Video Game Store Pet Peeves

[Cheese007]

Other than the GS employee pressuring me for 10 minutes to preorder LoZ:TP for GC, before he finally got the message that I didn't want to preorder it, I don't have any horror stories to tell. Mainly because I go to a place where all of the poeple there actually KNOW what I'm talking about when I mention sytems like the Colecovision or Saturn. What makes it REALLY awesome is they actually sell games for said systems and many more. They sell everything, from Game.com to XBOX 360. Anyone who has gone to the stonebriar mall should know what store I'm talking about.

[PressureCooker2600]

luck bastich

[BassGuitari]

. He proudly told me about how he finally tracked down a GTE model Intellivision to finish off his INTV collection.

 

Hehe, I have one those. Boxed.

 

Thought of another bothersome aspect of video game shops:

 

-the occasional "collector"-type customer who kinda snoops on you to see what games you're checking out/buying/thinking about buying/etc., as if to figure out if you know something he doesn't.

 

That one's kinda rare, but it's creepy and a little pathetic.

[misspent_youth]

I wonder what the reaction at the gamestores would be if you said after you returned the game: "Oh, and by the way, I wrote DEFECTIVE on the disc in permanent pmarker for you so you wouldn't confuse with any working copies of the game you might have."

[MCHufnagel]

There's one GameStop that has a kid behind the counter that loves to tell patrons that he owns every single game ever made. "Let's see, you're under 20 and work for minimum wage: how exactly do you afford to buy all those games on your salary?"

 

I was really suprised one time when I went to an EBX store in Grapevine Mills Mall in Grapevine, TX, and struck up a conversation with the sales guy. He knew all about classic gaming. He proudly told me about how he finally tracked down a GTE model Intellivision to finish off his INTV collection. It was nice to have a store employee who knew the hobby's past instead of only it's present like pretty much all the kids you find working in game stores. And unfortunately, I never saw the guy there again.

He probably didn't sell enough warranties or memberships.

[narutofan]

Let's see...

 

My video game store pet peeve would have to be...

 

Video game stores

[Bill Brasky]

I hate when I stuff my pants and pockets full of videogames and they have the nerve to stop me at the door. WTF!

[p_b]

We used to have a really good store near my, friendly assisstants who were quite knowledgeable and everything. Then suddenly there were a whole new lot of employees...and things went downhill fast. Went in there, got three games (full price games as well!) and went up to the counter to pay....only to find that the employee was using the store computer to entertain his friends with some uberleet gaming skills. After about a minute I told him that I wanted to pay for my games. His reaction?

-Yeah, I'll be with you in a minute.

-Look, I want to pay them now.

-Yeah, just a sec, I'll be with you in a minute.

-Can I pay my games or should I just go away?

-Yeah, don't stress me, as you can see I'm in the middle of something!

 

At which point I started laughing. And then I left.

I hate that! I don't expect them to treat me as if I were the king of the whole world, but if I have to wait to give them their money because they are too busy playing games....never.

[madhatter667]

"...and when they have someone like me who applies there and actually knows my shit..."

While I cannot repair consoles aside from a good cleaning, and a new pin replacement for an NES, I have run into this before. I feel your pain... as I would love to work in a game store, even part time... it'd be more fun than security (part time).

 

"It was nice to have a store employee who knew the hobby's past instead of only it's present like pretty much all the kids you find working in game stores."

It is nice when you run across folks like this. Too bad they are the minority. Imagine how great a game buying experience would be if all the people hired were avid gamers, past and present? Not some random jack-off who pretends to know about games.

 

"Owns every game made"

Sure... by every game... he means from the PSX on... and even that is doubtful given the THOUSANDS of titles available. The PSX alone has over 1300... add in how many PS2 titles??? I am guessing there are at least 2000 titles in the respective combined libraries. At anything from $5-$75 a pop (or more depending on how rare, and new or used) I highly doubt it.

 

It's shit like this that makes me want to open my own shop. A friend and I have been mulling it over for years... we should act on it. Sure, we wouldn't get the fad gamers, and the trend creeps...we'd get the people who love the hobby for what it is... which is more important, and more lucrative in my eyes.

 

Chain stores are a hotbed of BS drama... and I try to stay away from them if possible. I have a friennd who works at the Game Crazy in the town I used to live in...I'll shop there, as my buddy does care about games, and the shop is a few blocks from his house. I usually won't go there if anyone else is working besides him though. Other than that... most of the older stuff at the chains is well picked through, and barely warrants my time.

[PressureCooker2600]

man id love to start my own store....no money though for that

 

plus all the other vid game stores would probably be tryin to force us out of buisness or buy us out

[Dauber]

Heh...for the longest time, the retro shop where I occasionally go for Atari 2600 stuff had a boxed Atari 5200 in there with a large sign on it saying "NOT FOR SALE." Although I never wanted a 5200 (except for when it was out in the mid-'80s), it irked me...

[madhatter667]

I think that a display of sorts is an OK thing... kinda like "hey, this is a gamer haven". Although of course, it would be best if everything shown in store is for sale... cause some folks just might be the type to offer a generous sum of money for said obscurity.

