If you're in the market for any amateur radio equipment in the South Central Texas area, do yourself a big favor and shop somewhere other than Austin Amateur Radio Supply. I called today (31 JUL 01) to inquire about a simple 2m antenna for a trip I'm taking. I spoke with one of their boneheads that answers the phone. He promptly informed me that they weren't going to be open the Saturday I was going to be in Austin. His tone was indifferent, apathetic, and disrespectful throughout. I had treated him courteously throughout the conversation.

I asked him (again) what antennas they had in stock for 2 meters. He said something to the effect of "Well, we have a quarter wave one for about $25.00..." and I was thinking about whether it would fit in my luggage. He promptly followed up with, "...or I could sell you one for $50.00 or $60.00...it's your choice."

Now what kind of idiotic remark is that? Amateur radio businesses take note: Your customers WILL NOT be patronized when they call your store or else they'll a) find somewhere else to shop and b) they will make sure everyone else knows the level of disrespect they received when calling your store as I am in this web page. Is that clear now? You people need to understand that you are not the only store people can buy from and if you treat customers with disrespect, they WILL shop somewhere else.

I'd asked to speak to the GM of the store and this droid said, "Did I do something wrong?" Duh. Go figure.

The GM turned out to be equally as condescending as the first droid. I guess it takes one to manage one. He started fooling around with the telephone or his telephone started wigging out on him. This happened for about 5 minutes until I finally hung up and called back. He insinuated it was my phone acting up. Wrong, buddy...I know how to use a telephone. Either way, if he was playing with the phone to irritate me or if his phone simply doesn't work properly, that doesn't exactly inspire confidence in their communications products or expertise (Ha!) If they were doing this to be funny, I'm certain they probably won't be laughing after reading this.

Anyway, I will do my shopping elsewhere from now on. I had attempted to shop there in 1992 or 1993 at their store and I see now that absolutely nothing has changed. I would have thought by now they'd have lost their attitude but it is obviously still festering there. If you want to be treated with respect, shop elsewhere. Their prices aren't that great either, but don't take my word for it. Check out Ham Radio Outlet, for instance. I've ordered from them before and their employees, as a whole, have always been kind and helpful. Same with AES...no worries there!