I recently visited a different store while shopping the other day. It's not in our district (though it is closer to my house than my actual store but w/e) so I don't know anyone working there personally. The only interaction I've had with them is when we sent an RSB to them. An RSB is a box of shipment, usually games, that we send to other stores. So say we have 56 Madden NFL 2011 and they have none, we will send them 10 or so. RSBs suck and take forever to do. You have to find 95% of the games and reprice everything correctly (I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who does this though but one day I will get a beautiful RSB).
Anyway, when we print the shipment info sticker to put on the outside of the box, it prints out all our information like on all the receipts. If you look at any receipt, you will see they each say something different at the top, depending on what store you went to. My (super-awesome-back-in-the-day) SM made it say, "Make Your Gameplay Legendary!" which is a reference to How I Met Your Mother (aka the best show ever). Well, we are both working one day and we get a phone call from the store I was talking about earlier. The SM there goes, "You guys know what it says at the top of your receipts?!" Yes, obviously, we've noticed. "Well...you guys know you can change it right...?" Yes, thank you Mr. Passive Aggressive for your wise comments. We will make sure to change it to something Corporate-y as to not offend you next month when you get our next RSB.
I find it impressive they have so much time on their hands they can call up random stores (not even in their district!!) and b*tch about insignificant stuff. I can understand if we sent you 200 DS games without boxes but we didn't. Because we are awesome.
Back to my visit last week, I walk in and no one greets me (-10 points). I head over to the used PS3 wall to see if they had a used Dead Space. I instantly notice the organization of the wall. As in there is none. It's all random.
At my store I am the most OCD person about walls. If I could spend all day making sure they are perfectly alphabetized and priced I would do it in a heartbeat. When I see a someone putting a game back where it belongs, I will drop what I'm doing and snatch it out of his hands and make a big show of putting it back where it goes. I can understand if it's a kid, they don't know better (but their parents should!) but when it's a perfectly competent adult it really ticks me off.
So you can probably understand how shocked I was to find the entire store unorganized. I promptly gave up looking at the walls and went next to the registers. I stand there patiently for about 5 minutes until the only employee comes to talk to me (I know better than to annoy you when you're finishing something). I end up buying Left 4 Dead 2 instead and I had to give them my Edge Card since they didn't even ask me for it (-10 points again).
Overall, it seems like a crappy store to work but considering it was in a mall and by definition mall stores are shitholes, I'm not surprised. Thank god, they're not in our district.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Updates....
I've been super stressed lately, no time for blogging. I had two exams in the past week and the results I got have really kicked my ass in gear for school because up until this point I was not giving a shit. I've also been sick for what seems like the past two weeks, but good news, I'm pretty much all better now.
Also good news, I've finally gotten a nuke in Modern Warfare 2. Domination, Skidrow. It started off as 2 v 2 until one guy on the other team left (they were winning and I only had 3 kills but whatever). I pretty much stayed holed up in the building near the C flag with claymores and a silenced weapon. Honestly, I was just playing for fun to let off some steam before going to bed and I got into a groove once a bunch of people joined the game. Got my harrier strike which got me exactly 0 kills but my Chopper Gunner was golden, I must have gotten at least 8 right there. Near the end I was sure I'd get killed but I managed to move around and get some lucky melee kills. When I was at 23, I couldn't find anyone for a really long time and the game was about to end when some unlucky bastard walked out into the courtyard. Easy kill. Afterwards the other team were b*tching (of course) but I really didn't care. They had just gotten owned and they knew it.
More GameStop updates later this week, we just had a district meeting about the new power up cards (fun fun fun).
