[tommynap01]

i walked into radioshack this afternoon and asked about playbook accessories to one of the employees.. his response while laughing was " to my knowledgement i have never seen anyone buy a playbook and so we have no accessories for it". So obviously i said to him have u ever shown a playbook to one of your customers who are looking for a tablet. he turns around and says " he doesnt show the playbook because he was never trained in it and that there are better tablets out there". So i said " if u never picked the playbook up and used it for a min how can u say that there are better tablets out there when in fact u dont know nothing about it" Then i told him to come over to the tablet section and of course the playbook was the ONLY tablet that was not turned on. What a joke! i asked him to turn it on and i started demonstrating some of the fine things the playbook could do if u actually wanna learn about the device.. i showed him the multitasking, the blackberry bridge, hi res video and so.. so of course he turns around and says " i like to play "1st person shooter" games in my tablet and the playbook has none" So once again he had to be schooled.. i quickly clicked the blackberry app world and typed in "gameloft" in the search button and bam modern combat 2 and nova 2hd popped up. i showed him adrenaline and need for speed as well.. at the end of our conversation he couldnt believe what this playbook could do and said to me " which i thought was pretty funny" that he would order accessories for the playbook since they have every other accessory for every other tablet.. can some one please explain to me why none of these employees who work in these stores have any cluee on how to use the playbookkk.. thats my story.. i smiled and leftt

[Chrisy]

I would have just said, "kthanxbi" and bought somewhere else. Why waste your time or frustrate yourself? Good that he learned something though. I wouldn't take the time.

As to why they spit know: some aren't enthusiasts. For many employees of Best Buy, Staples, Office Depot etc...it's just a job and they're not into the tech. Just the paycheck. I don't get why but it seems most just don't care.

[TaZ52083]

Wow thats an amazing story you showed that employee lol.

[Tre Lawrence]

Anyone wanna bet what the employee will say to the next person that comes in to see a PB?

[blackjack93117]

can some one please explain to me why none of these employees who work in these stores have any cluee on how to use the playbookkk.. thats my story.. i smiled and leftt

Yes because people are generally sheep and follow what everyone else says, without doing their own research and because RIM somehow thought they could just shove these things into the retail outlets without sales reps visiting and training sales people, or at least managers, and not do themselves a world of harm??.

[jwn66]

I would have just said, "kthanxbi" and bought somewhere else. Why waste your time or frustrate yourself? Good that he learned something though. I wouldn't take the time.

As to why they spit know: some aren't enthusiasts. For many employees of Best Buy, Staples, Office Depot etc...it's just a job and they're not into the tech. Just the paycheck. I don't get why but it seems most just don't care.

One should never pass up the opportunity to ridicule someone deserving.

[blackjack93117]

I would have just said, "kthanxbi" and bought somewhere else. Why waste your time or frustrate yourself? Good that he learned something though. I wouldn't take the time.

With all due respect, I could not disagree more. It is passivity that allows customer service to fester like this. I never put up with poor service. What if everyone did? Why should anyone try harder? He is only doing the sales person a service to try harder in life, do some research so he doesn't embarrass himself...give himself a little pride in what he has learned or knows..

Besides how much fun would you miss showing him how wrong he is?

[Chrisy]

With all due respect, I could not disagree more. It is passivity that allows customer service to fester like this. I never put up with poor service. What if everyone did? Why should anyone try harder? He is only doing the sales person a service to try harder in life, do some research so he doesn't embarrass himself...give himself a little pride in what he has learned or knows..

Besides how much fun would you miss showing him how wrong he is?

If I really felt it was bad service (it may have been) I'd report it to his employer. I'm not his boss, and it isn't my job to train him.

If the employee was nice and curious, that is one thong. Then I may start a convo about what the PB can do. But if they acted like an *** amd laughed because I asked for a product, then no, I wouldn't waste my time on someone like that.

[EchuOkan1]

One thing I noticed is that every store I have gone (Best Buy, Office Depot, Staple, etc.) in my area have displays, but they do not work (charging cables unplugged or missing), and when you asked them for help the employees simply say they do not have extra cables or say that the cables they have are not working "for some reason." Every single other tab,et is up and running and given the attention.

