gaming stores

[mailman187666]

now I'm not saying that all of the gaming stores are like this, but does anybody else ever go into an EB or gamestop ect. and either get insulted or treated like you are blind to the video game world and have them try to sucker you into buying stuff that you don't want? The other day i went to an EB and i asked if they had a couple of PS1 rare titles (I figure it didn't hurt to ask cause u never know) and I was insulted and treated like shit by the kid behind the counter. Then i found myself listening to him telling me all these rare sealed games he had, then since he knew i collected, he tried telling me i have to pre-order Valkyrie profile for PSP because its gonna be rare and he wouldn't take the no for an answer. I almost wanted to cause a scene in the store and flip him the bird. Has anybody else had experiences where you wanted to reach behind the counter and shove used GBA games down the employee's throat?

[Vinnysdad]

Nothing like that has ever happened to me. The closest thing to that is when I bought a bunch of games for older systems (N64,Ps1,Nes,Gen) the EB employee said that I should buy a newer system. I am the type of person who doesnt bite his tongue so I told him to shut the F--- up and ring up my purchase. Then I told him that I own a Ps2, Gc, and Xbox (no 360 wasnt out yet) and I will buy whatever the F--- I want.

[cyberfluxor]

I've gotten a few real dick-heads before, both male and female, that believe they know everything in the universe with their huge egos in addition to the ability to sell anything they please to anyone. I don't get it as much nowndays due to more pawn shopping and visiting thrift stores. Generally they don't give a hoot about what's going on in video games (let alone other departments) because they just need the money to resell things. Sometimes I do get the "this is how much it's going on Ebay" response when trying to haggle with prices on things, and of course I could go up the road and get it for cheaper, maybe even on Ebay due to their lame research of "Buy it Now" store prices.

Anyways, there was a gothic chick that worked at an EB games in the mall nearest to me and blabbed all the time about stuff people would buy at the store. Since they had all the Dreamcast titles there compared to others I ALWAYS got a "Dreamcast is dead, but there's some awesome old titles for it" type of spiel from her. I swear you could slap her half dead and she'd continue to talk about the game you were getting and other "great titles for that system!". My god what a headach to hear her talk forever while you were even looking around in there.

Another one doesn't deal with a clerk being negative or talking crap, rather this one GameStop employee that has worked at 3 different locations in the last 5yrs almost I'd guess that is now a manager gives me this evil eye ever since I saw him. It's as though he's some secret, hidden arch nemesis and I grab his loot or something. Whenever I purchase stuff and go up to the counter he usually calls another employee over to scan my stuff, while he ends up getting a person behind me. Creepy guy, not to mention when I do hear him talk, it's always about pushing out new games and consules, never any oldschool/gen chatter.

[Push Upstairs]

The only time i ever got bad treatment similar to that of what the OP mentioned is when i tried to trade in some CD's at a local CD store. I knew the music wasn't the best (hence, why i took the stuff in) but i don't need a 15 minute speech with jokes to go along with why you won't take the CD in.

As for game stores...i never had a problem outside of someone at a Gamestop rolled thier eyes at me when i asked about Genesis games.

And if some ass employee ever started going on similar to what people have mentioned here i'd just walk out.

[Richter Belmount]

its expected , video game stores can be the new modern comic stores , with their know it all employees , that want to blow off smoke of how much they know about this and that and you dont care at all.

[Push Upstairs]

Comic Book Guy: "Worst Game Ever!"

LOL

[smork]

I've found more of the employees to be fairly ignorant more than I have found them to be dicks about their knowledge. Alot of the GameCrazys I have been to have nice and knowledgable employees - made some decent recommendations to me.

Pawn shops are the worst for it. I've gone in several, looked at the 10 games they have (along with a few beat up systems), and when I didn't want anything got yelled at, "Hey, don't you want any of these? These are good games!" Um, OK.

One guy at a Pawn Shop tried to get me to buy the beat up game.com he had in the case (for $25, loose, no less) telling me how rare it was. Right.

[Richter Belmount]

Comic Book Guy: "Worst Game Ever!"

