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My husband works for this company and I cannot count on one hand how many dinners, time with our children, or time at home in general with his family he has spent since working for this company. First off, the managers he is in charge of are the most petty, uneducated, unproductive group of people I have ever seen in my life.

They have more excuses than they have performance and coming from a manager in sales with a 10 year background, I cannot tell you how many times I have shook my head at the complete ridiculousness of these people and wonder how many of them have ever managed to stay employed for longer than a year. My husband is NEVER home. Our kids never see him unless its in a rare chance he is walking in the door as they are hopping in their beds to go to sleep. When he is off work and at home, he is constantly on his phone with BS issues all the time and isn't able to focus on anything to do with his family.

He is so stressed out that he is making himself ill. His boss and the other micro-managing jerks are constantly calling conference calls for hours on end which keep him behind on everything. They waste so much time talking and chatting about the same *** and "what are you going to do about it"3+ times a day about the same things, no one gets anything done. I wish I had known that this job would have been this way so I could have told him to keep looking for a different job.

This company has unqualified, incompetent people working for it and it's not surprising that their profits have fallen drastically. If your people aren't happy and you have the same retail-challenge, thieving drones working your stores, you can't be surprised that it's failing.

I'm not really a fan of big box retail stores, but I hope Best Buy buys them out and revamps that company the way it should be because Radio Shack is ripping and *** off customers,and ruining families. No child deserves what my children and many other families are going through having their mother, father, husband or wife workign for this slave-driving rollercoaster of people barking orders than have no idea how to fix the problems in front of them even though the answer is so simple.

Location: Bellingham, Massachusetts

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Guest

As the wife of a LONG time former Shacker manager, I'm here to tell you that, once upon a time, RS DID care for its employees and did care for the their families.

That went totally out the door when Julian Day and his reign of terror started in 2006. He, along with his VP Store Ops, Bryan Bevin, wrecked total havoc on employees, firing knowledgeable employees and using a management philosophy of "management by intimidation." IOW, they didn't give a rat's *** who you were - you were totally replaceable.

Anyone with >10 years experience had a target on their back. They didn't care.

Day brought Bevin over from Blockbuster, a failed company, and he in turn brought more over from the failed company. NONE of them knew squat about running a retail company or managing people.

You touched on micromanagement.

That was quite evident, even when my hubby left in 2008/9. This bunch of failures took a decent company and put it right down the drain with their total incompetence.

Guest

Radioshack has a long standing psychological method of micromanagement from the top on down and a business philosophy of negative reinforcement that what an employee does is never quite good enough. The theory is that it the employees will basically become brainwashed anf submissive to this emotionally unreasonable treatment.

They start with a small compliment then go into great detail as to all the many things that you haven't done correctly or have done a miserable job with and that everyone else can do it with no problem. They propagate this until one either quits or submits totally is their theory which will work to some degree with employees that have poor work ethic while good low maintenance, self sufficient, conscientious, outstanding associates will either do the pragmatic thing and leave this large scale trickle down " Patty Hearst syndrome" company or they will be like a broken, beaten down thoroughbred no longer having the will they once had and only a vague shadow of their former selves.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-893940

This is what happened to me! Totally ruined my life working at store #6634 in Champaign, IL.

Guest

Radio shack sucks. They used to be a good place to work for up to the early 90's before they started with pushing cell phones down everyones throat.

The best thing anyone who still works there to do is find another job now and quit. If enough people quit it will drive this company into bankruptcy sooner because there will be no one to open the stores.

Guest

i worked for that company for 5 years from a regular sales associate to an assistant manager the dms in the region only promote spanish individual if you look at the environement everybody is hispanic from dm to store manager i asked him for a promotion and 3 weeks later he told me that he got somebody that been with the company for 2 weeks as manager

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-648912

I over stepped someone who was working for 3 years... it all depends on your sales and personality. Your DM just didn't think you were qualified

rglazner g

annonymousmother i feel your pain i just left radioshack in aug. as store manager because of the bs miicro mamagment i was employed as a manager for two years and took a low performing store in my district to a top 100 store in company and recieved for manager of the months in 2011 and when i asked for family medical leave due to a non work related injury i was told no even though i was under dr care and was made to feel that if i didnt work throught the injury my job would be in jeporidy i finelly got fed up enough that i said screw it a walked away at the begining of my shift just left the keys on the table and walked out i do miss helpping the customers and the interaction between myself and my employees just didnt like the bs and direction that the company is going

Guest

When I was employed but Radio Shack, it sucked. I worked there back in the day when they took your name an address.

It drove me nuts, I had a customer tell me once that he knew of people who would not shop at Radio Shack for that reason. Employees who did not know what they were doing.

You have know life outside Radio Shack during the Christmas season. Radio Shack will go under.

Guest

I was a store manager for 5 years. I worked 52+ hours a day and more.

I even cut some of the hours I worked to save on hours. You'd be surprised to know just how many managers do that. I did that for 5 years and was a very successful store manager. That being said- I also wound up in the hospital twice.

The second time I almost died. Since I resigned- My family has thanked me because they said it was killing me. I will tell you that things rise and fall on leadership - no matter where it comes from. For instance?

Lack of gratitude... When my boss said on a conference call once- in front of everyone that I had no sense of humor... and that I was to serious... so that when we were at a major conference and I thought cool- I get to hang out with my boss.

I snapped a picture of him and (it wasn't the best) but it was a candid type of a shot. I sent it to one of the people in the district and they wanted to know why he wasn't smiling. I thought it was funny and he wanted to know why i was laughing and I told him i sent the pic he didn't like to such and such... He then got very serious (in front of his peers) and said my level of professionalism has just been lowered.

He said that in front of everyone! Other DMs! I told him it was all in fun... he then proceeded to threaten me with my job pertaining to my assistant and told me I have not seen anything yet.

