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RadioShack Stops Being Nosy
jackbang writes "One small but positive step in the gradual erosion of personal privacy and increase of corporate intrusiveness - RadioShack will no longer ask for your name and address when all you want to do is buy some batteries. Now if only they would agree to remove the motion sensor that rings a bell every time someone walks in or out of the store..." Always freaked me out being asked my address just to buy some solder or something.
Now if they'd only start selling cables for a reasonable price. Can anywone explain to me why a six foot audio costs $10 while the twenty foot cable costs $13. who needs 20 feet of cable for headphone extension anyway? oh yeah, Last time I was there, They didn't sell the 3 foot cables anymore either.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
For a while, when working with my video capture/playback setup, RS was the only place where I could buy cables and connectors like I needed. This is no longer the case now that Best Buy carries a wider selection of this sort of thing. At the time, however, I would get an ATM withdrawal before going and pay for the cables, adapters, and one time wall-plates with cash.
"What's your phone number?" I would always be asked.
"You need to have that for a cash purchase?" I replied.
"Uhm..."
Since RS employess get a comission. (Do they still?) They were always quick to try to keep me from leaving. Most of the time I could see that they would type their own or dummy information into the computer when I refused to give them mine.
The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!
Also, I remember when they put up the privacy policy in late 2000. It didn't seem to allay customers fears. Instead, I would tell them to just give me fake information
13 year old white supremacists are shitty web designers.
I made a purchase at Toys R Us one day and gave them my info. I got a call about a week later. They wanted feedback on my shopping experience in exchange for a $5 gift certficate. I spent the time with them, but never got the certificate.
I don't think they were trying to mislead me, but they blew an opportunity there. I'm happy to share my info as long as they reward me for it, but failing to send me the gift certificate changed my mind about that. Now, when I go there, I decline to give them my info when they ask for it and I explain why.
Companies like Radio Shack need to realize that they have to reward their customers if they're made to jump through extra hoops.
I remember Radio Shack started asking for customer info back in the mid Eighties. This was after a rash of abortion clinic bombings and Mail bombs. I figured that the Government Pressured Radio shack to track Customer purchases, so that if the Government found a chard micro switch in the bomb debris they could subpoena all the records from the local Shack to see who was purchasing these parts.
I suspect that The Microsoft Passport system works the same way..... Microsoft claims that they will protect your data, but the Government just needs a secret court order to get it. I would not be surprised if Microsoft starts offering to log your PGP keys..... for convenience
W.S.
I used to work for a Radio Shack dealer store and the pressure to get the addresses was constant because we got money from Radio Shack for each address we provided. When I was taken to task about my low address count one day, my buddy was offered up as an example: HE got over 90%. So I asked him how he did it. His secret? He used to copy random names down from the phonebook when the store was slow!
Yes, you got added to a mailing list--Radio Shack's. Nobody else got your address. They were religious about that and if anybody ever suggested to the people in marketing that it was otherwise, they witnessed somebody turning purple with apoplexy.
They jealously guarded their lists because they viewed their mailing list as a competitive advantage. Nationwide, marketers who send direct mail advertisements are ecstatic if they get a response rate of 1/2 a percent. Radio Shack had something like a 40% response rate on its direct mail advertisements. They weren't about to give that up to anybody else.
I myself have been victimized by this. They keep track of what you have bought and returned. If you returned too many things that costs a bit ( The stuff they make commision on ) they will stop selling you anything and have that manager tell you that you can't buy the item. I have had this happen on more than one occasion.
I can assure you that this is totally commision related. The last time they told me NO they looked up my history and said "You return too much stuff". This is what is so bad about tracking your name is now the salesman can check your name to see if your someone he should waste his time on.
I remember a few years ago, when Radio Shack was the talk of the takeovers and such. The customer data base was valued as much as the rest of their assets combined.
Many people might not know this, but Radio Shack employees get fired if they don't keep their Name/Address percentage up. My store required at least 80% of all purchases to have it (when I worked there). Naturally, MUCH less than 80% of all people would willingly give it. Everybody always thought they were so frickin' smart ("Cash; Johnny." "Simpson; Bart"). Radioshack didn't even use it for mailing. ^_^
Anyways, so myself and the other employees started entering these people as a 'Mr. Customer' who lived at (our store's address). After 3 months of this, our boss called a meeting where he printed a 28' long list of everything 'Mr. Customer' had purchased there from the reciept printer.
