274: Confessions of a GameStop Employee - Part Two
- Thread starter Scott Jones
- Start date
Just becuase 'Ben' sounds like a dick here, doesn't mean he acted like a dick at work. I find it interesting that so many people have mentioned their GS employees are polite, and not figured out they likely feel exactly the same as Ben does. I've worked retail for 7 years now... it's entirely possible (and not nessecarily uncommon) to smile at someone and say 'no, it's no problem at all' while secretly wishing you could smash a vase over their head.
Most people are easy to deal with- they ask a question or two, you answer, money and product is exchanged and you part ways. Some days the questions get grating, but you get over that quick enough. But the stupids, the crazys, the rude people... you still get a couple of those a week, and it wears on you for as long as you still care about your work. And although it's been said by everyone else, yes, people really CAN be that stupid! I've had to explain how velcro works to customers. Twice.
As for what people do to their games... sometimes it's kids who don't know any better. I babysat a kid several years back who ripped off the plastic wraparound that holds the game art off of his brand-new Gran Turismo 4 as soon as he got it Christmas Day. It was his first game for his new PS2. They didn't have a DVD player, so it was his first encounter with a DVD-style disc case. It's hard to blame an over-excited 6 year old who just wants to try his new game system for not realizing where the shrinkwrap stopped on a form of packaging he'd never seen before. Of course, sometimes it's just mind-boggling. I had a friend in high school who couldn't take care of her games to save her life. We went to her house once- she had her copy of Final Fantasy 10 in hand and complete. I went to the restroom. When I came out, the game was in the system in the living room, the manual was on the dining room table, and the case was in her bedroom. I actually asked her how the hell she pulled that off in 3 minutes and why- she just shrugged. I've never figured that one out.
I don't mind the refurb process if the game's not running anymore- sure, it may 'shorten the disc's lifespan'... it already doesn't work! Functional for half as long as a pristine disc is better than broken right now.
Most people are easy to deal with- they ask a question or two, you answer, money and product is exchanged and you part ways. Some days the questions get grating, but you get over that quick enough. But the stupids, the crazys, the rude people... you still get a couple of those a week, and it wears on you for as long as you still care about your work. And although it's been said by everyone else, yes, people really CAN be that stupid! I've had to explain how velcro works to customers. Twice.
As for what people do to their games... sometimes it's kids who don't know any better. I babysat a kid several years back who ripped off the plastic wraparound that holds the game art off of his brand-new Gran Turismo 4 as soon as he got it Christmas Day. It was his first game for his new PS2. They didn't have a DVD player, so it was his first encounter with a DVD-style disc case. It's hard to blame an over-excited 6 year old who just wants to try his new game system for not realizing where the shrinkwrap stopped on a form of packaging he'd never seen before. Of course, sometimes it's just mind-boggling. I had a friend in high school who couldn't take care of her games to save her life. We went to her house once- she had her copy of Final Fantasy 10 in hand and complete. I went to the restroom. When I came out, the game was in the system in the living room, the manual was on the dining room table, and the case was in her bedroom. I actually asked her how the hell she pulled that off in 3 minutes and why- she just shrugged. I've never figured that one out.
I don't mind the refurb process if the game's not running anymore- sure, it may 'shorten the disc's lifespan'... it already doesn't work! Functional for half as long as a pristine disc is better than broken right now.
Spoiler alert: A guy who comes in with a bunch of unboxed discs stole them. His "friend" went to the bathroom and he opened up a bunch of his "friend's" old games and shoved the discs in his bag, then put the boxes back where they were before the "friend" came back.
We have a disc resurfacer in store, and we always explain how it works so that people don't think it's just some sort of magic box of unicorn jizz that can fix their discs indefinitely.
I don't mind what people do with their own property, but if they expect to be able to trade it in afterwards, they should know that they need to take reasonable care of it.
Bear in mind, what Ben is describing here is the bullshit that his store has been lumped with by the other branches when it's just setting up. Once a store is up and running and the staff are responsible for the quality of the games they're buying and selling, it's fine. I work in a game shop, I buy almost exclusively pre-owned.
I don't mind what people do with their own property, but if they expect to be able to trade it in afterwards, they should know that they need to take reasonable care of it.
