Ten minutes before closing time last night we had a couple come in. They were in a rush (I think their kids where outside in the car). The wife quickly demanded "I need the Mario brothers Wii!" I let her know we were sold out. "Why." Because there are none left, we sold out our inventory this week. Twice. "That's BULLSH*!@, you want me to bring my kids in here so you can tell them Christmas isn't coming this year?" Her husband then chided in and told me to give us the used one then. I told him we didn't have any used in, we actually hadn't got one at all. "Yeah, right. I'm sure you guys are hiding like six in the back for your workers or some crap. Call your other stores and ship us one, we need it by Christmas." I explained that all the stores in our district were sold on it, and a quick check in our district inventory reflected as much. I asked what other local retailers they had tried, apparently nothing but us. I recommended a few that might have the game.
"F!(@# that, if you guys don't have it it's just going to be your fault. Thanks for killing Santa !#@%^^%$."
They left.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
This game has SWEARS
Many of our customers are those people that drive while eating lunch and twitter about how pastrami is delicious going eighty on the freeway while driving with your legs. These same people make similar fantastic choices in their store purchases.
1. We had a lady come in with her little multi-cultural family. She allowed her little boy to pick up a copy of "True Crime: Streets of L.A.", she asked what was in the game to give it an M rating. I explained the rating reasons on the back of the case which included things like "Extreme violence, blood, language, rap, etc". She said no problem and purchased it. An hour or two later, her little eight year old son comes back and wants a full refund. I explained our policy (which his mother had previously been given leniency with) and that I could only give him the trade-in credit since nothing is wrong with the game.
Well. In comes Mom.
"I DEMAND THIS GAME GETS REFUNDED FOR THE FULL AMOUNT IMMEDIATELY."
--Mam, our policy has been stated and bent for you a couple times before so I am unable to do so again and unfortunately the game is not the problem, but the content is.
"THIS GAME HAS SWEARS! IT SAYS NI****! I HAVE A BLACK CHILD, AND THIS IS COMPLETELY OFFENSIVE"
--Mam, I explained to you this game has extremely harsh language
"BUT YOU DIDN'T SAY IT HAD THAT WORD IN IT! I DEMAND TO TALK TO YOUR MANAGER BECAUSE YOU SOLD ME THIS GAME, OR I WONT SHOP HERE EVER AGAIN"
--I'm sorry again 'mam, my manager will be in about an hour, I will express your concerns and perhaps she can work something out with you. Other than the language, did your son enjoy the violence, gore, sex and nudity?
She left. She never came to talk to the manager. She has indeed come back and bought more games since, though none with an M rating. ZING.
2. People like to cheat us and compare our policies to other stores more than they should. For example, we had this kid come in to try and refund a game he didn't like. Our policy clearly states, all used sales final unless defect found in the game, then we take care of you. I explained this to him and he told me how Gamestop refunds after 7 days regardless. I told him we don't share that policy or we would be more of a rental company than game sales. Ordinarily, I would offer him a one-time bend in the rules and refund it for credit or another game, but he tried to pull BS on me.
"The game is broken actually. It's defective, doesn't work. I forgot to tell you, so I need a refund."
--That seems difficult to believe...it's a blu-ray disk.
"So what?! What does that mean?"
--Blu-ray disks are actually extremely hard to damage. That said, I have seen one come back, let me try it on our PS3
"Uh...never mind, screw this, screw you, I will shop at Gamestop, this store sucks, you are dumb..."
--You have a fantastic day sir.
I was about ready to refund it until he decided to lie and trash talk me. I also saw him back a few weeks later to buy.
3. "I'm looking for a racing game with good graphics!" --Great! Did you want something that is like track racing, or street racing, or how about offroad?
We talk and discuss his needs for nearly an hour (slow day) and also about differences in the types of racing, the best and most popular games. I showed him Forza 3.
"Naw, doesn't seem to have enough racing in it...what else"
I showed him every single racing game on the 360, but he was convinced he needed a game with more racing. I have no idea what that means. He stumbled upon Excite Truck for the Wii.
"AH HA! I knew you were hiding one like this from me! I want this one."
--It is an ok game, not as good as the other and not high definition...doesn't look or play as good as some of the others...
"Nah, this one does look high defined. Also- look at that. RACING game. Yep. This one."
I think I went into the backroom and screamed after that transaction.