So on that note I showed him I indeed did have a sense of humor. I was crushed that he dissed me like that in front of everyone. It was then I decided if he felt that badly about me that why do I work so hard for him?? You know after reading the above post - Its no wonder why managers have issues with their DM's and its no wonder that DM's will have issues as long as they portray an air of arrogance and better than attitude instead of gratitude.

Just saying...

If the post is just a hint at the indication of how we as Managers are looked at then its no wonder. Maybe people should take a look in the mirror.

Guest

When they address upper management, the rest will fall into play. To much micro manageing and not enough looking at the correct numbers.

Til then they will lose the few good managers left and we will see continued turn over with people who have no clue how to run a radio shack store. And I also know the manager who died on the job, And was deeply saddened by it for he was one of my training managers.

Guest

Oh, you've got this right. Managers are coerced into a fifty hour week, two to ten conference calls a week, calls at home on your day off from staff and execs...it actually killed one of the managers in my district.

That's right...dead, dead, and buried, all because of the pressure from an *** DM named Tom who thought the best way to manage was to turn up the pressure to intolerable levels. Good lord, it's just a store that sells mediocre electronics. If these execs weren't so busy worrying about losing their jobs and focusing on the needs of each store, then it wouldn't be that bad a place to call home. Another manager in the same district had to leave because the stress had landed him in the hospital a number of times.

One senior associate had a stroke. One of the training managers left in disgust. Several left because they feared termination. Every day the jobs of the managers were threatened because of some ridiculous quota like selling dish network subscriptions or iphone 3 just before the release of iphone 4.

Some help was given to us by human resources when the DM got out of hand, but no real changes were made. When you scrape the coating of BS off the company, it actually isn't a bad place. It's not a happy place, that's for sure, but so few places are. Anonymousmother, make sure he doesn't forget that family comes first and a job is only a job.

For one friend, the choice was taken away from him and he was taken from his family. Such are the masters he served, insane and ungrateful.

Guest

It's all about how you manage your staff at that company. I have worked there for five years so far.

I have seen many dms and regional directors. Most of what I see is the lack of setting a standard and holding people accountable for it. I understand holiday season in retail equates to no life for Nov and Dec.

But making sure you create an environment that allows people to prosper is the only way to succeed in any retail business.

I have never had a problem getting the days off that I wanted or being worked more the 48 hour weeks.

unsubscribed

About a decade ago, I worked in sales for a few weeks at a Radio Shack in NYC in between my regular freelance jobs in publishing and similar. Radio Shack then gave commissions on sales, and the problem was they did not carry much inventory and then would also advertise sales specials in newspapers on items that they did have much inventory.

Being a female on the NYC workforce in various positions at many places for many years, I have witnessed so many mergers and takeovers of companies that I am not sure you might want that to happen at Radio Shack.

Usually, no matter how nice the takeovers are (and they usually are not) there is usually a horrible element. Maybe it would be okay for Radio Shack, maybe not.

Guest

Oh I will. It's just horrible.

Everyone that works there says the same thing that's upper management. It's just beyond annoying to the point he doesn't even want to be there anymore and it's the same with his Regional. It's horrible. Kudos to you for getting out when you did.

I thought of going to work for the company and firmly decided against it. I don't wanna miss out on my family growing up.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-280275

I feel for you. My husband had nearly 30 years with RS as a senior manger before he was fired for 15 missing price tags. He had been a leading manager and sales leader for many years, but after Julian Day was hired and then brought Brian Bevin on from Blockbuster, they started to systematically and deliberately fire and get rid of any/all sales and management personnel with more than 15 years with the company. In fact, a few days after my husband was fired, the DM had a conference call with the other managers in the district and told them that NO ONE was above getting fired. And he let it slip to one manager that my husband was the one picked to use as an example.

My husband would work up to 60 - 80 hr and then get his *** chewed out over too many hours. Yet if he didn't, then he got his *** chewed out over not having things done.

Upper managment beginning with Day and to now doesn't know their head from their *** about properly managing a retail company. That's why the company's reputation has become a total joke, the company's stock is in the toliet, and the company is headed toward bankruptcy.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-280275

As a woman, now married and just having my first child :), I can completely understand. Family is number one.

I started as a part timer- while attending college. Fresh out of college, like most kids, its tough out there trying to find a career in your field of study. I became a manager instead!

I've seen three DM's - one left due to a condition. One was fired. One was transferred. As years went on and policies changed, the demands went through the roof. But like every job, you must perform up to standards. Unlike most of the managers, I actually value my job-- some of these kids, yes kids, are mentally not there and like you said have every excuse in the book. Very irresponsible and immature... their employees are a mirror image. That's why you hire to reflect how you want to be looked at right?!

Anyway, I tend to ramble.... Anyway, it is a high stress job- many hours, pay doesn't really compensate the normal 9-5er. And of course you have the domino effect-- uppers trickling to assoicates and everyhting in between. It is what it is.

Luckily, I had a really awesome customer actually, a regular come in and offer a posistion in a completely different field still doing sales, but not retail anymore. ANd guess what, I sat on it, and was like you know what... why not, more pay, better hours and TRAVEL-- I met my hubby on a plane and well.. the story starts from there...

With that said, I remeber one DM whose wife actually said jokingly (?) I'll divorce you if you take your darn black berry on a family vacation.

He still snuck in calls.

I hope it gets better for you! It takes a strong woman to put up with alll the calls at different hours of the night, conferences etc.

My thoughts are with you :)

John N Mzy

I commiserate, but you need to send your husband a copy of this. Sounds like there may be a lack of communication here.

PS: the same thing happened to me years ago.

I finally got out and never looked back. best thing for me and my family that I ever did.

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