LOL
Heh thats defianley who I had on mind. Buts it great to come from dp forums and listen to those type of people
because you dont have to care.(you probably know about all the things they have to see already)

[mailman187666]

I think the game crazy stores are actually the best to go to. This one in particular I can go in there talk to them about games and they don't try to show you that they know more or they have a better collection than you. They recommend great games, they are very helpful with all the questions I have....just great attitudes. Then I go into game stores in malls and they are like "oh if you don't pre-order this you'll never get it." They tried telling me that New Super Mario Bros. was going to be a sell out and that i have to preorder one to get one, but then i go to wal-mart and they still got about 30+ copies in. I seem to get lies from some of these people because they assume that i know nothing about games.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Funcoland was the worst by far, but Eb/Gamestop is starting to give chase. EB used to be great but ever since the merger the employees have taken a turn for the worse.

Recently, when I heard, through the board no less :), that Gamestop was selling NGage QD systems for $19.99 I set out to find some. Went to three Gamestops and found two of 'em but they weren't the 20 dollar ones, they were 50 bucks a pop w/ 11 hours of prepaid service each. Good deal, maybe, but not at all what I was looking for. So I go home and call all the Gamestops within 50 miles of the house here... (LONG LIST!) I only got about 5 or 6 stores into the list before an employee actually busted out laughing when I asked if they had any QD's still around. His responce after he found his composure, "No, you don't want an Ngage man. You should get a PSP instead."

I don't want a Ngage huh? Funny that I'm calling you to ask if you have any when I don't want 'em. Don'tcha think so smart ass? Haven't been to a Gamestop or EB since... I only go to Gamecrazy now.

[WanganRunner]

My local EB has some clown who's always rabidly trying to get me to trade in games, and it really pisses me off.

I'm seriously there once a week, I've *never* traded in a game, I've told him repeatedly that I have no intention to ever trade anything, I told him I have 2,700 titles on shelves in my apt, and yet he STILL gives me this crap EVERY TIME.

I know that EB makes their highest profit margins off used games but c'mon dude....cut the crap. I'm going to stop going to that store, lol. I'm getting mad just writing about it.

I have little use for EB these days anyway, except for the occasional newer title I want to purchase used. I get all my brand-new stuff online and delivered, and they don't have any older stuff anymore (this store doesn't even have PS1).

And what's worse, my AWESOME local GameCrazy location just closed. Those guys were GREAT, they gave me like 11 Gamecube kiosk discs for FREE, they held stuff for me, they called me before putting things on the shelves they knew I wanted, etc... THAT pissed me off when they closed.

[chrisbid]

you really cant judge chains as a whole, you can only judge individual locations and employees. gamecrazy tends to be the best, but in the long run, i will go where i can get the best deals... and in some cases that is at gamEBstop

[mailman187666]

you are definately right about not being able to judge a store chain as a whole because i do go to some stores where everybody there is cool and nobody tells you "oh you don't want that, buy this instead." I also heard they are going to start phasing out the classic games at some of the gamecrazys. NOOOOOOOOO, my brother bought mario RPG for $10 there dammit. Those stores are packed with dreamcast too.

[mills]

When i went gamestops they dont even know aht Im talking about when i start asking questions about SNES games or even some GBA games.

But gamecrazy has always been pretty cool, they always compliment the titles that I buy and even strike up converstations regarding them.

[captain nintendo]

My local EB has some clown who's always rabidly trying to get me to trade in games, and it really pisses me off.

I'm seriously there once a week, I've *never* traded in a game, I've told him repeatedly that I have no intention to ever trade anything, I told him I have 2,700 titles on shelves in my apt, and yet he STILL gives me this crap EVERY TIME.

I know that EB makes their highest profit margins off used games but c'mon dude....cut the crap. I'm going to stop going to that store, lol. I'm getting mad just writing about it.



You know they have to do it, but if you have asked him to stop asking you that, then the next time he ask I would tell him to Piss off ;)

My local EB and Gamestop guys know not to ask me about trade in stuff LOL

[itobandito]

Yeah man, I TOTTALY know what your saying, some of them think they are like gaming GODS and know everything about games and kinda look down on their customers. TOTAL AHoles. Occasionally you will get the nice guy in the store that is actually cool. Mostly though I find my self running in to these tool boxes that think they are so bad ass because they work at a game store and feel like they are know it alls. I LOVE when I find myself telling them about some sort of gaming knowledge that they don't know about and make them feel like dumb asses. Probably my ideal game store salesman is Joe from the digitalpress store. Not cocky at all, treats everyone the same wheither they are newbies to games or not, actually has a conversation with you and doesn't be-little you. Though I don't know him 100% personally when you talk to him about a subject that he's not 100% familiar with, he actually listens to you and doesn't try to play it off like he know's what your talking about and trys to get informed about it. At least thats been my impression of him the few times I talked to him in the store. But enough of that.