4. People seem to judge everything about a game based on something an ill-informed friend or personality might say. Even when they play it they seem to fall heavy on others opinions. For example, we had someone come into the store and say Fable II was possibly the worst game on the 360 based on a friend's experience. I was taken aback since I consider it one of my favorites! I asked him if he would give it a try, so I popped it in for a minute and went through the opening cinematic and had him play on a leveled character for a bit.
"Just like he said. Boring. Slow. Bad Graphics. Worse than the original."
--Did you play the original?!
"No. But he did."
--How much of this game did your friend play?
"Like a half hour. It was so bad he brought it back"
5. We have one customer, who claims to be 19(he doesn't have a valid license and couldn't purchase M rated games on his own) who seems to LIVE at our store some days. He literally comes in for 3 hours at a time and watches us. Or stands around. Or tries a demo. Or leans ACROSS the counter. Eventually we start to ignore him or become agitated, but the problem comes when he pretends to be an employee or tries to give his advice, which is POOR.
For example: I was helping a customer find some DS games for his 7 year old daughter. Having talked and successfully helped other customers do the same, we seemed to be making progress, until this kid stepped in.
"Oh yeah man, this one is good for little girls, this one is the best."
--Oh! You have a sister?
"Nope."
--A cousin...?
"Not any girls no."
--Then are you dating a 7 year old girl??
He would give bad advice based on complete guesses, irritating the customer. We selected a few and went to the register. This kid leaned clear over the counter to watch the screen. I told him to stay behind it. The customer and I started talking cars while we rang him up. I know the customer from past visits, and we were talking Subarus and BMWs. Kid steps in again. The replies are the customers as well as my own.
"Nah, Subarus suck. I would rather have a Mustang, they totally waste STIs"
--Have you ever actually driven either of those cars? How old are you?
"No but I know for a fact, I'm 19."
--How many cars have you even owned?
"Three, a toyota, Honda, and a sports car"
--Uh...ok...I have owned more Subs than you have owned anything. Maybe a Roush or Saleen, but I don't see an standard or GT...
"No way man, automatic is the way to go, normal could beat it easy. I would take a Lambo or Porche though, they are the best cars"
--Why would you bother to have a sports car that is automatic, an auto Lambo?! You play too many video games.
By this time the customer was getting irate, and I was about ready to take the hammer in the backroom to 'kid's skull. He left after, but next time he comes in I will ask him not to loiter, bug the customers, pretend to be an employee, and to get himself a job.
END RANT ON 'KID'
1. We had a lady come in with her little multi-cultural family. She allowed her little boy to pick up a copy of "True Crime: Streets of L.A.", she asked what was in the game to give it an M rating. I explained the rating reasons on the back of the case which included things like "Extreme violence, blood, language, rap, etc". She said no problem and purchased it. An hour or two later, her little eight year old son comes back and wants a full refund. I explained our policy (which his mother had previously been given leniency with) and that I could only give him the trade-in credit since nothing is wrong with the game.
Well. In comes Mom.
"I DEMAND THIS GAME GETS REFUNDED FOR THE FULL AMOUNT IMMEDIATELY."
--Mam, our policy has been stated and bent for you a couple times before so I am unable to do so again and unfortunately the game is not the problem, but the content is.
"THIS GAME HAS SWEARS! IT SAYS NI****! I HAVE A BLACK CHILD, AND THIS IS COMPLETELY OFFENSIVE"
--Mam, I explained to you this game has extremely harsh language
"BUT YOU DIDN'T SAY IT HAD THAT WORD IN IT! I DEMAND TO TALK TO YOUR MANAGER BECAUSE YOU SOLD ME THIS GAME, OR I WONT SHOP HERE EVER AGAIN"
--I'm sorry again 'mam, my manager will be in about an hour, I will express your concerns and perhaps she can work something out with you. Other than the language, did your son enjoy the violence, gore, sex and nudity?
She left. She never came to talk to the manager. She has indeed come back and bought more games since, though none with an M rating. ZING.
2. People like to cheat us and compare our policies to other stores more than they should. For example, we had this kid come in to try and refund a game he didn't like. Our policy clearly states, all used sales final unless defect found in the game, then we take care of you. I explained this to him and he told me how Gamestop refunds after 7 days regardless. I told him we don't share that policy or we would be more of a rental company than game sales. Ordinarily, I would offer him a one-time bend in the rules and refund it for credit or another game, but he tried to pull BS on me.
"The game is broken actually. It's defective, doesn't work. I forgot to tell you, so I need a refund."
--That seems difficult to believe...it's a blu-ray disk.
"So what?! What does that mean?"
