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Radio Shack Consumer Reviews

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For All Customers (And Employees)
By -

I have worked for RadioShack for 2 years now. I have worked my way from employee to Management, and have dealt with all kinds of crazy things throughout that time. These are a few things for everyone: For customers: Our Return Policy is extremely lenient, but this is a BUSINESS that we run. For all returns, we do need to ask your personal information, that is for the fraud department. This protects you, as well as it protects the business in case stealing starts happening from the inside.

Checks do take 15 days to process through OUR system, and we cannot bypass this, we will lose our jobs. I know most of you reading this are completely honest people, but there are people who aren't. My store has been a victim of fraud that has happened this way before, and when it does happen, it is taken out of management's personal paycheck. Our return policy is 30 days to get your cash/credit back. Beyond that, if it is in perfect resellable condition, we can give you a gift card. There is no other place that can do this, and yes, we do believe in customer service.

If your item is broken because YOU broke it, again, it is taken out of management's personal paycheck. The back of your receipt says it needs to be in "new, resellable condition". Putting a fuss so your item is refunded may make the difference of a manager being able to pay rent or put food on their child's dinner table because YOU broke it. If it doesn't work due to actual defect, we are always more than willing to refund or replace, you don't have to worry at all.

Treating employees or managers with disrespect does not get you anywhere. Just because we may not have a store the physical size of Best Buy does not mean we do not know how to run a business. So many times I see parents come in with their young children and start SCREAMING at one of my employees because of this or that. Do you really want to teach your children that having a temper tantrum loud enough will get you somewhere in life? Stay calm, keep yourself in check, and generally we can work with you on whatever you need or want.

Service plans truly are worth it on a lot of things. True, not everything. But cell phones, digital cameras, home phones, anything more than $100 bucks it should be something to seriously consider. This is not just so "we make money". It's to protect against what YOU do to it. Your kid takes the item out in the rain. Someone spills something. You blow a speaker. You yank on a cord wrong and it comes loose. There is a bad storm and something got fried. Don't get mad at us because we offered it to you. Every electronics store offers these, and it's for a reason.

Electronics are made of such fine components any part could overheat for this reason or that. The biggest thing you should consider buying service plans on are anything that could need a battery replacement. So many times I have customers come in so mad because they have to spend $80 on 4 new batteries for their 4 handset phone, when 2 years ago someone offered them a $10 replacement where they could have gotten them for free. RadioShack is the only place I've heard of that gives you the free batteries included. Take advantage!

Females in your RadioShack generally know more than the males. Don't just pass us by. We had to work harder to get to where we're at, because there are more sexist people than not out there. I've been a manager for 2 years now at my store, and many times even in a full suit I will greet a person at the door, and they will walk right past me to my newest male associate to ask for advice on some electronic component. Guess who the male employee comes to if he doesn't yet know the answer? Me, and generally yes, we do know the answer. Keep this in mind.

If you ever do have an issue, especially related to customer service in a store, talk to the manager! If they're not there, call the next day and get ahold of them! That's what we're here for. If we don't know that one of our employees disrespected you in some way, or you feel didn't treat you fairly, talk to us! We can fix most issues for you ourselves.

To employees- If someone comes in screaming, irate, how you handle it can really change a lot of things. If you have questions on how to handle a customer like this, please don't hesitate to talk to your manager. Our goal is to keep customers and make them happy, not fight and snap back at them. Do not take it personally, most angry customers had something else frustrating happen that perhaps one little thing tipped them over the top. They are just there to vent, you can generally have them leave with a smile.

To FEMALE employees: Yes, there are a lot of sexist people in the world. Males and Females alike. Just remember, you worked your way up just like anyone else, and don't let it get to you. Unfortunately being looked past because you are a female is part of the job. If you take your time and really show them you know what you are doing (and yes, this is a lot of extra work sometimes) they will always come back to you.

One of my RadioShack mentors is a woman. She has been at her store for 15 years now. It took her a long time to Win over her customers, but now she has built such a strong customer base that people come in from an hour away just to see her, and she is always busy with customers. She generally pulls in literally her entire stores sales plus some on her own. Learn your job. Yes, you need to learn it better than anyone else because you WILL be tested. Take pride, it will pay off.