[mailman187666]

has anybody asked for one of those really rare games at a store (suikoden 2, intelligent cube) because you've heard the employee say that they actually have gotten one in and sold it that day? I asked if they had any of those games (cause it never hurts to ask because you never know) and the kid looked at me like I was trying to steal his wallet. I've found some pretty rare stuff at random stores so I wouldn't be suprised to run into a gem. I don't understand why they get so pissed asking about if they may happen to have one in. i get just as pissed as them for getting all uptight about a GAME.

[itobandito]

has anybody asked for one of those really rare games at a store (suikoden 2, intelligent cube) because you've heard the employee say that they actually have gotten one in and sold it that day? I asked if they had any of those games (cause it never hurts to ask because you never know) and the kid looked at me like I was trying to steal his wallet. I've found some pretty rare stuff at random stores so I wouldn't be suprised to run into a gem. I don't understand why they get so pissed asking about if they may happen to have one in. i get just as pissed as them for getting all uptight about a GAME.

Yeah man, tottaly have experienced that a number of times. Recently I saw that a store had phoneix wright in stock by using the gamestop web site, said they had 1 copy at least and yeah I know that that thing is not 100% accurate but it helps.... anyway guy was acting like if I was asking him if he had the holly grail in stock. He said, yeah no way blah blah, super rare blah blah... you'll never find it. That game isn't even THAT rare. I mean you are going to have to search for a copy but isn't that hard to find.

[Slimedog]

I try not to take it personally whenever some nitwit with acne tells me I'm wasting my money buying NGage games for $2 a piece or they have the last copy of Persona 2 on the planet. These guys get fired if they don't sell enough preorders or make trade in quotas. I know because my wife worked part time at an EB for 2 years and they let her go because she "didn't meet her numbers".

I've got around 8 GS or EB stores in my area that I hit on a semi-regular basis. Out of those stores there are 3 people who are really cool retrogamers and I tend to respect their opinions and recommendations. The rest are mostly kids or parrots with no real opinions of their own that tend to think graphics are everything.

I've gotten the hard sell before on preordering something. It can be really annoying when they yammer on while I'm flipping through N64 carts, so I tell them I'm only interested in one specific game and I make up a title. It will be out in 3 months for PS2 and the publisher starts with an S. Then I shop around, make my purchases and by the time they cop to not being able to find it in the system, I'm half way out the door.

[norkusa]

Nobody really ever gives me any problems like that when I go Gamestop/EB. Buy lots of old junk too. I'm a pretty big guy though, so maybe that has something to do with it.

The worse it gets is them asking me "do you want to pre-order ______ today?" The last time they did this to me was at EB when they were pushing Kingdom Heart II pre-orders. All I said was "Naw, those fucking games make me vomit" and the guy gave me a real puzzled look and hasn't bothered me anymore about pre-orders after that.

[captain nintendo]

Nobody really ever gives me any problems like that when I go Gamestop/EB. Buy lots of old junk too. I'm a pretty big guy though, so maybe that has something to do with it.

The worse it gets is them asking me "do you want to pre-order ______ today?" The last time they did this to me was at EB when they were pushing Kingdom Heart II pre-orders. All I said was "Naw, those fucking games make me vomit" and the guy gave me a real puzzled look and hasn't bothered me anymore about pre-orders after that.

I would have been like... What pre order it only to pay 10 dollar more than Fry's Electronics sells it for on sale for the first week. :/

[norkusa]

I would have been like... What pre order it only to pay 10 dollar more than Fry's Electronics sells it for on sale for the first week. :/

That would have been an option if there were any Fry's around here. I think the closest one is about 200 miles from me. That store has great deals though.

