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Dear GameStop: Let Me Get The Hell Out Of Your Store

Twelve years ago, I felt pretty silly when I had to answer every phone call with, "thank you for calling Electronics Boutique, where you can now trade in your used games." I would also refrain from suggesting a strategy guide if I saw the customer was A. obviously in a hurry, B. obviously not interested in talking, or C. all of the above. But now, things are just out of control .

I think the current average length of a GameStop transaction is around 37 minutes. And that's only for one game; if it's a system or a bunch of accessories or something, you might be standing there for the rest the day.

"Yes, I have the Power Up card. No, I don't want the upgrade."

"No, I don't really care about Game Informer."

"No, I don't want the strategy guide."

"No, I don't have anything to trade in."

"No, I don't want to pre-order anything."

"No, I don't want to protect the game with your insurance."

"Yes, I know about the damn survey."

Add ten minutes for each question above that is answered in a way that demands an explanation. Back in the late '90s, we'd rip through a line of 20 during the holidays – systems, games, accessories, etc. – in record time; now, if there are more than 3 people in front of me, I'm far more likely to leave the store. There's such a thing as customer service, and there's such a thing as wasting everyone's time.

And as far as I'm concerned, customer service is supposed to speed things up, and that certainly hasn't happened. I have no intention of being rude to anyone, but I'm sorry GameStop, your employees are testing my patience.

…oh look, Amazon sells games…

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PasteNuggs
PasteNuggs
13 years ago

Haha, love it. I walk up to the counter with my card shoved in their face and just interrupt their stupid questions so I can leave.

t4_robz
t4_robz
13 years ago

it's not even so much the questions its usually the kids that bring their parents or the parents that come in to buy a game their kid, they know nothing they dont know the difference between the consoles, games or accesories… if they see a cool looking Wii game they will buy it for their kid with a PS3, some parents are preety educated and game themselves but some (usually moms IMO) dont know ANYTHING!

LightShow
LightShow
13 years ago

when youre resuming your ongoing flirtatious banter with the nice girl behind the counter at your local gamestop, it doesnt seem to be that big a deal. Plus being a regular at my particular store gets you a free pass on those kind of questions anyways. so i guess it sucks for you! =P

Underdog15
Underdog15
13 years ago

hmm… I'm never found my local Gamestop as a good place for flirting with women… I have yet to see an attractive woman at a gamestop. But hey… there's how many gamestops out there? I guess SOMEWHERE there's an attractive woman working at gamestop.

LightShow
LightShow
13 years ago

theyre few and far between, that i'll grant you.

Eld
Eld
13 years ago

I just buy online these days.

Underdog15
Underdog15
13 years ago

Amazon.ca for me!

For us there's free shipping for anything over $20… pre-orders included. It usually arrives within 1 business day, too, if I order early enough in the day.

Drake_RB3
Drake_RB3
13 years ago

You don't have to pay tax on Amazon, either. I've also gotten $10 – $20 store credit if I pre-ordered a game. Enslaved, Castlevania, Assassin's Creed each worked that way.

Isamisis
Isamisis
13 years ago

Absolutely, Dude! Amazon rocks and the prices average 50% less than GameStop. I check out the local GameStop for grins but I never buy anymore since Amazon. Hell, Amazon's lightning deals for games are outrageous; BulletStorm and COD: Black Ops for $25 during release week!! Plus NO sales tax AND NO shipping charge!!! I NEVER buy anywhere else!

GuernicaReborn
GuernicaReborn
13 years ago

I can be the biggest a**hole if I get pissed off at people ringing me out. I get it from my mom, I think.

I've had a short fuse all day, actually, and just reading this article gets my blood slightly boiling. No need for all the bullsh**, just ring people out and let them be on their way.

I haven't been in gamestop since I bought MGS4 from there on release day. Reading this makes me proud of that statement.

Cesar_ser_4
Cesar_ser_4
13 years ago

dude did you just call your mom an a-hole?

GuernicaReborn
GuernicaReborn
13 years ago

lol I think I did.

CaptRon
CaptRon
13 years ago

Gamestop is a complete joke. They make me go to walmart to buy games, and I hate walmart.. But I hate Gamestop more..

tes37
tes37
13 years ago

I started buying games from Amazon a long time ago. Gamestop can't compete with the deals offered there. Who wants a booger infested game case and manual? Gamestop will give you a five dollar discount and a free disease with every used game you buy as way of saying thank you for shopping with them.

