Video Game Retail Employees AND Consumers- What Are Your Experiences?

[Vault Girl]

Hey guys,

After a small absence from Escapist I am returning to hopefully tackle something that has interested me for a while now. After reading the magnificent and quite accurate diary of a Gamestop employee, I wonder if the contemporary retail age has changed since then. As a fellow VG retail employee I found it very interesting how similar and in some ways how different the American retailers differ from my native United Kingdoms.

Therefore, this is a tread attempting to discuss 2 things.

1) The experiences of video game retail staff. I work for a well known Video Game retailer and have had many experiences, mostly good but some bad during my employment there so far. Are there any other video game retail employee's out there and do you have any weird and wonderful stories to tell. Let us hear your wisdom!

and

2) You as a consumer and your experiences with retail. What are your good and bad experiences with the retail end of our mutual hobby? Have staff been helpful or not? Have other customers astonished you with their ignorance of social norms or has someone actually gone out of there way to be as informative as possible?


Please share any experiences or opinions that you can

 

[robot slipper]

I'm a female consumer in the UK. The dudes at my branch of Game (which I think has survived the axe) are very nice and don't hesitate to stop and chat with me about games and gaming(even if it holds up the queue!), particularly Mass Effect and Gears of War.

Conversely, at Replay, the employees look at me like I'm a Martian and barely say a word to me, but talk in a friendly and familiar way with the the male customers, on every occasion I have been in there. Hopefully they are just an isolated case of idiots. I now go to Computer Exchange for trade-ins, last time I got in a delightful chat with the member of staff, reminiscing about old PC games.

 

[Vault Girl]

I Work for Game and it's good to hear your branch is OK. The guys in my store go out of their way to approach any customer, guys and girls. Apart from me there is currently only one other female member of staff but she is a manager, so between us we always try to be fair to all customers.


I have alternatively had male customers snub me and go to one of the male members of staff, its annoying but not as much as other things