The moral of the story? I dunno, but I sure like being modded down!
---- I'll take you in a Hunt deathmatch any day.
As it has already been said you can just say no anytime your asked for your personal info. But what you may not know ( or may not have thought of) is WHY they ask you in the first place. Ok yeah, tracking statitics and what not, but that's not what I mean. The reason this still goes on in many retail stores is because people don't say no. They figure it's part of the process of purachasing whatever. If people would start refusing to divulge information, companies would be less apt to attempt to get it from you.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. It's just that yours is stupid.
Well, you aren't so far off. A DoD contractor (Northrop) did indeed buy parts from Radio Shack to be used in the MX missiles' guidance system (see 4th paragraph). Granted, these purchases were not supposed to be made in the first place, but doesn't this make you feel more safe?
I tried every decent and legal way I could think of to resolve the issue w/the business before I rented the chicken suit
Well, one day (this must have been 1989) I went in and bought something minor and the shop assistant asked for my name and address. Well, I knew darned well what they wanted it for, because I was getting three Tandy catalogues all with different variations of my name and address so I told him "no".
He said: "But you have to give me your name and address."
"Why?"
"Because I can't sell you this without it."
"Rubbish. You just want to put me on your mailing list."
Well, the argument proceeded and he wouldn't sell me the stuff and frankly REALLY pissed me off big time.
This was a bad move, because in the UK you're not allowed to collect personal information to store on a computer system without a) making it clear an b) registering that you are going to do so.
I checked Intertan's (Tandy's parent company) registrations details. It turned out that they hadn't registered properly. BIG mistake number 2.
So, I complained to the Data Protection Registrar that I believed that Intertan were breaking the law. They tried to contact Intertan. Intertan refused to talk to them. BIG mistake number 3.
Eventually this escalated and finally Intertan caved in and stopped asking. Well at least for a couple of years. I stopped shopping there in the end. Mind you, so did everyone else and they shut down :)
Never email donotemail@WeAreSpammers.com
Actually, their original rationale was to collect addresses for their sale catalogues that they mass mailed. At some point they stopped sending them and that was when I told them, "No, you can't have my name and address." Didn't seem to phase the clerks any. It's not like they wouldn't sell to you or something.
On a similar note, in Maryland, it's no longer legal to ask for your phone number when making a credit purchase unless their's some valid reason for collecting it, like they actually need to call you up or something.
Hic iacet Arthurus, rex quondam rexque futurus.
I make a point of going into radio shacks, loading up on expensive things, and then, when asked about my name and address, looking VERY peeved and saying, No, and I don't like that kind of treatment and walkign out of teh store without buying anything at all. That really gets thier attention.
My experience has been worse - I get dirty looks or some rubbish about why they want my phone number. Other places are cooler about it. Babies 'R Us (in Maryland), always asks for your phone, and I always state: We don't give out our phone number..., and the clerk just enters (999)999-9999. They're pretty blase in there, but I got the impression that the Radio Shack guys were getting paid by the address.
Anyway, who needs Radio Shack? They;ve alienated their core customers in a futile atempt to compete with the Circuit Cities of the world. If you want a little cruel fun, go in there and ask them where they keep the 100 microFarad capacitors.
Helium balloons want to be free.
CC does a lot of weird things..
I bought a cd reader from them on black Friday last year, it was a 2 hour special. It was $50 but only $5 after rebate. When I installed it at home, it did not work. When I tried to take it back they offered me a different model in exchange as the one with the rebate was unavailable, of course this was $50 and no rebate. I was not paying that much for a cdrom drive, I only bought the damn thing initially because it was supposed to be $5. I refused and then they offered to take back the one I had for a $7 restocking fee. I argued back and forth and I was getting no where with the person that called himself manager at the time. I always take into consideration that there are two sides to every story, I try to see things from the others perspective when I deal with someone, this helps me understand a specific dealing and how to work with it. In this case I had a brain implosion as I could not understand the managers thought process or line of thinking. So, I took the next best step. I ripped the UPC symbol of the box, threw the cdrom and the rest of the box on the floor (with a decent force) and left the store. Yes it was somewhat irrational but I was very frustrated at what these guys were doing, we definitely had a misunderstanding..
