Hope he also gets rid of the DirecTV guys that won't stop bothering you once you step in the store
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Today was probably the last time I will ever set foot in a gamestop...
- Thread starter GKDAIR
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Hope he also gets rid of the DirecTV guys that won't stop bothering you once you step in the store
Maybe it was the comment about she's probably an animal behind closed doors?
Just maybe...
Agreed. I try and remember that they're just doing their (stressful, underpaid) job and politely decline. If they get pushy, I just say it a little more firmly. I remember when I worked at Apple in school, and having to sell Apple Care and mobile me and One to One and whatever other crap was annoying. People are conditioned by hard sales of add-ons, that they immediately tense up and get defensive. It always made me feel slightly like a used car salesman. Probably why my numbers were always in the red on all 3 categories, but I digress.
They get a slight pass from me because their stores are always crawling with pushy kids that don't have enough money for anything, don't know what they want, and haven't washed their hands in what seems to be a year.
I will admit that Gamestop is one of my least favorite places to shop for a bunch of separate reasons. One, I've sworn off buying games or accessories from them that are used. I seem to always, always get a controller that is broken in some way, or a game that won't play because it's either scratched to hell or resurfaced to hell. The multiple trips required to return/exchange, then dealing with their stickerfied copies of games just got to be way too much hassle. Kids are their biggest customers, and they rash on their stuff. I'm very particular about my electronics, so it's not a good marriage.
As Koodauw suggested, vote with your wallet. It's America, you can shop where you like and avoid places you don't like at your leisure.
That said, the sexism by both the guy in the OP's story, and the OP himself is unfortunately not very surprising in tech/game stores.
I'll be honest, even as a part time employee, I only get new stuff from GS. I'm strangely anal retentive about my games, plus I'm a collector's edition addict. I know it works against me money wise, since employees with the pro card get like 25% off anything preowned. I just can't bring myself to buy anything used. Only time I get used games is when I'm finding old PS2 games, and if they don't have the original packaging and the disk isn't pristine, I walk away.
Sadly, Ohio's full of the whole "sleeveless redneck" gamer. So myself and the other 3 women at our store get to deal with unwanted attention and a fair amount of misogyny. I made the mistake of wearing a Pride shirt to work once, and now i'm referred to as (and sometimes when I'm standing right there) "the dyke". So I'm sadly used to people like the OP, and sometimes even fellow employees are just as bad as the OP.
Wait, are you the girl in that new male hair product commercial? The love interest he sees in the office and then at the bus stop?
I'm with you. For things in my personal collection, I buy new and that's it. But for example my sister and I had a house Wii that I'd sometimes try and buy a used controller for if one broke, or something like that. Or Gamecube games, where you can't always buy them new. But trying to find something in good condition became like looking for Waldo.
skottichan said:
I always find they either talk to me like I'm from the planet Xenorg and have never heard of video games, or they try and offer me Cooking Mama and the like (or the chest staring).
Another reason my retail career was very short-lived, I have a problem with people being rude ******s and expecting sweetness and light in return. Once this woman walked into the Apple store with a huge ass iMac and bag of accessories. As I was offering to carry it to the bar for her, she dumps them in my hands without so much as a word and walks past me like I was a servant. When we got to the bar and I set it down, her response was "Oh, wow, you got fingerprints on the screen."
She's lucky all I did was walk away.
To the point: people treat retail employees like crap for no reason, so I try to be extra nice as much as it's possible. It doesn't hurt me, and I remember getting a nice customer was like a drink in the dessert on some days.
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Guh... I would have exploded on her. My worst customer was a guy who was wearing a shirt that said "Swallow or it's going in your eye", I walk up and do the normal greeting bump and his response to "how can I help you today?", I got a very classy "get on your knees". It took everything in my power not to beat him to death with his own arms. My ASM heard it and politely asked him to leave the store.
Wait, are you the girl in that new male hair product commercial? The love interest he sees in the office and then at the bus stop?
That commercial freaks me the hell out. I see it and I'm like "oh god... must leave the room!".
Oh, ugh, I HATE that shirt. I've seen it on occasion and I'm always squicked by it and the person who thought it was appropriate to buy and wear. My drop kicking foot would have been itching, F that.
Once a guy came in and was having trouble with something on his iPhone. So I said, "sure, let me take a look at it." He hands me his phone and the lock screen is a picture of a woman with her legs totally spread, butt naked, open vag. On his iPhone lock screen! I almost dropped his phone and then I handed it back to him and walked him through the steps without touching that thing. He wasn't nearly embarrassed enough, his response was like, "oh, sorry," like he'd bumped into me and not shown me his nasty vag phone.
skottichan said:
You are not alone. Shudder.
