GameStop Responds to "GTA V Midnight Release Video" Controversy

[sirjeffofshort]

Yet another example of how most of humanity's problems stem from a lacking ability to communicate with eachother. Guy feels the need to posture and retain some sort of an alpha status, the woman feels the need to play to a captive audience that she has clearly garnered. It's all just one big ass ego contest and they both come out looking pathetic. No winners here.

Sad thing is, the whole thing could have been avoided with a bit of empathy and level headed communication (on both sides).

 

[Callate]

Yeah, it looks to me like blue shirt was being a complete asshat.

Maybe the manager's joke wasn't professional, but his response was utterly rude not only to her but to everyone else waiting in line while he took up more of an employee's time to have a tantrum during a high volume, high-pressure sale event.

Gamestop should support their staff, who have to keep their cool while working odd hours under high stress during such release events, not self-centered pricks who go nuclear at the first sign that someone doesn't agree the world revolves around them.

 

[Blunderboy]

He was a prick but I have no sympathy for her. If you work in retail or hospitality you either put on a smile and act friendly or call security. Under no circumstances do you ever threaten to give out personal information. It's like anyone working a job they don't plan on turning into a career just flat-out refuses to be professional when things get tough. If you're getting paid to do a thing then do it right.

I get the impression you've never actually worked in retail? Especially at a high stress time like christmas or a midnight release.
Sometimes there's an arsehole who pushes you way beyond the 'grin and bear it' threshold.

"We would like to extend an apology to the affected customer as well as any other customer that was offended by this event."

No. Fuck that. The guy was being a dick to YOUR employee Gamestop. Don't apologise to him.

Gah. In all my years of retail work I never felt support by management, who were too eager to lick customers bums, even when they were twats.

I'm currently taking a management class in College, Honestly, while the customer WAS wrong, the Employee violated many many things when she threatened him, joking or not, she was wrong to do so, and thus management needed to apologize, even if they personally felt she was in the right.


Edit: its when the customer is wrong, and the employee does nothing wrong at all, where management needs to stand behind the employee.

If she'd actually gone through with it maybe. But I still say they could have said "She was clearly joking, and you were being a tosser. Do one." In fancy management speak obviously.

 

[CriticalMiss]

Everyone looks bad here. The customer was being a bit of a prick when all he needed to do was show his ID. The manager made a stupid remark that she really didn't need to make.

If I were in the manager's shoes I'd have told the guy holding up the line to move aside and find his ID whilst other customers get served. Plus have whoever was at the door to tell anyone coming in to have their ID ready to avoid more trouble. She doesn't deserve to lose her job over this, but she could have certainly handled it better.

And the customer should learn to not be a prat to people who are just trying to do their job, especially when they could have stayed in bed and made you wait until normal business hours to buy a videogame. Plus he didn't even knock anything over in a rage, now he's lost his opportunity!

 

[rasputin0009]

Miscommunication!

I'd say both are in the "wrong". She was a ***** when she mocked him as he left, and he was a jackass before that. Coming back to defend himself was the right thing to do. Don't let people step on you.

 

[Anthony Wells]

snip

I agree, no I agree in a perfect world that she should suffer no consequences since she put up with that crap, but its not a perfect world, there are rules and you need to follow them. She did not, thus she is at fault. Also I believe she IS a manager, which makes this situation oh so much worse then if she was just a cashier. Managers are expected to remain professional at ALL times, no. matter. what. I may have never actually worked in retail, but I know the pain, I see it in my grandmother, I read it in stories, and so on. I see it, but as an employee, you are responsible for remaining professional despite all the crap you get. Just making the threat in and of itself is going too far, no matter the crap you get, now let me reiterate, I agree she shouldn't be punished, Gamestop shouldn't have needed to apologize, and the guy should have been left an embarrassed wreck. But thats not how the world works unfortunately.

 

[Smooth Operator]

What controversy, just idiots being idiots...
What did you expect when you act like an ass for people to be real nice to you? No they will respond in kind, so do yourself a favor (when consideration for others seems foreign) and just not be an ass.

 

[Blunderboy]

snip

I agree, no I agree in a perfect world that she should suffer no consequences since she put up with that crap, but its not a perfect world, there are rules and you need to follow them. She did not, thus she is at fault. Also I believe she IS a manager, which makes this situation oh so much worse then if she was just a cashier. Managers are expected to remain professional at ALL times, no. matter. what. I may have never actually worked in retail, but I know the pain, I see it in my grandmother, I read it in stories, and so on. I see it, but as an employee, you are responsible for remaining professional despite all the crap you get. Just making the threat in and of itself is going too far, no matter the crap you get, now let me reiterate, I agree she shouldn't be punished, Gamestop shouldn't have needed to apologize, and the guy should have been left an embarrassed wreck. But thats not how the world works unfortunately.

I know what you mean, but honestly, spend one holiday season working in retail. It'll change your outlook.
I've said for years everyone should work at least one full year in retail/services. There'd be less asshats.

 

[J Tyran]

Both where idiots, I am on neither side. The manager should face whatever disciplinary procedures Gamestop have, whether its a verbal or formal written warning or termination if she has been disciplined before. Knee jerk sacking her because the video is on the internet isn't right.

The customer should get his implied right of public entry for Gamestop stores revoked, i.e. banned for his shameful behaviour not apologised to. Chances are he is prone to boiling up like that if a simple thing like asking for ID to confirm his pre-order set him off, he could easily go off again in another store and cause another incident.

 

[Fiad]

Was the customer a dick? Yes, this situation was completely avoidable if he just flashed his ID. But in a retail position you can't rise to that, you have to take it with a smile on your face.