It was cheaper for me in the end to send in the fucking rebate on the broken POS then it was to return it and pay a restocking fee. Previous to that I ran into a similar instance with them on a Sony car stereo, in the store the demo unit played every brand of cdr media and format (TAO/ DAO) I brought with me to test. I bought it and installed it in my car, well guess what, it only played like 2 of the 10 I tried in the store. Not specifically CC's fault but they refused to take the item back as in their eyes it was not defective. Their technical reasons (ie bullshit)for why it did not work were comical. Based on those experience and other smaller ones in the past, I made the assumption customer satisfaction is not one of their core initiatives.. I have not stepped foot in a CC since.
Bad boys rape our young girls but Violet gives willingly.
Being the sort who appreciates some security in my everyday transactions, I actually like it when the Radio Shack people ask for my zip code. (They've never asked me for a name, is that unusual?) The fact that they have some idea of where they sell more batteries is fine by me -- it allows them to build market demographics without a notable loss of my privacy, and I get improved availability of products I like.
:)
Likewise, I've been very encouraged to see some of those automated gas pumps now requiring that you key in a zip code from the billing statement -- not just possessing a credit card. Since I'm already providing my name and billing information through the credit card, this is not the invasion of privacy that some folks think it is. Yay authentication and authorization!
On the other hand, it used to be particularly irritating when I wrote a check and a clerk would insist that I provide a home phone number or even two phone numbers instead of some useful authorization info. (They're permitted to ask in my locale, but not allowed to require it.) After a particularly nasty incident at Ikea a few years ago -- when I declined to provide the number an assistant manager looked up my name in the phone directory and wrote the info on my check anyway, accompanied with a lot of foolish and insulting comments -- I decided to print TeleCheck's local phone number on the checks as a home phone. It doesn't stop the bad practice, but at least it protects my privacy a bit without wasting my time. (And it never comes up as a bad number
Most frustrating of all (recently) was an encounter with a certain large bank. To make a long story short, they informed me that electronic funds transfers can be executed by any merchant with my bank routing and account numbers. When I pointed out that the numbers are identification and not authorization, they replied (paraphrased) "Posession of the number IS authorization. If you didn't give them authorization, they wouldn't have the number." Can you believe a major bank thinks that possession of your authentication data is equal to authorization? AAUUUGGGHHH!!! When I pressed further and pointed out that the account & routing data is on every check that anyone writes, I was informed that they (the bank) know it's awful, but that's what the US Federal Reserve rules require. Double-AAUUUGGGHHH!!!
IMHO it's disappointing when the local Chevron station provides better financial transaction security than the bank managing my 401K.
-Jon
I think not...(*poof*)
I can tell you that it annoys us to ask nearly as much as it annoys you to be asked.
Having said that, I NEVER made a big deal out of it and answered honestly when asked what it was for: flyers, catalogues and for some items, the warranty. When customers seem upset about me asking for this information, I always tell them they can say, "No". There is no point in upsetting a customer about such a trivial matter. Most customers were good about it, especially when I tell them that saying "No" is completely OK and not a big deal to either of us. I never understood why some employees would make a huge production out of name and address. I would also apply a little common sense; If a customer was in a rush, if it was very busy or if the item was relatively minor I would not bother to ask.
In some cases, we really do need your address for such things as warranty. Some companies, Pana^H err something...will not accept a serial number for warranty, we require the original recepit (or our electronic copy) and postal code. We will not receive payment for the warranty from certain companies without this information. We can also look up your original receipt in the computer (we use SCO Unix in the back computer) and all receipt information is TAR'd and compressed by day. Without your address or at least your name, we have no way of knowing if you bought a particular item or not.
I do have a beef with people who would get upset to the point of anger. I am doing my job, it is a job requirement to ask for name and address. I have no choice, I try to make your shopping experience as pleasant as possible by knowing the products I sell and how to get you the best deal either by suggesting a product that will cost less and produce the same result or if an item will be on sale. Please realize that the person behind the counter is a person too, with feelings and a family and a paycheck (albeit a small one sometimes). Your anger only tranlates to frustration for me and possibly poorer service for my next customer.
Note that all of this information applies to RadioShack in Canada. Our American cousins are completely a different company and have different ownership and management and entirely different computer systems from what we use in Canada.
I don't understand what's the fuss about this:
I *always* give false names, address, preference,
etc. If it's a web site, it'll also be wrong age,
sex, just about anything.
As long it is not an offence (i.e dealing with
government agencies or other legal stuff), *never*
give true information.
