Ham Radio Outlet — Local services in Tigard

Short version: The sales staff is unhelpful and rude, unless you are a regular and do the stuff with HAM radios that they agree with. The return policy is a joke:10 days from the order day, if you buy online, shipping time counts agains you, and to top it all off, they charge 15% restocking fee based on their imaginary list price (before promotions), not what you actually paid.

Long version: As a matter of personal policy I try hard to shop locally to support brick-and-mortar retailers and smaller businesses. Unfortunately this store makes it very hard to do so. I've purchased several things from them and every time I go there my experience with the staff sets the new low bar. At best they will just ignore me; at worst they will go out of their way to make me feel like a compete idiot who is wasting their time and is too dumb to understand the finer point of the art. This time around I was looking for a HT. On the first trip I had my search narrowed down to three radios, so I went to the store to ask a few questions and purchase a radio. The sales guy seemed annoyed by my questions and was unhelpful to the point that I left the store without any answers or the radio. After some more research online I settled on the model and went to pick it up. Still had a few questions but no help from the sales people, but oh well. After trying the radio I discovered that it had some issues that made it unusable for me, so I wend back to return it. Beforehand I made sure to package the radio exactly the way it was when I got it (i saved all of the bags, etc.). The guy that "helped" me with the return clearly demonstrated his disapproval of the return by basically not communicating with me through the process, throwing the box around, making deep sighs and cursing at the computer. He then haphazardly piled up all of the items he himself pulled from the box on top of the box and went to the manager to ask if they will charge the 15% restocking fee because "it's been all just thrown into the box like this". The best part is that the 15% is calculated based on their list price ($339.99), not the actual price I paid that included their promotional discount. The bottom line is that I was fully prepared to pay the restocking fee, since it's ultimately my bad for missing some of the issues during my research, but the treatment I got at the store is pretty appalling.It's a shame when smaller companies don't realize that the only way they can compete with Amazon and such is by providing stellar customer service. I will definitely not be going back...

New review: Since coming here after they allowed in person shopping, I have had very great experiences. Theyl shop is well organized and the staff is knowledgeable and willing to help. I have come here a few times now that it's opened, and I know I'll 100% be a returning customer. I will be coming here for all or my radio needs. Very pleased with the in person experiences here. Thank you.

Old review: Inquired about an antenna I was looking to buy, they told me it was out of stock. That was fine with me. I was trying to get an antenna quickly, so I asked about alternatives, and they showed me a similar antenna, similar price, same length. They told me it was in stock, so I ordered it on the website and went to pick it up, only to be told that they couldn't find it for some reason and had to order it from CA. Was hoping it wouldn't take long, but it seems it will take a few days. It pretty much defeated the purpose of buying an antenna online, as I could have gotten the one I originally wanted, and for cheaper, rather than the second option. Other than that, they were nice on the phone. A bit disappointed about that, but it happens. I will likely order from here again, but will be careful to make sure they have multiple in stock of the item I am looking for. I am in favor of supporting smaller businesses, rather than ordering everything in my life off of Amazon, but it sometimes it just makes it difficult to do that.

Update: Was not given a tracking number and apparently neither were they. Apparently 4 days after the mess up my antenna was shipped. If I'd have to wait a week I would've ordered it online and sent to my own house in the first place. The real kicker is I'm still going to have to drive 35 minutes to their store since it is still technically a pickup order. After the initial call, they were not happy to work with me and made it very clear. Very...

So I ordered one of the new TX-500 radios back in January, and called the next day to get a leadtime, since it was backordered - the man that answered the phone informed me that I was seventh in line for a unit, and that they would ship out lat February at the latest. March 1st comes and goes. I call back, now it's unknown when I will get my radio "COVID delays" yada yada, so I email the manufacturer. I ask them if they've been sending shipments to HRO - "Yeah they already received a shipment of 50 radios on 2/15 and another is scheduled to arrive mid-March". Send them an email with this information, kindly asking that they advise on when I can expect a unit, and get told they won't have anything until mid-March. ...OK.... Well here we are! I have no idea what's going on here, maybe they don't either. The manufacturer made it clear they got products, 50 to be exact, and they themselves told me I was seventh in line. I get there are 9 locations, but 50 radios over 9 locations is 7 radios each. Well now it's 3/19, no updates that the product was received, or that it shipped. No communication at all if I don't ask, email I sent with mfg response was straight out ignored until I pressed on it a week later with not response. If you're considering ordering from HRO online, I'm telling you right now, do not waste your time. Once they have your cash, you'll be in purgatory, there will be no communication, and you'll come to find out some factory in Russia has a better picture of what they're receiving and when than they do, and they'll have a different story every time you call or email. It's all...