The Boston Globe has an article on the decline of the neighborhood
repair shop in the U.S.

"[Sewing machine and vacuum shop owner] Spindler admitted he is
sometimes annoyed when something breaks at home and his wife goes out
and buys a replacement. But he knows he can't argue with the new
economic logic. 'We had a small $90 TV that broke after a year and a
half. I knew that to put it on a bench here would be $40. It wasn't
worth it. We just won't buy that brand again.'"

Spindler says there used to be four other shops like his in the area.
They're gone.

A stereo repair shop owner the Globe interviewed has found a niche for
himself fixing vintage gear. He's also an authorized repair center for
modern equipment. But he shuts down right after Christmas each year so
his techs don't have to answer 1-800 calls from people who can't
figure out how to operate gifts bought at big-box discount stores.

http://www.boston.com/yourlife/home/...is_in_decline/

--

Paul Hirose
To reply by email delete INVALID from address.

Paul Hirose wrote:
The Boston Globe has an article on the decline of the neighborhood
repair shop in the U.S.

That article was in the New York Times last weekend, and it is

© 2005 The New York Times Company

"Paul Hirose" wrote in message
...

Spindler says there used to be four other shops like his in the area.
They're gone.

I sometimes idly think of starting up a shop repairing tube audio equipment
only. Those owners are probably ready to pay for the service.

N

It might not be such a bad thing (I mean by that the replacement approach as
opposed to repair). Having something diagnosed and repaired these days can
be like a tour through Dante's Inferno. Our pool heater (heat exchanger)
went out recently and it took five service calls to get it fixed (sort of).
It's not really fixed because now the bypass valve is screwed up (can no
longer bypass the heater), a pressure gauge is missing its cover and no
longer works, the cover of the heater is bulged out on the front as it was
improperly reinstalled, and the auto function of the heater no longer works
(no doubt a re-wiring error).

It seems to me that folks with a basic knowledge of mechanics and
electricity and a reasonable attitude about customer service are in VERY
short supply. I suppose that nowadays those with any ability go to law
school or earn MBAs.

"Charles Schuler" wrote in message
...

It might not be such a bad thing (I mean by that the replacement approach
as
opposed to repair). Having something diagnosed and repaired these days
can
be like a tour through Dante's Inferno. Our pool heater (heat exchanger)
went out recently and it took five service calls to get it fixed (sort
of).
It's not really fixed because now the bypass valve is screwed up (can no
longer bypass the heater), a pressure gauge is missing its cover and no
longer works, the cover of the heater is bulged out on the front as it was
improperly reinstalled, and the auto function of the heater no longer
works
(no doubt a re-wiring error).

It seems to me that folks with a basic knowledge of mechanics and
electricity and a reasonable attitude about customer service are in VERY
short supply. I suppose that nowadays those with any ability go to law
school or earn MBAs.

No. The employers will only hire young, cheap workers. Anyone who knows what
they are doing doesn't interest them. They probably figure they work too
slow, so they can't make as much profit.

N

On Wed, 23 Feb 2005 18:11:19 -0500 "Charles Schuler"
wrote:

longer bypass the heater), a pressure gauge is missing its cover and no
longer works, the cover of the heater is bulged out on the front as it was
improperly reinstalled, and the auto function of the heater no longer works
(no doubt a re-wiring error).

It was an experience like this which lead me first to start working on
my own car, then my own electronics, then the occasional repair for
friends. What it all boils down to is that no one cares as much about
your insert product name here as you do.

The unfortunate part is that those of us who care about quality in our
repairs will do them ourselves, leaving the customer majority
dominated by those who don't notice or don't care and the service
personnel dominated by the same attitude.

I'm afraid it's a downward spiral with no visible way out.

-
-----------------------------------------------
Jim Adney
Madison, WI 53711 USA
-----------------------------------------------

If you are going to do that, be prepared for a high operating cost in
relation to the actual work you will get. Even though there are a lot of
fanatics for tube equipment, this is also dying off. We looked very
carefully in to that, and found that it may not pay so well.

The best type of service to get in to is for industrial types of clients.
Support and sales of industrial instrumentation for laboratory applications
is the most viable today. Each sale is expensive, and a small mark-up on
these items will generate a descent income. After the sales, there is the
support part, which you can charge for the services. You will need however,
a source of financing from your bank to put out the big dollars in advance
before you get paid. Most of the corporations will pay only after 30 or 60
days, depending on their policy.

