As A Former employee at radio shack i can assure you i am not disclosing this information out of hate for the company. I had a decent work experience there. What i can say is i often felt bad for customers and even refused to sell a product because i knew it was damaged or defective.
RadioShack has a "repair system" but not all products are eligable for repair, inspection and repackaging or refurbishment. All products are returnable, but there are products that are not eligable for the repair system (RMAC is the name of the service) and the company does not allow to be thrown away or scraped.
These products include headphones, blue tooth accessories, Cordless phones, all audio and video wires, and most radio shack branded products. These products are repackaged in the store with no inspection and usually with the known fact that is indeed damaged or defective or even dirty.
Customers that purchase a repackaged product are entitled to a 10% discount but never receive it because that information is not available to the consumer, often if a customer inquires about the integrity of a products box they are assured it is a new product and not damaged (which in most cases is a lie). Customers who are sure of previous use or refurbishment often ask for a discount and we are instructed by the company to decline the request and will be questioned if we do grant the discount.
Many customers leave the store with damaged products and return them. When the product is returned we take 10% from the amount paid because it assumed that the 10% off was given at the time of purchase. If and when the customer asks why we tell them there is a 10% restocking fee. (the company has the "right" to do this based on information on the back of the receipt. But is a total lie because radio shack does not collect a restocking fee.)
Next topic of interest is the poor protection of customer information. Employees can access a customers receipts, warranty information, cellular accounts, phone numbers, address, a credit account number and their social security number with out consent of a manager. I have experienced this information being used for fraudulent use.including insurance fraud for insured products. Customers are reassured that the information will be kept private and protected, but the privacy is loose and the protection is minimal
When Shopping at radio shack all i can do is warn you to only buy product factory sealed or you have an employee show you that there is absolutely no problems or prior use, if there is insist on the 10% and refuse to buy if it is not granted.
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