--Blu-ray disks are actually extremely hard to damage. That said, I have seen one come back, let me try it on our PS3
"Uh...never mind, screw this, screw you, I will shop at Gamestop, this store sucks, you are dumb..."
--You have a fantastic day sir.
I was about ready to refund it until he decided to lie and trash talk me. I also saw him back a few weeks later to buy.
3. "I'm looking for a racing game with good graphics!" --Great! Did you want something that is like track racing, or street racing, or how about offroad?
We talk and discuss his needs for nearly an hour (slow day) and also about differences in the types of racing, the best and most popular games. I showed him Forza 3.
"Naw, doesn't seem to have enough racing in it...what else"
I showed him every single racing game on the 360, but he was convinced he needed a game with more racing. I have no idea what that means. He stumbled upon Excite Truck for the Wii.
"AH HA! I knew you were hiding one like this from me! I want this one."
--It is an ok game, not as good as the other and not high definition...doesn't look or play as good as some of the others...
"Nah, this one does look high defined. Also- look at that. RACING game. Yep. This one."
I think I went into the backroom and screamed after that transaction.
4. People seem to judge everything about a game based on something an ill-informed friend or personality might say. Even when they play it they seem to fall heavy on others opinions. For example, we had someone come into the store and say Fable II was possibly the worst game on the 360 based on a friend's experience. I was taken aback since I consider it one of my favorites! I asked him if he would give it a try, so I popped it in for a minute and went through the opening cinematic and had him play on a leveled character for a bit.
"Just like he said. Boring. Slow. Bad Graphics. Worse than the original."
--Did you play the original?!
"No. But he did."
--How much of this game did your friend play?
"Like a half hour. It was so bad he brought it back"
5. We have one customer, who claims to be 19(he doesn't have a valid license and couldn't purchase M rated games on his own) who seems to LIVE at our store some days. He literally comes in for 3 hours at a time and watches us. Or stands around. Or tries a demo. Or leans ACROSS the counter. Eventually we start to ignore him or become agitated, but the problem comes when he pretends to be an employee or tries to give his advice, which is POOR.
For example: I was helping a customer find some DS games for his 7 year old daughter. Having talked and successfully helped other customers do the same, we seemed to be making progress, until this kid stepped in.
"Oh yeah man, this one is good for little girls, this one is the best."
--Oh! You have a sister?
"Nope."
--A cousin...?
"Not any girls no."
--Then are you dating a 7 year old girl??
He would give bad advice based on complete guesses, irritating the customer. We selected a few and went to the register. This kid leaned clear over the counter to watch the screen. I told him to stay behind it. The customer and I started talking cars while we rang him up. I know the customer from past visits, and we were talking Subarus and BMWs. Kid steps in again. The replies are the customers as well as my own.
"Nah, Subarus suck. I would rather have a Mustang, they totally waste STIs"
--Have you ever actually driven either of those cars? How old are you?
"No but I know for a fact, I'm 19."
--How many cars have you even owned?
"Three, a toyota, Honda, and a sports car"
--Uh...ok...I have owned more Subs than you have owned anything. Maybe a Roush or Saleen, but I don't see an standard or GT...
"No way man, automatic is the way to go, normal could beat it easy. I would take a Lambo or Porche though, they are the best cars"
--Why would you bother to have a sports car that is automatic, an auto Lambo?! You play too many video games.
By this time the customer was getting irate, and I was about ready to take the hammer in the backroom to 'kid's skull. He left after, but next time he comes in I will ask him not to loiter, bug the customers, pretend to be an employee, and to get himself a job.
END RANT ON 'KID'
!@#%^ Kids!
I'm trying to backup and add a lot of things I have missed. I am working more and just got out of school since getting laid off the 'money' job, so this has fallen behind on priority list. I will try to update while school is out though. Don't expect all my stories to be from one day...
1. I called an employee at another store today to ask about a game. Now, this game may not be known to every customer, but as 'avid gamers' I basically expect every hard core gamer or employee to have heard of some of the biggest and best games ever. Case in point... "Shadow of the Colossus? What is that about, I've never heard of it..."
2. Customer phone calls are some of the best. ""I need the Nintendo Double Screen. Not the DC or DS or whatever the hell it is. Not the DSI, not the dual screen, sp, advance or that sh**, the DOUBLE SCREEN."