[downfall]

I have a suggestion for those of you who hate video game store employees. Go get a job at Gamestop, and then come back here and complain about it then. Oh, wait. You wouldn't be able to, because once you actually understand what it's like to work there, you'd realize that:

A. We're not out to ruin your day.

and

B. We (most of us) do the best job we can.

I work at a game store one night a week, and I enjoy it - and my customers, the customers that only come in once a week, on the night that I work so that they can deal with me are great - and they appreciate the hard work I do for them, both to get them the best deal on their video games, and to give them something they actually want.

Contrary to your belief, it's the customers like you guys who make our jobs difficult - because we're somehow supposed to be able to read your minds. Do we welcome you to the store and ask you if you need any help? Or do we just ignore you, and assume you know exactly what you're doing?

I could go on, and I know all about this, being both a frequent customer (once a week, long before I started working there) as well as an employee. My outlook was completely different once I stepped behind the counter - and until all of you do, you're not qualified to be having this argument.

[Coleman]

[quote="Acidic_Pain"]Funcoland was the worst by far, but Eb/Gamestop is starting to give chase. EB used to be great but ever since the merger the employees have taken a turn for the worse.

quote]

I dissagree i think that funcoland was greast - i used to go in there and buy NES games - It was great because they had the newspaper with all of the prices of the month. I would take a copy of the newspaper home and hilight the games i waned. This is how i started collecting NES - I would buy anything under a buck - about 100 games every month for 0.99 or less and the $2-3 range would shuffle into 0.99 every month. So i would hand the guy behind the counter my pink and yellow collored newspaper and make him pull the games i needed since the NES cab was behind the counter. They never really bitched about it though - best part was there was a couple of us who always did this together every couple weeks so the guy would spend about 2 hours pulling NES games while we demoed the dreamcast and what ever else was hooked up - I also liked the fact that they gave out free boxes if they had them for the game you were buying :)

All and all i miss funco - it was just easier and cheaper - now i go to a local exchange store - regaurdless of there "Smiling Faces" i am there cause there the cheapest!

[Push Upstairs]

I have a suggestion for those of you who hate video game store employees. Go get a job at Gamestop, and then come back here and complain about it then. Oh, wait. You wouldn't be able to, because once you actually understand what it's like to work there, you'd realize that:

A. We're not out to ruin your day.

and

B. We (most of us) do the best job we can.

I work at a game store one night a week, and I enjoy it - and my customers, the customers that only come in once a week, on the night that I work so that they can deal with me are great - and they appreciate the hard work I do for them, both to get them the best deal on their video games, and to give them something they actually want.

Contrary to your belief, it's the customers like you guys who make our jobs difficult - because we're somehow supposed to be able to read your minds. Do we welcome you to the store and ask you if you need any help? Or do we just ignore you, and assume you know exactly what you're doing?

I could go on, and I know all about this, being both a frequent customer (once a week, long before I started working there) as well as an employee. My outlook was completely different once I stepped behind the counter - and until all of you do, you're not qualified to be having this argument.

So you're trying to tell me that working at Gamestop is different than working at any other retail type job?

Thats quite a magical place. And to think i wasted all those years elsewhere when i could have gone to the place of unicorns and rainbows that is Gamestop!

J/K :P

I understand retail workers are unsung heros, and they deal with more shit than any customer can ever claim.

[downfall]

So you're trying to tell me that working at Gamestop is different than working at any other retail type job?

Thats quite a magical place. And to think i wasted all those years elsewhere when i could have gone to the place of unicorns and rainbows that is Gamestop!

Not at all. Working retail is working retail is working retail. Nuances abound at each place of retail employment you may find yourself working at, but overall the experience is pretty much the same.

And for the record, I didn't say I worked at Gamestop. ;)

The problem is that the hardcore internet gamers (ie. people on this forum, and other forums like this), which is in fact the minority in the mass consumer base of a company like Gamestop, always complain about Gamestop as a whole by applying examples, most of which aren't the fault of the employee, to the entire company. That is to say: "Hey guys, Gamestop sucks, all their employees suck, they don't know anything about games, and they just want to shove stuff down my throat." They also complain because Gamestop doesn't cater to their every demand, when like I said before, they're a very small subsect of the actual customer base that Gamestop is trying to attract.

I'm not even going to argue this though, and I probably shouldn't have even posted, because it won't matter.

[Push Upstairs]

So you're trying to tell me that working at Gamestop is different than working at any other retail type job?

