Gamestop - Just let me buy my game(s) in peace.

[RYjet911]

Check my receipt, and yup, I got charged $6.99 for GTA3, even though the case I picked up (and all others in the displays) stated that it was $4.99.

Not cool.

Of course, when I went back into the store to question this, all the employees would tell me is this: Oh, well, the game was $4.99 at one point, but that was the old price and the new price is $6.99; we just haven't gone through and changed the prices of the games on display yet.

A somewhat opposite thing has happened to me twice at my local Gamestation store a while back.

I went in to buy a used copy of Red Steel, which the price tag said £7.99. However, it had very recently gone up to £12.99. But they let me buy it at the £7.99 price.

Next time I went in, I bought No More Heroes, the price tag saying £15.99. It was apparently going down to £12.99 the next day, so they sold it to me at that price instead.

I was happy. ^_^

 

[Captain_Caveman]

I admit to going to Gamestop and spending far more than I should within them a lot.

But out of all the stores I have been to, I have come to the conclusion that there are two that I am fed up with, and will never go back to.

The first of the two is actually located in the mall I work at - which made it a convenient place to go to after work hours, but... it seems every time I go there, I end up leaving irritated and-or upset over one thing or another; and it always has to do with the employees.

See, I do NOT go into the store with the desire to be made at all awkward/uncomfortable when all I want to do is go in, peruse and buy game(s).

Yet it seems that's the only thing that ever happens to me with this store.

Latest incident?


I wanted to get this game, and I wanted to get it new - now, as I'm sure everyone more or less knows, Gamestop tends to have on the shelf 'New' games that are out of the shrink wrap and all that jazz; and, while some of them have more copies on the shelf that are in the plastic, still, the shelved copies tend to be their only copy of 'New' games.

The game I wanted, I wanted to get it in the plastic, and so I asked if they had it - It was considered a popular game, so I figured chances were good that they still would. Luck had it that they did.

Yay, right?

Nope.

Instead of just being able to purchase the game and head on home, instead I am forced to endure near ten minutes of one of the employees drilling me and questioning me on why I 'have' to have the game new, and in the plastic.

Cue awkward feelings and a feeling of being just plain uncomfortable.

I tried to explain that, due to some OCD I have, that when I can, I have to get games new (and sealed) if at all possible; Or, if not new/sealed, at least as like new/mint as possible... there's nothing wrong with that, is there? It wasn't hurting him, or anyone...

Yet he had to continue getting on my case about it, making me feel like I'm some idiot because of what I felt more comfortable with, claiming that it's stupid because one could buy the same game used and save money as well as 'get more' out of it.

Blah, blah, blah.

Plus, when the person ringing up my order FINALLY ran it through and all, she made fun of the fact that my PIN number is so long (twelve digits).


Scenario Two:

Happened a while ago, but I'm curious to hear if anyone else has had this happen to them?

Background: I tend to be rather anal/picky/obsessive when it comes to buying games used. If I get it used, the case has to be in excellent/mint condition with original artwork and HAS to come with original manual... Disc also, preferably, is as near mint as possible, meaning little to no scratches.

I know, what's the point in buying used if I'm going to be such a freak about it, right?

Still.

Anyways.

So at this one Gamestop, I picked up a few games including Grand Theft Auto III (It was $4.99 - keep that in mind, it IS relevant.)

I went to purchase them, and wasn't paying too much attention when the person ringing me up went to get the discs and all, paid and headed out to the car.

Once in the car I did my usual check discs routine, when I noticed something odd... The GTA3 game... was not the one I originally picked up.

I know this, because I made sure to get the best, newest looking GTA3 case/manual/poster that I could find, and the one I now had was disgusting (to me) and nothing at all what I would of agreed to go ahead and get.

Plus, I noticed, that the price tag on this GTA3 sported a price of "$6.99".

...
Check my receipt, and yup, I got charged $6.99 for GTA3, even though the case I picked up (and all others in the displays) stated that it was $4.99.

Not cool.

Of course, when I went back into the store to question this, all the employees would tell me is this: Oh, well, the game was $4.99 at one point, but that was the old price and the new price is $6.99; we just haven't gone through and changed the prices of the games on display yet.

...
...
...
The whole switching the cases on me and charging me more than what I thought something was? Not right at all, and made worse to the fact that they NEVER BOTHERED TELLING ME.