I have had people yelling obscenities at my face as their food was messed up(when it wasn't)and just stand there with a smile and try to dissolve the situation. One guy even shouting at the top of his lounge in our crowded dining room "How the hell do I leave this damn building!" We have literally one door that you both enter and exit from which is hard to miss(I mean you just walked in it...)

But she should not have done that at all. She fucked up and I can see her getting fired or suspended for this. If nothing else written up.

 

[EeviStev]

From the moment the manger said "You are so very welcome" and onward, that was her not doing her job properly. She should have kept her sarcastic comments to herself and gotten on with serving the waiting customers. Then this would have been just one unremarkable incident among an infinite number of dickhead customer incidents.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

douchebag gets blasted on the web for being a douche?

seems like that'll knock him down a peg or two.

As a manager, she needs to grit through things, but on a midnight release while you're pissing off other customers, i cheer her on as a customer, but as a fellow former customer service worker, i know it's a big no no.

 

[Ukomba]

It's sad that employee will probably be fired over his tantrum. Hope that game is worth messing up someones life.

I would hope GameStop is smart enough to chalk this one up to frustration, but regardless of his annoyance, she should not have said what she said. Asking him to leave, explaining they have policy, that is one thing. "How about I give everyone you annoyed your email address..." Yeah that is not something I would want, would you?

No, not that I honestly believe anything would come of it if she were to give it out. I just can't imagine throwing a tantrum like that in the first place, nor would I have given that threat any kind of credence.

If the address had been in the youtube video, that would be a whole different issue. Those store patrons wouldn't have cared or remembered, the internet is full of idiots who will gleefully harass people over less.

 

[GAunderrated]

The customer was a perfect example of an angry and lonely nerd who is inconvenienced for 2 seconds because they needed to follow the law and he felt that justified his shit attitude.

The Manager made the mistake of the "threat" or just a bad comment. Many years of retail suggest that you say those types of things after the customer has left. Hell if she would have waited 5 more seconds I bet she could of had a nice laugh with all those in line, taken her shots at him, and pressed on without issue.

She will probably get written up at the very least or possibly fired depending on how deep the shitstorm goes. At the same time that person is revealed online (name or not) as being an angry prick to people doing their jobs.

Both sides are reaping what they sow. My point is where is the controversy? Usually controversy implies an issue that is unresolved.

 

[shintakie10]

From the moment the manger said "You are so very welcome" and onward, that was her not doing her job properly. She should have kept her sarcastic comments to herself and gotten on with serving the waiting customers. Then this would have been just one unremarkable incident among an infinite number of dickhead customer incidents.

The customer shouldn't have been a gigantic dick.

If someones a gigantic prick to you in any place other than retail, you are perfectly able to tell them to fuck off in any number of ways. In retail if you tell a gigantic dick to fuck off, even if you do it in as polite a way as possible, you're treated like a scumbag.

Its absolutely bullshit.

I want you to sit at a counter and be berated by someone for 10 minutes (supposedly how long this prick ranted and raved for) because you had the audacity to follow protocol and ask for an ID because you don't want to be fired. Sit there and just take it, smile at them for the whole 10 minutes while every mother fucker around you just looks away and pretends that you are less than a human being and not worth the time to help. Then after you're done being berated, yelled at, called all manner of things (I've actually been spit at once, took every fiber of my being not to beat the shit out of the guy. When I said fuck this shit and walked away, I was called to the managers office and was forced to apologize to the guy that spit at me. I'd have quit that job if I didn't need the money as badly as I did), just try your best to politely say have a nice day.

If you can do that without reactin like an actual person would be allowed to react then you have the right to look down on her for that.

Personally I give her kudos for bein as calm as she was. It takes a lot, and I mean a lot of willpower to not react in these kinds of situations.

 

[Daaaah Whoosh]

Hey, I applaud Gamestop for needing the guy's ID. That's a point in favor of the industry, that employees would rather get fired over an argument rather than give the guy what he wanted and abandon their policy. However, this is also a few negative points for humanity when we see that people are assholes. I'm going to go with blaming the customer, because of the age-old rule of 'he started it'. The manager may have crossed a line, but she didn't get there without his help, and honestly, if the same threat was issued to me, I would have taken it as a joke and left the store, feeling bad that I had finally made an enemy in this world.

 

[infinity_turtles]

He was a prick but I have no sympathy for her. If you work in retail or hospitality you either put on a smile and act friendly or call security. Under no circumstances do you ever threaten to give out personal information. It's like anyone working a job they don't plan on turning into a career just flat-out refuses to be professional when things get tough. If you're getting paid to do a thing then do it right.

I get the impression you've never actually worked in retail? Especially at a high stress time like christmas or a midnight release.
Sometimes there's an arsehole who pushes you way beyond the 'grin and bear it' threshold.

I've worked at call centers, as a waiter, and retail. I've dealt with assholes plenty, and that's why I have no sympathy here. My annoyance at this sort of thing comes primarily from having to clean-up after other people who do shit like this, because if it's allowed slides the place loses business, they make less money, and then people have to be let go. If you're working retail you're getting paid to make your customers' experience as pleasant as possible so they'll come back on a regular basis. That's what the job is. If you're not just refusing to do the job, but are actually doing the opposite of your job? You should at best expect a dressing down if not getting fired.

If you can't do your job, get a different one. If you can't get a different job, which with the economy the way it is you very well might not, then do your damn best to do the job you have so you don't get your ass fired.

 

[Insideout Ink Demon]

doesnt deserve to lose her job, but i'm on his side in the end (which is a shame, because he seemed like a tool) she is a representitive of a company i'm sure will hold a lot of personal information, threats like that arent funny.