I am rarely flabbergasted...

[PCIntern]

So I am without a phone, TV or Internet except for my iphone, because my Verizon Fios transformer blew after the power outage last week. However, there is a 12v jack on the side of the box for auxiliary power. I had jury rigged a 12v transformer with an almost appropriate jack and plugged it in, but it was a little too small and wasn't making good contact with the conductors. So at 7:45 I went out to Radio Shack to purchase a variable transformer which has assorted jacks which you can buy to fit into the universal cord. The guy asked me what size I needed and told him,. this one. He asked if I were sure. I said, not certain but I will tell you what: I will buy one of each of the very small. He said he wouldn't sell me two adapters. I asked him why not, that 500 of his stores were going to be closing soon and couldn't they use every sale they could get? He said that in good conscience, if everyone bought two, then there would not be enough left to supply all of the ttransformers. I then said, OK, I will buy the one I think it is, take
it home and measure it without taking it out of the package. If it works great, if not, I can exchange it, right? He said that again he would not sell this to me because I was not certain which I needed. I reiterated that I would be happy to either buy both or exchange it within 15 minutes, no harm done. He REFUSED to sell me the product under any circumstances. HE was the only guy in the store, so there was no appeal play. Now I have no TeeVee until Monday, no real Internet, and no phone. In another life, before I was on Beta Blockers I think I would have gone berserk in the store. At this point, I just accepted the fact that I am a complete loser and left empty-handed. I know: I could have bought a digital antenna but I didn't care at that point,. I only wanted to get out before I did something really stupid.

As they used to say in Peanuts, "AAAUUGGGGHHHH!"

[Pretzel_Warrior]

1. Thanks, Obama!

You should have Told him you're going to dial up HQ and tell them their employee is refusing to sell their product to you.

Guy sounds like a clown. They do have some noncompany-owned franchise stores. I wonder if this was one.

[frazzled]

2. Did you type that whole thing on an iPhone?

They oughtta have an Olympics competition for that. Congratulations ... you didn't even get weird autofill spellings or anything.

Your experience sounds like something out of a sitcom or something. Sorry for your problems, but I got a good laugh. Perhaps you should have just tried buying one, then leave the store for five minutes and come back in to buy another. If he said you couldn't buy a second, you could have said, "I've never been here in my life. I didn't buy anything."

I don't know if you can see this on your iPhone, but it's the Radio Shack commercial from the SuperBowl. "The 80s called; they want their store back."

[PCIntern]

4. Yes I did

But to be truthful it took me a long time with lots of proofreading. It was sort of funny.

[grasswire]

3. Not too long ago I bought some kind of widget from Radio Shack.

The clerk strongly suggested that I buy two of the same item in case one was defective.

Argh.

[progressoid]

5. What the f...?

What a bizarre thing for him to say.

I bought a couple of different jack converters last summer. I wasn't sure which one would work and the associate actually suggested I get two different ones and try them to see which one would work. Turns out neither of them worked and returned them both.

[bluesbassman]

6. Wow, around here they would've been tickled pink just to see a customer in the store...

and would've asked what color gift wrap I wanted for my purchase!

Seriously, you should call next week and speak to the manager of the store. That was some bush league customer service.

[PCIntern]

7. I think I will

I used to be an electronic hobbyist when I was a kid. In those days they would have been happy to see me.

[Daemonaquila]

8. Your patience is noteworthy.

That's some horsecrap right there - a retail sales guy doesn't get a vote about what you get to buy from his store because of his personal opinions or values. I'd have been very unpleasant at that point, even if it meant going to the lengths of getting a regional manager on the phone in front of this yutz. At minimum, I hope you have a long talk Monday with the guy with firing power.

[PCIntern]

9. As a clinician

I found him so deeply disturbed at a fundamental level that I let it go. I am now relegated for one more day to retrieving phone messages, posting with the iPhone, and watching DVDs. If this had been life or death or for my kid it would have been different.

[bemildred]

10. Nothing surprises me any more. I just move on. nt

[Soundman]

11. Those beta blockers sure do add a

Sense of calmness to tense situations don't they?

[Orrex]

12. Not long ago I tried to buy a replacement power cord from Radio Shack

Their cheapest model was $24.95. This was your basic plug-it-in-the-radio cord, no bells or whistles.

I asked why it costs so much, when the radio itself with cord was $11.95. He just kind of looked at me.


I have no idea why anyone would willingly buy anything from a Radio Shack on purpose.

[ladyVet]

13. Wow, that is weird, but a sign of declining customer care, I guess.

Radio Shack was almost a second home for us back in the 80s, as my oldest boy was a Techno Geek Extraordinaire. We were in at least once a week, and the manager and clerks would just give us stuff. Need any batteries? Here's some. How about wires? Clips? And they'd toss in a pack or two.

Nowadays, you can't get anything decent in any of the local stores (which are on the verge of, if not actually closing), so we look on Amazon.

[MrScorpio]

14. Are you sure that the real clerk wasn't tied up in the back somewhere? nt

[PCIntern]

15. this guy was one strange duck...

SMH.