Thats quite a magical place. And to think i wasted all those years elsewhere when i could have gone to the place of unicorns and rainbows that is Gamestop!

Not at all. Working retail is working retail is working retail. Nuances abound at each place of retail employment you may find yourself working at, but overall the experience is pretty much the same.

Agreed.


The problem is that the hardcore internet gamers (ie. people on this forum, and other forums like this), which is in fact the minority in the mass consumer base of a company like Gamestop, always complain about Gamestop as a whole by applying examples, most of which aren't the fault of the employee, to the entire company.

Yeah, i've had to deal with my share of dumbass rules and regulations. And i know that some of the rules that i have had to follow ended up making me look like an ass, but what can i do?


That is to say: "Hey guys, Gamestop sucks, all their employees suck, they don't know anything about games, and they just want to shove stuff down my throat."

Replace Gamestop with "Best Buy" and games with "anything" and this could be a all out anti-Best Buy rant.

I think the "shove stuff down my throat" can be a bit exaggerated but it also depends on the employee. There are people who will press customers hard and others that won't...but its very dependent on the person behind the counter.



They also complain because Gamestop doesn't cater to their every demand, when like I said before, they're a very small subsect of the actual customer base that Gamestop is trying to attract.

All i want is a disc that is not scratched to hell. This isn't some collector desire...i take pride in what i own and i'd rather not purchase something that isnt going to work.

But buying used is always a crap-shoot.

[NintendoMan]

now I'm not saying that all of the gaming stores are like this, but does anybody else ever go into an EB or gamestop ect. and either get insulted or treated like you are blind to the video game world and have them try to sucker you into buying stuff that you don't want? The other day i went to an EB and i asked if they had a couple of PS1 rare titles (I figure it didn't hurt to ask cause u never know) and I was insulted and treated like shit by the kid behind the counter. Then i found myself listening to him telling me all these rare sealed games he had, then since he knew i collected, he tried telling me i have to pre-order Valkyrie profile for PSP because its gonna be rare and he wouldn't take the no for an answer. I almost wanted to cause a scene in the store and flip him the bird. Has anybody else had experiences where you wanted to reach behind the counter and shove used GBA games down the employee's throat?

Yes, I know what you mean exactly. And I'm not saying this about the people here that work for EB or Gamestop, but with the exception of the Gamestop I went to regularly for like 3 years, just about every single damn game store I have went into, it seems like the people working just don't give a shit, and just want you to hurry up out of there store and leave.

[vahn401]

[quote=Acidic_Pain]Funcoland was the worst by far, but Eb/Gamestop is starting to give chase. EB used to be great but ever since the merger the employees have taken a turn for the worse.

quote]

I dissagree i think that funcoland was greast - i used to go in there and buy NES games - It was great because they had the newspaper with all of the prices of the month. I would take a copy of the newspaper home and hilight the games i waned. This is how i started collecting NES - I would buy anything under a buck - about 100 games every month for 0.99 or less and the $2-3 range would shuffle into 0.99 every month. So i would hand the guy behind the counter my pink and yellow collored newspaper and make him pull the games i needed since the NES cab was behind the counter. They never really bitched about it though - best part was there was a couple of us who always did this together every couple weeks so the guy would spend about 2 hours pulling NES games while we demoed the dreamcast and what ever else was hooked up - I also liked the fact that they gave out free boxes if they had them for the game you were buying :)

All and all i miss funco - it was just easier and cheaper - now i go to a local exchange store - regaurdless of there "Smiling Faces" i am there cause there the cheapest!

I only remember a funcoland from when I was younger, and even then, it was about an hour's ride so I didn't get the chance to visit frequently. I remember one time where I was in a twist, on which game to get, and the really nice clerk guy says "try them both out, and buy the one you want." I liked how you could do that at funcoland.

And now, My local EB has a crew of nice employees, aside from one guy. I think he is the assistant-manager, and the biggest ass I've ever met. I myself am not the biggest xbox fan in the world, but this guy will completely bash any customer coming in for anything xbox related, I feel really bad watching a 30-something year old talk some 12 year old kid out of buying a game the kid wants, and then throws a bunch of crap about playstation at the kid instead.