I don't know about what everyone else thinks, and I hate to sound like some entitled ***** here, but it was NOT right of them to pull that crap. What they SHOULD of done is, at least, TELL me about the price change and ASK me if I still wanted to purchase the item.

Even better, they should of honoured the pricing it stated on the display - It isn't the customer's fault if THEY didn't update matters.


Blah, blah, blah.
I wish I wasn't so... weak, when it comes to confrontations and stuff.


Uh, all ranting and rambling aside, I guess the main point/question of this is:

Has anyone else had bad experiences with Gamestop or buying games in general?

If any of that crap ever happened to me, first i would ask for their name & write it down. Then I would ask for their district manager's number and name.

They will shit a brick once you do. GameStop is a minimum wage, high demand (as ironic as that is, tons of stupid high school gamers think it would be the coolest place in the world to work) low experience/educational requirement sales job. A job w/ a very high turnover.

You are the customer. Remember, if you don't buy then their business makes no money. Don't take any shit. Whenever I'm forced to buy something there, be it for convenience of already being at the mall for some reason or another; or just that they monopolized some bonus which u can only get through a pre-order there, If they try to hold me up w/ a sales pitch of pre-orders or give me any lip about my purchasing decisions I just tell them "Ring me up I'm in a hurry. Or else don't ring me up and I'll be on my way." If you had something pre-ordered just threaten to cancel the pre-order and go buy it at another store nearby. They can and will get fired for having a lot of pre-orders canceled on them.

Threatening them w/ a dissatisfied customer complaint to the DM & corporate is the best way to get them to shut up and improve/expedite your experience though.

And remember, before you leave the store always check your games if they aren't factory sealed. Getting to your car and then realizing there's no disc or the wrong disc happens, their employees dont give a shit. If you bring it back they will just accuse you of stealing the game.

 

[CoziestPigeon]

Sorry, but OP, you sound like the kind of customer that makes people who work in retail want to hang themselves every day. If all you want is your purchase and then to leave, don't be so damned picky. Retail workers have to deal with hundreds of people more annoying and pickier than you, so it would serve everyone best if you try not to agitate them further.

Just don't get upset with them, they are busy hating themselves trying to scrape by while dealing with people like you for endless hours every day. It's not their fault their life sucks, its yours.

 

[PrimeSynergy]

Gamestop annoys me to no end. I've never really had any bad experiences at stores, in fact most of them were quite funny and enjoyable. What annoys me is their prices and the condition of some of their games. That's why I buy all my games strictly from amazon now.

 

[Captain_Caveman]

If any of that crap ever happened to me, first i would ask for their name & write it down. Then I would ask for their district manager's number and name.

They will shit a brick once you do. GameStop is a minimum wage, high demand (as ironic as that is, tons of stupid high school gamers think it would be the coolest place in the world to work) low experience/educational requirement sales job. A job w/ a very high turnover.

You are the customer. Remember, if you don't buy then their business makes no money. Don't take any shit. Whenever I'm forced to buy something there, be it for convenience of already being at the mall for some reason or another; or just that they monopolized some bonus which u can only get through a pre-order there, If they try to hold me up w/ a sales pitch of pre-orders or give me any lip about my purchasing decisions I just tell them "Ring me up I'm in a hurry. Or else don't ring me up and I'll be on my way." If you had something pre-ordered just threaten to cancel the pre-order and go buy it at another store nearby. They can and will get fired for having a lot of pre-orders canceled on them.

Threatening them w/ a dissatisfied customer complaint to the DM & corporate is the best way to get them to shut up and improve/expedite your experience though.

When I worked at an arcade I would always give a false name when they asked for mine.

I don't understand you people, do you just get off on making people feel worthless or what?

If the employees would just ring up games (for the right price) and not berate or interrogate or force a 10 minutes pre-order sales pitch on you when you want to just buy a new, factory sealed game & be on your way there wouldn't be a problem.

They are the problem, not the customer.

Also, people dont look alike. If they give you a false name, you just describe what they look like. DM's will talk to SM's who will point them out in a heartbeat because they're looking out for their own crappy jobs. Just like DM's will reign the pain on a SM because they're afraid you'll call corporate.