It is sad to see this "sabotage" happening.

[louzer]

i walked into radioshack this afternoon and asked about playbook accessories to one of the employees.. his response while laughing was " to my knowledgement i have never seen anyone buy a playbook and so we have no accessories for it". So obviously i said to him have u ever shown a playbook to one of your customers who are looking for a tablet. he turns around and says " he doesnt show the playbook because he was never trained in it and that there are better tablets out there". So i said " if u never picked the playbook up and used it for a min how can u say that there are better tablets out there when in fact u dont know nothing about it" Then i told him to come over to the tablet section and of course the playbook was the ONLY tablet that was not turned on. What a joke! i asked him to turn it on and i started demonstrating some of the fine things the playbook could do if u actually wanna learn about the device.. i showed him the multitasking, the blackberry bridge, hi res video and so.. so of course he turns around and says " i like to play "1st person shooter" games in my tablet and the playbook has none" So once again he had to be schooled.. i quickly clicked the blackberry app world and typed in "gameloft" in the search button and bam modern combat 2 and nova 2hd popped up. i showed him adrenaline and need for speed as well.. at the end of our conversation he couldnt believe what this playbook could do and said to me " which i thought was pretty funny" that he would order accessories for the playbook since they have every other accessory for every other tablet.. can some one please explain to me why none of these employees who work in these stores have any cluee on how to use the playbookkk.. thats my story.. i smiled and leftt

I've had similar experiences and have read many similar stories. Don't get me wrong about what I'm about to say, but after reading your story, I'm sensing a little "boy I really shoulda said..." going on. All phones in Radio Shack are dummy handsets. Did you really use your own phone to bridge? And Radio Shack people are on straight commission. Was the store really that empty that he had the time to mess around with you?

I've rarely seen working Playbooks in stores, but then again, and maybe it's just me, but I smell a tad bit of exageration.

[anindoc]

i walked into radioshack this afternoon and asked about playbook accessories to one of the employees.. his response while laughing was " to my knowledgement i have never seen anyone buy a playbook and so we have no accessories for it". So obviously i said to him have u ever shown a playbook to one of your customers who are looking for a tablet. he turns around and says " he doesnt show the playbook because he was never trained in it and that there are better tablets out there". So i said " if u never picked the playbook up and used it for a min how can u say that there are better tablets out there when in fact u dont know nothing about it" Then i told him to come over to the tablet section and of course the playbook was the ONLY tablet that was not turned on. What a joke! i asked him to turn it on and i started demonstrating some of the fine things the playbook could do if u actually wanna learn about the device.. i showed him the multitasking, the blackberry bridge, hi res video and so.. so of course he turns around and says " i like to play "1st person shooter" games in my tablet and the playbook has none" So once again he had to be schooled.. i quickly clicked the blackberry app world and typed in "gameloft" in the search button and bam modern combat 2 and nova 2hd popped up. i showed him adrenaline and need for speed as well.. at the end of our conversation he couldnt believe what this playbook could do and said to me " which i thought was pretty funny" that he would order accessories for the playbook since they have every other accessory for every other tablet.. can some one please explain to me why none of these employees who work in these stores have any cluee on how to use the playbookkk.. thats my story.. i smiled and leftt

kudos to you for having the patience, you did an excellent job. I would have shown the finger and walked away, cant stand morons.......

[blkyanni]

The only store I ever saw the PB working was in Staples. That's where I wound up buying. Although the day I went in it wasn't. lol But I figured at least they had a display and seemed to be trying to sell it.

[bpdude]

Got my 4th pb at radio shack and I spent about 30 minutes educating the salespeople and they seemed very receptive and interested. They are as susceptible as anyone else that reads all the hype and propaganda about pb.

[Send Again]

I have never found anything useful at radio shack. I remember they used to have a commercial that said, "You've got questions? We've got answers", and maybe years ago that was true. I reworded it to "You've got questions? We've got duh".

[Abrante]

If the current sale allows RIM to sell 25+ % of their last warehouse inventory of 800,000 units the PB will be well on its way to "selling itself". When people see the PB in action they give it the credit that it deserves (more often than not). All RIM needs is another 200k out there and the other 600k will sell themselves (especially if OS2 delivers). Apple doesn't sell based on features, they sell a lot because of the awareness that people have about their products and the constant visibility among users/ potential users...

