Gamestop Makes the Worst to Work For List

Solo-Wing

Wanna have a bad time?
Dec 15, 2010
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DVS BSTrD said:
And I bet the CEO STILL can't figure out why nobody wants to buy their stock.
$10 says he willl blame Steam or some other online distributer. Which will be true cause on Steam we don't have to deal with their half-assed "Deals", idiot employees and endless ads.
 

scorptatious

The Resident Team ICO Fanboy
May 14, 2009
7,405
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I must be lucky or something, because the GameStop's near where I live I usually have a pretty positive experience at. Hell, after I bought Xenoblade Chronicles, the guy at the counter asked if I would like to reserve for The Last Story as well. So they seemed pretty well informed.

Either way though, it looks like chances of me getting interviewed for a job there at the very least are slightly higher. :)
 

Shadu

New member
Nov 10, 2010
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I used to work for GameStop. I worked there for about three years before I left. I left because of low pay and no hours. I liked working there, but the longer I was there, the worse the company got. My managers were great, but they started leaving one by one and got replaced with horrible bosses.

I talked to one of my ex co-workers after I left and she told me that working for them had gotten even worse. There's so many politics that trickle down even to the peons that make working there miserable. With the right managers in the right mindset, it's great. But when the politics start taking over, that's when it gets horrible.

Edit: The big political problem has been, and probably always will be, reserves and subscriptions. Coporate harps on that like nobody's business. If your manager doesn't stress it so much, then working there is fine, but get a manager who's all about those and nothing else, and it's a nightmare. The big issue is that they base how many hours they give a store to delegate to workers on those numbers. So a nice story could get awful hours becuase they don't push subs and reserves. And a store with a bad rep for bugging customers about it might get good hours because they have good numbers.

It's really messed up.
 

Mr Dizazta

New member
Mar 23, 2011
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The only bad experience I had with Gamestop was when I going to buy Borderlands GOTY edition from them. The employee behind the counter at the store was pushing the used copy of the game, which was cheaper. What he didn't tell me was that the used copy of the game didn't come with the DLC's on disk (a la Fallout 3 or Dragon Age: Origins). Another thing I really hate about them is the throwing away of game cases and the opening of game cases for "new" games. I also hate how they only sell current and last generation of games. I mean I go to the store one day wanting to buy some GBA games to be surprised to only see DS games. Also they need to test traded in games better because I bought a used copy of Reach from them, only to find out that the game has a huge circle scratch on it. Luckily I had a buddy who had a copy of the game and I installed it to my Xbox.
 

BehattedWanderer

Fell off the Alligator.
Jun 24, 2009
5,237
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Eh. Retail is retail, there are good places, and crappy places. You have to push something, wherever you are, and there's always tons of pressure. You can always make it better or worse with your own disposition, but a fair part of it depends on who you work with.
 

Darren716

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Jul 7, 2011
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Call Me Jose said:
Call Me Jose said:
I'm sure most people working their first job to have some extra change for the weekend is the worst on the planet...
Darren716 said:
Of course this gets Released a few days after I apply for my first job there. Well from reading some of the replies maybe I'll get lucky and actually enjoy working there.
See what I mean! Exactly! I pray that you'll enjoy working there my friend, I've actually had a couple friends work there, never heard them complain about it and it "seemed" like they enjoyed it
Thanks, I think it'll be ok most of the staff seem pretty cool and hopefully they won't be assholes with my hours since I'm still going through high scho and have alot of shit to balance.
 

Ganath

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Jan 24, 2011
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But..But.. The employees at my local gamestop are amazing. Hell, I walk in there sometimes just to chat. I don't think I've ever been grilled about pre orders, but I suppose we've obviously talked about games and recommendations. They havn't disappointed me yet. This would be a gamestop in Sweden though.
 

Saviordd1

New member
Jan 2, 2011
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That surprising...

