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June 14, 2002/Tamuz 4 5762, Vol. 54, No. 39
Local radio host makes shopping a breeze
BETH OLSON
Staff Writer
There's nothing worse than buying a product by mail, with the expectation that it will change your life, only to find that it's not anything like what you were expecting. Never fear - Kim Siegler Schaffer and her radio show "Smart Shopping with Kim" have come to the rescue.
"Smart Shopping with Kim" is broadcast 4-5 p.m. Saturdays on KMYL-AM 1190.
The show focuses on a theme each week - anything from weddings to gadgets to bath products. Schaffer frequently invites guest experts to discuss the weekly topic and then leaves time for listeners to call in with their own recommendations.
"The idea of the radio show is for people to call in and share things that they've bought that they think are really terrific or that they think are a piece of junk," Schaffer explains. "The basic philosophy is that if we start sharing more of those kinds of things, we'll end up with better products coming into the market."
Schaffer can also be heard from 5:30-6 p.m. Tuesdays, where she conducts taste tests on new grocery products.
The idea for her show stemmed from a previous radio show that Schaffer had on another local station for five years. Schaffer co-hosted "Radio Caf‚" (formerly called "Dial to Dine") with her "significant other" Don Sandler. The show, still hosted by Sandler, invites callers to give their opinions about local restaurants.
Schaffer decided to take the same concepts and adapt it to shopping because she is "one of the few Jewish women who hates to shop, but loves to buy things," she says.
While she doesn't profess to be an expert, Schaffer does say that she's acquired "pearls of wisdom" over the years from various experts and callers she's had on her shows.
"I do have a lot of listeners who are experts. I also have ideas of where to go for more research," she says. "I'm not the expert. I'm just there as sort of the liaison, but I also have a lot of great tips from what I've learned over the years."
Schaffer lives in Scottsdale and has a 23-year-old son, Benjamin, who is an entrepreneur in Marina del Rey, Calif.
Schaffer also enjoys being involved in the Jewish community. She was recently installed as a board member of the American Jewish Committee - an organization her parents have been involved with for more than 25 years.
Before moving to Arizona six years ago, Schaffer and Sandler lived in Boston, where she worked at a station that Sandler owned. Previous to working in radio, Schaffer was a jack-of-all-trades. Her work experience includes everything from teaching special needs children to selling commercial real estate to hosting a cable cooking show. While she says she enjoyed her various positions over the years, working in radio is what she likes the best.
"The radio business is always intriguing - you meet some very interesting people in it," she says. "I find it fun."
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