Another Encounter With Gamestop

Yesterday I received a call from Gamestop saying that the used PS3 they ordered for my sister arrived.  This is the one they ordered as an apology for one of their employees selling the one I had asked them to set aside.  I picked up my sister and drove her down to the mall, fully expecting there to be some kind of misunderstanding or confusion because, to be honest, I never really had any truly fond memories of shopping at Gamestop.

I think that part of the problem is that many of the employees feel they don't have to be professional.  I've stood in stores where employees would talk about the gruesome execution they pulled off in a game, using extremely descriptive language, while a couple of kids are walking around them looking for a game that's age-appropriate.  I've seen Nerf gun fights, with shots fired around customers.  I've heard employees act rude to customers, swear around customers, and simply decide to go on break when there's a line of people waiting to purchase something.  The most amazing moments were things like a Gamestop employee wanting coffee, so he let a friend of his (not an employee) man the store while he ran over (the guy's response to everything was "oh, he'll be back in a moment and he can help you"), or when a guy was telling some friends of his (also not employees) everything wrong with his coworkers, using language I'd expect to hear on Springer.

Now, to be fair, from everything I've heard, working at a Gamestop is a bit like selling part of your soul.  In an industry that, really, is still in its infancy, people who don't take an active role in the hobby tend to not to any of the necessary research to make sure they or whoever they're buying a game for gets the most out of the experience.  Remember, I heard a father ask if Grand Theft Auto V would be appropriate for his thirteen year-old.  I've been present when parents blindly buy a Call of Duty, Halo, or Resident Evil for their child who I swear must barely be starting high school, and then the parents complain about the fact that they needed to be present.  I don't think I'd ever want to work at a Gamestop, and there are times I feel bad for those who do.

However, like I said last time, the people at the mall had been extremely apologetic and seemed to be working quite hard to make it up to my sister, so I kept my fingers crossed.

Okay, first the main thing: the PS3 was there.  That's what was important.

The young woman working the counter (who I should point out was not only cute but extremely pleasant and friendly) was the same one I had asked to reserve the PS3 initially, and she once again apologized to us for having to make the second trip down to get one.  She went out back, got the PS3, brought it out, and opened the box to show my sister that everything was there.

Now, the used PS3s come with a free used game worth 19.99 or less.  My sister has a rather particular taste in games, and not many she'd be interested in were marked down that low.  I asked if it was possible to pick a game worth more than that and simply reduce the price by 19.99.  I was told "Sure, no problem."

Now, apparently there are some things in their system that are set by corporate that can't be adjusted by individual stores.  My sister was promised an additional 10% off of the PS3 to make up for the previous incident, but the store employees weren't able to mark it down.  The price is locked at the corporate level, and no store representative has the authority to modify the price.  What we wound up doing, after the math was all figured out, was my sister got a copy of Final Fantasy XIII for free, and a copy of Sonic Generations became extremely marked down.

Of the three stores all located in that area (seriously, why do they need three Gamestops in an area where the mall is only one story?), I think that might be the best experience I've had at a Gamestop, outside of what the one store employee did.  Everybody was pleasant and extremely eager to make up for the problem, I was treated with respect in a professional manner, and a lot of effort was put into making sure we were leaving happy.