Also good news, I've finally gotten a nuke in Modern Warfare 2. Domination, Skidrow. It started off as 2 v 2 until one guy on the other team left (they were winning and I only had 3 kills but whatever). I pretty much stayed holed up in the building near the C flag with claymores and a silenced weapon. Honestly, I was just playing for fun to let off some steam before going to bed and I got into a groove once a bunch of people joined the game. Got my harrier strike which got me exactly 0 kills but my Chopper Gunner was golden, I must have gotten at least 8 right there. Near the end I was sure I'd get killed but I managed to move around and get some lucky melee kills. When I was at 23, I couldn't find anyone for a really long time and the game was about to end when some unlucky bastard walked out into the courtyard. Easy kill. Afterwards the other team were b*tching (of course) but I really didn't care. They had just gotten owned and they knew it.
More GameStop updates later this week, we just had a district meeting about the new power up cards (fun fun fun).
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Why are some people such assholes?
Let me start this post off by saying there's nothing that irritates me more than when I greet someone only to be met with stony silence.
So tonight I was closing with Neko, one of our assistance managers. I love working with Neko, she is so badass. I don't know what it was about tonight but we just had the most wonderful customers. First we had this regular who comes in every now and then with his daughter. He's nice enough but he constantly talks about whatever PC beta he's in at the moment. Tonight it was WOW and the Final Fantasy XIV betas. There's something kind of off about him and he creeps me out a little bit. Neko started doing a CAT count so it was up to me to ring people up. Now most people stand by Register 1 since it's the closest to the door. It's also the only register with a bluetooth scanner thing so of course Neko was using it and I'd have to tell people, "Oh I'll help you down here". And most people who are not rude assholes will just walk two steps and come to register 2.
Well we had this one guy who not only interrupted Neko during her count to have her throw his Burger King away instead of throwing it away outside, but when I asked him to move down he goes, "I guess I HAVE TO MOVE" in this tone like I was asking for his kidney. It's like yes, if you want your game you'll move your ass. Then of course he insisted on giving me exact change even after the register had opened. Whatever, we deal with these kinds of people every day.
Then these two girls came in. I greeted them with a loud and friendly hello. They gave me a cold stare and ignored me entirely. Like I said earlier, nothing pisses me off more so I turned to Neko and rolled my eyes. The two girls were just standing at the register holding out some games, without saying a word. I ask them what I can help them with and it turns out they are doing a trade. For cash. Did I mention one of them must have been eight months pregnant (at least). As I'm processing their trade this other guy comes in and starts talking about our remodel and how we must have used the profits off Halo: Reach to pay for a new remodel. Neko and I looked at each and tried not to burst out laughing. I finish up the girls' trades and let them know their four defective PS2 games would net them $7.41. They look at me like I just spit in their face. I stare back until they give in and accept. As I hand them their cash and tell to have a good day they (what else?) ignore me entirely. In a not so quiet voice I mutter, "or be rude and ignore me completely". And as they are about to walk out the door, the pregnant one yells, "WELL MAYBE YOU SHOULDN'T LAUGH AT YOUR CUSTOMERS!!"
Wow, I'm so impressed you had the guts to be a complete asshole the entire time and then yell something right as you walk out to make sure I can't respond. Neko and I agreed we both hoped they never came back since they looked ready to shank us.
To be honest, we laugh at our customers all the time but the majority are so oblivious it makes it even funnier. But we never laughed at those girls! We didn't even laugh in their presence, we just looked at each other and smiled. Afterward, Neko told me about the time she was helping a guy with trades and his fiancee came in and just said, "I hope you know you're ugly". WTF, who says that to someone you've never spoken to in your life? Neko's just doing her job (and she is not at all one of those girls who flirts constantly) and this insecure woman feels the need to call her ugly.
And don't even get me started on the two teenage boys who were too embarrassed to answer me when I greeted them and asked how they were doing. I guess they weren't expecting two girls to be working at GameStop.
So tonight I was closing with Neko, one of our assistance managers. I love working with Neko, she is so badass. I don't know what it was about tonight but we just had the most wonderful customers. First we had this regular who comes in every now and then with his daughter. He's nice enough but he constantly talks about whatever PC beta he's in at the moment. Tonight it was WOW and the Final Fantasy XIV betas. There's something kind of off about him and he creeps me out a little bit. Neko started doing a CAT count so it was up to me to ring people up. Now most people stand by Register 1 since it's the closest to the door. It's also the only register with a bluetooth scanner thing so of course Neko was using it and I'd have to tell people, "Oh I'll help you down here". And most people who are not rude assholes will just walk two steps and come to register 2.