If enough people do that, then, eventually, all
their databases will be crap.
I see I'm not the only camper whom this drove batty. I finally got fed up once, and emailed their top customer service executive about it. (What torqued me was that I wanted to pay with credit, but they HAD to get name/address to do it. I said `eff it` and spent my lunch money to get out of there without giving in).
The exec who replied said basically IIRC, that `the information is always optional, the associate in question must not have known that`. They promised to remind the regional ops people to in turn appraise the franchises about the `optionality` of the data-mining.
Of course now that I have read about the 90% quota thing, that kinda gives me a new slant on what they meant by `optional`.
+
-- Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
The serial number would/should be enough for the manufacturers warrenty. However if people get the radioshack warrenty we need the info to make sure that the warrenty is still covered, and to contact you when it's done being repaired, etc. Oh and to spam you with flyers and the such.
:)
The nice thing about the radioshack warrenty over the manufacturers warrenty is that on some items, especially phones, you bring in the old dead one and we replace it with the same model or a newer model with the same features right then and there. With a manufacturers warrenty you would have to send it out to them and wait several weeks for the problem to get solved.
Anyways I know this because I'm an ex-employee of radioshack. I quit after like a year for a couple reasons. 99% of the customers are rude, mean bastards. Salary + benefits are a joke unless your a district manager or higher in management. *Nickel raise every year, up to 4 years starting at minimum wage for hourly sales associates* Working at radioshack as a sales associate is like a step up from working at fast food, but with a TON more work, that changes daily and all for the same pay.
About 8 months in I just flat out stopped taking names and addresses. I honestly didn't look upon it as being very ethical. But that didn't stop me if it was a hot chick in those rare occasions
However, they do not have to accept cash in trade, if you do not owe them money. That is not a debt, you do not owe them anything. They can force you to pay in quarters (as, in fact, many candy machines do. Do you honestly think those are illegal because they will not take dimes and nickels?)
Now, if you go and open something on the way to the register, or even eat it, I guess you could legally claim you now owned them money and they had to accept cash. OTOH, they could have you arrested for theft, so it's not a good idea to argue at that point. While many stores will be lax about it, legally, you just damaged their possessions without permission.
There is no 'no turning back' point for a transaction. Either they agree to accept what you are offering, or they don't. You can't trick them into accepting one thing and then replace it with another of supposed equal value. Likewise, they can't accept payment form you, and then tack on an additional charge and force you to pay it. Transactions have either happened or they haven't, there's no middle ground. (Now, there's certainly debatable ground, like if you hand someone cash and the store gets robbed in the middle of it, but that's debating the point the line exists at, not that a solid line does, in fact, exist, where you both instantly switch possessions.)
If corporations are people, aren't stockholders guilty of slavery?
Anyway, who needs Radio Shack? They;ve alienated their core customers in a futile atempt to compete with the Circuit Cities of the world. If you want a little cruel fun, go in there and ask them where they keep the 100 microFarad capacitors.
Radio Shack has compressed their electronics section down to the metal cabinet because it is more profitable to sell other things. With the advent of such things as PCs, electronics tinkering just isn't nearly as popular as it used to be. When you add that to the fact that electronics components are ridiculously cheap, you can start to see that there is little money in being an electronics hobbyist store. It's more profitable to sell computers and PDAs, even if you don't sell very many.
Although, they could have more electronics than they have right now. Radio Shacks could get rid of all their useless shit that never sells (about half of what's in the store) and maybe make a bigger electronics section.
I remember a Dilbert cartoon in which he went to "Radio Barn" and tried to buy some resistors or something. The clerk refused to help him, as it was not worth his time to ring up a total 10 cents worth of resistors. When dilbert persisted, the clerk got pissed off and gave Dilbert the resistors for free.
If you don't understand any of my sayings, come to me in private and I shall take you in my German mouth.
All you had to do was say "No". I dunno about you guys, but the local Radio Shack people just let it go after that. It's not like you *had* to give your information.
I'm the stranger...posting to
Actually, I work at a Radio Shack, and AFAIK (don't hold me to this, though), they've asked for names and addresses for as long as they've been Radio Shack. On a tangent, though, you should have heard the cheering at our saturday morning meeting when they announced this... It was just as much of a pain for us as for you guys. Ever try to take down an accurate name/address for a hispanic guy with a thick accent who doesn't seem interested in saying it clearly?