For every playstation question you ask, you get three bonus fun facts about the xbox 360.

Alienange
Alienange
13 years ago

Hahaha … classic

CharlesD
CharlesD
13 years ago

GameStop has gradually degraded over the years. It used to be fine, a few annoying questions but nothing terribly long and drawn out. Now, every time I walk up to the counter not only do I get the list of relentless questions but when I ask for a PS3 game they look at me as if I am either a mental degenerate or just flat out ignorant. They say, that's on the xbox you know… yes I am aware, thank you. It is absurd after a certain point. I like to just have a game in my hand and walk out of the store quickly and easily but it has become so annoying and almost outright insulting Amazon looks more appealing than ever.

kraygen
kraygen
13 years ago

"For every playstation question you ask, you get three bonus fun facts about the xbox 360. "

Or a thousand questions in return demanding to know why you own a playstation when you could obviously have the superior 360 which is obviously better in every way.

EddPm6
EddPm6
13 years ago

amazon…. release day shipping, $0.99

LimitedVertigo
LimitedVertigo
13 years ago

Free if you're a Prime member 🙂

Jawknee
Jawknee
13 years ago

Indeed. I have 4 or 5 games already preordered on Amazon.

Underdog15
Underdog15
13 years ago

Canada's Amazon has free shipping on orders over $20. Usually arrives in a day or two.

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
13 years ago

Best Buy is getting just as bad. NO I don't need your protection, Sony makes a good console and quality discs so get off my scrotum sack!

Gamestop is the worst though. I pride myself on being amiable because I have a soft spot for people who are just doing their job but sometimes I would really like to just say "I wanna buy this game and my answer to any question you have is no."

kraygen
kraygen
13 years ago

Best Buy is getting as bad with the questions, but trying really hard to be worse at ripping people off.

Last time I was at Best Buy a guy pointed out their trade in program. Bring in any used game and get 10% off your next video game purchase. So if you're trading in a $60 game and purchasing a $20 game, you'll get $2 off, hooray!

Oh wait.

Jawknee
Jawknee
13 years ago

BestBuy is a joke these days. Now that Circuit City and Ultimate Electronics is out of business, they jacked up their prices. I'm not shopping there anymore.

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
13 years ago

I've got fifty bones in Best Buy gift cards so I gotta shop there for DAII.

kraygen
kraygen
13 years ago

I also have $50 worth of best buy gift cards, so I'm waiting for them to do another buy 2 greatest hits get one free sale.

When that happens I'm going to finally buy uncharted, uncharted 2, and get something else free, with my gift cards it'll only cost me $10.

johnld
johnld
13 years ago

@world
they also make you do your own preorders now with their "preorder kiosks". before you can just take a preorder box to the cashier and thats it. now you have to find it in their kiosk, which is a pain since not all popular and recent games are on the first page. i tried to find killzone 3 and it took me 3-4 pages to find it. after you find it, you take the preorder reciept it prints out to cashier, then activate it at home. i got pissed looking for the game so i walked out.

they keep pushing the protection plan everytime i buy a ps3 game. i say no, they say that they'll replace it when game gets scratched, i look at them like theyre idiots and say bluray discs are scratch resistant. you have to seriously scratch it on purpose to get a scratch on it.

kraygen
kraygen
13 years ago

@ johnld

At my best buy they will only let you put $5 down on a pre-order. I went in to pre-order a game one day and I had the gift cards to pay for it all, but they wouldn't let me pay more $5.

Godslim
Godslim
13 years ago

wow guys here in england its nothing like this with "game/gamestation" i just walk in and buy the game

Zorigo
Zorigo
13 years ago

i know right Godslim, while UK pricing can be shiiite sometime, thankfully they're not abso-fecking-lutely ridicolous!

BeezleDrop
BeezleDrop
13 years ago

My local GS isn't too bad, they have learned my constant answers to all the questions so they don't ask. Many of the employees used to be Xbot's but me catching and calling them out on their ps3 slander has calmed it down quite a bit. They also finally learned not to ask "ps3 or 360". I know GS sucks but I know the crew around mine and usually the company offers decent pre-order incentives. Agreed though mr. Dukta, it can be quite annoying.

