Houston Amateur Radio Supply Inc.
Beware!

 

This place is FAR from professional and might make you CUSS!  (it did me!)

I have always been a big supporter of amateur radio in the Houston area. 
I would rather support the local ham stores than buy the gear through the mail order houses to save just a few bucks, in other words, it is more important to me to support our own community, if we don't the few places that carry amateur radio stuff might close up if everyone buys mail order.. 

and I also try to support the small businessman (being one myself)...

I can remember 14 years ago when there were 3 ham radio stores in Houston and they all disappeared (from what I understand to be) primarily due to folks preferring to save a few bucks and buy mail order!.  

Well a few years ago the Houston Amateur Radio Supply Inc. opened up with the owner George DiLetto (KD0RW). At the time I was very happy that our Houston area had a Ham store again! Although they are on the extreme far side of town from me (40 miles) I have always made an effort to shop with George instead of buying stuff mail order.  I have also taken friends and new hams up to Georges place to recommend to them what to buy many times.

In my profession as a car stereo/alarm installer, and as a ham I do install quite a bit of ham radio stuff in folks cars for them, and I have always recommended that folks buy the stuff from George over the mail order houses. 

Several times before while I was installing stuff for my ham radio customers that deal with George I have heard customers using my phone here at my shop that were VERY unhappy with  Houston Amateur Radio Supply Inc. and George for some reason. I thought, well that's unfortunate, but its hard to please every customer. One time George sold the customer the wrong parts and when the customer called George he was upset because George sounded like he did not care! That particular customer had to pay a delivery service to hot shot the correct parts down to me for his installation.  I didn't want to say anything bad about George to that customer, or that I had seen George send the wrong parts to install before, I just thought George might have been kinda stupid or absent minded, and didn't think through the proper parts before selling them..  

Now I have come to find out it isn't stupidity, its just that he just doesn't give a crap!!!  

Being stupid would be OK, cause that's hereditary,  but just not caring about his customers, there is NO EXCUSE!!

I finally realized these unhappy customers were right when George screwed me around!  With all the folks I recommended to goto his place, I was shocked when he showed me he really didn't care!

I will tell you my story, 

I had a Kenwood HF rig that needed a small repair, so to help George out, I sent it to him instead of straight to Kenwood.  January 8th I had my wife take the radio up to George,  he said he could repair it in a week or two. 

Two weeks went by and he was still waiting on parts. 
A month went by and he was STILL waiting on parts, 
6 weeks went by and he was STILL(!!!!)  waiting on parts. 
Geez, I was starting to think maybe we should have sent it to Kenwood, when we called, George seemed to have an i don't care attitude about how long it was taking. 

After 6 weeks I sent someone up to pick up the unit REPAIRED OR NOT.  
George said we could have the unit but it was in a bunch of pieces and he wasn't gonna put it back together!!!!  

WOW, now it seems like he is holding a radio he can't fix FOR HOSTAGE!

George has me by the balls... 
So I told him to give me a list of parts we need for the radio to see if I could find these so called  "hard to find" parts...

George gave us a parts list, we ordered the parts from Kenwood and had them in 4 days!!!!!
FOUR DAYS!!!!  
Makes me to wonder if George ever ordered them at all???

With the parts in hand we again drove the 80 mile round trip to deliver the parts to George, and he had the radio fixed in another week (not bad) and at a reasonable price ($125). 

OK, the rig was repaired, now the FOURTH trip up to pick up the unit. I was so happy to have it back. When we got the unit back to my shop I opened the box to check out the unit... CRAP! No power cord (special Kenwood 12 volt cable) and no manuals.  I called George on the phone and asked him if he had them, he said he would call me right back!  AND OF COURSE HE NEVER DID!

Today is the 9th of March,  and  Dwayne (he works for me) has just taken another (the 5th) 80mile round trip up to get my radio done.. Calling George on the phone and he says he doesn't know where my manuals are. He has an (I don't give a shit) attitude about my cable and manuals (that HE lost!) , Dwayne is going up there to  find the manuals and power cord in Georges shop himself if George does not have them waiting for him (I instructed Dwayne to find the manuals if he has to search the whole shop!)  ...

In summary, 
$125 for an I don't give a shit attitude.
$20 for us to order parts he couldn't or didn't want to get.
400 miles of driving (5 times at 80 miles round trip)
and over two months without a radio.

I should have sent it straight to Kenwood for the repairs, they are fast friendly professional and not a jerk like George DiLetto is.

ANYWAY!

I am fed up, and will NEVER recommend Houston Amateur Radio Supply Inc. again to anyone I know, I will never go there again, I will never shop there again, and if anyone ever mentions them in my presence I will make sure to tell them this story!
The only way I can satisfy my frustrations is to write these experiences down and hope it saves others from making the same mistakes.

BTW,

AES - 1-800-558-0411
HRO - 1-800-444-7927
call these guys, don't call George!

Eddie Runner (nu5k)
eddie@installer.com