[smork]

Hey, all I really want from a game store is a good selection of games, in good condition, at a decent price. It'd be nice if the sotres left you alone once they asked, "Can I help you find something?" and you say "No, I'm OK, thanks.", and it would be nice if they were helpful if you need the help.

At GameCrazy the employees seem to be more knowledgable, have played something beyond the top 10 releases, and care if the game's in good shape (and will in fact clean/polish a game that's looking rough, if you want). Gamestop tends to have less knowledgable employees and doesn't care about what quality their games are in (I've been insulted by a GS employee when I asked to see a disc before buying, it, saw several good scratches, and nicely decided not to buy)... This is, of course, an overgeneralization, but I've been to alot of game stores over the years and it holds true in my area, in my experience.

Hey, retail isn't so easy -- i've been there -- but even for $5.15 an hour or whatever those stores pay the employees should have some pride in being at least somewhat knowledgeable, and the companies should try to hire employees who at least play games now and then. Sure, it's minimum wage retail shitsville, but it's also a competitive market (less so after the GS/EB merger) so the stores should try to, you know, be competitive. It's not too much to ask.

[The Songbird]

I actually know what it's like working in retail, but many people I've come across go too far in showing how much "they enjoy it..."

The EB Games near me has always been good to me, it's actually the electronics people in Wal-Mart that frustrate me.

I remember trying to get all the Pokemon games for GBC, and I only needed Crystal to have all 6. I went into Wal-Mart to see if they still had a few, and the dude handling the videogames kept pressuring me into getting Ruby & Sapphire.

Dude: "Oh, so you're looking for Pokemon? We have Ruby & Sapphire in stock."

Me: "Actually, I was looking for Crystal."

Dude: "Can I interest you in Ruby & Sapphire?"

Me: "No thanks, I'm looking for Crystal."

Dude: *annoying tone* "I won't take no for an answer..." *grin*

Me: "First of all, I don't have a Game Boy Advance yet, so I couldn't even play them. Second, I'm trying to get all 6 of the first games before I start with the GBA titles. COuld you tell me if you have Crystal in stock?"

Dude: "You don't wany Ruby & Sapphire? Why not?"

Me: "I just told you. I don't have a Game Boy Advance yet! And I don't plan on getting one for another few months!"

Dude: "We also have Game Boy Advance in stock. You can get that to go with Ruby & Sapphire!"

Me: "I just said I don't want either one right now! I want to finish off my GBC collection before I start with GBA!"

Dude: "Why wait? Get them now?"

Me: "I'm waiting for the prices to drop. I don't have a job yet, so I have very little money to spare! I don't have enough for a new GBA and 2 games! I barely have enough for one GBC game! Now, can you PLEASE tell me if you have Crystal???"

Dude: "My break's in a minute, so I'll be going now. You're being a n00b."

Me: "I'll just go elsewhere then. Other people will appreciate my business more. And my limited buying power. Thanks anyways for the argument, I've stayed somewhat occupied for the past several minutes."

Dude: "Pssh."


A few minutes later I went over to the nearby EB Games to see if they had Crystal. They immediately led me to the GBC games and asked if I wanted it new or used. They also gave me a discount after I told them the Wal-Mart story! ^^

I must be lucky to live near this EB, some of the other I've went into give me quite a bit of pressure about buying games for systems I don't even own, and don't plan on owning. XD

I really don't think working in retail is that bad. I work in customer service for a grocery store. And I've never had any problems that were so bad that I would be a grumpy turd about them and take it out on anyone else.

[crazyjackcsa]

Ohh look! Another post bashing the fine folks working at INSERT STORE NAME HERE. Retail blows, why? Customers. Largest group of Junk sluts I've ever met. You think the boards at Gamefaqs are bad? That's a good cross section of the people that wander into a game store.

The best part though? While you are all complaining about us? We're making fun of YOU.

[The Songbird]

I wasn't basing any stores. It's certain employess that I've dealt with. I still shop frequently at Wal-Mart, just to let you know. I'm not going to stop shopping somewhere just because of one employee they have.

LIke I said, I work in retail, I know what it's like. And customer service gets a pretty decent amount of crap each day from frustrated customers. I know what that's like. Granted, it isn't always paradise working in these jobs, but you really shouldn't take it out on your customers, when they most likely aren't the ones who were causing the frustration.