Bear in mind, what Ben is describing here is the bullshit that his store has been lumped with by the other branches when it's just setting up. Once a store is up and running and the staff are responsible for the quality of the games they're buying and selling, it's fine. I work in a game shop, I buy almost exclusively pre-owned.
Re: the trade in value of games.
I'm a current Gamestop employee. I have frequently had people ***** and whine about the trade in value of games, even so far as having a woman accuse me of ripping people off and making "bank" off their games. (Sidenote: an almost 40 year old woman should not be using the word "bank" at all, nonetheless a dozen or so times. It just looks and sounds ridiculous)
Truth be told, it is a service provided to customers. Yes, GS does make money off the service, just as anyone else in any other field within a capitalist society is going to attempt to make as much money as they can off the service they provide.
You, the consumer, have a choice. You can trade your game(s) in, or you can keep them and sell them some other way. So please, please, please stop bitching about it. If you're trading them in, you're accepting what you're getting for them as an appropriate amount of money. If you disagree, then by all means, keep your frigging games and be on your merry way. I won't be offended, even if I did just spend the last five to ten minutes checking out your 50 odd PS2 games and entering them into the computer.
Something you probably haven't thought about (those of you who still insist on complaining about the trade in value of used games), is that GS is going to end up eating a shit ton of money on games they accept which then don't sell. Next time you go into your local GS, take a look at the original Xbox game section, or the ever expanding PS2 section, or hell, ask them how many used PS2 systems they have in their system room. I bet the answer will be around 50 or so (we have around 75 used PS2 systems in ours). GS will be eating a lot of that profit loss because there's no way in hell those will all sell. They could probably send them off to be recycled or something, but I would bet that they won't get what they paid for them.
So when you see them turn around and sell a game for 50 bucks that they bought from you for 20 or 25, that extra 25 bucks does not just come out as straight "profit". It's capitalizing on a new games relevance and popularity to offset the loss from other, less likely to sell games...and yes, likely with a bit of money to make the service provided worth while.
I'm a current Gamestop employee. I have frequently had people ***** and whine about the trade in value of games, even so far as having a woman accuse me of ripping people off and making "bank" off their games. (Sidenote: an almost 40 year old woman should not be using the word "bank" at all, nonetheless a dozen or so times. It just looks and sounds ridiculous)
Truth be told, it is a service provided to customers. Yes, GS does make money off the service, just as anyone else in any other field within a capitalist society is going to attempt to make as much money as they can off the service they provide.
You, the consumer, have a choice. You can trade your game(s) in, or you can keep them and sell them some other way. So please, please, please stop bitching about it. If you're trading them in, you're accepting what you're getting for them as an appropriate amount of money. If you disagree, then by all means, keep your frigging games and be on your merry way. I won't be offended, even if I did just spend the last five to ten minutes checking out your 50 odd PS2 games and entering them into the computer.
Something you probably haven't thought about (those of you who still insist on complaining about the trade in value of used games), is that GS is going to end up eating a shit ton of money on games they accept which then don't sell. Next time you go into your local GS, take a look at the original Xbox game section, or the ever expanding PS2 section, or hell, ask them how many used PS2 systems they have in their system room. I bet the answer will be around 50 or so (we have around 75 used PS2 systems in ours). GS will be eating a lot of that profit loss because there's no way in hell those will all sell. They could probably send them off to be recycled or something, but I would bet that they won't get what they paid for them.
So when you see them turn around and sell a game for 50 bucks that they bought from you for 20 or 25, that extra 25 bucks does not just come out as straight "profit". It's capitalizing on a new games relevance and popularity to offset the loss from other, less likely to sell games...and yes, likely with a bit of money to make the service provided worth while.
nomadic_chad, last year we cleared out another store's stockroom and I spent a day giving away original Xboxes and Gamecubes to anybody who would take one.
Still nothing new to be seen. I didn't expect the large quality of horrid condition but I know they exist and I know people grumble about trade in value. My games are always mint with a manual, despite the fact that I get no extra credit for it (which would be a good incentive), even if the next guy turns in a disk that looks like someone ran over it with a forklift. I wish I got more credit for my games but I realize that its really all just pennies on the dollar no matter what because games don't have that high of a used demand.