Well we had this one guy who not only interrupted Neko during her count to have her throw his Burger King away instead of throwing it away outside, but when I asked him to move down he goes, "I guess I HAVE TO MOVE" in this tone like I was asking for his kidney. It's like yes, if you want your game you'll move your ass. Then of course he insisted on giving me exact change even after the register had opened. Whatever, we deal with these kinds of people every day.
Then these two girls came in. I greeted them with a loud and friendly hello. They gave me a cold stare and ignored me entirely. Like I said earlier, nothing pisses me off more so I turned to Neko and rolled my eyes. The two girls were just standing at the register holding out some games, without saying a word. I ask them what I can help them with and it turns out they are doing a trade. For cash. Did I mention one of them must have been eight months pregnant (at least). As I'm processing their trade this other guy comes in and starts talking about our remodel and how we must have used the profits off Halo: Reach to pay for a new remodel. Neko and I looked at each and tried not to burst out laughing. I finish up the girls' trades and let them know their four defective PS2 games would net them $7.41. They look at me like I just spit in their face. I stare back until they give in and accept. As I hand them their cash and tell to have a good day they (what else?) ignore me entirely. In a not so quiet voice I mutter, "or be rude and ignore me completely". And as they are about to walk out the door, the pregnant one yells, "WELL MAYBE YOU SHOULDN'T LAUGH AT YOUR CUSTOMERS!!"
Wow, I'm so impressed you had the guts to be a complete asshole the entire time and then yell something right as you walk out to make sure I can't respond. Neko and I agreed we both hoped they never came back since they looked ready to shank us.
To be honest, we laugh at our customers all the time but the majority are so oblivious it makes it even funnier. But we never laughed at those girls! We didn't even laugh in their presence, we just looked at each other and smiled. Afterward, Neko told me about the time she was helping a guy with trades and his fiancee came in and just said, "I hope you know you're ugly". WTF, who says that to someone you've never spoken to in your life? Neko's just doing her job (and she is not at all one of those girls who flirts constantly) and this insecure woman feels the need to call her ugly.
And don't even get me started on the two teenage boys who were too embarrassed to answer me when I greeted them and asked how they were doing. I guess they weren't expecting two girls to be working at GameStop.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
GameStop Lingo
In case you need to brush up on your GameStop vocabulary.
02/909 - System Count, meaning every morning whoever opens the store has to to a CAT Count on all the systems and if you forget, you're in deep doo-doo.
ASM - Assistant Store Manager. Pretty self explanatory.
CAT Count - Category Count, meaning we have to scan EVERY SINGLE copy of ALL the games in a certain section like used 360 or new DS. Everyone hates these.
DM - District Manager
Edge Card - The discount card that comes with the Game Informer magazine. Saves 10% off used games, 20% off strategy guides when purchased with the game and gives an extra 10% more on trades.
F10 - Named for the F key used on the computer to pull up the search box. It usually means printing out a list of all the games in a particular section to organize it properly, usually before a TOH.
GA - Game Advisor, Gamestop-speak for Sales Associates. Does all the crap work like vacuuming and alphabetizing bins.
Game Informer - The magazine Gamestop owns and pushes like crazy. It's pretty cheap for a magazine subscription ($14.99).
Return - A return =/= a trade-in! They are very different. And you can't return an opened new game unless it's defective. And even then we will only switch it out for the same game. Why you ask? Because then we would have to take a hit and sell it for a discount (which Gamestop never does because it would lose them money) or sell it as brand new (which would piss people off).
SGA - Senior Game Advisor, one step above a GA, SGAs have keys and are considered "managers". Being an SGA is the best because you get a pay raise, keys and managing power without most of the responsibilities ASMs and SMs have.