[spacecadet]

Me : Can I get Halo 2?

 

Clerk: Did you pre-order it?

 

Me: No, but can I just get one of those 58,000 copies you have that are stacked to the ceiling behind you?

 

Clerk: (All pissed) Yeah, but you should really pre-order it.

 

Oh, this kind of thing drives me crazy. Definitely my #1 pet peeve.

 

I have had clerks tell me they couldn't give me one of those 58,000 copies until they satisfied all their preorders. This happened to me when Final Fantasy X came out. I asked "that entire stack plus those three huge boxes behind you are all going to preorders?"

 

Clerk: "No, but we need to make sure we have enough."

 

Me: "How many preorders do you actually have?"

 

Clerk: "About 20."

 

(I look at the stack again, along with the three giant open boxes that I can clearly see FFX gushing out of)

 

Me: "You've gotta have about 500 copies of the game there."

 

Clerk: "Yeah, but we've gotta call all of our preorder customers before we can sell them. Next time, you should preorder!"

 

Of course, I just walked out that day and bought it somewhere else - I guess they care more about maintaining this little preorder scam they've got going than actually taking money from people who want to give it to them.

 

When I worked in retail, we had one cardinal rule: never turn down money. It's such a basic, basic premise - you can't stay in business if you don't take in money! But so many stores these days - not just game stores, but other stores too - seem perfectly willing to let you walk out of the store without spending anything even if you have clearly enunciated that you are not only willing to buy, but actually have cash in hand ready and able to hand it over to any clerk that wants to take it from you. It is absolutely mind-boggling.

 

My other pet peeve is when clerks and customers get into these lengthy conversations about the game industry, as if either one of them knows what they're talking about. I used to work at Rockstar and I'd actually go into game stores wearing my Rockstar jacket sometimes and I would just walk up near the counter and pretend to look at magazines or something while these guys were spouting off about my company. Nobody ever even seemed to notice there was a guy wearing an obvious Rockstar jacket standing right there in the neighborhood that they should know is where Rockstar's headquarters is. They'd just go right on and on spouting these rumors and other nonsense about the next GTA or whatever. Not that I'd ever tell anybody anything if they asked, but it was just kind of funny. It was really annoying if I actually wanted to buy something, though, and again, the clerk was standing there having a lengthy confab about nothing while I'm obviously waiting there with a game in one hand and a wad of cash in another.

Edited November 1, 2006 by spacecadet

[Paranoid]

About as close as we get to these kind of stores out here are Game Crazy, and maybe Dimple Records.

 

The guys at Dimple are all uber-goth emo twits, and they generally could seem to care less about classic game stuff at all. Too busy contemplating their new piercings, and I'm old enough that they want to interact with me as little as humanly possible, anyhow. Which works out good, because the feeling is mutual.

 

But the Game Crazy, those guys are all dorks, and they can smell the uber-geek on me... but there is certainly a generational uber-geek gap going on between us. Still, there is clearly a consumer/service industry employee relationship going on.

 

Now, you get into ANY highly specialized retail store, and you start to encounter Industry-Geek elitism in abundance. It doesn't matter if it is a hobby store, a gun store, a computer store... whatever... as soon as it gets to that level, you're going to encounter this kind of attitude.

 

But... I'm the rich, successful white guy with the money... and they're the person who works in a retail outlet who WANTS some of that money, when everything else is said and done. Keeping that in mind is the great equalizer. Act as superior to me as you want... when you can afford a house in my zip code, then *maybe* I'll consider you an equal.

[shadow460]

This is why I like the Game X Change that's about two miles away from me. They don't know everything about games, and many of them will admit they don't know much about Atari. One of the guys in there is getting into Atari and Inty collecting. I think I might have inspired that a little bit. Another is into Saturn and NES, I believe (I'd have to ask him).

But they also don't push the latest and greatest on you, either. Sure, they will ask politely if you've heard about this or that new game. If you're interested, they'll brag or even plug it into a system for you to play. If not, they'll either chat a little bit or leave you alone.

The Yukon, OK, store had employees like that, too. I hope their new manager never sets foot in the one by me, 'cause all the former Yukon employees are gone.

So it's cool to go in and talk to the folks who work there and browse the classic titles. I like to pick up a game or two so I don't feel like I'm wasting their time. They've got almost everything from VCS to 360, so there's something available at every price.

 

GameStop? Heh, you can't even get them to understand what a VCS is even if you spell the words out to them. It seems like even the N64 is obsolete to them. Hello, have you guys visited a McDonald's lately? They're littered with N64's around here.

[tcv]

Why do you guys think the stores pass up on people who do know their stuff?

[Tempest]

Wow, I never have these troubles at my local EB/Gamestop/other chain store. Tuesday I walked into EB and asked for FF XII, and the only thing they asked is if I preordered it (I said no). After that the clerk let me look over the collectors vs the regular edition and then asked if I wanted the strategy guide since it was 20% off with the game (which I did pick up). I was never pressured or pestered to buy anything. In fact he even tried to see which cover was on the guide (there's a trick you can use to see which cover is under the outer case).