The entire point of this is basically if you are an employee, see where the customers are coming from. If you are a customer, treat us with respect, do not try to "get away" with things (because most businesses that I've ever dealt with are much more strict on whatever policies- check up on this if you don't believe me). We are here to run a business. In return, we will always bend over backward for you.

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RadioShack??
By -

NEVADA -- As an employee at RadioShack it is very difficult to get by financially. They expect so much from me and pay me $7.65 an hour, plus commission. But, at the store that I work at it is such a dead store and we get no business. Therefore, there isn't much to make in commission. We are required to take numerous training modules when we are first hired, and throughout our employment we are required to take a new training every two weeks or so.

I have had so many problems with this company. Some of which I think is absolutely wrong and wouldn't happen in any other work place. I worked at a different store before this one and I had a customer come in multiple times a week asking me for my phone number and if I wanted to go skiing with him or numerous activities. Keep in mind, I am 19 and he was about 42. I refused his offers many times. He called the store asking for my number.

Finally, I told him I was 17, thinking maybe if he thought I was a minor he would leave me alone, right? Wrong. He continued on and on. I had asked my manager many times to get this guy to stop, my manager told me "If he keeps spending money in our store I'm not going to say anything to him." I was shocked. Seriously, he is harassing me and you're just going to let him get away with it.

Finally, I asked my DM if I could transfer to another store. He asked my reasoning, so I told him exactly what happened. He told me that it was not a valid reason to request to be transferred. He said I needed to fulfill my duties to the store. I once again was shocked. Seriously, fulfill my duties. My goodness. After that call I called HR. I was transferred in three days. After I got transferred it seemed as if he was trying to retaliate against me. He told me I was on a week trial.

Basically, I had to prove myself 'worthy' to work at RadioShack. Since, I need the job, I just acted like normal and did my normal tasks. I did call HR again to complain about the retaliation. He (my DM) also yelled at me for taking a couple of days to cut out, organize and place 500+ price tags. I flat out said to him, I would LOVE to see you do it in one shift, then I will know that it is possible.

I really wish that I could find another job, but in my area there isn't much. I just can't stand working at RadioShack any longer.. People have posted on here RS employees don't care about their customers. I personally do care. I take my time to help each and every customer. I have quite a few customers that go out of their way to come to my store. I feel that I have to be considerate of the customers because if I was their customer, I would expect the same service.

RS expects you to sell cell phones out the wazoo. Honestly, everyone already has a cell phone. People may want to upgrade, but who wants to sign another 2 year contract. It's stupid. They have idiotic 'goals' that you must meet. You have to sell so many dollars per hour per ticket. You have to sell so many dollars worth of batteries. You have to have accessories with cell phones, mp3 players, TV's, laptops...

If you don't sell accessories with those, your percentage goes down and you get written up. If you don't sell enough service plans (extended warranty) you get written up. If you don't sell your 'required' goal for cell phones for the month you get written up.. If you fail to meet your "goal" more than twice (I think) you get fired. We used to have a policy that if a manager didn't get 7 cell phones sold in a week he was fired. WTH?

Not that many people are going to come to RS to buy a cell phone. Yes, our prices are a LOT cheaper than other stores, and we do not have mail in rebates. But, what average customers knows all of that? We have to do planograms almost constantly. We have to work our butts off for nothing. I'm just sick of trying to meet their 'goals'. They are just a bunch of dumb ignorant people sitting up in offices making rules that they think people can abide by. Sorry RS you're wrong.

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Radio Shack
By -

LAKE JACKSON, TEXAS -- 1. On 9/8/2007, I took the phone (Cingular 8125) to the Radio Shack store where I bought it. The touch screen had deteriorated to a basically unusable condition at 10 months old.

  1. The store manager listened to the problem, looked online to determine that I had a Radio Shack service plan and called the Service Center for me. He gave them a brief description of the problem and handed the phone to me.

