@TCTH: Oh, he is. There are also quite a few interesting people joining the ranks of upper management. Seems that RS has become infected with Blockbuster's leftovers.

The only thing that I'm amazed by, is that RS is still floating comfortably in this economy despite what the majority of customers have to say about it.

I'll only go to RadioShack if there is absolutely no other store that sells what I am looking for.

that was 2007. i couldn't hack it anymore. i was on my 6th manager in less than a year, "customers first" changed to "reset endcaps 3 times/week", our CEO was given a shit-ton of money for lying on his resume, they laid off a whole building of people by email - it was just too much.

so, to answer your question, afaik, there is still a nominal commission schedule. SPIFFs still exist on new line cell contracts, SPs & RSAPs. but it's nowhere like what it was 5+ yrs ago. when i started, it wasn't hard to net $250-300/wk working 20 hrs. when i left, i was lucky to see $150/wk (net) for 25+ hrs.

Hit back, get him under control, then call the cops.

At least that's what I do.

-the time a guy bought our $400 metal detector & returned it 3 days later (after he found his wedding ring). & related - the time an out-of-towner bought the $1000 garmin to get around town & subsequently returned it before he went home.

-the time a woman wanted to return a gmrs walkie-talkie 18 months after she bought it & wanted her full $20 back (the item had gone disco & was down to ~$6). that lady was so persistent she extracted the DMs HOME NUMBER from his office. i think even he wanted to punch her in the face.

-the guy that kept buying & returning an onkyo home theater saying it was defective (it wasn't; i tested it. & i tested the 2nd one he bought/returned). the third time he came back, i gave him the first unit he returned & kept cycling the same units, but a punch would've been so much more satisfying.

-every time someone tried to return their spent watch batteries as defective.

-every time i had to have the argument that no, you did not buy that item here. we don't sell [insert walmart/target/circuit city off-brand].

then, of course, there was the endless stream of "do you think they sell this next door (walmart) cheaper?", or, "can you help me set up this device i bought at [competing retailer]?"

come to think of it, that job made me awfully tense...

Yep, you definitely need to make sure the tubes are always wide enough. Also, make sure its not clogged with all those dropped packets!

Does the employee have a history of mental instability[?]

apparently you missed the part of the story where he works at RADIOSHACK!!!1!

seriously though, as a former employee who stayed thru 3 pay raises* before i could no longer handle the widespread stupidity, i think mental instability is kind of a given.

*actually a pay cut & not the primary reason i left. the primary reason would be b/c i refused to sign a document that gave them the power to garnish my wages if they determined i was liable in causing the store a loss - a practice that is illegal in most (if not every) state.

@nakedscience: the problem nowadays is that it's against the law to not hire a lunatic, as lunacy is a medical condition and it'd be a violation of fair labor laws

Im sure there is more to the story. Unless the guy had mental issues I don't think he'd beat a guy's face in for asking to speak to a manager. Maybe the two knew each other personally and were already enemies or something.

To paraphrase Paul Harvey ...

"Can we have the rest of the story".

Not saying the customer is at fault, but I suspect there is more to this story than a product return.

Neither, it seems, is pissing on your computer.

@Customer_Service_Slave: That attitude is why you'll never be a big boy.

I can see why someone would do that.

Customer: Im returning this phone
RS employee:the phone has obvious corrosion from water damage.
customer; ITS NOT WATER DAMAGE!
RS manager-Its water damaged
Customer: Your employee is a jackass, its not water damaged at all...

Keep in mind,the phone looked like it came from the RMS Titanic.

True story. I sure felt tempted to punch that dude out that day....

I was wondering how a guy who looks like that could get a customer-facing position, and then I realized it was Wisconsin.

@AlbertaKabobbing: they had shattered the screen and spilled beer on it (and, I later found out, urinated on it while drunk).

I tend to do this every time I use my citrix enabled work computer. so slow. But I am not drunk when I do it... Although I might as well be - as attempting to work with citrix basiclly ensures that nothing is going to get done anyway.

The employee is my hero. So many times I wish I coulda done, but didn't have the balls.

You guys don't understand what it's like when you tell someone no, and they undermine your authority and go over your head. It basically says, okay, I hear what you are saying, but you are not important enough for me to take a no and leave. Move your little ass over so I can talk to a big boy.

:P

Not that I think the customer somehow "deserved" it, just that there must be some backstory or additional information not included here. Such as, maybe the two of them knew each other and had been in a fight before in a non-Radio Shack setting?

The possibilities are endless. Some investigation is in order.

[i41.tinypic.com]

@S-Meow P-Meow:
that was a good fark quote

@spongebue:
well technically the antenna will work, it just won't be picking up any stations since they're going to stop broadcasting on those bands in most regions after the DTV switch...

