The lights are off, everything is cold and nobody is home. That pretty much sums up my experience at Radio Shack. I went into the store to buy a connector cable for my sons scientific calculator. “I sold the last one yesterday,” the sales-girl remarked giving me names of competitors, who were located miles away, and the proverbial, “you can buy it online.” I admired her seven piercings on each ear lobe and silently wondered if she had lost some of her brain power through the multiple holes in her head.
She turned her back to me and continued her idle chatter with her manager who never bothered to acknowledge me. Tough to miss a big, potentially loud, guy like me.
I continued to browse, feeling desperate because of my sons upcoming exam, looking for a solution. The ‘new’ associate — “I have been working here only for a week” — finally found me something that would work. Problem solved. Never coming here again.
As I walked out I realized that they were not interested in selling me any product, or providing me with any service. Maybe my experience is symbolic of a management problem and that’s why they are closing 1,100 stores across the country? If you open a store and don’t take care of your customers, you will shut down — every time.
The lesson is simple. Take care of your customers. Hire the right people. Solve problems — don’t sell products. Maybe a warm fuzzy feeling should be part of the service experience, as opposed to the ice cold reality of a closed refrigerator.
About Hemant Rustogi