice.

Yes I could be a responsible consumer and keep track of my receipts and deadlines but unfortunately for me I'm a lame brain who loses stuff and doesn't have the time to track that many receipts.

[CowboysHOF]

I disagree with your assertion. RadioShack has one of the most liberal return policies around. I've returned items many times without a receipt, and other than having to accept the lowest recent price for the item if it was previously on sale (the downside of not having a receipt), I've always received satisfaction. If the item you were trying to return wasn't in the POS system, that must mean it hasn't been sold for a long time. It has nothing to do with where you made the purchase unless you bought it at a franchise store and was trying to return it to a company store (franchise stores are independent businesses and may stock products not carried by company owned RadioShack stores). However, if it was RadioShack branded, that's unlikely to be the problem. Even if you had a receipt, waiting six months to return it falls outside the company's return policy, although if it were still in stock I bet the store would have made the return. That's because RadioShack does want a reputation as being customer friendly. To me the question is about what's reasonable? If you bought a winter coat at Wal-Mart in December and tried to return it in June, with or without a receipt, what do you think they would say?

[geekwithfamily]

CowboysHOF - First, welcome to the Shack.

The policy written on the back of their receipt is pretty strict (the store was completely within their right to refuse my return/exchange, oops). I think they have tightened up their policy lately because a few years ago I returned some items to Radio Shack and they had no problem with how long ago the items were purchased. That's why I thought I could return the booster late with no receipt.

The cashier wasn't checking if the item was current he was trying to look up my sale. He couldn't find it so no go. So at this RS no receipt, no return. Here's the link to the item in question: In-Line Amp. So they still carry it.

Despite my complaints, I am eternally grateful for the Shack's SPL meter. It has served me for years without fail and led me to REW and this forum. I'll never return that gem.

[shaolin95]

I am store manager for Radio Shack so let me add to this. A big problem we are having is of people coming in returning perfectly fine items and all they want is "store credit" but they dont have any receipts nor they can recall when they bought it. The big issue here is that anyone can grab an item from the store, bring it to the register and claim that or steal it from another store and do the same thing...see my point? I am not claiming you did that but thats the reason we had to tighten our return policy. Radio Shack is all about customer service...when you buy from us the associate deals with you, when you return stuff the associate again deals with you, we dont send you to a separate customer service booth. To claim we hate our customers is very unfair specially in this situation we you are blaming the company for your own mistake.
Regards

[Deane Johnson]

Geewithfamily, I suspect you realize you're wrong in this case. The store clerk acted correctly. Having said that, now I have to add, Radio Shack has much bigger problems than return policies.

A few things that cause me to find other sources for something I need.

1. No catalog for research (I understand why it's gone...cost)
2. Lousy web site (don't understand why)
3. They've lost the scent. They used to have things people wanted, now it's all children's toys and cell phones. (Just like everyone else).
4. Rapid employee turnover. Never a familiar face. Always someone new who doesn't know anything.

Any business needs a USP (unique selling position). Radio Shack doesn't have one these days.

I say these things in disappointment. I used to spend lots of money at RS, and thought of them first when I needed something. That's all gone now.

No, I don't think they hate their customers. I think someone at the top lacks the vision it would take to keep Radio Shack successful. All of these problems start at the very top in any business.

PS: Thanks Radio Shack for the SPL meter. It's one of the few things left from the good old days.

[geekwithfamily]

Deanne - Radio Shack does have a USP: They're in a strip mall near you.

Shaolin - Thanks for chiming in. It's good to read the official line. It's sad that RS has to assume their customers are potential thieves, but if this policy effectively reduces the cost of shoplifting then it's in RS' right to do so. I have to accept that my lame return habits are outside RS's policy and I will have to adjust my behavior. I can walk into a Home Depot and exchange unused merch for store credit no problem, so I'm not crazy.

I have to agree with Deanne that I've never had the same RS employee help me twice, turnover is an issue.