It's amazing how quickly you learn to do that in retail. The mouth says "I like you as a customer", while your eyes say "I want to do unspeakable things to you with a wire brush".DuelLadyS said:
We used to have a "wall of stupid" in the back. Usually just a copy of a receipt taped to the wall (so mgmt didn't know what it was about), but every one had an awful story to go with.
I'd like to add to those who say "it's not every customer". It really isn't. But one selfish, rude, insane jackass will hurt you more than the satisfaction you get from helping 10 regular customers. You just can't break even.
I remember when I worked at Gamestop and the exact same situations would happen to me. When people would throw fits it was really hard to not just rage at them. I take pristine, god-like care of my games and it still annoys me to hell and back whenever I go over to a friends place and see discs laying on the floor or pushed aside without cases. Even though I don't work there anymore, that feeling of rage follows me everywhere. And yes, sports games might as well be beer coasters.
I loved this article, although I do have one qualm with it:
What about customers returning games that were in used condition when they bought them? When ever I want to buy a game that hasn't been released within the last month I always get a used disc. Always. I have no choice in the matter. I get a minor discount for it, but honestly I'd rather pay an extra few bucks and have a fresh copy I could consider my own.
I mean, the used games I've bought? I'd never think of returning them for store credit: they're so damaged looking I'd expect the cashier to refuse and then mumble about how I'm an idiot as I leave.
Sure it's great to be able to get a game cheap because it's been used, but opening the case of something I've been dying to play just to find it scratched to all hell really doesn't give me the feeling of excitment I want.
What about customers returning games that were in used condition when they bought them? When ever I want to buy a game that hasn't been released within the last month I always get a used disc. Always. I have no choice in the matter. I get a minor discount for it, but honestly I'd rather pay an extra few bucks and have a fresh copy I could consider my own.
I mean, the used games I've bought? I'd never think of returning them for store credit: they're so damaged looking I'd expect the cashier to refuse and then mumble about how I'm an idiot as I leave.
Sure it's great to be able to get a game cheap because it's been used, but opening the case of something I've been dying to play just to find it scratched to all hell really doesn't give me the feeling of excitment I want.
Tilted_Logic, generally speaking, the till monkey is supposed to check the disc - and be seen to check the disc - as a way of covering that. As in, if the customer comes back a few days later saying the disc isn't working because it's so badly scratched, the store needs to be able to say "Well, we checked it when we handed it out, and it was fine, so these teethmarks must be yours."
I know that in the real world, that doesn't happen every time though: so what I'd say to you, and to everybody else in this thread, is to have a quick look at the disc the second it's handed to you, in store. If you're not happy with the condition of it, just politely, informally, ask if you can have a different one. We're quite happy to grab you another one, it's no skin off our nose and we'd rather save you a trip and ourselves a return.
Another thing that doesn't offend us is if you decide not to take the price you've been quoted. That is absolutely cool with us. Don't feel like we're trying to pressure you in any way to take less than you're happy to take just because you queued and we're standing there. We're just waiting to see what you decide, not to bully you into handing over the goods.
One thing that does bug the shit out of me though, personally, is somebody who will interrupt a transaction I'm already doing with somebody else to "just" ask a question about a release date or something that I'd have to check or look up. You're not "just" asking a question. You guys, you guys are skipping the queue. No if's or but's about it. Fuck off and don't skip my queue, you douchebags. You were not raised in the wild. Now, you might think it's bizarre that I can't automatically recall the release date of the next Call of Duty or whatever off the top of my head, but believe it or not I have roughly 700 other dates and titles to think about this year, so no, I can't.
Something that I think is worth mentioning is that, believe it or not, a lot of people who end up working in game stores do actually like games, because people who like games will obviously apply to game stores for work. Thus, despite management's best efforts, they will end up with at least somebody who knows something about what they're talking about. However, our actual product training is basically nil; so unless we keep on top of developments in our own time and talk among ourselves, yes, our product knowledge can be patchy.
We manage though - I mean, I have an Xbox, so I know primarily Xbox stuff. The guy I'm usually on shift with has a PS3. Together we're the perfect crimefighting team.
I know that in the real world, that doesn't happen every time though: so what I'd say to you, and to everybody else in this thread, is to have a quick look at the disc the second it's handed to you, in store. If you're not happy with the condition of it, just politely, informally, ask if you can have a different one. We're quite happy to grab you another one, it's no skin off our nose and we'd rather save you a trip and ourselves a return.