Huh, I was planning on applying at my local gamestop asap, figured anything would be better than my 9 hour work days at a restaurant...

I guess I was wrong.
 

The_Echo

New member
Mar 18, 2009
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I think GameStop experience depends on location.

I've seen so many horror stories both on the side of the employee and the customer. My local GameStops all have pretty decent gents and ladies behind the counter, and I've never seen a customer give them flak. EDIT: Pushing used copies is a common trope with GameStop criticism. When I went to buy a game some months ago, the guy asked if I wanted new or used. I said "it doesn't matter" for some reason, because I actually prefer new copies. Which did he choose for me? The new copy! It only just dawned on me how out-of-character that would be for a stereotypical GameStop employee.

So, despite it making this list... I kind of still want to work there. I won't bother getting into GameStop as a business, because I honestly don't know a whole lot about it.
 

Reyold

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Jun 18, 2012
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I must be really REALLY lucky then, because I've been to not one, not two, but THREE Gamestops in my area (multiple times) in which the employees were good ones.
 

EricKei

New member
Aug 30, 2010
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Jerry Pendleton said:
What he didn't tell me was that the used copy of the game didn't come with the DLC's on disk (a la Fallout 3 or Dragon Age: Origins). Another thing I really hate about them is the throwing away of game cases and the opening of game cases for "new" games. I also hate how they only sell current and last generation of games. I mean I go to the store one day wanting to buy some GBA games to be surprised to only see DS games. Also they need to test traded in games better because I bought a used copy of Reach from them, only to find out that the game has a huge circle scratch on it.
Last gen games -- they stop selling them because nobody's buying (tho Ninty's systems tend to last longer than most). They kept selling GBA games for a number of years after the system was no longer being made, which is phenomenal. At that point, most of the batteries within the carts were dead, and the only games that really sold were pokemon carts anyway. The rest collected dust, even stuff on the top shelf that sold for $4 each seldom sold. I have to agree with them on that one.

Gutting games -- look that up on Google sometime ^_^ Be prepared to spend awhile looking thru a decade plus of complaints. I didn't like doing it on new games (on used I could care less), but the simple fact is, people steal discs if they're out there ALL THE TIME. Even empties get lifted on occasion. The solution would be to have publishers send tons of slipcovers that GS could put into empty boxes (they're copyrighted, so GS can't do it on their own without permission)...And that's not gonna happen. It sucks, but that's the way it is. If you buy a new game and all they have left is the gut with a price tag on it, ask the manager for 10% off as an open box discount.

The scratch -- their fault, but they would have replaced it if you took it back
 

A.Balthazor

New member
Mar 5, 2008
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Gamestop pre-order bonuses used to get me, and I ordered games regularly via their online store. Then, one day, they stopped accepting my orders. Changing my billing method still did not allow me to process orders through their online store.

I contacted Gamestop and asked "What's up?" I was told I was not able to use their online store any longer. No mention of why. No explanation whatsoever. I persisted in asking why, because how can I correct something if I don't know the problem? No luck.

My cards were valid, I pay the balance every month, and they weren't lost or duped or stolen, so I still have no clue why Gamestop stopped my game. Their only advice to resolve the situation? "You have to pay in-person at a retail store." This is not an option for me, as I live in a remote location that doesn't have Gamestop stores.

Now I just use Steam, Origin, or Amazon.
 

Starke

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Mar 6, 2008
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Veylon said:
Starke said:
ecoho said:
Edit: ok how the hell is walmart not number 1?! they openly misstreat their workers and they have a 90% turnover rate!
Their methodology was restricted to publicly traded companies. As I recall, and I could be wrong, Wal-mart isn't.
Wal-Mart is indeed publicly traded. I work there, there's a program for employees to buy stock and I've got some.