SM - Store Manager
TOH - Title On Hand count, meaning we have to scan all the games that are currently on the floor to make sure we have EVERY game out there. I LOVE theses because it usually means I can F10 a wall and make it all organized. Others hate them because they will most likely forget to scan that Popstar guitar WITH game or the old Brothers In Arms collector's edition lying forgotten in a corner of the back room.
Trade In - When you sell your games back to us. Pretty self-explanatory.
02/909 - System Count, meaning every morning whoever opens the store has to to a CAT Count on all the systems and if you forget, you're in deep doo-doo.
ASM - Assistant Store Manager. Pretty self explanatory.
CAT Count - Category Count, meaning we have to scan EVERY SINGLE copy of ALL the games in a certain section like used 360 or new DS. Everyone hates these.
DM - District Manager
Edge Card - The discount card that comes with the Game Informer magazine. Saves 10% off used games, 20% off strategy guides when purchased with the game and gives an extra 10% more on trades.
F10 - Named for the F key used on the computer to pull up the search box. It usually means printing out a list of all the games in a particular section to organize it properly, usually before a TOH.
GA - Game Advisor, Gamestop-speak for Sales Associates. Does all the crap work like vacuuming and alphabetizing bins.
Game Informer - The magazine Gamestop owns and pushes like crazy. It's pretty cheap for a magazine subscription ($14.99).
Return - A return =/= a trade-in! They are very different. And you can't return an opened new game unless it's defective. And even then we will only switch it out for the same game. Why you ask? Because then we would have to take a hit and sell it for a discount (which Gamestop never does because it would lose them money) or sell it as brand new (which would piss people off).
SGA - Senior Game Advisor, one step above a GA, SGAs have keys and are considered "managers". Being an SGA is the best because you get a pay raise, keys and managing power without most of the responsibilities ASMs and SMs have.
SM - Store Manager
TOH - Title On Hand count, meaning we have to scan all the games that are currently on the floor to make sure we have EVERY game out there. I LOVE theses because it usually means I can F10 a wall and make it all organized. Others hate them because they will most likely forget to scan that Popstar guitar WITH game or the old Brothers In Arms collector's edition lying forgotten in a corner of the back room.
Trade In - When you sell your games back to us. Pretty self-explanatory.
Things You Shouldn't Say to a Gamestop Employee
"So do you really play video games or do you just work here?"
I get asked this question every other day, usually by some older guy being creepy. First off, why would you care? And second, do you go around asking everyone you see if they "just work here". No you probably don't so I'm guessing you asked me because you still think video games are for boys so what the hell is a girl doing here?! It must be because of the awesome pay and the great work conditions. Yeah, that's it.
I will usually roll my eyes a little (just enough that you notice) and say: Trust me if I didn't like video games, I would not work here (because I have to deal with idiots like you all day!!). Most people get the hint and shut up and if they don't I will usually walk away.
I get asked this question every other day, usually by some older guy being creepy. First off, why would you care? And second, do you go around asking everyone you see if they "just work here". No you probably don't so I'm guessing you asked me because you still think video games are for boys so what the hell is a girl doing here?! It must be because of the awesome pay and the great work conditions. Yeah, that's it.
I will usually roll my eyes a little (just enough that you notice) and say: Trust me if I didn't like video games, I would not work here (because I have to deal with idiots like you all day!!). Most people get the hint and shut up and if they don't I will usually walk away.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Turtle Beach Headsets
So ever since I transferred to my new store I've been hearing all about the spiffy Turtle Beach headsets that run $70+. Now bear with me if these have been around for forever, I don't use mics very often (if ever) in online play so all I had was a normal Sony bluetooth headset.