--

Jerry G.
======


"NSM" wrote in message news:SL5Td.349$TB.12@edtnps84...

"Paul Hirose" wrote in message
...

Spindler says there used to be four other shops like his in the area.
They're gone.

I sometimes idly think of starting up a shop repairing tube audio equipment
only. Those owners are probably ready to pay for the service.

N

Repair shops have been dying at a rate of about 15% per year. Most remaining
shop owners are at or near retirement age. Those of us who remain are being
deluged with calls from stupid people with information requests, usually
referred by Radio Shack people who _don't_ have any answers.

Mark Z.


"Jim Adney" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 23 Feb 2005 18:11:19 -0500 "Charles Schuler"
wrote:

longer bypass the heater), a pressure gauge is missing its cover and no
longer works, the cover of the heater is bulged out on the front as it was
improperly reinstalled, and the auto function of the heater no longer
works
(no doubt a re-wiring error).

It was an experience like this which lead me first to start working on
my own car, then my own electronics, then the occasional repair for
friends. What it all boils down to is that no one cares as much about
your insert product name here as you do.

The unfortunate part is that those of us who care about quality in our
repairs will do them ourselves, leaving the customer majority
dominated by those who don't notice or don't care and the service
personnel dominated by the same attitude.

I'm afraid it's a downward spiral with no visible way out.

-
-----------------------------------------------
Jim Adney
Madison, WI 53711 USA
-----------------------------------------------

Newspapers are eager to report the demise of service shops. "Don't
repair, replace!" is the mantra of the retailers who spend the big
bucks on ads. We've had some of that on the local level, where the
papers interviewed only shop owners who were discouraged or closing.
They never came to talk to any of the local shops who are doing well.
If we want the public to know that we're here for them, we have to
advertise. Not in the paper, though.

If you look at the cost of the average new appliance today, they are
priced so low, it is not worth to repair these. This is another reason
why the manufactures no longer keep an infostructure to supply spare
parts. The admistration for spare parts is also costly.

If you buy a VCR for $80, would you pay a service tech an hour or two
of his time, plus the parts to fix it? If you look at the service
tech's overhead just to do the basic work, the repair cost would easily
exceed the price of a new unit!

I have seen these new types of units come in, and they are very crapy
built as far as their mechanics are conserned. The performance of the
electronics are very good for the low cost.

As for dependability, most of the new products may last about 2 years
on the average. For the low prices that they are asking, I would not
expect much more than that anyways...

Jerry G.
=======

Mark D. Zacharias wrote:

Repair shops have been dying at a rate of about 15% per year. Most remaining
shop owners are at or near retirement age. Those of us who remain are being
deluged with calls from stupid people with information requests, usually
referred by Radio Shack people who _don't_ have any answers.

Mark Z.



So what happened ot the radio shack slogan on tv:
"you got questions, we got answers" ???




Bob




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"Bob Urz" wrote in message
...

So what happened ot the radio shack slogan on tv:
"you got questions, we got answers" ???

It spawned a thousand jokes.

N

"NSM" wrote in message news:UYvTd.5755$TB.2813@edtnps84...

"Bob Urz" wrote in message
...

So what happened ot the radio shack slogan on tv:
"you got questions, we got answers" ???

It spawned a thousand jokes.

N




They ran out of answers?

cl

"cl" wrote in message
o.verio.net...

They ran out of answers?

I don't believe they ever had any. Go ask them for a plug for you Model I
Video Monitor and see what they say!

N

"NSM" wrote in message news:mtyTd.6275$TB.2629@edtnps84...

"cl" wrote in message
o.verio.net...

They ran out of answers?

I don't believe they ever had any. Go ask them for a plug for you Model I
Video Monitor and see what they say!

N



That reply was off the hip, much as I thought their slogan was.

cl

It's been reversed. They now have questions, not answers. Go into Radio
Shack, and it's "hows your cell phone doing?"
JR

Bob Urz wrote:



So what happened ot the radio shack slogan on tv:
"you got questions, we got answers" ???