I visited a Gamestop during my first trip to America some months ago. I was expecting a hell on earth from the way people online talk about it, but it was quite lovely.
Yes, I was pestered more than I would be in a UK game shop (here I tend to attract a sales bloke/woman/chap 25% of the time. Then it's a one-off "no" and they're gone).
But he offered a few suggestions on some games that weren't released in Europe, he put all the stuff I bought on his own loyalty card (win-win for the both of us) and was generally a good egg. Had a bit of banter, he loved the way I pronounced "boulevard" and I left with a load of good games. And the item I wanted that they didn't have, they had it brought over from a nearby store.
By far the worst shopping experience I had over there were the supermarkets. Every aisle had another worker asking me if I needed any help. You don't get that in the UK - and that makes me happy. I feel shopping should be hands-off.
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Online shops here (England) try to counter any possible late days on delivery by shipping pre-ordered items 3 days before the launch. If you're lucky you get the game 2 days before launch, or most of the time it's the day before.
So if you pre-order then there's no waiting for delivery. In a way.
Yes, I was pestered more than I would be in a UK game shop (here I tend to attract a sales bloke/woman/chap 25% of the time. Then it's a one-off "no" and they're gone).
But he offered a few suggestions on some games that weren't released in Europe, he put all the stuff I bought on his own loyalty card (win-win for the both of us) and was generally a good egg. Had a bit of banter, he loved the way I pronounced "boulevard" and I left with a load of good games. And the item I wanted that they didn't have, they had it brought over from a nearby store.
By far the worst shopping experience I had over there were the supermarkets. Every aisle had another worker asking me if I needed any help. You don't get that in the UK - and that makes me happy. I feel shopping should be hands-off.
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I suppose I'm in the minority, but I would much rather go to a store and buy something rather than order online. Sure, the price is slightly higher, and the employees are rather pushy; but it gets me off my behind, outside, doing something. Plus, no wait for delivery.
Online shops here (England) try to counter any possible late days on delivery by shipping pre-ordered items 3 days before the launch. If you're lucky you get the game 2 days before launch, or most of the time it's the day before.
So if you pre-order then there's no waiting for delivery. In a way
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Good grief, some people just have no class. Good for ASM for throwing the jerk out.
Another one with no class. I think you handled it well.
I was an assistant manager for McDonalds back in the late 1980s. I had a family come in one night with a mentally challenged girl. After they were seated, a group of 3-4 late teen boys came in. After they got their food, I could hear them loudly cracking jokes among themselves about the girl from the family. While I didn't like it, I didn't try and stop it but I stayed up near the front counter so I could monitor the situation. A few minutes later, they started saying **** to the family. I don't think that I have ever been that angry in my entire life. I walked over with an empty tray and swept their food on to it and threw it in the trash, and told them to get the hell out of my store. They tried to give me some crap about it, but finally left when I asked another employee to call 911 and ask for the cops and paramedics cause someone was going to the hospital. The family was very grateful for my actions.
Even 30 years later that story gets my blood boiling.
I have worked retail plenty and know both sides of the fence. Yes there are customers who you want to kick in the head but there are also employees who you want to piss off. I was not the type of person to pressure a sale on someone, I even told this to management in how messed up their policies were. I have also put employees in their place who didn't know what the hell they were talking about.Yup that's retail for you. Yes it's annoying, but that's the name of the business. Making money. It happens everywhere. Some more than others. Not sure why you wouldn't want to return again. I've worked in retail and we pretty much have to be able to sell anything to customers.
Not too sound like a jerk man, but if I was an employee and you stepped in I would have told you to buzz off. Would you likely come back? Nope. But seeing as how you would react you probably wouldn't come back anyways. I've lost all patients for customers. Not worth taking customer crap for a min wage job. Yea it's bad "customer service," but if a customer is gonna cross the line, then so am I. They can go ahead and give a bad review on Yelp or whatever. Not a big deal for that type of job. Don't get me wrong, I think customers should be treated with respect, but if they cross the line, don't expect to blow you a kiss when you start verbally bashing me.
You went to a GameStop, what do you honestly expect?
Hope that didn't sound too harsh, but I see it from both sides. I just have strong opinions when it comes to the wonderful world of retail or WWOR (war) as I call it
I'll never understand the point or appeal of making a post on a forum just to be a dick or get in a snarky dig. What's the point? Some people enjoy discussion, even if that discussion is not scientific discovery. If it's not your bag, just ignore it.
I hate gamestop. I have to say "No thanks" at least 15 time just so I can pay -_-
Its policy, so I don't blame the workers.
Its policy, so I don't blame the workers.
Ha ha, but be careful what you wish for... The way lawyers and companies work these days nice people will get charged more.
(They won't complain or kick up a fuss - they're easier to fleece than the aggressive types.)