3. Not always game related, but relevant to discussion or interest. We were talking Christmas songs, namely ones that aren't technically 'Christmas' songs. I was talking about how War is Over (Merry Xmas) by Yoko and John was actually a protest against Vietnam, and basically glazed in Christmas as a dig. This customer's reply:
"He just wants us to bring our troops home from Iraq with Christmas spirit in it too."
--You know John Lennon is dead...right?--
"Who's that? The guy who did this song?! Sad! When did that happen?"
4. Our favorite story of the week came about today. This is as close as I remember but the other employee who was their might be able to fill in the holes or cut additions. We had a very 'redneck' customer come in today. He had an interesting way of sarcasm. I think we heard him threaten divorce to his wife over Christmas presents, and being very straightforward about what we were charging him. He related this story that had us busting a gut.
"So the damn kids dumped my cologne down the drain and then lied about it for months! So they finally fessed up after I threatened my belt, and I told them lying is wrong. You know what the little sh*** did next? They said, Dad, if lying is bad, then who is the real Santa Claus...So now my damn kids don't believe in Santa, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, and probably Jesus! D*** kids.
5. "SO I don't want to run a cable downstairs, and can't connect my xbox to the computer screen upstairs. Now what."
--You could plug the box into a tv upstairs?
"Too much work. Can I download it from your store?"
--We don't have the internet actually
"!@#% Can I borrow your wireless thing then?"
--A wireless adapter? You could buy one...
"No, I just want to borrow yours, can you open it and I will borrow it?"
--Uh no, way against company policy
"!@#%, then I will just have to buy a new internet"
6. This is from one of our regulars I may or may not have mentioned before...
"So I have to download my downloadable content from the internet? Don't I just type this code while I play the game and the stuff comes in my mailbox or something?"
--No, you need the internet.
"D***. Guess I will have to buy another game that includes it."
---The only way to get it is by downloading it...
1. I called an employee at another store today to ask about a game. Now, this game may not be known to every customer, but as 'avid gamers' I basically expect every hard core gamer or employee to have heard of some of the biggest and best games ever. Case in point... "Shadow of the Colossus? What is that about, I've never heard of it..."
2. Customer phone calls are some of the best. ""I need the Nintendo Double Screen. Not the DC or DS or whatever the hell it is. Not the DSI, not the dual screen, sp, advance or that sh**, the DOUBLE SCREEN."
3. Not always game related, but relevant to discussion or interest. We were talking Christmas songs, namely ones that aren't technically 'Christmas' songs. I was talking about how War is Over (Merry Xmas) by Yoko and John was actually a protest against Vietnam, and basically glazed in Christmas as a dig. This customer's reply:
"He just wants us to bring our troops home from Iraq with Christmas spirit in it too."
--You know John Lennon is dead...right?--
"Who's that? The guy who did this song?! Sad! When did that happen?"
4. Our favorite story of the week came about today. This is as close as I remember but the other employee who was their might be able to fill in the holes or cut additions. We had a very 'redneck' customer come in today. He had an interesting way of sarcasm. I think we heard him threaten divorce to his wife over Christmas presents, and being very straightforward about what we were charging him. He related this story that had us busting a gut.
"So the damn kids dumped my cologne down the drain and then lied about it for months! So they finally fessed up after I threatened my belt, and I told them lying is wrong. You know what the little sh*** did next? They said, Dad, if lying is bad, then who is the real Santa Claus...So now my damn kids don't believe in Santa, Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, and probably Jesus! D*** kids.
5. "SO I don't want to run a cable downstairs, and can't connect my xbox to the computer screen upstairs. Now what."
--You could plug the box into a tv upstairs?
"Too much work. Can I download it from your store?"
--We don't have the internet actually
"!@#% Can I borrow your wireless thing then?"
--A wireless adapter? You could buy one...
"No, I just want to borrow yours, can you open it and I will borrow it?"
--Uh no, way against company policy
"!@#%, then I will just have to buy a new internet"
6. This is from one of our regulars I may or may not have mentioned before...
"So I have to download my downloadable content from the internet? Don't I just type this code while I play the game and the stuff comes in my mailbox or something?"
--No, you need the internet.
"D***. Guess I will have to buy another game that includes it."
---The only way to get it is by downloading it...
Mario is not a First Person Shooter
1. We had a fantastic customer come in recently who didn't know much about video games. She told me her son really liked Halo and Call of Duty, and that she wanted something like that. I suggested the latest Call of Duty; Modern Warfare 2. She asked me if it was like Mario. I told her no. I described First Person Shooters to her and explained how it was different. She asked about ODST and I described how it was similar to Halo 3...she asked again if it was a lot like Mario, I said no and asked if she was looking for something like Mario and she said no, but that was how she knew what it would be like...she asked about Left 4 Dead 2 next...