 

The only time I've ever been pestered was at Gamestop (I think it was still Funcoland at that point) about buying a CD cleaner, and even then they gave up after one or two tries. Sure I get asked if I want to preorder something now and then, but I just say no and thats that. No pressure or anything really. I wonder if its a regional thing or something?

 

The knowledge of the people working behind the counter varies though. Some people seem to know their stuff, while others seem to just be there to push buttons on a register. Then again, I can't remember the last time I relied on a game store clerks opinion for anything.

 

Tempest

[King_Salamon]

What burns me even more is when someone pre-orders a game and when they go to pick it up on launch day, there are no copies available for some strange reason. Happened to my friend, we went to EB after we phoned to confirm the game arrived. By the time we got there (with his pre-order slip in hand) there were none left.

 

The game wasn't one of the 6 million copies of GTA or something, that was why he pre-ordered it to ensure himself a copy. That annoyed us big time.

 

Another thing that annoys me is the smell of EB Games (well at least the 3 I've been to in town, there is another one I have been to that is ok - because it's new). I like the 'new game smell' when I crack a game open but the stores all smell like a locker room. Disturbing.

[Dusk2600]

i love it when things are unmarked and when you want it they do a quick check on ebay.

 

i also love when the clerks do anything they can to avoid you.

 

going into eb games and getting bombarded with questions, it is like meeting the annoying telemarketer over the phone

 

when asked to reserve madden i say i hate football.

Edited November 2, 2006 by Dusk2600

[Uzumaki]

Got to love it when you find a second hand shop that has several boxed games-- all sealed with duct tape!!! I had one not too long ago, out of all the Inty games I found only Auto Racing that I needed but I'm not paying their $10 each for one when there's no way to remove the tape without tearing up half of the box and they don't know if the manual or overlays are included.

 

Oh yeah when store overcharges for it and won't back down.

[MCHufnagel]

I think one factor with chain stores is the store manager. The EBGames close to my home has a totally different atmosphere than the one close to my job.

 

The one close to home has a manager who is aggressive and pushy. He must really want to move up the corporate ladder. So everyone there is the same way. One time I caught an employee automatically charging me for a warranty without asking. When asked I him to remove it, he explained that everyone gets them, so he adds it automatically. I used to go there often, and they knew me and the fact that I never want the damn thing. That store also was one of the first in the area to stop selling N64 and PSX games. My guess is that the manager only wants to push the new stuff.

 

The store close to work, the employees are pretty mellow and will ask if I want to pre-order a game, but never a specific game. And they since they know me, they never ask me about a warranty. And while they no longer take older games for trade, they are still selling PSX and N64 games. Although for a chain that no longer wants to deal with those games, they still charge high prices for them. Cut the prices in half and I'll buy a boatload of them.

[Zach]

About as close as we get to these kind of stores out here are Game Crazy, and maybe Dimple Records.

 

The guys at Dimple are all uber-goth emo twits, and they generally could seem to care less about classic game stuff at all. Too busy contemplating their new piercings, and I'm old enough that they want to interact with me as little as humanly possible, anyhow. Which works out good, because the feeling is mutual.

I'm pretty happy with Dimple Records. They've got a good selection of loose carts, and prices are on the high side of reasonable. I don't expect the cashiers to be Atari enthusiasts, but they do scan the bar code, collect my cash, and hand back the change promptly.

 

I just checked out a newer store in our area, Fair Game. They advertise "everything from Atari to Xbox", but the classic section was tiny. (not surprised, actually) On the plus side, the store (Fair Oaks location) has four classic arcade cabinets in excellent condition: Asteroids Deluxe, Joust, Centipede, and Tron.

[Zach]

BTW, No complaints about the AtariAge store!

Edited November 2, 2006 by Zach

[Trade-N-Games]

Ok I own my own store and this is my pet peeves

This happens a few times almost daily every day of the week

Customers come in with a list of games they are looking for. Some are young just getting started, Some are serious collectors, most are looking for deals to resell them on Ebay and the last group is the resellers groups parents and grandparents. This is how the list reads almost every time.

Nintendo DS Phoenix Write

For PS1 everytime they run down the same list. Suikoden 2, Lunar sets,Valkyrie profile,Intelligent cube and FF7

and to top off they ask for every super hard to fine Saturn RPG and Nintendo Super Mario RPG, Chrono trigger and Earthbound in box.

 

So this happens almost daily and I try to be as nice as I can but It just gets old. The other crazy thing about it is I often have a few of those around and I ask for current market prices and then they dont buy them since they thought they were way less.

 

One more thing I love my customers, dont get me wrong many from Atari age have come by in person and thats great but I am about ready to shoot myself with people coming in and just wanting to talk for hours I am a hostage behind my counter and I say I have to work now to make some money and they still just stand there. The other day i was so sick of someone who was here for hours "get a fucking job please" that I just walked over and turned the open sign off and said I am going to cut a tree down and will be back later.

Edited November 2, 2006 by Trade-N-Games

[PressureCooker2600]

totally off-topic but....hey Trade-N-Games, how does it feel to live in the number one most dangerous city in America.........

i used to go up to saint louie all the time when my grandparents were still alive and lived there...

now my asshole uncle is the only one left up there