  2. The Service Representative confirmed my information, told me she would need to have my credit card info in order to charge me for the core price if I failed to return the old phone. She then said I would receive a replacement phone in two business days and I should return the old phone within 30 days to avoid being charged for the core.

  3. I received a box by FedEx in 4, not 2, business days and was surprised upon opening it to find it empty except for a couple of packing air bubbles, a return address label and a sheet of instructions, stating "Due to your model phone no longer being available you will be contacted by the Radio Shack service plan to arrange compensation or reimbursement. Once this is complete you MUST return your defective phone in this box." THIS IS UNHAPPY # 1!

  4. I waited two days for the call promised on the sheet before calling Radio Shack customer service to see what was going on. I explained that I was waiting on a call from them. She told me that they don't call they wait for my call before initiating anything. UNHAPPY #2! She then made me a reimbursement offer, which would not be enough to replace my phone with the closest current model (Cingular 8525). UNHAPPY #3! Next, she informed me I would receive a Radio Shack gift card not a check or credit on my credit card UNHAPPY #4 -- when the tracking number was in their system showing I had mailed the old phone. When I complained about the lag time, she assured me the system would pick up the tracking number and cause the gift card to be issued.

  5. Not trusting the system by now, I called the service center 3 or 4 days later and talked to another service rep. She advised me the system showed they had received the old phone the day before and were waiting on my call to set up the gift card. WHOA! What about the lie saying the system does that upon discovering the tracking number? UNHAPPY #5. Unbelievably, I am still fairly calm about the whole situation, so I stated, "OK, so my gift card should be here in a couple or three days since you're in Fort Worth, right?" "Wrong", she stated. It would take 2-3 days at her location before it would be sent to Atlanta, where it would be further processed and issued. It would be 10 to 14 days before I would actually receive the gift card. REALLY UNHAPPY #6! THIS IS REAL SERVICE- NOT!

  6. OK, It's been a week since the last contact and now I receive in the mail an envelope from ASSURANT Solutions. I know by now, this is the service plan provider for Radio Shack, so I can't wait to get into the house to open it, hit the road to Radio Shack and get a new phone. Hmmm, doesn't feel like a card inside. Wonder if they actually sent a check instead? NOPE, it's a SURVEY! It wants me to tell how happy I am with the extended warranty plan. NOT EVEN CLOSE TO HAPPY #7 !!!!!

  7. OK, it's now 9/28/2007 and no good news in the mail. I call the service center again. The service rep reviews my case on the computer and tells me the card was cut on 9/13. That's one day over the 10-14 days I was told it would take for me to receive the card. "Ohhh", says the rep, "that would be 10-14 business days, not calendar days. EXTREMELY UNHAPPY #8 !!!!!

Lies, incompetent, unknowledgeable, uncaring personnel and procedures an idiot could fix blindfolded. This best describes the Radio Shack service plan.

A good service plan would not leave a customer stranded without a phone for even one day. It would bend over backwards to live up to the name Customer Service. It would have upgraded my 8125 to an 8525 or at least given me the option of paying some extra to do that on the spot instead of going through this insane reimbursement process and making me wait weeks to buy another phone at Radio Shack by giving me a gift card (I may be presumptuous, because I still haven't received it) instead of a check or credit card refund.

UNHAPPY? Yes, extremely. Would I recommend the Radio Shack service plan to my friends? Get real!! I have already told my story to several and haven't even started, yet

The only positives are the Radio Shack manager and employees at the Lake Jackson, Texas, store. They have bent over backwards for me and are probably embarrassed about the whole thing.

This review has already been mailed to Radio Shack, but as expected, no response has been received.

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Customer Service
StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarEmpty StarBy -
Rating: 1/51

CALDWELL, IDAHO -- I just signed up for a new contract with Sprint about a month ago and I went back to the store where I had started my service because the phone that I purchased was having issues. I ended up getting a different phone. It was a bit more than what I wanted to spend but the sales representative ** had guaranteed that if I came back into the store that weekend the store was going to have a sale on the phones and I would be able to get a price match on the phone meaning that they would give me the sale price that the phone was selling for that day.