Well tonight we had a guy trade in his PS3, all his games and his accessories. I do the trade and it's only when I'm putting stuff away do I notice the wired headset says Turtle Beach on it. This was the first pair I'd ever had traded-in in my two years of Gamestop employment. As it turns out, technically the Turtle Beach headsets are considered "wired headsets" at Gamestop, which means you will get a cool $3.50 for them. In return we will sell them for $15. That's right. It's possible to get those spiffy headsets for $65 cheaper than brand new. Of course once I noticed these were Turtle Beaches I stuck them in a corner and purchased them at the end of my shift. With my employee discount and edge card, it totaled $12.
The difference is unbelievable. It's like having a surround sound system in your head. You can even jack up the "bass" which makes footsteps and explosions stand out more in games like Call of Duty.
We've also just done a remodel of our store to transform it from EB Games to full fledged Gamestop. FINALLY we now have drawers to store games instead of cubbies. All the other stores I have worked with before had these and they are much, much better.
Well tonight we had a guy trade in his PS3, all his games and his accessories. I do the trade and it's only when I'm putting stuff away do I notice the wired headset says Turtle Beach on it. This was the first pair I'd ever had traded-in in my two years of Gamestop employment. As it turns out, technically the Turtle Beach headsets are considered "wired headsets" at Gamestop, which means you will get a cool $3.50 for them. In return we will sell them for $15. That's right. It's possible to get those spiffy headsets for $65 cheaper than brand new. Of course once I noticed these were Turtle Beaches I stuck them in a corner and purchased them at the end of my shift. With my employee discount and edge card, it totaled $12.
The difference is unbelievable. It's like having a surround sound system in your head. You can even jack up the "bass" which makes footsteps and explosions stand out more in games like Call of Duty.
We've also just done a remodel of our store to transform it from EB Games to full fledged Gamestop. FINALLY we now have drawers to store games instead of cubbies. All the other stores I have worked with before had these and they are much, much better.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
The DOs and DON'Ts of Shopping at GameStop
(I posted this on another website as well but I feel it bears repeating.)
I've worked at Gamestop for the past two years. I've definitely had my fair share of good and bad experiences. Some coworkers and I were swapping customer stories and we decided someone should make a list of DOs and DON'Ts when shopping at Gamestop. This is my version.
DO respond when we greet you. There's nothing more irritating than looking someone directly in the eyes and saying hello and having that person ignore you entirely. We know you heard us, don't be a douchebag.
DON'T sit there for an hour talking about how awesome you think Elder Scrolls is or how WOW is the best game ever. We really don't care and we have stuff to do.
DO reserve games. We know you're going to get Halo Reach at some point. So just reserve it. It doesn't cost you extra money, you'll probably get extra stuff with it and you'll make our day. Seriously.
DON'T b*tch and moan about trade-in prices or used game prices. We get the same deals as you do and we completely agree trade-in prices are too low and used game prices are too high. At the same time, realize no other store is going to take in your used up Madden 2004 on PS2 without the case. And no one is forcing you to sell your games or to buy used ones. I can't stress this enough.
DO buy used games. If you don't know whether you'll like it, buy it used. You can bring it back within seven days and buy it new if you like it or get something else if you don't.
DON'T ask the female employees if they really play video games. Don't start quizzing us about what games we're playing or what consoles we have. Yes we play games. That's why we work here. Trust me, if we didn't, we wouldn't be putting up with all the crap we put up with.
DO read the return policy. You buy a game new and you don't like it, well too bad for you. You should have gotten it used.
DON'T ask out female employees, don't ask for our phone numbers. And don't make disgusting comments to the male employees about us. They will tell us.
DO understand we don't "sit around and play video games". There's constantly CAT counts, TOHs, RSBs and marketing to do along with processing trades/returns, doing trade/refund verifications and generally keeping the store clean and organized. Oh and you know, helping customers.
DON'T leave your kids in the store when you go shopping. Unless your kids are completely quiet and extremely well-behaved, we don't want them in the store for an hour and a half. WE ARE NOT A BABYSITTING SERVICE. This applies to teenagers as well. We don't want to listen to you play the same song in Guitar Hero over and over.