 

[Captain_Caveman]

Sorry, but OP, you sound like the kind of customer that makes people who work in retail want to hang themselves every day. If all you want is your purchase and then to leave, don't be so damned picky. Retail workers have to deal with hundreds of people more annoying and pickier than you, so it would serve everyone best if you try not to agitate them further.

Just don't get upset with them, they are busy hating themselves trying to scrape by while dealing with people like you for endless hours every day. It's not their fault their life sucks, its yours.

HOW is it unreasonable him to ask for something he wants to buy. If you go into a restaurant, order a dish off the menu and they bring you something similar but not what you ordered would you not have the right to complain? What if then after they bring you the wrong dish they overcharge you for it and then berate you on your choice of food?

Same thing.

 

[junegirl87]

I want to say that Im outraged to hear this about Gamestop. I actually work for Gamestop and i hold my store to a very high standard. I to am crazy OCD about my games being in perfect condition along with having the art work and manual. I have many customers that are the same way as well and I always make sure that get exactly what they want . Even if that means shipping a sealed game from one store to mine and holding it for a customer. I understand your anger , I originally stopped shopping there because of reasons similar to that, before i started working there. I'm sorry this had to happen to you and BTW if you do the survey on the receipt those people can be held responsible for this incident. In no way should any customer every be treated this way. I`ve been working for Gamestop as a store manager for 4 years now and I know one thing, if you reported them through that web survey those people people would be dealt with quite quickly. We take customer service very seriously . At least I do , I would hope other stores would also take pride in helping the customers in any which way that they can with integrity ,so that customer leaves happy. I know this probably does not mean much coming from one of THEM but I am sorry this happened and I hope if you go back that this won`t happen again.

 

[Captain_Caveman]

If any of that crap ever happened to me, first i would ask for their name & write it down. Then I would ask for their district manager's number and name.

They will shit a brick once you do. GameStop is a minimum wage, high demand (as ironic as that is, tons of stupid high school gamers think it would be the coolest place in the world to work) low experience/educational requirement sales job. A job w/ a very high turnover.

You are the customer. Remember, if you don't buy then their business makes no money. Don't take any shit. Whenever I'm forced to buy something there, be it for convenience of already being at the mall for some reason or another; or just that they monopolized some bonus which u can only get through a pre-order there, If they try to hold me up w/ a sales pitch of pre-orders or give me any lip about my purchasing decisions I just tell them "Ring me up I'm in a hurry. Or else don't ring me up and I'll be on my way." If you had something pre-ordered just threaten to cancel the pre-order and go buy it at another store nearby. They can and will get fired for having a lot of pre-orders canceled on them.

Threatening them w/ a dissatisfied customer complaint to the DM & corporate is the best way to get them to shut up and improve/expedite your experience though.

When I worked at an arcade I would always give a false name when they asked for mine.

I don't understand you people, do you just get off on making people feel worthless or what?

If the employees would just ring up games (for the right price) and not berate or interrogate or force a 10 minutes pre-order sales pitch on you when you want to just buy a new, factory sealed game & be on your way there wouldn't be a problem.

They are the problem, not the customer.

Also, people dont look alike. If they give you a false name, you just describe what they look like. DM's will talk to SM's who will point them out in a heartbeat because they're looking out for their own crappy jobs. Just like DM's will reign the pain on a SM because they're afraid you'll call corporate.

They are told they NEED to do the sales pitch every time or they will lose their jobs.

That's all well & good, except, when you say you don't want one. A LOT dont take no for an answer and just keep going w/ it. And if it were just the pre-order speech every time it wouldnt be so bad; but the fact that they berate customer's choices and overcharge for games i'm pretty sure is not in their training. and if it is, well then they deserve everything they get for deciding to work there.

 

[Shepard's Shadow]

You should watch Zero Originality. It's a series made in the style of Zero Punctuation, except instead of reviewing games, the guy just bashes Gamestop.

Sweet! I hate Gamestop.

 

[mark0217]

There is nothing wrong or "OCD" about wanting your $60 game to come factory sealed.

