Gaming Forums > General Gaming

So nobody likes GameStop?

(1/150) > >>

Mop it up:
I was reading some of the negative comments about GameStop in the NWR 2006 thread (and also the story which sparked them), and whilst I can understand how one could be angered by such encounters, were they really so bad as to swear off the chain altogether?

First off, the employees will vary greatly by store location. Some stores do have employees who are actually knowledgeable about games and can help out the uninitiated without sarcasm or snide remarks. It's the ones who don't really know about games who can be a problem. One time I asked the clerk for a Nunchuk attachment for Wii, and she had no idea what I was talking about. I explained to her what it was, and she said "Oh, you mean a Nunchuk controller." Really? Couldn't make that connection? Anyways, if you don't have a GameStop near you with friendly employees, then I can understand never visiting them. However, unless you've actually visited each store in your area, I think it is a bit unfair to assume the entirety of the chain has terrible employees.

That said, some of their store policies are ridiculous. First off, I'm not really sure if they have any standards as to what condition they will accept a game in, as I've gotten a few disc games which were scratched to all dirty floors and couldn't be read at all. If these games were actually tested then they would have known they didn't work. Also, each used game has a set price regardless of condition, so games missing the box and/or manual aren't any cheaper.

Once I did a little experiment to test my suspicion that they put non-working game returns back on the shelf, by marking the game I had returned. Sure enough, when I went back a week later there it was sitting on the shelf. I guess they will continue to attempt to sell it until they sell it to somebody who wouldn't be bothered to return it.

The open-box display case thing for new games is pretty dusty table as well. I never buy new games from them any more because you never know if you'll get a sealed copy or not. The last "new" game I bought was Super Mario Sunshine, which was opened and already had a couple of scratches on the disc.

EB Games was better than GameStop. Even after the buyout, they still had better prices and store setup. That's where I bought many of my Nintendo 64 games from because their used games were all out on the shelves instead of locked behind a glass case, and were generally in good condition. I don't remember ever buying a non-working game from EB.

These days I only go to GameStop when I'm looking for GameCube games, as they're used prices on Wii games are barely less than new. Their GameCube prices are hit or miss, though they definitely have some better deals than whats on eBay. What really bothers me though is that they've started putting the price sticker underneath the plastic cover and on the paper insert itself, which is going to at least wrinkle up the paper when attempting to remove it. That's just plain illogical to put stickers there, it's like when they'd put stickers on cartridge game labels even though there's plenty of non-label space available.

When I started writing this topic I had the intention to be more positive, but I guess that didn't work out...

NWR_pap64:
One thing that always bothers me about Gamestop hate is that they pick on the employees, labeling them all as incompetent fanboys simply because of a couple of them in ONE store.

Many of my friends are Gamestop employees. S_B's girlfriend is a Gamestop manager. And I've met and talked with many wonderful Gamestop employees, so to me whenever someone bashes the employees I get upset.

Yes, like ANY store in the world, there are some really bad employees, ones that will test your patience. But simply because you encountered one bad employee you shouldn't convince yourself that all of them are bad. Many are just like you and me; hard working people trying to make a living. And they also get bullcrap from the store and its clients.

Hell, I've even encountered pregnant employees, handling multiple reservations when they should be resting! So because of that I've gained empathy towards employees because they are humans.

If you want to hate the store, hate on its policies, ideas and deals, but leave the employees out of it because they have it just as bad, if not worse, as we.

Regarding Gamestop hate, I think gamers hate it for the same reason many hate Wal-Mart: Its one of the biggest game stores in the US right and its contemporary. Since they have kind of a monopoly on the selling and trading of used games they get away with some dubious things, and that's why so many gamers say nothing but horror stories about them.

Now, if there were more Gamestop like stores and there was real competition then maybe the hate would ease up. Maybe.

Finally, it seems the hate comes from problems with ONE store. I've been to multiple Gamestops, and the service DOES vary. There are stores which are organized and the employees are nice and friendly. Then there are stores that are a mess and its employees are rude.

So it seems that if they have experiences with one store they label them all like that.

nickmitch:
I go to gamestop mostly because I hate having to hunt for employees to open the glass case things.  Also, there's one lady at the one I go to that knows her **** (for the most part).  Her employees are relatively incompetent, but she runs a tight ship.

It's like pap said, your experience may vary.

ThePerm:
well they usually have the games you want. If i want Madworld, im not going to find it at wal-mart. its going to be at Gamestop.

I hate Gamestop for another reason. I used to work there. They didn't fire me, but i waited for 3 weeks by the phone for them to call me in to work before i decided to quit. Passive Aggressive BS. You don't hire 30 people to work at Gamestop. I basically set the store up, and worked opening day. Many people were pissed. I don't really hold that against the company though.

it was funny when i bought my Wii, i bought it at the Gamestop I used to work at.

GoldenPhoenix:
Like any franchise there are good Gamestops and bad ones. The one I go to I know most of the people there, the manager is awesome, along with a woman that is about my age who is really nice along with being quite knowledgeable. It is usually a pleasant experience, though the new guys aren't that great, when I went in there later at night they were in the back room saying bad things about Scott (the manager) along with basically ignoring me while they gossiped. I've been tempted to report them.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page