DO understand we don't enjoy asking (begging) for game informer subscriptions or reservations. We need good numbers to keep our jobs.
DON'T yell and scream at us when we refuse to accept trades without a government ID. Don't call us names. Grow up. We're not going to break the law and lose our jobs for some idiot who left his driver's license at home.
DO put game cases back where you found them. It's really annoying to have to alphabetize 500 Wii games every other hour.
Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy my job. There's definitely upsides to working there: employee discounts, preorder freebies, swag and other things. I'm also extremely lucky because the store I worked at (before it closed) was probably one of the best GameStops around. All the managers were very nice and laid-back.
I just wish people would stop hating on Gamestop so much. Most of the things people complain about are decided at the corporate level. Bitch at them, not us, the sales people. We just do what we're told.
I've worked at Gamestop for the past two years. I've definitely had my fair share of good and bad experiences. Some coworkers and I were swapping customer stories and we decided someone should make a list of DOs and DON'Ts when shopping at Gamestop. This is my version.
DO respond when we greet you. There's nothing more irritating than looking someone directly in the eyes and saying hello and having that person ignore you entirely. We know you heard us, don't be a douchebag.
DON'T sit there for an hour talking about how awesome you think Elder Scrolls is or how WOW is the best game ever. We really don't care and we have stuff to do.
DO reserve games. We know you're going to get Halo Reach at some point. So just reserve it. It doesn't cost you extra money, you'll probably get extra stuff with it and you'll make our day. Seriously.
DON'T b*tch and moan about trade-in prices or used game prices. We get the same deals as you do and we completely agree trade-in prices are too low and used game prices are too high. At the same time, realize no other store is going to take in your used up Madden 2004 on PS2 without the case. And no one is forcing you to sell your games or to buy used ones. I can't stress this enough.
DO buy used games. If you don't know whether you'll like it, buy it used. You can bring it back within seven days and buy it new if you like it or get something else if you don't.
DON'T ask the female employees if they really play video games. Don't start quizzing us about what games we're playing or what consoles we have. Yes we play games. That's why we work here. Trust me, if we didn't, we wouldn't be putting up with all the crap we put up with.
DO read the return policy. You buy a game new and you don't like it, well too bad for you. You should have gotten it used.
DON'T ask out female employees, don't ask for our phone numbers. And don't make disgusting comments to the male employees about us. They will tell us.
DO understand we don't "sit around and play video games". There's constantly CAT counts, TOHs, RSBs and marketing to do along with processing trades/returns, doing trade/refund verifications and generally keeping the store clean and organized. Oh and you know, helping customers.
DON'T leave your kids in the store when you go shopping. Unless your kids are completely quiet and extremely well-behaved, we don't want them in the store for an hour and a half. WE ARE NOT A BABYSITTING SERVICE. This applies to teenagers as well. We don't want to listen to you play the same song in Guitar Hero over and over.
DO understand we don't enjoy asking (begging) for game informer subscriptions or reservations. We need good numbers to keep our jobs.
DON'T yell and scream at us when we refuse to accept trades without a government ID. Don't call us names. Grow up. We're not going to break the law and lose our jobs for some idiot who left his driver's license at home.
DO put game cases back where you found them. It's really annoying to have to alphabetize 500 Wii games every other hour.
Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy my job. There's definitely upsides to working there: employee discounts, preorder freebies, swag and other things. I'm also extremely lucky because the store I worked at (before it closed) was probably one of the best GameStops around. All the managers were very nice and laid-back.
I just wish people would stop hating on Gamestop so much. Most of the things people complain about are decided at the corporate level. Bitch at them, not us, the sales people. We just do what we're told.
Mandatory intro post.
I love blogs. A lot. Especially blogs from people who work in the service industry or in retail. I've looked around but I've never found a blog about my place of work: GameStop. I've been there two years now, the longest I've stayed at one job. And over the past two years I have amassed some crazy stories and I can't wait to actually put them out there.
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