So I went back just like he said. I explained my situation to the sales representative that day and he stated that they were not allowed to do because I had passed my thirty days of return policy. I explained to him my conversation with ** and told him that I was just in here three days prior. The sales representative told me that ** did not know what he was talking about. I responded by asking then why is he an assistant manager. I had no choice but to leave feeling betrayed and lied to.

The next day I got a hold of ** at the store, told he what had happened at the store. He told me that they should have been able to have gave me that price match. He had me go down there and when I got there he told me he had some bad news, they were not able to do the price match because I had already went over my thirty days but I told him what he had guaranteed that I would be able to get some of my money because I had just paid more for this phone compared to the phone I had prior and it had only been three days that went by.

He apologized and told me that he could do nothing, maybe just give me back the old phone back with the additional money that I had paid for the new phone. I told him that was fine then he said that he would have to get an okay from his manager and give me a call back. An hour went by until they returned my call and it was not even him. It was another employee that told me that there was nothing that they could do for me about my refund so then I asked to speak to the store manager. She told me that there was nothing they could do for me.

I explained to her that if ** would have not told me about the sale that was happening and his verbal guarantee of getting a price match I would not even have been in this mess. She didn't care, she didn't even offer a apology for the false statement that her assistant manager **.

As for ** I felt like he just ignored me and avoided himself to call me back and apologize for false assurance. I would of really have appreciated if he would have just stepped up and stated that he was wrong but he didn't. He allowed others to do his dirty work for him. I strongly recommend to not allow ** to sell you a phone because he gives false information just to get people to purchase a phone.

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Advertisement
Beware of Radio Shack and Cell Phone on Line Purchases
By -

Be very aware that if you give Radio Shack the "personal" information required to buy a cell phone and service for that cell phone, you are open to having your identity stolen or that you may become a victim of fraud. Just a week or so ago, my wife attempted to purchase a new cell phone and add a line to our existing Sprint account. Looking at the "deals" from RadioShack on line, we decided to get a deal from them and made the online order process, which then has you call a phone number and a calling code.

The sales person whom will handle this "order" is NOT in the USA. They require you to give them all your information which is your social security number, Sprint Account information, address, etc., and they claim they will handle your order from that point on. What you do not know is that you are NOT speaking to a person whom actually is a RadioShack employee, you are talking to a person in another country, someone that can do anything they want with your personal information.

Someone that works at this company that takes your personal information used my wife's information to apply for a T-Mobile phone and T-Mobile service. My wife nor I never gave any authorization for this to take place, as we are Sprint phones and Sprint network and Sprint customers, period. However just today we got a letter from T- Mobile saying that the application for a T-mobile phone and service was declined, and that such was due to a credit report from TransUnion.

Now whomever it was that worked for the company that processes your orders from which you think is really Radio Shack, entered into the TransUnion information, and "updated" work history for my wife, and gave company name and dates of places that she NEVER worked at, ever. If not for the letter from T-Mobile, we would not have known anyone had done anything illegal with her personal information at all.

The letter gave a number for us to contact TransUnion credit reporting agency which then confirmed that someone had entered the work history and made the attempt to purchase a cell phone and services from T-Mobile. This new work history is Banks and Shipping companies that are well known internationally but NOT at all in the USA, thus if you live overseas and NOT in the USA those names are common names of places a person may work.

The locations of places that are taking the orders on behalf of RadioShack are in other countries, in locations such as India and Manilla. Not all of their employees are going to be honest folks. We have had to notify all the banks, Sprint, T-Mobile, etc, that someone has stolen my Wife's Identity. Eventually we talked to a person at the "world headquarters" for the company that takes the phone orders for RadioShack and they also take the same orders for Wirefly.com and are connected to "whereismyorder.com". This world headquarters or home office is located here in the USA.

The representative that I talked to at this "home office" did not want to admit that the sales person used my wife's personal information to buy a T-Mobile phone and entered false information into a credit application for this T-Mobile phone and service. However he did say the sale persons may have done so to insure we get a phone and a service. WTF is that?