Another thing that doesn't offend us is if you decide not to take the price you've been quoted. That is absolutely cool with us. Don't feel like we're trying to pressure you in any way to take less than you're happy to take just because you queued and we're standing there. We're just waiting to see what you decide, not to bully you into handing over the goods.
One thing that does bug the shit out of me though, personally, is somebody who will interrupt a transaction I'm already doing with somebody else to "just" ask a question about a release date or something that I'd have to check or look up. You're not "just" asking a question. You guys, you guys are skipping the queue. No if's or but's about it. Fuck off and don't skip my queue, you douchebags. You were not raised in the wild. Now, you might think it's bizarre that I can't automatically recall the release date of the next Call of Duty or whatever off the top of my head, but believe it or not I have roughly 700 other dates and titles to think about this year, so no, I can't.
Something that I think is worth mentioning is that, believe it or not, a lot of people who end up working in game stores do actually like games, because people who like games will obviously apply to game stores for work. Thus, despite management's best efforts, they will end up with at least somebody who knows something about what they're talking about. However, our actual product training is basically nil; so unless we keep on top of developments in our own time and talk among ourselves, yes, our product knowledge can be patchy.
We manage though - I mean, I have an Xbox, so I know primarily Xbox stuff. The guy I'm usually on shift with has a PS3. Together we're the perfect crimefighting team.
The employees at our local GS always open the case and check that the disc is playable and the manual is still there, so I have no assumptions what-so-ever that they're giving me a bad game. I've never had anything but great interactions with GS employees, I suppose my post was more focused at Ben specifically; his opinion that anyone who hands in a scratched game is at fault and mildly crazy to have gotten it into such a sorry state.Jenny Decimal said:
Thanks for the info Jenny
For the longest time there has been an erroneous impression that getting scratches on CDs, DVDs, etc. is okay because [magically] they'll still work. It's probably born from marketing hype that was originally trying to sell people on disc media back when such media was new and unfamiliar. Unfortunately, people then get the impression that the media are indestructible.Nazz3 said:
One of the maddening XBox flaws was an issue that caused them to scratch the discs, which I suspect is where those concentric circles come from on used games, and occasionally movie rental DVDs. It's been bad enough that Microsoft achieved in excess of a 50% failure rate with their XBox 360s, but incredible to also be responsible for causing damage to rental media.
Anyhoo, I didn't fabricate that 50% failure rate. Here's a reference:
http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2010/07/01/reality-check-the-iphone-4-launch-in-perspective
The trick with troublesome customers is to develop talent at remaining detached from whatever is upsetting them, such that it doesn't color your impressions with everyone else. Listening and understanding can be good. Just be aware that people can be having bad days that has no connection with you personally, or the situation at hand.jabrwock said:
Simple solution: Sell your stuff to him as 'used'. When he has to pay for them he will take better care of them. QED. No pay, no touch. Simple. Nice safe box+padlock = deterrent enough.Nazz3 said:
Little brothers these days.
Ben seems to be, though; he's offended at those who "snatch their worthless copy of Madden NFL '04 off the counter" and finds the more "reasonable" and "adult" option to be to "accept their fate - i.e. their $2.50 credit - in silence." It's a complaint separate from the customers' rudeness regarding disappointing trade-ins; he flatly doesn't seem to think they should have a right to reject GameStop's offer in favor of keeping the game.nomadic_chad said:
Yeah, but on balance, GameStop is doing quite well on their used-game division, as has been detailed at tiresome length in just about every gaming website. For example, the home-improvement store where I worked had a extraordinarily lenient returns policy - power tools in deplorable condition returned for full value, etc. Did they lose money on this particular policy? Yeah, they did. (It's offset by their return agreements with the manufacturers, but some is lost.) It was part, though, of a larger sales strategy that encouraged consumer spending by giving them some security about their purchases - what's the harm in buying something you can return at any time?nomadic_chad said:
There is no consumer charity in business. GameStop isn't forced to put a relatively high markup on used new releases to finance their expansive trade-in policy; they have that expansive trade-in policy because it's helped popularize their used-game business, put used games as an option at the forefront of consumers' minds, and made GameStop known as _the_ place to buy and sell used games. They wouldn't have the policy if it weren't profitable and effective.