Gamestop Complaints

[Leo1]

My local GameStop is managed well with a great manager and some decent long-time employees (The Massena NY store at the St. Lawrence Centre Mall). Only reason I don't go there more often these days is because I'm sick of getting cases with generic inserts. I must have 30 PS2/Xbox/GCN/360 games here that cost $5 or so that need a replacement insert. Someday I'll start to track down what I need online and resolve that situation.

There are occasionally rude, lazy, unkept GameStop employees working there that fit the online stereotype of a GameStop worker to a tee. But they always seem to be gone the next time I visit, never to be seen from again. It's not the manager's fault since I doubt they get a very attractive pool of applicants to choose from, so I imagine they're forced sometimes in hiring someone they'd rather not since there just isn't anyone better to choose from.

It's the regional managers and higher ups at GameStop that I presume are the leading cause for the business not being very attractive to the type of individual we'd prefer to see behind the counter. If they started to treat their workforce as an asset rather than having the bottom line be the only thing they keep in sight at all times, I think they'd find that many of us might start spending more time and dollars in their brick and mortar stores when the employees behind the counter seem to actually want to be there.

Some policy changes would be nice too, like investing in security cases for the display copies so they don't need to gut a new game to display it and placing some importance on the original case inserts and manuals in their trade in prices and store prices.

Two copies of Ico, one with it's original case insert and manual and the other in a generic replacement case, shouldn't be sold for the same price.

[QF]

Guy at the counter giving me crap for buying the Calling for Wii. He kept laughing and asking if I really wanted that **** game. How does he have a job???

[Ken1]

Went to Gamestop yesterday for the first time in a long while. The experience was partially good and partially bad.

I simply wanted to buy a used game for fairly cheap and my favorite locally owned game store is closed on Sundays..

Anyways, I made my selection. The best looking one on the shelf had 3 yellow Gamestop stickers all over the PS3 case. Blah. Went to the counter (waited in line for awhile), the lady checking me out was pushing the rewards program hard. It took four "nos" to end that conversation. Sorry, I shop at Gamestop once every couple years, I have no use for your rewards program and I'd rather spend the extra few bucks than give you my phone number and email.

I understand that the employee has to ask. But I shouldn't be hounded over the issue. During the transaction, I was also asked if they needed to preorder anything for me. As if I would suddenly say "Oh yeah, put me down for L.A Noire, here's some more money." I dunno, maybe people do.

So the rewards program and stickers were obnoxious. The shelves were a bit disorganized, though not nearly as bad as I've seen them in the past.

To Gamestop's credit, they were somewhat busy that day and an employee that was clearly heading home, stopped and opened another register so they could move the lines along.

[Leo1]

Sadly, that's pretty much a fault of GameStop's upper management right there. The employees have to push preorders and their rewards program. If employees have weak numbers in regards to those, they risk having their hours reduced and face possible eventual elimination.

[nesfan1]

I really can't stand those stickers. They're just about impossible to get off. When you do get them off, there's a good chance you won't get all of it off. The sticker residue will stay there and make the game look all crappy and dirty. ANd on top of that, those stickers are all over the game. You'd think if they needed them, they'd only need one. But no, they put the stickers everywhere.

[Ken1]

Leo, I agree it's the fault of the Gamestop management, but still the bottom line is, I don't want to shop there. As a consumer, I can care less if the employees are also victims of the leadership.

In comparison to Gamestop, in the Kansas City metro (and southern Missouri) we have a chain of stores called Vintage Stock. They cover everything, from old school gaming, to DVDs to comic books to modern gaming. Every time I go into a Vintage Stock, I'm greeted by an employee, there are no rewards programs, shelves are organized, ect.. A couple weeks ago, I bought a Dreamcast game there and the girl at the counter and I had an intelligent conversation about Code Veronica. And prices seem comparable to Gamestop for new and slighter less on used (depending on what you are buying). So, it is possible to run a video game store and make it a pleasant shopping experience. (though vintage stock also screws you on trade ins).

Gamestop seems to intentionally be alienating their customers. They could take the air out of most people's complaints if they would just do a few simple things, but yet they don't. I just can't understand that.

[David]

[QUOTE=nesfan]

I really can't stand those stickers. They're just about impossible to get off. When you do get them off, there's a good chance you won't get all of it off. The sticker residue will stay there and make the game look all crappy and dirty. ANd on top of that, those stickers are all over the game. You'd think if they needed them, they'd only need one. But no, they put the stickers everywhere.

[/QUOTE]
I've found that after you remove the sticker(s) and there's still adhesive left over, taking packing tape (or any other strong tape), sticking it on, and pulling it off as many times as needed will cleanly remove the sticker.

[steer]

I am amazed this topic can go 7 pages.

Why shop there?

It is laughable when people claim they 'have no other choice' - GAMESTOP is for and is a success because of uninformed game buyers - it is the little mall shop and strip mall crap gaming store. 

[Michael Prymula]

Uninformed my ass!  Steer, as hard as it may be for you to believe, there are people like myself who genuinely enjoy shopping at Gamestop and rarely encounter any of the problems that most people on here mention.  For example, I have had intelligent conversations with several of the employees at Gamestop and they never tried to needlessly push the rewards program on me, I shop there because I can easily get alot of store credit by trading in around 10 games or so, which saves me quite a bit of money in the long run.  In all of the 10-plus years i've been going to Gamestop, I have NEVER once had a bad experience, so therefore I see no reason to stop going there anytime soon.

[nesfan1]

Thanks for the suggestion, David. I'll have to try that out.