We never asked for T-Mobile phones nor services, we never authorized such a purchase and we had no notification from anyone that an attempt would be made for such a service/cell phone and in no way had we ever gave a sales person any work history, period. This company that is a vendor for RadioShack and Wirefly has my Wife's personal information in their systems. How many crooks overseas can use it, we don't know?

We have now to fill out a "fraud packet" from T-Mobile and file a police report to have any further action take place to find out who working for this vendor for RadioShack and Wirefly to be caught for their illegal activities. My personal advice, do not trust making a purchase for any phones or services from this places. This entire ordeal has damaged my wife's credit reports and we still have no idea what other use the crook at that company will use the information/identity they now have. RadioShack and Wirefly and the rest of those crooks can kiss my rear end, I will NEVER do business with them again.

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Woman of RadioShack
By -

Curious really... any females out there ever feel like right off the bat someone does not want your help because you're a girl? It's hard to explain but when a total stranger comes in (most the times it's a male but there has been a handle full of females as well) looks you up and down while your greeting them and asking them if you could assist them in anything and they look around a couple times and stare at a male employee and completely walk by you as if you were not even there to go talk to the guy instead.

I could go on and on with different situations that have occurred but to just generalize it. Now I've been with the company for almost 2 years now and we've gone through plenty of people. I have been here the longest by 8 months and all the newest associates are male. 95% of the time when the situation I described at the top happens, the male associates comes to me with the question the customer had. Ironic. Even then most the time the customers can't even look at me in the eyes while I talk and STILL second guess what I say.

The other associate that has been here second longest is female too. She and I both agree that in certain situations it's very apparent and others it's hard to tell. My manager has seen it happen as well. Had a customer ask me how to connect a DVD player to his new flat screen. Gave him the right answer but he insisted on repeating everything I said as a question which brought me back to trying to explain (even draw it out) in a different way.

After grabbing the HDMI, Component, Composite Cables and turning our store display TV around to show him all the different ways of achieving his goal he still told me he did not understand because it still was not working. Got into the whole conversation of what it may to be and to narrow down the problem he was having. After 30 minutes of getting nowhere I excused myself to get my manager for him because he may be able to explain everything different from me so it made sense and he smiled.

My manager was in the back which is right next to our TV's so he heard the whole conversation and got up before I could even ask to help this guy out and my manager laughed and said I said all the right information same as he would of said. He went out there told the guy what I had been telling him off the bat and that was that. Guy ended up buying composite cables because he did not have any and was out of the store within 2 minutes of my manager speaking with him.

One more real quick one. One of our regular customer comes in, wants a car charger for his five year old pantech cell phone. Look around, tell him we do not carry that one in store. He has a friend with him. They whisper to one another. I offer to look online if he is not in a rush. They agree. Whisper some more. While I am looking his friend suggests to his friend to look at KMART. I tell the guy with the cell phone he could try but I doubt it because the pantech charger is not that popular.

Before I could get through our IGO part of our website they leave. I tell them to have a nice day and sorry we did not have it in store. They ignore me. Two customers that were in the store the same time as them walk out with them. I see all four of them outside talking and displaying the man's cell phone. One of the other customers that went out after them comes in with the guys phone yells my manager's name out to get his attention and yells across the store very mad as to why we could not get that man a charger (did not say car charger, just charger).

My manager who was unaware of the conversation I had had with the owner of the cell phone, tells the other guy that we do have chargers. Gets into the whole: upgrade now get a new phone with a charger for less than you would pay for a charger alone. Guy looks at me and looks back at my manager and says good and runs out of the store. Well.... that does not fix the car charger part but what do I know... Is it just me or has anyone else had anything of the sort occur?

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Just a Thought....
By -

I work at Radio Shack and I have seen some current and former associates on here and for the bulk of it their comments/reviews go something like this: "We don't get paid enough to provide excellent customer service." "We are expected to know too much." etc, etc, etc.

For the record none of them are saying anything short of the truth when they say an employee there gets Minimum Wage plus commission. At that same note how exactly does that have anything to do with the way you treat a customer. Does that mean that if I got paid 10 dollars an hour that I should do more for the customer? I don't think so, call me sort of old fashion but I believe the if you do quality in your work you'll reap the rewards later.

