Letter to the Editor: Bob's TV and Appliance closing its doors

The Bob’s TV and Appliance store at 208 N. Division will permanently close in the next 60-90 days. No worries though, I will still provide repair services from my home, in addition to other service calls to the community.

My work phone number, 509-659-1240, will remain the same and all calls will be forwarded to my cell phone.

The most obvious change you will notice is I won’t be selling appliances or any other merchandise.

Bob’s TV has been in business for 46 years, but over the past several years, it has become cost prohibitive to compete with the online and box store markets.

As we prepare to close the doors, we will be holding a liquidation sale of all in stock items starting on April 15. When the majority of our products have sold, we will close up shop for the last time.

Since I bought the business from my parents in 1996, I have worked alongside the best two people an employer could ask for. I sincerely want to thank Sheryl Dirks and Jim Preston for their hard work for the business and friendship over the years. I couldn’t have asked for two better people to share my business journey with over the past 23 years.

My parents started the business in the early 1970s, with Radio Shack becoming part of the business in 1973. The next 46 years would bring about an extensive amount of changes that had both positive and negative effects on the business.

In a time before cable and Internet, the shop started with offering repair work and selling TVs. We installed rooftop antennas for customers to watch local channels, many of which are still there today.

While in high school, I worked part time at the store, helping with repair work and installs. After high school, I went to electronics school for three years before returning home to work full-time in 1980.

In the 1980s, we moved away from antennas and kept busy with cable. These installations included the big 12-foot satellite dishes, which could take a week to install. The decade also brought about the creation of VCRs, and we had a lot of fun working on those.

Changes continued in the 1990s with small satellite dishes and now customers had to pay for service, which was a big change of life.

During the early years of ownership, appliance service and sales became more popular and led to the service being a prominent component of the business.

The world changed again with the invention of the flat screen TV, which affected the business as those TVs were not as serviceable.

As the availability of products became accessible by a click on a phone, we felt the effects of the Internet and big box stores and struggled to compete in our hometown.

But, we always had the most loyal and supportive customers that helped us through the hard times, and I can never thank our customers enough for their support over the years. I have always enjoyed returning that support to the community through donations to youth programs and activities, and even in our absence, hope to see more businesses step up to support our kids.

Our store has always served as a place to swap stories and share laughs, and we hope to see everyone one last time to continue those traditions and allow us to personally thank you for your support. This community has always been my family, and I truly want to thank you for letting our business be a part of your lives and supporting us through the years.

Scott Kembel, Ritzville