[smork]

Ohh look! Another post bashing the fine folks working at INSERT STORE NAME HERE. Retail blows, why? Customers. Largest group of Junk sluts I've ever met. You think the boards at Gamefaqs are bad? That's a good cross section of the people that wander into a game store.

The best part though? While you are all complaining about us? We're making fun of YOU.

Wow, nobody but poor put upon game store employees ever have to deal with people they don't like. I NEVER have to do that in my job. I especially hate it when my clients -- you know, the people who bring revenue into my company -- ask me to know what I am doing.

I'm glad there are people to navigate the turbulent gaming waters and sell me a copy of Magic Pengel. Thank you, game store employees.

Oh, and for the record, I stopped worrying about people making fun of me when I was in middle school, perhaps younger.

[downfall]

That is to say: "Hey guys, Gamestop sucks, all their employees suck, they don't know anything about games, and they just want to shove stuff down my throat."

Replace Gamestop with "Best Buy" and games with "anything" and this could be a all out anti-Best Buy rant.

I think the "shove stuff down my throat" can be a bit exaggerated but it also depends on the employee. There are people who will press customers hard and others that won't...but its very dependent on the person behind the counter.

And that's my biggest problem. How often do you see a "Best Buy sucks cock." post, or a "K-mart blows and their employees are teh gay!1!!". Pretty much never, though I can guarantee that people have just as bad experiences there as they do at Gamestop or EB. It's just that those two catch the most flack from your "hardcore gamers" or "online gamers" or whatever you want to call them, because they're stores that sell exculsively the types of things they're interested in - thus they have some sort of preconceived grand vision of how that store should be, when in reality, that's not how it works. Gamestop would be out of business if that were the case, because like I said above, far and away the bulk of our business is the mom and dad buying something for their kid, the college-age guy that plays Call of Duty and Madden and that 50-Cent crap, and the other types of casual gamers.

If I were a betting man, I'd even bet that Joe's store, a store with a much, much greater focus on classic gaming is the same way. If he didn't have the customers coming in and buying up all the latest games and such, he'd probably be having trouble staying afloat right about now. That's a guess, because I honestly don't know - I haven't talked to Joe about it. But it's a highly educated guess, and I wouldn't be shocked at all if it were correct.

And back to the stores like Best Buy, Wal-Mart, K-Mart, etc. - they aren't game-specific stores, and so people don't expect nearly as much out of the staff when they go buy a game there, so you don't hear so much about any problems.

[Pico956]

I haven't had any issues with the local game stores here in town (san antonio). As far as I know, there are only gamestops and EB.

When I used to collect NES titles, there was a local Gamestop that still sold the carts. I went there one day and picked up all they had. The person at the counter told me, "Why would you want these, the NES is dead." I just said, "Mine is still alive and works perfectly fine.".

I don't mind a person's opinion, but make it constructive. Just because a system is obsolete doesn't mean the games are unplayable and worthless.

Other than that experience, I've been treated rather well. There is an Gamestop by my apartment and I go there to purchase used GC games. The employees there are always showing me the used games that are good for the price.

/End

[Push Upstairs]

I actually see more topics about Best Buy sucking than i ever have about game stores. But that might be because i also frequent a DVD movie site.

The problem with retail is that knowledgable people aren't rewarded or given any incentive to stay outside of liking the job. And even with my experience in retail i've noticed that as long as a body is there to talk to customers most places don't care.

[biggzy]

First off, please understand that this is not a "Look what poor me has to go through every fucking day of my miserable existence :-(" and so forth. I'm simply shooting my humble opinion from the inside the belly of the fuckin' beast.

I work for the Gamestop monopoly (EB Games, Gamestop, Funcoland, Babbages, Software etc--all the same now), and I'm not about to jump to my own defense. Know why?

Because they train us to be assholes.

If I don't ask every customer if they'd like to preorder some shit, I can get written up. BTW, I think pre-ordering anything that even shows up on the radar is garbage because everywhere will have fifty of them on launch day. I also have to yell at everyone who walks through the door and fuss at them about trades. This really gets me off on the right foot, you understand. Now my customer thinks I'm a pushy prick. If I could not yell at you, trust me, I wouldn't. But if I don't, we fail our fuckin' mystery shop and I get yelled at.