I can also vouch for the high (though 90% may be excessive) turnover rate. I don't know whether it's incredibly brutal or the old-timers are right about the younger generation being wusses, but a huge chunk of new employees are gone within a couple weeks or a month of starting.
I knew employees could buy Walmart stock, my recollection was, non-employees couldn't. Though in double-checking, there does seem to be a fair amount of Walmart stock in circulation, so even if you can't buy it directly, Walmart is effectively publicly traded these days.
 

Beautiful End

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Feb 15, 2011
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I skimmed through the thread but...here's my two cents. Brace theeself.

Anyway, I'm a current GameStop employee. Like a lot of innocent gamers, I thought it'd be a dream job. I mean, being surrounded by games all day? You get to rent games for free? Discounts? Access to awesome games and goodies before everyone else? (Ever wonder why you never saw those limited Link plushies for sale...?) All that is great! And yeah, talking to random customers about games and having friendly discussions about why Brink sucks or how you're looking forward to Dragon Age 3 is just plain fun. And your co-workers are just as geeky as you!

That's the good part. And then the rest is the bad part. It's just too mush stress to someone like me. The way it works is simple: You must sell stuff (Pre-orders and store memberships, mostly) to get hours. You get hours and you get more money, obviously. You don't sell shit? Guess you don't want the money! What's that? Your customer service is amazing? You are amazing at everything else? Well...that's not a GameStop attitude! One analogy I often use is this: if the store was on fire and there were 6 babies trapped inside and I ran inside butt naked and saved them all suffering several 3rd degree burns, the district manager would stop me and ask "Well, how many reservations and subscriptions did you get while you were there? None? Oh...well, that sucks for you!".

I've been lucky enough to have nice co-workers. Our customer service is really good. I've worked at around 5 stores in our district. However, one bad customer review outweighs several good customer reviews for whatever reason. So all it takes is one pissy customer who walks in with the idea in their minds that GameStop sucks and they're only buying a game there because *insert some reason here*. No, seriously. We get a lot of those. My job requires me to engage customers but you always run into that customer that treats you like shit, as if you woke up today and said "Hey! I'm gonna piss of random people today!". The rare people that are polite (Whether they listen to me or not is irrelevant) are the ones that get my best treatment. Hell, if I have any goodies lying around, I might give them some (DS cases, posters, leftover pre-order incentives, etc.)

So for whoever wants to work at GameStop: You gotta be good on sales. Fuck, you don't even gotta know that much about games. When I started working, all I had was a PS2. Soon after that, I bought a PS3 and with time, I learned everything there is to know about all consoles. If you want to move up, it's fairly easy...but again, you gotta know how to sell stuff like crazy. I was skipped over for a promotion once because some new girl (B00BS!) could sell more stuff than me, even though I had been there for a year and her customer service sucked and she was smelly and lazy. And I was the opposite of that. If you can sell, you'll get noticed. My friend got promoted to manager in less than a year.

See, working at GameStop is not bad. If you don't mind getting a pissy paycheck and it's just a temporary job, then it's awesome. The people there are great, the environment is great, you can have a health plan, you get all those perks I mentioned and you get a raise every year. Working FOR GameStop is what sucks. But hey, my other co-workers don't complain as much as I do. To them, it's a really chill job. Stressful, yes, but also chill.

Oh, and here's what happens when you get hired. If you're hired during the Holidays, it's pretty much a competition to see who amongst the new hires stays as a permanent GameStop employee. If you're not chosen, then you only get to work there for like 2 months. If you do, then expect to do the following at the same time: Answer the phone, greet every customer that walks in, engage every customer in the store, handle the register, watch out for thieves, put gutted games (Empty boxes) on the wall alphabetically, put the guts (The actual game) on the drawers alphabetically, KEEP AN EYE ON THE SALES FLOOR, answer random questions, pitch something to every customer (Reservation, membership, etc.), don't take too long with a customer when you're charging them stuff, make sure to buy/sell the right item (sometimes people change the price stickers), remember all the current promotions and upcoming games because you're always gonna get that smartass customer who wants to prove he knows better than you or assumes you must have played every single game for every single console in the store because you work there, and so on.
And yeah, you don't get paid a lot. You start off a bit above the minimum. For all the stuff you're required to do, they should pay us more (I've found poop on the sales floor before. Poop. HOW?!). But of course, they know that if an employee quits, there's like 20 teenagers right behind him just dying to snatch that position.