So true. I always worry about the condition of the disc and the manual. I know people are fucking assholes when it comes to taking care of discs they don't really care much for (or being handled by kids...), so I ALWAYS have to check.
There's no GameStop here tho, so I don't get the "we open ur gamez for ya!" crap. I just get the "that'll be $85 for a Wii game!" crap =/

 

[junegirl87]

Not really . I understand that it can be annoying to have to listen to . Its supposed to be something that may help the customer not annoy them. I can see haw it can be annoying though. I`ve watched people at other locations do it and i find it hard to bear. I try to at least understand what the person wants an if there is something coming out that's related i offer it to them. Its supposed to be informative. you would be surprised on how many people like knowing that there reserving something. They especially like the idea of it being like layaway before it comes out. I know that's not everyone's cup of tea but its a job requirement and I really love my job so if that means I have to inform every customer of what we may see as beneficial to them then I`ll gladly do it.

 

[Captain_Caveman]

If any of that crap ever happened to me, first i would ask for their name & write it down. Then I would ask for their district manager's number and name.

They will shit a brick once you do. GameStop is a minimum wage, high demand (as ironic as that is, tons of stupid high school gamers think it would be the coolest place in the world to work) low experience/educational requirement sales job. A job w/ a very high turnover.

You are the customer. Remember, if you don't buy then their business makes no money. Don't take any shit. Whenever I'm forced to buy something there, be it for convenience of already being at the mall for some reason or another; or just that they monopolized some bonus which u can only get through a pre-order there, If they try to hold me up w/ a sales pitch of pre-orders or give me any lip about my purchasing decisions I just tell them "Ring me up I'm in a hurry. Or else don't ring me up and I'll be on my way." If you had something pre-ordered just threaten to cancel the pre-order and go buy it at another store nearby. They can and will get fired for having a lot of pre-orders canceled on them.

Threatening them w/ a dissatisfied customer complaint to the DM & corporate is the best way to get them to shut up and improve/expedite your experience though.

When I worked at an arcade I would always give a false name when they asked for mine.

I don't understand you people, do you just get off on making people feel worthless or what?

If the employees would just ring up games (for the right price) and not berate or interrogate or force a 10 minutes pre-order sales pitch on you when you want to just buy a new, factory sealed game & be on your way there wouldn't be a problem.

They are the problem, not the customer.

Also, people dont look alike. If they give you a false name, you just describe what they look like. DM's will talk to SM's who will point them out in a heartbeat because they're looking out for their own crappy jobs. Just like DM's will reign the pain on a SM because they're afraid you'll call corporate.

They are told they NEED to do the sales pitch every time or they will lose their jobs.

That's all well & good, except, when you say you don't want one. A LOT dont take no for an answer and just keep going w/ it. And if it were just the pre-order speech every time it wouldnt be so bad; but the fact that they berate customer's choices and overcharge for games i'm pretty sure is not in their training. and if it is, well then they deserve everything they get for deciding to work there.

Just re-iterating that I abhor Gamestop and everything associated with it.

But I have been at the receiving end of customer anger my whole life, for things that are beyond my control. Unfortunately, every job thus far has involved contact with the public.

It's just... ya know... be nice to them... ya know? Every time a customer started insulting me it was always over something I had no control over. I was a cashier for awhile, and back then I was under 21, so I could not sell alcohol. Apparently, being under 21 was my fault, and my mother should regret she birthed someone so incompetent.

Ya know man... just be nice...

I never said insult them.

I just said, tell them (if they're refusing to sell you what you want without time-gobbling conditions) that you are in a hurry. And if they ignore you, then THEY are the ones being aggressive. I also said to ask for information to report them for bad customer relations. I never said knock their teeth out.

Just because you have been the victim of unreasonable customers doesn't mean every service industry employee in the world is reasonable & it's the customers who are unreasonable. GameStop is legendary for bad & abusive customer relations.

 

[Overlord Moo]

Check my receipt, and yup, I got charged $6.99 for GTA3, even though the case I picked up (and all others in the displays) stated that it was $4.99.

Not cool.

Of course, when I went back into the store to question this, all the employees would tell me is this: Oh, well, the game was $4.99 at one point, but that was the old price and the new price is $6.99; we just haven't gone through and changed the prices of the games on display yet.

Those are some dumbass employees.

Fortunatly, the one by my house has great employees that know what they're doing and I've never had a bad experiance.

 

[Vanguard_Ex]

Yeeah I understand where you're coming from, I've had a few pre-owned games that just wouldn't work because of shoddy discs and the like. Unfortuntely I don't think we have Gamestops in Britain. Not in England, at least.