Hey guys, sorry to say but for those who dropped off radios at Real World Electronics, your radios are likely long gone. I hate giving bad news to genuinely good people like all you drivers.
Sean and I were co owners of the CB shop for the last 15 years. Some of you may even remember when our shop was located in South Holland Illinois at the 76 truck stop which is now long gone.
February 2014 was a real bad year for snow, and roads I travel to Monee were closed for a week while front end loaders removed 10+ foot drifts on the back roads. I was unable to safely and legally drive to work for the week. The following week I was hospitalized for 4 days. So I had missed 9 days of work between closed roads and illness.
The following Saturday the FedEx driver knocks on my door and has 3 huge heavy boxes containing all my personal test equipment from the CB Shop. Sean improperly packed some li-ion batteries in one of the boxes and they caught fire inside my house because they shorted out and are what's called "unprotected" li-ion batteries used for those e-cigs. Thankfully I was home and smelled burning cardboard and was able to throw the box outside and use the hose to put out the fire inside the box. I have photos of the box, but don't know if I have permission to upload photos.
So I called Sean at his cell to see what the HECK is going on and he tells me that if I call or text him, he will file a harassment report with the Monee police. He also said if I show up at the CB Shop, he will punch me and kick my tail-I'm trying to keep this G Rated.... After Sean's extremely aggressive attitude, out of nowhere, I stay cleared of the CB Shop. I honestly do NOT know what set Sean off to sever ties with the business out of the clear blue, except for the fact I missed 9 days in a row due to situations not under my control.
I'm NOT trying to brag or anything like that, but I was the tech that repaired 90% of the dropped off radios because I went to College for electronics. I simply know how to repair radios faster and easier than Sean. However Sean was better at repairing linears than I. We worked as a good team for those 15 years. Once I no longer worked at the CB Shop, business dropped off BIG time as Sean had to spend sometimes 10X the time to repair radios. 1 repair per day can not keep the shop open and pay all the bills. Things went downhill fast towards the end of 2014. To pay the bills, Sean sold your radios!
I have not spoken to Sean since Feb 2014, yet looking into the window during the past few months, all the dropped off radios are gone and the place looks like no one is working there any longer. The business Real World Electroncs was officially dissolved by Sean the following Monday after he FedEx my equipment back. So there is no Real World Electronics, Inc. as of Feb 2014.
My recommendation to those who have lost their CB radios, you will need that drop off ticket we gave you when the radio was dropped off and ask to see the store manager and demand your radio back. The truck stop is responsible for their tenants and their behavior. If your radio can not be found, tell the store manager to replace it with a new radio or you want to file a theft report with the Monee police for theft. If the store manager doesn't satisfy you, demand to speak to the district manager and regional manager who are on call 24/7/365. They will get something done and hopefully compensate you for your stolen radio(s). I warned the Monee store manager (Betty) late 2014 about what was going on and she choose to do nothing!
Sean is still renting that room inside the Petro even though the sign on the door is gone, so he is there with the door closed on some days from what a few drivers have told me as of July 2015. The phone has been disconnected and there is no real way to reach Sean or the CB Shop. You may try contacting Real World Electronics on Facebook, I believe Sean still monitors Facebook. It's worth a try.
I'm sorry to break the bad news to those who have lost their radio. If there were anything I could do, I certainly would have done what ever I could to return your radio (still broken or repaired). You guys work hard and don't deserve to be ripped off.