[blackjack93117]

kudos to you for having the patience, you did an excellent job. I would have shown the finger and walked away, cant stand morons.......

Which is why there are so many morons. Not many would take the time to educate one. Kudos to the OP. Why anyone would criticize this and pick it apart and judge it exaggerated and for what gain is beyond me.

[anthogag]

When this happens ask to speak to the manager and explain that the salesman's lack of product knowledge only means that you will most likely never shop at Radio Shack and not recommend this second-rate store.

[grover5]

If I really felt it was bad service (it may have been) I'd report it to his employer. I'm not his boss, and it isn't my job to train him.

If the employee was nice and curious, that is one thong. Then I may start a convo about what the PB can do. But if they acted like an *** amd laughed because I asked for a product, then no, I wouldn't waste my time on someone like that.

I agree. I would tell the manager or boss that they lost my guaranteed sale today because the employee lacked knowledge and was rude. Then I would buy from a different retailer.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[mz. yaya]

Radio Shacks still in business??

[bounce007]

Stories like this just upset me. They seriously do. Glad you showed him what the PlayBook does though.

i walked into radioshack this afternoon and asked about playbook accessories to one of the employees.. his response while laughing was " to my knowledgement i have never seen anyone buy a playbook and so we have no accessories for it". So obviously i said to him have u ever shown a playbook to one of your customers who are looking for a tablet. he turns around and says " he doesnt show the playbook because he was never trained in it and that there are better tablets out there". So i said " if u never picked the playbook up and used it for a min how can u say that there are better tablets out there when in fact u dont know nothing about it" Then i told him to come over to the tablet section and of course the playbook was the ONLY tablet that was not turned on. What a joke! i asked him to turn it on and i started demonstrating some of the fine things the playbook could do if u actually wanna learn about the device.. i showed him the multitasking, the blackberry bridge, hi res video and so.. so of course he turns around and says " i like to play "1st person shooter" games in my tablet and the playbook has none" So once again he had to be schooled.. i quickly clicked the blackberry app world and typed in "gameloft" in the search button and bam modern combat 2 and nova 2hd popped up. i showed him adrenaline and need for speed as well.. at the end of our conversation he couldnt believe what this playbook could do and said to me " which i thought was pretty funny" that he would order accessories for the playbook since they have every other accessory for every other tablet.. can some one please explain to me why none of these employees who work in these stores have any cluee on how to use the playbookkk.. thats my story.. i smiled and leftt

[grncherry1]

i walked into radioshack this afternoon and asked about playbook accessories to one of the employees.. his response while laughing was " to my knowledgement i have never seen anyone buy a playbook and so we have no accessories for it". So obviously i said to him have u ever shown a playbook to one of your customers who are looking for a tablet. he turns around and says " he doesnt show the playbook because he was never trained in it and that there are better tablets out there". So i said " if u never picked the playbook up and used it for a min how can u say that there are better tablets out there when in fact u dont know nothing about it" Then i told him to come over to the tablet section and of course the playbook was the ONLY tablet that was not turned on. What a joke! i asked him to turn it on and i started demonstrating some of the fine things the playbook could do if u actually wanna learn about the device.. i showed him the multitasking, the blackberry bridge, hi res video and so.. so of course he turns around and says " i like to play "1st person shooter" games in my tablet and the playbook has none" So once again he had to be schooled.. i quickly clicked the blackberry app world and typed in "gameloft" in the search button and bam modern combat 2 and nova 2hd popped up. i showed him adrenaline and need for speed as well.. at the end of our conversation he couldnt believe what this playbook could do and said to me " which i thought was pretty funny" that he would order accessories for the playbook since they have every other accessory for every other tablet.. can some one please explain to me why none of these employees who work in these stores have any cluee on how to use the playbookkk.. thats my story.. i smiled and leftt

Seems like a BS narration to me too.

[anthogag]

Yes you could be right. Someone could be painting a story because I've been to Radio Shack and I've never experienced this kind of thing. This person could be starting a fictionalized account to see where it leads.