@mrm514: Did the customer hit the cashier first? If not, then the cashier is still at fault. You don't hit customers (unless it is self-defense, and from what little we know, it does not seem like it).

It's just that, well, I've rarely heard of anyone getting a punch in the face just for making said demand. I think there most have been some other corroborating factor that set him off.

@Trai_Dep: And then YOU would get sued or tossed in jail.

@Pixelantes Anonymous: I'd have called the cops!

Recently I was in charge of like, 50 volunteers for a big event which included serving booze. One of our volunteers got drunk on the job (no no no!) so we kicked her out. Then she tried to come back to sneak more alcohol, so one of our other volunteers told her to leave. And then she punched him (the drunk girl). Thankfully the dude thought it was hilarious.

The mugshot makes me imagine that this guy smells like rotted onions, sweat, and dumpster juice.

@Corporate_guy: I'd say it would depend on several factors. Did this guy have a record of losing his temper? Does he have a record of any sort? If he has a record, or has a history of losing his temper, I'd say Radio Shack could be held liable for hiring a known lunatic.

We don't know that, of course, but if I was the person who got punched, you better believe I would try to find that out, and not just assume Radio Shack didn't know.

That's a violation of Visa's terms of service and every time someone's tried to pull it on me I end up with a refund AND I get to keep whatever it was I was trying to return in the first place.

You are, however, correct in that some stores only stock certain items. Because they're such small stores (the one I worked at a few years ago was 1000Sq Feet) they stock what sells in that area. The store was in an area for older people, so we stocked one copy of Grand Theft Auto IV when it came out. While other stores stocked 30 copies. We also didn't sell many TVs so we typically only had the floor model in stock. It all depends on where the store is located.

Oh, also, the online in-store stock checker lies on everything except Wii stock. Just something that always drove me nuts.

Very provoking.

Reminds me of this one roid-rage specimen in a bar in Newport, RI once. We had one person, who didn't have an ID with him, with our party. He was over the age limit, just couldn't prove it. The bouncer wouldn't let us in...no biggie. We asked to speak to the manager, in case he'd make an exception. The bouncer almost mugged us. Followed us outside, started ripping his shirt off. I kid you not.

And now he's going to be paste.

Thank you, come again.

I had a nice chat with an owner/manager about this once, where he told me that if I were to return a certain iPod FM transmitter to his store, he'd have to pay me and then get in his car and drive to the corporate-owned location a few miles away to actually get any money back for it.

working at radio shack was easily the worst job i ever had, the lies to us and the ones they wanted us to tell the customers resulted in me walking out after about a week.

The first rule of Radio Shack. You don't talk about returning items.

The second rule of Radio Shack. You don't talk about returning items.

The first rule about Radio Shack Customer Service is that you don't talk about Radio Shack Customer Service.

They got furious with me when I decline.

Official Radio Shack policy dictates that if returns come through the door, beat the shit out of the customer until they run. Then, they'll know not to fuck with Radio Shack.

Signed,

CEO

[i40.tinypic.com]

@WiglyWorm: Well, I assume the employee has issues and therefore doesn't care about these policies and rather, just wanted to punch some guy in the face.

@dragonfire81: I don't care if the customer told the dude to punch him, you don't punch your employers.

As a former Radio Shack employee, I can tell you that store managers and employees are empowered to (and encouraged to) take care of any issue under the $50 threshold with a cash refund regardless of reciept, purchase date or anything else.

Under $100 dollars they are empowered (and, again, encouraged) to take care of you with either cash with a receipt or gift card without (again, regardless of purchase date).

Under $500 dollars you will have to clear it with the district manager if you don't have a receipt, but you should still at least get a gift card.

Also, if you do give them your name when you purchase it (yes, you will get the catalog in your mail for a period as a result of giving out your name, even if they tell you otherwise), they can look up your receipt online and take care of you that way.

UNRULY CUSTOMER - "Can I please speak with your manager?"

HELPFUL CLERK - "Sure, the manager is RIGHT HERE, and here's his assistant...POW! Is there anything else I can assist you with?"

Wow some people just snap. I want to know if the OP was still able to return his merchandise.

Not that there's any excuse for his behavior, I'd just be interested to find out more details.

Oh and kudos on the awesome pic with the post, Punch-out was awesome back in the day.

I smell lawsuit for radio shack.

Some of their items cannot be returned. The problem is that they don't tell you which items cannot be returned (at least the one I went to didn't), nor did they put any kind of sticker on the shelves. They do, however, have little words ON THE RECEIPT saying "This item cannot be returned..."

Basically no one would know that an item cannot be returned until AFTER they buy it...

Violence is not the answer!