Oddly enough I have a different story about Radio Shack.  Like the rest of you, every once in awhile I've gotta stop in there.  There is a RS not far away from me that I'll stop in, the first time I go in, there's this HUGE chick working in there.  She asks if she can help me, I say no.  Blow past her, wander around looking for my part.  I finally ask her.  Give her a 'dumbed-down" description of what I was looking for.  She looks at me like I'm a moron, walks to a drawer and hands me the part.  

That type of thing went on for years, she really knew her shit.  I was so impressed how seriously she took her job that I gave her my card, told her if she was ever looking for a change to call me.  

I stopped in about a month ago and looked for Crystal and she was gone.  Moved to another store.  I was sad. :(

She wasn't friendly, she didn't smile.  She was polite and knew her shit.  What more can you ask for?  

Thanks Mac :-)

I may have worded that wrong - I didn't try to get a job at Radio Shack for 15 years :-)

It was just that during that 15-year span, Radio Shack was the ONLY place that turned me down. Every other job that I applied for (during that time period), I got, although it wasn't really that many.

When I went to DeVry in NJ back in '94-'96 I used to go to Radio Shack for electronic parts. Your average resistors, caps, breadboards and basic PCBs.
I haven't been to RS since then much, but few months ago I was looking for some parts that I used to get from RS on regular basis and my local (New Mexico) RS didn't stock any of them.
The guy behind the counter told me that they were moving away from electronic component in the stores to just having them on the website; sad, sad indeed.

They are idiots because we can get those electronic parts for pennies on the dollar. The only reason people buy that stuff is because its convenient. If they think that they are going to stay alive with mobile phones and HTIBs they better wake up. Best Buy is getting hammered into that market. Radio Shack cant compete with them.

The one thing I can't stand is that different Radio Shacks have different hours. Some open at 9, some at 10. 10 is WAY to late for a retail store to open. I don't go there much, but when I do it is sometimes on the way to a job n the morning when I realize I forgot something that they carry. Show up to find out they don't open for another two hours.

Radio Schlock is comatose, and the board is likely trying to figure out who might pay the most for the name, so that they might get a big bonus as a result of the buyout!

If I need real electronics items...

If I thought ahead: Digi-Key, Mouser, or AVNET
Last minute: Fry's, Altex, or a small Mom & Pop place here in Dallas, Tanner Electronics

I used to enjoy reading through the catalogs as a kid.....

Had to run in for basic 6 pin rj11 phone plugs and they had a 10 pack for $7.99.

The thread should be changed to Why I Used To Love Radio Shack.

This was my absolute favorite place to go as a kid, now I try to avoid the stores because of all the nonsense and dribble that comes out of employee's mouth. And they have almost nothing I want, kind of like an ex wife.

Other places, such as MCM electronics, PArts Express, and Jameco have grown and they guys are dying.