[anon(4018671)]

I have never found anything useful at radio shack. I remember they used to have a commercial that said, "You've got questions? We've got answers", and maybe years ago that was true. I reworded it to "You've got questions? We've got duh".

Its not that I want to stick up for Radio Shack, here in Canada its called the Source. But near me, probably since its the only thing around, they are pretty good and motivated. I don't like shop there, the products are over priced eg, $25 micro HDMI 6' long. Its too bad but I'm not a sucker...all the time

Good job enlightening the sales guy, not everyone is motivated at that pay scale... its "just" a pay cheque

[Economist101]

Even CEO Can't Figure Out How RadioShack Still In Business

FORT WORTH, TX�Despite having been on the job for nine months, RadioShack CEO Julian Day said Monday that he still has "no idea" how the home electronics store manages to stay open.

"There must be some sort of business model that enables this company to make money, but I'll be damned if I know what it is," Day said. "You wouldn't think that people still buy enough strobe lights and extension cords to support an entire nationwide chain, but I guess they must, or I wouldn't have this desk to sit behind all day."

The retail outlet boasts more than 6,000 locations in the United States, and is known best for its wall-sized displays of obscure-looking analog electronics components and its notoriously desperate, high-pressure sales staff. Nevertheless, it ranks as a Fortune 500 company, with gross revenues of over $4.5 billion and fiscal quarter earnings averaging tens of millions of dollars.

"Have you even been inside of a RadioShack recently?" Day asked. "Just walking into the place makes you feel vaguely depressed and alienated. Maybe our customers are at the mall anyway and don't feel like driving to Best Buy? I suppose that's possible, but still, it's just...weird."

After taking over as CEO, Day ordered a comprehensive, top-down review of RadioShack's administrative operations, inventory and purchasing, suppliers, demographics, and marketing strategies. He has also diligently pored over weekly budget reports, met with investors, taken numerous conference calls with regional managers about "circulars or flyers or something," and even spent hours playing with the company's "baffling" 200-In-One electronics kit. Yet so far none of these things have helped Day understand the moribund company's apparent allure.

"Even the name 'RadioShack'�can you imagine two less appealing words placed next to one another?" Day said. "What is that, some kind of World War II terminology? Are ham radio operators still around, even? Aren't we in the digital age?"

"Well, our customers are out there somewhere, and thank God they are," Day added.

One of Day's theories about RadioShack's continued solvency involves wedding DJs, emergency cord replacement, and off-brand wireless telephones. Another theory entails countless RadioShack gift cards that sit unredeemed in their recipients' wallets. Day has even conjectured that the store is "still coasting on" an enormous fortune made from remote-control toy cars in the mid-1970s.

Day admitted, however, that none of these theories seems particularly plausible.

"I once went into a RadioShack location incognito in order to gauge customer service," Day said. "It was about as inviting as a visit to the DMV. For the life of me, I couldn't see anything I wanted to buy. Finally, I figured I'd pick up some Enercell AA batteries, though truthfully they're not appreciably cheaper than the name brands."

"I know one thing," Day continued. "If Sony and JVC start including gold-tipped cable cords with their products, we're screwed."

In the cover letter to his December 2006 report to investors, "Radio Shack: Still Here In The 21st Century," Day wrote that he had no reason to believe that the coming year would not be every bit as good as years past, provided that people kept on doing things much the same way they always had.

Despite this cheerful boosterism, Day admitted that nothing has changed during his tenure and he doesn't exactly know what he can do to improve the chain.

"I'd like to capitalize on the store's strong points, but I honestly don't know what they are," Day said. "Every location is full of bizarre adapters, random chargers, and old boom boxes, and some sales guy is constantly hovering over you. It's like walking into your grandpa's basement. You always expect to see something cool, but it never delivers."

Added Day: "I may never know the answer. No matter how many times I punch the sales figures into this crappy Tandy desk calculator, it just doesn't add up."

Even CEO Can't Figure Out How RadioShack Still In Business | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

[tommynap01]

"Seems like a BS narration to me too" hey grncherry u think its bs.. do me a favor and go to bayridge brooklyn and ask one of the employees who works there on a saturday if its bull****.. im sure you'll find the right one