Well, There's No Nice Way to Say It: Radio Shack Sucks

All three of you who have been following my blog know that I've spent the last few weeks looking for that one perfect cell phone to get myself locked into for the next two years. Initially, I thought it might be the HTC Evo. Here is the sordid story.

Just prior to the Evo's release, you could only pre-order it at two retailers: Best Buy and Radio Shack. I opted for Radio Shack because it was near my workplace and because they were offering $20 off accessories with the pre-order. I went in and put down the required $50 deposit.

When I went in the next week to pick it up, the associate working with me was absolutely clueless about the whole thing, despite the launch being possibly the biggest thing to happen at Radio Shack ever. Initially she even insisted that my deposit towards the phone has to be used to purchase extra accessories. We argued back and forth until her co-worker confirmed that the deposit towards the phone can actually be used for the phone.

I filled out the paperwork, paid, and the associate proceeded to open the phone, at which point I stopped her and asked if I could take the phone now and open it and activate it myself. I was told that it HAD to be activated in the store. I understand that, but I don't see why they couldn't give it to me to do it myself. I winced as the girl pried open the plastic around the phone with a pair of scissors and did nothing except turn the phone on and declare it "activated." Okay.

Eventually, my Evo developed a patch of black pixels in the bottom corner of the screen, so I took it back to RS to exchange it. They told me that I could not return it or exchange it because I must have obviously dropped it. I hadn't, and there was no visible physical damage to the phone. I can understand that they can't be certain, but please, I'm not an idiot. If I really wanted to make a fraudulent return, I would have bricked the phone by unplugging it in the middle of a firmware update and claimed that it just stopped powering on. I called Sprint and they informed me that since I bought the phone at Radio Shack, they couldn't send me a replacement either. In fact, they are apparently powerless to do anything if you don't buy the phone directly from them.

I had purchased the insurance and I filed a claim, minus a $100 deductible, and I was shipped a brand new phone, which I didn't open. I went to take the new phone back to Radio Shack and cancel my service. If you don't return the handset to them after cancelling service, they charge you $200, but you know where this is going. They refused to take the new phone back because the serial number didn't match the one I'd originally bought from them. I understand the reasoning for that policy, so you don't buy a new phone and bring back an old, used one, but in this case, I was bringing back a NEW phone. Can we ONCE look past the letter of the policy and apply its principle instead? I called Sprint again and they were useless. I don't know why I bother. Honestly, if they care that little while I'm still in my evaluation period, I shudder to think what it will be like when I'm locked into a contract with them.

So now I'm selling the phone on eBay and eating RS's $200 fee. So enjoy my money, Radio Shack. I hope you go bankrupt.