In the 70’s and 80’s, there was nothing better for a boy than going by the local Radio Shack while shopping in the mall.

Rows and rows of really cool electronics.

Headphones, radio scanners, shortwave radios, metal detectors and batteries, batteries and batteries.

They even had their own computer!

One of the first things I carried when I first got a wallet was my battery club card.

It was a feeling like Christmas when I got to go and get my free battery!

There was also half the store dedicated to all kinds of cables, wires, connectors, and what seemed like a billion little pieces of electronic do-dads. I did not even know at the time what they were but they were cool.

Remember all the TV antennas hanging from the ceiling?

For the younger ones, the antenna was needed because cable didn’t exist and they looked like this:

I think the coolest things I ever got from Radio Shack was the electronic project kits.

30-in-1, 60-in-1, 160-in-1 and the almighty 200-in-1 with the computer chips, digital display and slick plastic enclosure?

I would spend my nights or weekend days building the circuits from the instruction book. Then changing some components or values and see what happened. This was really fun and taught me the fundamentals of electronics that carried with me through high school and I use in my job now everyday.

I learned and it was fun!

In the early 90’s I got a chance to work for “The Shack”.

It was fun and I got to enjoy a lot of the things in the store and talk with people about the electronics and answer their questions. I was there for the fun.

It was a part-time job for fun and a little extra money. Emphasize “little”.

Radio Shack had a commission structure that would cause most people to make about minimum wage.

When the holidays came and you knew your sales numbers would go through the roof, they chopped your commission and you really didn’t make any more, but you worked a lot more and dealt with the crazy holiday shoppers.

Radio Shack prices were higher, but most people trusted the brand, so they would still buy there. They did not have the internet to compete with, so nobody else around had the unique things they did.

Most of the electronics by that time were all re branded items from the lowest priced manufacturer.

It was clear that it was a money grab from those who could still afford it. The small electronic parts were still a good seller and one of the few places that would locally have the part you needed.

After I left “The Shack”, technology was changing rapidly. Radio Shack was selling more and more cell phones, which brought in more crowds. They also had long dropped their computer line in favor of the IBM PC compatible models.

Then they began to bulk up on the cell section. Have a few more toys and add more mainstream electronics. By the mid-2000’s the electronic components, cables, connectors and bulbs were about two 8-foot aisles.

Batteries that they do stock are mainly common ones. Most of the “cool stuff” is still available online or sold under other names on Amazon.

Today I read that Radio Shack is facing it’s demise and may not last much past the 2014 Christmas season.

Watching this over the years, I have come to the conclusion that there are two glaring factors that led to this company going the way of Circuit City, Blockbuster and the dinosaurs.

First, it began a long time ago. Before I worked there. I really noticed it and could see that they would not sustain themselves because of it.

Employee appreciation, or shall I say, lack of!

The pay was bad. I was lucky that I was there for fun. A friend was becoming a manager. The pay wasn’t much better and the hours were horrible. I was shocked when my first Christmas season was coming and saw that they cut commission, just for the season. It was a pure money grab.

During my time, I knew of lots of employee theft. It was not because these people worked there to be thieves, but some saw it as additional compensation.

After a while, the only people that would work there were people that would just take a job.

Don’t ask questions, they don’t have answers.

You also went to Radio Shack because most of the people working there were fellow geeks. We loved and knew what we sold. The campaign was “You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers!”

Eventually you get what you pay for.

I am not saying all Radio Shack employees are clueless, just that there are far less knowledgeable ones than there used to be.

Customer Focus, another lack!

Radio Shack was the place to go when anything that plugged into the wall, car or ran on batteries needed repair or replacement.

Lost a knob? Radio Shack has one.

9-volt battery connector broke? Radio Shack has one.

Need a switch, bulb, wire, connector, battery holder or headphone plug or jack? Radio Shack has them.

Need to build a child’s science fair project or buy stuff to learn about electronics? Again to “The Shack.”

Although there are a lot less of us electronic geeks around, there is still a need. Maybe if they pushed more of the kids electronics kits or encouraged schools, through electronic parts and kit donations, to teach electrical/electronic fundamentals, those kids would be back to purchase newer and better kits and parts.

As an adult and in today’s world, it would have benefited them to carry newer technology.

Carry kits and parts for Arduino and other micro controller projects. What they have now is great for the basics, but you leave people hanging after that.

With the need for skilled engineers, it would be great if kids knew how to program these controllers and could know interfacing hardware with software. This stuff is not going anywhere.

Oh, and make it a little affordable and please hire people who know about it to sell it. Maybe offer classes in it.

If you want to sell something, you need people to want it. Don’t just put it on a shelf and say “here it is!”

If people are not excited about it, people won’t buy it.

Make them excited and don’t try to just do what others do.

You are not the others.

Brad Lawson

P.S. For a little stroll down Radio Shack memory lane, I found this really cool site:

http://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/