Most of the time, 90% of the employees quit because they found a less stressful job that pays more (Not that hard to find, really) or are just plain sick and tired of everything. So yeah, the environment is good but the corporate higher ups make it really stressful for you to work there. And we're not even allowed to say we work there via facebook or whatever. I mean, we do, but if the district manager or whatever were to find out, we'd be in trouble. Same if you film stuff there or even say anything nice about the store online without permission.

Oh, and I'm not even gonna talk about the managers and the stress they go through every day to make sure their store doesn't suck. If you don't sell stuff, they get the complains about it everyday. Really, you can't fart there without someone finding out.

A couple of things I'd like to clarify, though:

-Trade in system: It sucks. We know. But from a business point of view, it's the way GameStop makes profit. They give you 22 bucks for Ghost Recon and they sell if for 47. Profit. I can see why some people just sell their shit there, though. I've been trying to sell Skyrim brand new for 40 bucks on Craigslist as opposed to GameStop for 60 bucks. Every single people who contacts me wants to either trade me some games or buy it for 25-30 bucks. People are just greedy. So they might as well sell their shit at GameStop.
In fact, when people frown at the 10 bucks I give them for their 30 PS2 games (I'm not exaggerating), I honestly tell them to try and sell it to a friend or something for 5 bucks each. Awesome profit for them. They nod and leave the store all sad. Or they just say they're lazy and sell them anyway even after I insist.

-Open new games. Also sucks, yes. But as a rule, we're required to have two copies of the "hottest titles" up for display on the sales floor (CoD, BF3, etc.) For whatever reason, we don't have dummy boxes. I guess it would be too much of a hassle for everyone to put dummy boxes out there. We kinda do but only for some used games or for promotional displays. But that way, if you bring the box to the register, we know we gotta have the game. When we open a new game for that, we gotta pull out all the DLC and Online Passes and such. Some dumb employees do forget to do that and that's when some unlucky customers buy a brand new copy with some missing DLC and then they come back complaining about and they have a hard time proving that. Personally, if I can avoid it, I won't open more than one box. I'll play dumb or I'll say I forgot to gut the new copies of a game. But of course, someone else will do it eventually. Those are the rules. I usually ask customers if it's okay that they're getting the gut copy. I show them the DLC and the disc and all because I actually hate it when I buy a game like that myself.

-Offering you to buy stuff: Like I said, we're required to "pitch" something to every customer, either a pre-order or a membership or whatever. Don't get all angry when a employee asks you to please pre-order Blops2. They're just trying to keep their job. Just be polite and say something like "Oh, I already pre-ordered it somewhere else" or "Oh, no thanks". Don't be an ass. Same when an employee approaches you while you're browsing games. As a matter of fact, we're required to do this to look out for thieves. Nothing against you, but again, it's a rule.
Also, we get secret shoppers. If we don't greet or engage them, we'll never hear the end of it. It doesn't matter if we had a line all the way to China or if I was on the phone with a customer or whatever. So we gotta do that.

-Offering stuff v.2: Most people are against memberships and pre-orders but it's not all gloom. If you buy tons of shit per year, then you should definitely get a card. I mean, I'm not trying to convert anyone or anything. I've got a coupon for 20% off my next purchase for my birthday that I combined with a Buy 2, get 1 for Free coupon. I got 3 good games for 40 bucks (Donkey Kong, Blops and L4D). If you only buy there around 5 times per year, skip it. Same with pre-orders. I was glad I pre-ordered Xenoblade Chronicles because of the artbook and because only two other people pre-ordered it. Because most customers ignored the game, we only got like 5 copies. Two were pre-orders and we only got two artbooks. We haven't got another copy ever since it came out. (The more pre-orders, the more copies available post-release).