Maybe it's not in the form of a raise but it could be in the form of a promotion. Or maybe even the simple fact that if you actually make the customer feel that you actually give a damn they will come back and guess what? You will get MORE on your paycheck oh my god what a concept I never knew this!

Second off it is not a federal offense to refer someone to another store or even referring them online for a better deal. 90% of the time people I refer come back, you know why? Because at the very least if RadioShack doesn't have it YET AGAIN at least they know I'm good to point them in the right direction.

Third off I am not getting these people making statements like "If we don't sell cell phone we are threatened and fired!" I plain and simple do not like selling the post-paid phones. For the simple matter of it's a huge headache because if something goes wrong the first person to blame is of course, the people you bought it from. However such I am not going to the extent of saying I DON'T CARE about your cell phone not working. I do care, the problem is I do not have the proper authority to fix your problem if it is big enough.

My final point will be this issue about, "old people," of course because these old people don't like these young whippersnappers right? These, "old people" is what gives me a bigger paycheck each week. When these people come in and ask for me I get the sale, do they care that I am young? Some do, but the majority like me because at the very least I at least act like I care and provide them with what they need, even if I am having a bad day.

Have I been told off? Sure, have I resented some of my customers? Of course but that doesn't affect the way I treat the MAJORITY of my customers. The idea if you say it rude you're not getting anything from me is a bogus concept at best. I won't go all out for a rude customer but I will get them what they need to the best of my ability. I like to think I make more than my, "meager restitution."

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Customers
By -

I have read several reviews about bad customer service people have received. The truth is that most of the "bad customer service" is due to the ignorance of customers. First off RadioShack is not there to fix your crap. If you bought a telephone from Walmart ten years ago and it stopped working don't bring it in to Radioshack to try to have an associate fix it.

Honestly it is a huge waste of time for us and we probably don't care because even if we are able to fix it for you, you are just going to say thanks and walk away. It's nice of you to say thanks but really we get nothing for helping you and you don't buy anything. You can't expect us to care that much about your broken items.

Second if you think a Radioshack associate is pushy, it's because we have to be or we will lose our jobs. If we go a week without selling a cell phone, RSSP, batteries, or accessories, we get written up. If you think about it, you would be pushy too if your job depended on it.

Third, a lot of people say that Radioshack employees don't know anything. Half of the time we do know but you are too stubborn to listen to us. Elderly people at the worst with this. Since I am in my twenties old people come in and assume that since I am so young I know nothing and they won't deal with me. Most of the time they ask for my manager. I will tell old people something but they will not believe me, then they talk to my manager who tells them the same thing and suddenly now they understand what I told them.

Another thing that will get you bad customer service is when you walk in, 90 percent of the time you will be greeted, when you say you don't need any help, we assume that you don't need help. So when you decline the help we offer don't expect us to stay by you so you can ask us questions that you stated before that you didn't have.

Another thing is that we don't know everything about everything that is carried in the store. And sorry to burst your bubble but hardly anyone that works at RadioShack has a masters degree in electronics, so maybe we don't know everything. As it turns all those people with degrees in electronics don't want to work for radioshack.

Last thing, if an employee seems upset because you are returning something it's because we are probably losing money on our pay checks. I'm sure that if you were in our situation you would be upset as well. I know it's hard to believe but Radioshack only pays minimum wage plus commission. So if our paycheck get even smaller it just makes matters worse.

If you do need to return something, return it for a just cause. Let me let you in on a little secret, the company name is RadioShack not "rent-a-shack" so don't just buy something cause you need to use it once then return it. It's a waste of our time and we know when people do it. Finally, if you return something because it "does not work" it's probably because you do not know how to use it.

Every time I get a "it didn't work" return, I try it out, and I would say about 85 percent of the time, guess what it works!! Shocker. So if you get an employee that "doesn't care" it's because we get paid next to nothing and most of us are just working there to have some income while we are looking for another job.