2. We have two guys that come in occasionally to check out games and talk the industry. I don't think these guys know anything about the industry. Some of my favorite gems from their conversation: (about Uncharted) "You can see how they used the textrualization to exemplify their vision of the game. Yeah definitely. They seem to have sacrificed frame rates by cross sectionilizing their rendering though. (about Batman) Yeah, they seemed to sacrifice gameplay by stylizing the art direction. Probably using memory locks to manage their cpu seperation, pretty boring game.
3. One of our customers, Darby, likes to call and talk for hours. I mean HOURS. He doesn't have the internet and doesn't like buying strategy guides, so he resorts to calling us to walk him through his difficult game parts. Many of us are tolerant if there isn't a rush and help for a bit if we can, but some days it is impossible and frustrating. Darby seems a little...slow...especially for a late-middle-aged man who seems to live in the basement of a relative.
"Is there a glitch at this part of the game? I can't seem to do this."
--You are on the hardest difficulty? You just have to be extremely fast in the order you do the puzzle---
"No, it's definitely a glitch, can you guys refund this game?"
"I can't seem to get past the giant spider...he kills me."
--Have you used any health potions?---
"No. I should be able to kill him without them."
"Now I'm at this part, where this happens, what next?"
--I've never actually played that game...---
"Well it's like this...so what should I do now"
--...I've never played that game--
I think I heard him repeat the last one everyday for a week.
It has boiled down to the point that many of us won't admit we have played a game. Luckily he has started buying strategy guides. Also- it turns out he has internet, but doesn't want to take his xbox upstairs, or run a cable to plug it in...
4. "Nah, that Batman game completely sucked. It was almost as boring and ugly as...what do you call it...that Drake game. Hell no man, Madden 10 is game of the year! F*** GAME OF THE YEAR!" ---I really hate people like this...
5. "My game is really badly scratched and won't play, can you guys refund it since it was just purchased?" --Did you game guard it? "No, I bought it from Game Stop..."
6. "When is corporate sending you some used games?" --Our used games actually come from customers who trade stuff in here, the only time it comes from corporate is special orders, or closed stores usually... "So you guys are getting shipments from them next week?"
2. We have two guys that come in occasionally to check out games and talk the industry. I don't think these guys know anything about the industry. Some of my favorite gems from their conversation: (about Uncharted) "You can see how they used the textrualization to exemplify their vision of the game. Yeah definitely. They seem to have sacrificed frame rates by cross sectionilizing their rendering though. (about Batman) Yeah, they seemed to sacrifice gameplay by stylizing the art direction. Probably using memory locks to manage their cpu seperation, pretty boring game.
3. One of our customers, Darby, likes to call and talk for hours. I mean HOURS. He doesn't have the internet and doesn't like buying strategy guides, so he resorts to calling us to walk him through his difficult game parts. Many of us are tolerant if there isn't a rush and help for a bit if we can, but some days it is impossible and frustrating. Darby seems a little...slow...especially for a late-middle-aged man who seems to live in the basement of a relative.
"Is there a glitch at this part of the game? I can't seem to do this."
--You are on the hardest difficulty? You just have to be extremely fast in the order you do the puzzle---
"No, it's definitely a glitch, can you guys refund this game?"
"I can't seem to get past the giant spider...he kills me."
--Have you used any health potions?---
"No. I should be able to kill him without them."
"Now I'm at this part, where this happens, what next?"
--I've never actually played that game...---
"Well it's like this...so what should I do now"
--...I've never played that game--
I think I heard him repeat the last one everyday for a week.
It has boiled down to the point that many of us won't admit we have played a game. Luckily he has started buying strategy guides. Also- it turns out he has internet, but doesn't want to take his xbox upstairs, or run a cable to plug it in...
4. "Nah, that Batman game completely sucked. It was almost as boring and ugly as...what do you call it...that Drake game. Hell no man, Madden 10 is game of the year! F*** GAME OF THE YEAR!" ---I really hate people like this...
5. "My game is really badly scratched and won't play, can you guys refund it since it was just purchased?" --Did you game guard it? "No, I bought it from Game Stop..."
6. "When is corporate sending you some used games?" --Our used games actually come from customers who trade stuff in here, the only time it comes from corporate is special orders, or closed stores usually... "So you guys are getting shipments from them next week?"
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