Bob




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--
--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth

You can say what you want about Radio Shack.... but if most repair shops
were doing as well as most Radio Shack stores this whole thread about repair
shops dying would not have been started.
--
Best Regards,
Daniel Sofie
Electronics Supply & Repair
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


"JR NORTH" wrote in message
...
It's been reversed. They now have questions, not answers. Go into Radio
Shack, and it's "hows your cell phone doing?"
JR

Bob Urz wrote:



So what happened ot the radio shack slogan on tv:
"you got questions, we got answers" ???




Bob




----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet
News==----
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Newsgroups
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--
--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth

"sofie" wrote in message
...
You can say what you want about Radio Shack.... but if most repair shops
were doing as well as most Radio Shack stores this whole thread about
repair
shops dying would not have been started.

Do you want to hire Radio Shack employees to work for you?

N

What do people expect for minimum wage? ...... certainly not a tech behind
the counter, anyway customers would not pay the higher prices associated
with staffing the store with higher wage "clerks" with technical skills.
--
Best Regards,
Daniel Sofie
Electronics Supply & Repair
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


"NSM" wrote in message news:iyOTd.395$LN5.366@edtnps90...

"sofie" wrote in message
...
You can say what you want about Radio Shack.... but if most repair shops
were doing as well as most Radio Shack stores this whole thread about
repair
shops dying would not have been started.

Do you want to hire Radio Shack employees to work for you?

N

"sofie" wrote in message
...
What do people expect for minimum wage? ...... certainly not a tech behind
the counter, anyway customers would not pay the higher prices associated
with staffing the store with higher wage "clerks" with technical skills.

That's true, but don't blame me for the hysterical laughter at the new
'slogan'.

N

About all they do anymore is sell cell phones.

Mark Z.


"sofie" wrote in message
...
You can say what you want about Radio Shack.... but if most repair shops
were doing as well as most Radio Shack stores this whole thread about
repair
shops dying would not have been started.
--
Best Regards,
Daniel Sofie
Electronics Supply & Repair
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


"JR NORTH" wrote in message
...
It's been reversed. They now have questions, not answers. Go into Radio
Shack, and it's "hows your cell phone doing?"
JR

Bob Urz wrote:



So what happened ot the radio shack slogan on tv:
"you got questions, we got answers" ???




Bob




----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Uncensored-Secure Usenet
News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
120,000+
Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption
=----


--
--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth

"Mark D. Zacharias" wrote in message
...
About all they do anymore is sell cell phones.

Used to be CBs. Then computers. But how will they compete with Wal-Mart?

N

I think that Radio Shack doesn't want salespeople with a lot of product
knowledge or interest. They might spend too much time talking to
someone and blow a sale.

Doug

"Doug" wrote in message
oups.com...
I think that Radio Shack doesn't want salespeople with a lot of product
knowledge or interest. They might spend too much time talking to
someone and blow a sale.

My manager said the same thing. If they can answer "Which end of the
resistor is the plus end?" they can't sell.

N

NSM:
Well..... I certainly would like to hear the answer to "Which end of the
resistor is the plus end?" ?
--
Best Regards,
Daniel Sofie
Electronics Supply & Repair
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -



"NSM" wrote in message
news:_IpVd.34390$hN1.22494@clgrps13...

"Doug" wrote in message
oups.com...
I think that Radio Shack doesn't want salespeople with a lot of product
knowledge or interest. They might spend too much time talking to
someone and blow a sale.

My manager said the same thing. If they can answer "Which end of the
resistor is the plus end?" they can't sell.

N

"sofie" wrote in message
...
NSM:
Well..... I certainly would like to hear the answer to "Which end of the
resistor is the plus end?" ?

Wouldn't we all?

N

I would think that a good salesman would be able to sell someone asking that
question just about anything. Even a plasma refill.

Leonard

"sofie" wrote in message
...
NSM:
Well..... I certainly would like to hear the answer to "Which end of the
resistor is the plus end?" ?
--
Best Regards,
Daniel Sofie
Electronics Supply & Repair
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -



"NSM" wrote in message
news:_IpVd.34390$hN1.22494@clgrps13...

"Doug" wrote in message
oups.com...
I think that Radio Shack doesn't want salespeople with a lot of
product
knowledge or interest. They might spend too much time talking to
someone and blow a sale.

My manager said the same thing. If they can answer "Which end of the
resistor is the plus end?" they can't sell.

N