Jawknee
Jawknee
13 years ago

I haven't bought anything from GameStop in ages. Sometimes I go there when the wife wants to go to Michael's(it's next door) and I am immediately reminded why I don't shop there anymore. Annoying workers and crappy prices.

Nickjcal
Nickjcal
13 years ago

You know whats funny. I cannot find any of the games I want in there anymore like I used to. I wonder if they're losing buisness…

Jawknee
Jawknee
13 years ago

Indeed. They really don't have much anymore. And when they do it's either over priced or cost $5 dollars less then a new copy. Just not worth it anymore.

DIsmael85
DIsmael85
13 years ago

Man that sounds like the Gamestop by where I live. Right next to a Micheals. Hmm coincidence?

Jawknee
Jawknee
13 years ago

Are you in Colorado?

DIsmael85
DIsmael85
13 years ago

Lol, coincidence indeed. I guess they love to have a place for the ladies erm I mean guys to blow off time while the ladies shop at Micheals. That's pretty funny.

regular14
regular14
13 years ago

i work there. i hate it too. in my store we usually just asked for the card and reserves. Sometimes we go the extra mile. but normally we don't get too damn crazy about it. But the damn company doesn't want anyone to leave the store and then get upset when anything that needed to be done doesn't get done because every customer takes up about a half hour of our time.

Nickjcal
Nickjcal
13 years ago

I've been using Amazon since Black Ops. Just saving the 20 credit I get for almost every game i buy so I basically get 3 get one free. Not bad 🙂 Luckily the people at our Gamestop want you to get out of there so they can sit back and relax haha. So I get out of there very quickly when I do go.

Lawless SXE
Lawless SXE
13 years ago

So glad that I've never experienced anything like that here. 'Course I do most of my games shopping at JB Hi-Fi and only go to EBGames if whatever I want is unavailable there, but even then I've never been harassed. Just in, buy the game and out again.

It'd be bloody annoying to have to go through that every time, and I'm glad that I've never met anyone that fanatical about their customer 'service'. Guess we're not quite Americanised yet.
Peace.

Codeez
Codeez
13 years ago

Anyone who works, or has worked in an environment like gamestop can tell you how much B.S. is involved behind the counter as well. I use to work at FYE and have seen it firsthand. These corporations are always looking for the extra dollar and will add so many different programs and offer miniscule discounts to try and lure the customer into paying MORE money than what they are already spending. The sad thing is that they know customers never take advantage of their B.S. offers…they just keep adding programs and incentives and NEVER take any away no matter how unsuccessful they are and then blame the employees. Hell no no one wants to get three free months of Entertainment Magazine when they use their credit card…and then after two months have to call and cancel their subscription, otherwise they will be charged for a full years worth of magazines. UGH! Sorry….had to vent when I saw this. Totally agree with you Ben.

regular14
regular14
13 years ago

and the issue isn't gamestop employees it's ACTUALLY gamestop itself, we don't want to ask you a billion questions, but if our numbers tank then the head of the district looks bad and then he comes down on your store manager who comes down on you. FACT: gamestop has actually put into place that if someones numbers (IE Power Up Pro sales and Reservations) are low or far below your coworkers the manager can fire you. so us bastards at the store are just trying to keep our jobs.

Jawknee
Jawknee
13 years ago

Why do they always assume people want the Xbox version of any given game? It used to get really annoying having to tell the guy to put the 360 version away because I want the PS3 version.

Codeez
Codeez
13 years ago

…duh…because the XBOX version is always more polished AND has better graphics! *sarcasm*

Cesar_ser_4
Cesar_ser_4
13 years ago

sadly it does, not by much but it does

___________
___________
13 years ago

or maybe because it generally sells better?

Riku994
Riku994
13 years ago

I have no problem with my local EB Games… except that they won't hire me.

Jawknee
Jawknee
13 years ago

LOL! Sorry, I'm not laughing at you. Just thought your comment was funny.

WorldEndsWithMe
WorldEndsWithMe
13 years ago

I've heard people with game knowledge are considered a problem and aren't hired. They want to indoctrinate blank slates to repeat tired lies, not help the customer to get the best products at the best prices.

Riku994
Riku994
13 years ago

@World yeah I've heard that too, and it's completely stupid.

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