Staff quality at Radio Shack

[Phil]

On 5 Nov 2015, at 13:31, Joseph Bento wrote:

> You have questions, we have blank looks.
> 
> It really angers me to see what has happened to a store I once loved.
> 
> Joe, N6DGY

We have a similar situation with "Maplin Electronics" in the UK. I remember the first shop in the early 1970s, where the staff were all electronics buffs and very helpful and friendly. They'd be happy to recommend a cheaper component or sketch out a circuit for power supply, for instance. The business fluorished, expanded and all the staff were promoted to managers and moved elsewhere. Service gradually deteriorated and the blank looks took over. The business still remains (triumphing over Tandy UK), but for years it has been at the pointless computer accessories / mobile phones / RC toys level. The shops do sell individual components, but service is slow, prices sky-high, and you have to check everything before you leave to make sure it's correct.

However, we dinosaurs have to accept that times have changed, amateur 'component-level' hobbyists will no longer support a network of shops staffed with knowledgeable people (it's hard enough to find people who speak English), and fortunately, in the UK at least, on-line purchasing and rapid delivery services offer an acceptable (maybe improved) service.

Reading a 1968 copy of Practical Wireless recently reminded me that bog-standard transistors at that time retailed for six shillings (45 cents US at today's prices) each. Given that my pocket money then was only five shillings a week, it's hardly surprising that I got very little built! For equivalent teenage buying power today, kids can jump in with an Arduino and achieve much more. The world has changed, brother!

Phil M1GWZ