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Advertisement
People Like Him Should Be Fired
By -

ANKENY, IOWA -- This guy fulfills every single one of the stereotypes of salesmen. He was pushy, convincing, and I actually thought that he liked me as a person and wasn't just looking for a cheap sale. I went into the Ankeny Radioshack looking for a cable, but soon got into a conversation with a clean-cut person who started me on the topic of cell phones. To be honest, he didn't lie to me, except perhaps by omission.

He ended up selling me an AT&T phone with "3G coverage." I forget what it's called all that's under the battery is a bunch of numbers. Surfing the internet from my phone was enticing, because I hate to be stuck at the office or at home waiting for an email that never seems to come on time. He said that he routinely got speeds that were in approximation to a DSL line. I have a DSL line, and I knew that it was a good thing, because mine was very fast, and I didn't have to wait for pages to load like I used to.

Needless to say, I was told that internet wouldn't be an issue in terms of cost, that the phone came with an unlimited data package. The bills are sort of steep in my opinion, but that's not what I am complaining about. What I AM complaining about was how I was treated when I returned with the phone and all the paperwork about a week later (to the day it's been about a month since this whole problem has been resolved).

What sent this whole chain of events into play was that I talked to a techie coworker who stated that my phone was not '3G' capable, and even if it was, '3G' was not available in my area. What?! He was so insistent that it was! I also noticed that the phone was NOT as fast as DSL, and I talked to my coworker some more. He pulled up some tool and showed me that my speed was 7 kb per second.

I don't know what that means exactly but he said that it was about 100-times slower than DSL. I soon realized that when I tried to go to another more high-data site than my original email inbox (the thing that I checked the most). So I took the phone back and told him about it. He stated, almost verbatim, that "he [coworker] didn't have a clue as to what he was talking about." I told him that I did tests and it looked like my friend was right. He told me that I didn't know what I was talking about!!

So, I just asked him if I could return the phone. He said I could as long as it was within a month. I said "OK it's within a month here you go," but he needed to see my receipt. I was told when I purchased the phone that my receipt would be kept track of electronically!! Hence the forceful taking of my personal information, which I disapproved of. I told him about this but he said that the electronic receipt didn't count, that I needed the original.

I was getting frustrated at him at this point, but I kept a cool head, because I knew that I wouldn't get anywhere with anger. So I said that I would be back with the receipt and went to my house to look for it. I found it and returned. This time, he stated that it was too far out to be returned. Did this guy think that I was an idiot?? He turned and smirked at a coworker.

I asked to see a manager and that's when he got hot under the collar. He said "He's not here." Then I was going to ask him for a card of his but he said "I AM the manager!" His face was red and he was furious at me. I guess that he thought I was going to complain about him, but if he had stopped there I would have just looked for a resolution to the whole situation and gotten return for the phone.

He swore under his breath at me and started maniacally asking me if I knew who he was. I said that his nametag said **. He asked me if I knew who his grandfather was. I said no and that I just wanted to return the phone. I was still not upset but I was getting frustrated at this schizophrenic behavior.

He took the phone out and said that there was a scratch on it, and the phone had to be new. He showed it to me and I couldn't really see how a scratch of that size could be a factor in returning the phone. Then he said that he would be back and he walked off. He must have been gone for ten minutes and then he came back and started typing on the computer. I just stayed over by the TVs because I didn't want to upset him anymore. Then he started asking me for information and he finally did the return.

All in all, this ** guy has some major issues beyond the scope of the job. I have later learned from my3cents that workers are paid on commission basis, which could have been the reason why he pushed me so hard to get the phone. However, I don't think that I deserve to be treated as I was. No one does. I don't deserve to be mocked openly by someone who obviously thinks himself too good to be working for Radioshack..

I may consider going back to Radioshack, because it still has a lot of stuff that I find interesting, but definitely not at that store while he is working. Hopefully his behavior can be changed with some counseling, but besides that, until it is, I don't feel that he is suitable for that sort of work. He is too emotionally charged to perceived wrongs, in my opinion.

Anyway, this is not a complaint about a whole company, but rather of a given individual. I don't hate Radioshack now, despite him, and neither should people who read this. Just please be weary of the Ankeny store, and of a person there who obviously has some issues with you returning phones and interfering with his commission.

