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Denver, 9:27 AM
Tue Nov 10
60 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/09/09
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11/08/09
It's that crap I really hate about GameStop. I really can careless about what other people like/dislike, but when it gets in the way of trying to buy something, that really pisses me off. #screengrab
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11/08/09
That's fine. Joe Gamer gotta eat.
That being said, these two panels were contradictory:
"Proceed to ignore every living entity in the store. Employees, kids, elitist nerds. Seriously, everyone."
Then:
"Inform the soccer mom ahead of you in line that she doesn't need to buy 47 peripherals just to play a Wii."
So in three panels you're supposed to transform from Gamestop über-loner to one of those annoying "elitist nerds" you're supposed to be ignoring? #screengrab
11/08/09
11/08/09
And, yes, a fellow employee might "let it slip out" that you're not maximizing your capacity to sell, and by them pointing out inadvertently that fact, may taint the view of them in front of their manager which might cost them a job when cuts come about or overpass them when a promotion opportunity happens.
Point is, it is part of their job when they get brought in. If a customer is interested in something, show them related accessories or products that have a higher profit margin (used games, strategy guides) or assist in the assessing demand process (pre-orders). Depending on who their DM is, THAT is their job - not simply seeing to it that you're taken care of. If the employee IS doing that, then great. Point is that there's stuff they just have to say to stay employed. #screengrab
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For this purpose, and this purpose alone, Gamestop is a useful retailer.
As for upselling, I don't sweat it. I politely say "no thanks". If they get aggressive after I've said no two or three times, then I take my business elsewhere (no kidding). But you gotta cut them some slack. When you treat your employees like the salesmen in Glengarry Glen Ross and punish them for other peoples' disinterest, you're going to get a little more aggression and anxiety floating around. In other words, I grab my rare game, blame the system and duck out quickly... #screengrab
11/08/09
You're like a telemarketer. I don't like telemarketers. I have nothing against the people themselves, I acknowledge that it is not their choice to pester me, I realize they're only trying to do their jobs and get paid, but that doesn't change the fact that they are bothersome.
Same idea with Gamestop employees. I know you get incentives for selling Game Informers, and Edge cards, and used titles, and pre-orders, I know it's your job, I know it's not your choice. It's still annoying as hell. It doesn't change the fact that I just want to walk-in, buy a new copy of a game, and walk-out without being pestered about purchasing a bunch of things I have no interest in.
Now personally I remedy this by simply not buying games at Gamestop in favor of buying them on Amazon and saving boatloads of money. Unfortunately though, you're job is annoying. I'm sorry. Nobody is attacking you personally. Some people sympathize having had shitty jobs themselves. Ultimately our issue is with the practices of the company. Just know that no one is attacking you, we're just annoyed by what your job entails. #screengrab
11/08/09
You talk about Amazon, and they do the exact same thing with "customers that bought this also bought". Maybe it's the attitude of an employee that isn't expressing it well, but the point is the things that they have to offer you are not only requirements of the job, they're also to ensure you get something you want out of the experience. And while there might be negative spin on that, it's ultimately to make sure that anything game related you were going to buy today you buy from them and not from somewhere else. #screengrab
11/08/09
Right, and I can enter a Best Buy or my local record store (yes I do have a local record store and they're one of my favorite game retailers) and buy a game without being pestered to buy ten different things I have no interest in and didn't come to the store for. #screengrab
11/08/09
Go there. #screengrab
11/08/09
I do.
This isn't an anti-Gamestop/don't shop at Gamestop/I don't shop at Gamestop so I'm better than you rant. It's an explanation to Gamestop employees that when people express their annoyance with Gamestop employees it's an issue they're taking with company policy not the employees themselves. #screengrab
11/08/09
:( #screengrab
11/08/09
Though agree with the "open new games = resell as new" if they've taken them home to play. The policy really only needs to apply to used games, since I bet they're willing to not take a used price hit on a new product that they're trying to recoop full MSRP for. #screengrab
11/08/09
Just be careful around open flame. #screengrab
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Oh, that's not cool! Unless it's said with a wink and a smile.
Even if the customer isn't buying it right there, interest is expressed and even if "going the extra mile" doesn't result in a sale right there, it'll result in a sale later because you took care of the customer where others may not have appropriately.
But that's not even going "the extra mile" letting you look at a product IS HIS JOB. Understandable frustration. #screengrab
11/08/09
As an extra note, Wouldn't taking your time to inform the soccer mom about how stupid her purchase is be acting as one of the elitist nerds you're trying to ignore? People like different things, and if you're gonna condemn someone for their purchase then you are being just as bad as those you scorned.
#screengrab
11/08/09
Naturally I don't think of myself as an elitist nerd, and actually the GS employees ask the same question when someone gets to the counter with the game, but it just goes further to reinforce that people are looking to provide customer satisfaction by asking questions. The GS employee is trying to protect the customer from feeling like they wasted their money on a title they didn't necessarily want, I'm asking questions to try and protect someone's view of the Halo franchise in case all they want to be exposed to is FPSs.
It's not about superiority or wanting to fight or wielding the e-peen; it's about genuinely caring about another person. #screengrab
11/09/09
Attack the company in a humorous way if that's the intent. Call out the re-sealing, the forcing of employees to sell subscriptions/reservers because the number they sell determines how many hours they are allowed to work next week, or how the company makes management work 6 days a week without giving them enough hours to work a non management employee more than 3 hours a week otherwise. #screengrab
11/08/09
11/08/09
And all this time I thought it was a day-care.
Interesting. #screengrab
11/08/09
I mean, I've never really had a TERRIBLE experience at a GS, sometimes a clerk was a bit short with me, but nothing outrageous. Though, you get bad apples in every bunch, I suppose. #screengrab
11/08/09
For the record, I like brick and mortar stores. I might hate being bombarded with offers to preorder and that kind of crap, but I look at my friends wait for their preordered stuff from Amazon and I can't help but thing something has been lost in the transition from walking into the store with money in your pocket, picking up a box and saying "I want this game".
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