R&L ELECTRONICS "RIP OFF"

[N8RAC]

R&L customer for 20+ years. Service has always been top rate!
Thanks R&L

Loyal Customer
N8RAC
Guy

[N1CX]

k3ey you got it. These days people are more inclined to whine like little misfits online and try to do damage to a business on purpose when 9 out of 10 times the problem that they are in a snit fit about could be easily solved.

Taint the first time and sure taint the last.

I've bought from these guys before and service has been just fine.

[K9MHZ]

The original poster, K4RYR, looks like a minion of none other than our beloved Radio Mart......

http://www.eham.net/ehamforum/smf/index.php/topic,81505.0.html

This guy is out to trash R&L, a LEGITIMATE business with a solid reputation. 

Just another fruit cake....   

[WA8KIW]

A visit to R & L (as well as Universal Radio in Columbus) is like going back in time to the old radio stores of yesterday.  If ever in the Cincinnati area it is well worth the time to visit and enjoy.  Unlike the big multi-store dealers, probably 95% of the rigs and accessories are out where you can touch, feel, and even operate.  Not in locked cases. Their staff is well versed and have been with them for years. I've had dealings with them since Rita and Larry started the business from their home and never had an issue that was not resolved to everyone's satisfaction.   I'm just another happy camper.

[K9MHZ]

Yeah, and that is a tough, tough business to be in.  They handle it so well, especially being small compared to AES and HRO.

 

[WB8NUT]

R&L is in my backyard. So I usually go to the store instead of ordering on-line. Frankly, the place is a dump. I don't think they ever clean it. The equipment is out so you can "use" it, but it is covered in dust. Actually disgusting. This is not exactly going to attract new hams to the hobby. Someone needs to clean the place up and make it inviting. Also, and I know people are going to disagree with this, but when I am in the store the people are not very friendly. They also need to learn that the person in the store who came there to buy is more important than the person calling on the phone.

BTW, as another follow-up to another comment about equipment being out. I have been to the Atlanta HRO store several times and they have equipment out for you to test before buying. It is not all in a glass case.

[K9MHZ]

Also, and I know people are going to disagree with this, but when I am in the store the people are not very friendly.

Yep, I for one absolutely disagree.

[K1CJS]

...They also need to learn that the person in the store who came there to buy is more important than the person calling on the phone....

Excuse me, but just how do you come to THAT conclusion?  A customer is a customer, no matter how he 'comes' to the store.  If you're referring to the fact that when the phone rings, the salesman stops talking to the customer in the store and answers it, just consider that the caller may not be a customer and instead may be a supplier calling to update the store about a piece of equipment--already ordered by another customer.

Sorry for having to say it in this way, but your comment smacks of the "me first" attitude that is pervading society these days.  Just because you have to wait a couple of minutes more doesn't mean the end of the world is here.

[WB8NUT]

People who call on the phone many times are just getting prices.

People in the store many times are there to buy.

Customers in person always come first to people on the phone. Basic rules of retailing.

It is very irritating to have a salesman who is working with you, stop to answer the phone. It's non-sense, rude and puts off a customer.

[K1CJS]

It's irritating, true.  "In person" customers are there to buy and phone customers are only getting prices, FALSE!  In case you haven't noticed, there are many people who do not live in driving distance of those stores that do their shopping by phone and internet.  Talk about the 'me first' attitude rearing its ugly head!

I'll say this one thing--if you came to my store and displayed an attitude like that, I would take every chance I had to get away from you, and would cheer as you walked out the door.  There is absolutely NOBODY who is more important than anyone else, and it's way past time you realized that.

[VE3FMC]

People who call on the phone many times are just getting prices.

People in the store many times are there to buy.

Customers in person always come first to people on the phone. Basic rules of retailing.

It is very irritating to have a salesman who is working with you, stop to answer the phone. It's non-sense, rude and puts off a customer.

So you have worked at R&L in the past, well you must if you know that anyone calling them on the phone is just looking for a price.

Or could it be that they have a credit card in hand and are placing an order for $2000-3000 of equipment? Or they are calling about a warranty issue?

Basic rules of retailing involve dealing with the person who you are talking to first, whether it be on the phone or in person. I have worked part time in the golf retail business and I can tell you this, I did not hang up on a customer when someone walked into the store. How would you like to the person on the phone and have a sales person say to you... "Sorry sir, I have to hang up now because a customer just came into the store. Have a nice day, good bye"

You may think that is ok, I would not be too impressed.

My only complaint with R&L is they fail to answer email inquiries. But the item I ordered from them last year was shipped the next day, to a totally different address than the one I billed from. No hassles at all. Item arrived the day after it was shipped.

[W5CPT]

Having been a clerk in a Ham Radio store I can tell you that there was not any difference between In-store customers and Phone customers. Not in importance, probability of purchasing rather than looking or any other differentiation.

And as a In-store customer at R&L (once while driving through) I will attest that the store is crowded but I did not find it "dirty" at all.  The sales people were friendly and helpful. 

The crowded part comes from the cost of floor space.  Retail space is frightfully expensive to buy/rent and maintain.  I know this because I recently retired from a big-box HIW where I started as a cashier and rose as high as the Admin Manager.  Knowing what the margins are in Ham Radio, I am surprised that any of the stores are able to remain open.  I am sure that owners of the stores are in the business because of an interest in the hobby, not in an effort to make a fortune.  I believe this to be true in any hobby supply business.  I have witnessed a few Ham Stores "go under" - from the first shop in which I ever stopped in Littleton Mass (the name of it escapes me) to Rivendell's in NH and Tucker's in Dallas. 

Remember that if the little shops go away the hobby will cease to exist as we know it. No "retailer" will get in the Ham Radio business for the money because the margins are too low and the volume is too little.

Clint - W5CPT -

[K9MHZ]

Very well put Clint, thanks.

And yet, we have a continual parade of silly people with an axe to grind over the dealers for some utterly bizarre reasons.  In the military, it's called crapping in your own messkit.  

[DXTUNER]

I stopped buying from R&L after an unsatisfactory experience. I saw a certain Icom receiver I wanted on their used list. I called them to make sure it was still there. The guy said yes & added that it comes with the power supply only. Ok, the radio I want plus its power supply. Deal. I sent them credit card payment.

Got the unit, looked great but wasnt acting right. For example, the lights would go dim on strong signals & other oddball behavior such as audio warping. I kept scratching my head trying to figure out what was wrong with this good Icom receiver I bought from their used list. -- Then I looked at the power supply. It was one of those cheap 'cubes' only giving 500 mA, max. Well, the receiver needs at least 1.2 A if I recall correctly. So I tracked down & bought a 2 A power supply. -- Problem solved, the receiver worked flawlessly after that.

I called R&L to let them know they sent an under-rated power supply with the radio I bought, and that the radio wouldn't work properly with it. The guy simply said, "well that's what came with it when we got it."

Then silence, as though he was thinking, 'you got something else to say, buddy?'

There was no, "sorry about that" or "how can we make this right?". I politely hung up. Haven't bought a thing from them since. You might think its petty, my complaint, but I think its inexcusable not to provide the correct items with the sale, and not offer to make it right.

[N4TTS]

<clippy>  You might think its petty, my complaint, but I think its inexcusable not to provide the correct items with the sale, and not offer to make it right.

Yep, the epitome of petty.

Don N4TTS