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In Regards to Service Plans
By -

I have seen a few different situations regarding the Service plans we offer at Radio Shacks across the United States of America (and Puerto Rico). Having read a number of reviews while online searching about my beloved Company, I discovered some discontent about the RSSP (RadioShack Service Plan). I would like to break down the reasons a person should or should not purchase a RSSP.

I will make references to the real scenarios I have seen in my job for your benefit. When not to buy- If you are a particularly hard handler of your products, you should not buy a RSSP. It covers normal wear and tear. It does not however, cover if you let your portable DVD player fall into the wrong hands and the hinge gets snapped. If you work in Construction, do not purchase a RSSP on your phone. If it falls off the roof of a worksite and cracks the screen, it will not be replaced. In fact if you are going to crack the screen of anything don't worry about the RSSP... it won't help you.

If you use your Cellphone around water, do no buy the RSSP. In mid 2008 they began covering "Minor" humidity Damage. We really just tell you it doesn't cover water damage. Because it doesn't. It covers Humidity Damage, that means the water indicator in your phone has turned LIGHT PINK. Not Red and definitely not the shade of red where it has gotten so wet the sticker peeled off some. In the beginning I saw a phone that had been in the rain all night get sent out and replaced. Since then the rules have been tightened significantly and you really are only going to be able to bring Humidity damage in.

If your product is Likely to be stolen. Don't buy a RSSP. I know, bad things happen to good people. But The Vast majority of people rarely have things stolen. Cell phones are a major risk item. If your child had lost more than one phone in the past two years, don't get the RSSP on their phone. If you Have your phone stolen or lose it frequently, don't get a RSSP.

When To buy- When you are purchasing an item that will be used every day and is plugged into a power line constantly. The world is Fallible, if you have something plugged in all the time. The odds of it getting fried with a power surge is higher. Also, for those of us with surge protectors, be aware that phone lines and Television cables can carry a surge just as easily. A major benefit of the RSSP is that in the event of a power surge you will be protected.

If you are able to maintain a level of protection to your product. That sounds like an entirely exclusive statement, but you don't have to be an old lady that only calls on her phone once a week on Sundays to protect your investments. Simple things like Keeping cords out of reach of your pets and children can make the RSSP a good investment.

If the Item has a Rechargeable battery. You really want the RSSP. I've never purchased anything at a Radioshack that had rechargeable batteries without the RSSP. As long as you get the two year plan, you get a new battery for your product once a year. In the case of cordless house phones it gets each handset a new battery once a year. That sort of savings racks up really fast. I've seen people of all tracks of life save 20 bucks a year on batteries. Not even a joke.

There are things that will make your life easier with a RSSP- Get the Terms and conditions with the purchase. The little booklet will give you all the information you will ever need. You don't need the receipt to use a RSSP. You just need to know the phone number you put on the RSSP. We can look you up by that alone. But if you bring us the receipt with it, it makes our life easier.

Any associate or manager who tells you we cannot call in to get your product sent out for repair is being lazy. I love my company and I would like to believe that no one in it would be like that but I've seen it happen. If you run into this, simply ask for the number of the next highest rank in radioshack. The district office number is a particularly good resource. The next highest level will more than likely make up for whatever shortcoming the first had.

I would also like to think customers are all completely honest people, but on the safe side, Don't worry about trying to scam the system because your child/dog/significant other broke something. The rules are very definite and getting angry at an associate for following them just makes the poor associate feel terrible on something they didn't deserve the abuse for.

If you keep these things in mind, you should have a very knowledgeable basis for if a RSSP is right for you. Don't feel bad about saying no if you know buying it is a waste of your money. As a side note. To Consumers who have been turned from Radioshack because of bad experiences with the RSSP, I urge you to give us another shot.

A lot of improvements have been made to our company in recent years and You have to consider that Assurant (our RSSP handlers) is in fact an entirely different company and sometimes we simply don't have the power at the store level to deal with their inner workings. Be Patient and we will work our hardest to solve the problem for you.

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Radio Shack
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www.radioshack.com
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