And back to the whole pre-orders thing, I'm expected to have 10% of my transactions every week be a pre-order. So one out of every ten people I ring up have to have put five bucks on some piece of shit coming out next month or I lose hours on the schedule. Yes, they schedule us based on numbers.

Aside from the assholish things they require me to do, I try to be nice to my customers, but I work with many who aren't. The reason some employees like to scoff at your request for a rare title is because we stash stuff for ourselves before it goes on the floor and I guess some chumps are insulted at the insinuation that he didn't grab it before you. I don't consider it an odd request. I've been treasure hunting at the chain stores within driving distance just like everyone. Rare titles do get traded in from idiot kids and parents who don't know what they have and sometimes they're on the floor. If I've got it, I point it out to you. If I don't, I politely apologize that we don't have the title and offer to call the other store in town for you. I'm not going to make you feel like an idiot. It's rude and bad business.

Then we have the fucks that will stop at nothing for sales numbers. My manager likes to tell people baldface lies about limited quantities and make them feel like shit when they turn down his offer to pre-order Madden. "Alright," he'll say in a condesending tone. "Good luck finding it!" He also badgers people about pre-ordering to the point that they cave just to shut him up. He'll name every game on the list until you say yes, and he won't take no unless you get rude with him, which most people unfortunately won't. Then he brags about his numbers. It's cheap pressure tactics and it's a fucking scam. They're banking on you never coming to pick up your game and swallowing your five bucks when the database gets purged. Next time one of us asks you to preorder something, keep asking us hard to answer questions about the pre-order system. It's not hard to find holes in the logic we're fed. I could care less about my sales numbers. That's not a point of pride for me. I personally think it's a pretty hollow thing to put up on a pedestal because it's all about luck and how hard you can push some poor old grandma before she caves. No thanks.

EB wasn't as bad. I worked for them for a short time before the merger. All they wanted from me was warranties and discount cards, both of which are practical add-ons that I can easily talk certain types of customers into purchasing because it's a genuinely useful service to some folks. But pre-orders? How am I supposed to keep a straight face when I tell you that we're going to run out of the seven hundred copies of Kingdom Hearts they send us on lauch day? Fucking rediculous.

Fuck Gamestop. Shop Gamecrazy or fucking eBay. Don't give the fuckers a cent.

I thank you for your time.

[CreativeOnlineSurname]

biggzy: Well said.

I've been annoyed by pushy salespeople in both GameStop and EB, and I've had to get rude with them before. This one girl asked repeatedly whether or not I wanted to preorder Zelda: Twilight Princess, and their computers didn't even have a release date yet, or which system it's on. Granted, nowhere else does either, really, but they don't seem to mind taking a person's five bucks just because a game will eventually come out. I told her I'd pass. "But you won't be able to get it on its release day!" "Then I'll pick it up next week when you get another fucking shipment... I don't want it." I should only need to tell you I'm not interested once.

[Frankie23]

Then we have the fucks that will stop at nothing for sales numbers. My manager likes to tell people baldface lies about limited quantities and make them feel like shit when they turn down his offer to pre-order Madden. "Alright," he'll say in a condesending tone. "Good luck finding it!" He also badgers people about pre-ordering to the point that they cave just to shut him up.

I don't care about most of the flack that comes from a clerk's mouth, but this is one thing I despise. I've never pre-ordered a game in my life, and I almost never buy on launch day. Fable had me interested though, and when it was nearly about to launch, every EB I went to I heard the same damn spiel about how it was going to be sold out all over town. I went in after work on launch day, and they had *stacks*, definitely way more than there were pre-orders for. The guy behind the counter acted like he was doing me the biggest favour in the world selling me the damn thing. After beating it in just over ten hours, I almost wished he hadn't bothered. Haven't bought a title on launch day since.

[Push Upstairs]

Yes, they schedule us based on numbers.

It's not worth working there for that kinda shit.


The reason some employees like to scoff at your request for a rare title is because we stash stuff for ourselves before it goes on the floor and I guess some chumps are insulted at the insinuation that he didn't grab it before you.

The game store i used to work at (not EB or Gamestop) we had first pick at anything that came in for trade.

I don't find employee's buying games to be that huge of a problem really. They work there and have first pick at items. As long as some jerk employee doesn't gloat about what he's held to paying customers.