-Used games: Alright, so I get why people don't like them. However, try finding a brand new copy of The Orange Box or Dragon Age: Origins or, hell, Midnight Club. You can't! Know why? Once a game doesn't sell that well brand new, the store moves them to used. So yeah, sometimes, you can just buy a brand new copy for the price of a used one. We even give them sealed copies in the case of 360 games.

I hope that gives a bit of insight on what we do. Like I said, the environment is great. But once you realize all the stuff you're required to do to keep your job/get more hours and money/must do because higher ups are retarded, then it gets stressful.
 

Strazdas

Robots will replace your job
May 28, 2011
8,407
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out of 11 companies, Gamestop makes the worst 10, says company named 24/7 Wall st. (with such a name noone should really take it seriuosly). wow they did amazing job here lol, nice way to waste money.
 

Mr Dizazta

New member
Mar 23, 2011
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EricKei said:
Jerry Pendleton said:
What he didn't tell me was that the used copy of the game didn't come with the DLC's on disk (a la Fallout 3 or Dragon Age: Origins). Another thing I really hate about them is the throwing away of game cases and the opening of game cases for "new" games. I also hate how they only sell current and last generation of games. I mean I go to the store one day wanting to buy some GBA games to be surprised to only see DS games. Also they need to test traded in games better because I bought a used copy of Reach from them, only to find out that the game has a huge circle scratch on it.
Last gen games -- they stop selling them because nobody's buying (tho Ninty's systems tend to last longer than most). They kept selling GBA games for a number of years after the system was no longer being made, which is phenomenal. At that point, most of the batteries within the carts were dead, and the only games that really sold were pokemon carts anyway. The rest collected dust, even stuff on the top shelf that sold for $4 each seldom sold. I have to agree with them on that one.

Gutting games -- look that up on Google sometime ^_^ Be prepared to spend awhile looking thru a decade plus of complaints. I didn't like doing it on new games (on used I could care less), but the simple fact is, people steal discs if they're out there ALL THE TIME. Even empties get lifted on occasion. The solution would be to have publishers send tons of slipcovers that GS could put into empty boxes (they're copyrighted, so GS can't do it on their own without permission)...And that's not gonna happen. It sucks, but that's the way it is. If you buy a new game and all they have left is the gut with a price tag on it, ask the manager for 10% off as an open box discount.

The scratch -- their fault, but they would have replaced it if you took it back
Mind you, when I wanted to buy the GBA games, it was barely a week after the 3DS was released and it wasn't for a new copy. I was referring to used copies of GBA games because I was pretty sure that they wouldn't have new copies. Also I didn't notice the scratch on the Reach copy until a month after the purchase because I was catching up on my backlog of games. So even if I still have my receipt at the time, I pretty sure they wouldn't have replace the game.
 

GAunderrated

New member
Jul 9, 2012
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Solo-Wing said:
This is EXTREMELY relevent.


Finally. A perfect chance to bastardize those pricks.
Thank you for finding this video on youtube, i've checked periodically for it since it got flagged for copyright infringement (yes that bullcrap).

I'm actually surprised that the gamestop defender's haven't rushed in like they normally do. I guess the budget cuts of gamestop had to start somewhere....
 

khaimera

Perfect Strangers
Jun 23, 2009
1,957
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I like not signing up for the free saving card every time I buy a used game just to screw with them. But I do love game stop because where else can I buy a used game, play it for six days, and get my money back.
 

AstylahAthrys

New member
Apr 7, 2010
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Funny. Gamestop was actually one of my best jobs. Way better than my current one. I was so sad when they couldn't keep any of the holiday staff on last year. I freaking love my store and everyone who works there.