preorder pushers

[Kire]

This is awesome. A bunch of stories about what lieing pricks EB Games and Gamestop can be.

http://preorderpushers.wordpress.com/

[Toaster]

Re: preorder pushers

Some of those people are just idiots who don't belong working at GameStop.

"We only get the games that are advertised in our magazines..."

DUR.

[Dusk Raven]

Re: preorder pushers

Any experience my family has had pales tothose stories. The worst thing my family ever had was when we tried to give a guide to Gamers for credit:

Dad: How much will you pay for it?
Employee: 2 cents.
Dad: Ha ha ha ha!
Employee: No, really, it's 2 cents.

Aparently they're trying to get out of the guide business.

[Kire]

Re: preorder pushers

When I was there recently, the employee was trying to get this guy to buy a ps3, and said that there'd be Wii shortages until 2012. WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT.

[DK]

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They're just corporate lackeys, like you never had to push **** for the dinky retail job you had when you 16?

[Magus]

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Nope! DRR DRR DRR

[H2SO4]

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A friend of mine was asked if he wanted to preorder Final Fantasy XV for the PS4.

[Vonwert]

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I remember getting a game, that apparently the two people in the Ebgames store didn't know a thing about. Then the one laughed about not knowing anything about video games when she first started there.

And the other guy was the same way. Ugh...When I go to a car parts store, I expect them to know car parts......

Just because they worked in some stupid clothing shop doesn't mean they should be working in a store they know nothing about.

I can remember the countless times I ask about a game, and they have no idea. Some even try to sell that stupid magazine, saying it could answer my questions.

Some days it isn't even worth going in. The only games I pre-order now are the ones that have good enough bonus items, such as Persona 3.

[Valkysas]

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never forget the time that someone asked for Halo 2 the week it launched, only to be greeted with "what system do you want it for?".

that employee should have been fired on the spot.

[Red Dragon]

Re: preorder pushers

I've never had a problem with pre-orders pushing or really any trouble at all in any of the 3 Gamestop/EB. With the exception of finding a Wii. I find the employees very smart at what they do and not to pushy on additional things.

I found this funny though.

Hello Nathan, I stumbled across your website and was more than a little
surprised to find this post;

http://preorderpushers.wordpress.com.../05/surretard/

Because yeah, that was me. My names not Joe Moron, either. I was that
employee and I totally remember that entire incident. Look man, I’m just
trying to do my job. It sucks working where I work. They make you force game
insurance, second-hand software and pre-ordering onto every customer with
absolutely no incentives. If I can lie my way into some John Anybody buying
a set of speakers, then they consider that a job well done.

This isn’t a rebuttal so much as a suggestion. Remember that the employees
at major gaming chains are, for the most part, good people who have sold or
are in the process of selling their souls to the corporate giants that hand
out their paychecks. Yeah, there’s some real _ssholes that work for stores
like mine, I know quite a few. But I also know heaps of nice people who
unfortunately are in the employ of a evil retail corporation.

Thankfully, I’m not working there much longer. I’ve handed in my notice and
am leaving within a month to pursue other work. Honestly, I won’t miss
working there at all.

Anonymous

PS - Trading is such a rip off it boggles my mind. I’ve seen games traded in
for $5 that were then on the shelf for $94.95. That’s close to a two
thousand percent markup in price. GameStop sales hit $5.3 billion US dollars
last year, because people like me make minimum wage and sell games that are
95% profit. I hate this company.

[goldgecko4]

Re: preorder pushers

The thing about that is, I understand completely. From the other side of the counter. We are basically told to look at each guest as a challenge, and decide the best way in order to "get" them. I have to do a three-pronged attack with each customer. The Membership is the first prong, if it's applicable. If they already have one, it's Pre-Orders (and we're expected to know at least three titles coming soon for each system, even the dead ones), and then (and these are the easiest) game guarantees. If I don't hit all three, I won't sell anything, and if I don't sell anything, I lose the job. It's barely more than minimum wage, yet they expect you to be as effective as a professional salesman, and even if you present EVERY offer, you can never PUSH hard enough, because you're expected to get every customer EVERY time. It's ridiculously high-pressure, especially given the low wages and next to nothing in commission. So take it easy on these guys, they're not trying to be assholes, are greedy, but they WILL lose their job unless they PUSH you.

[Magus]

Re: preorder pushers

The thing about that is, I understand completely. From the other side of the counter. We are basically told to look at each guest as a challenge, and decide the best way in order to "get" them. I have to do a three-pronged attack with each customer. The Membership is the first prong, if it's applicable. If they already have one, it's Pre-Orders (and we're expected to know at least three titles coming soon for each system, even the dead ones), and then (and these are the easiest) game guarantees. If I don't hit all three, I won't sell anything, and if I don't sell anything, I lose the job. It's barely more than minimum wage, yet they expect you to be as effective as a professional salesman, and even if you present EVERY offer, you can never PUSH hard enough, because you're expected to get every customer EVERY time. It's ridiculously high-pressure, especially given the low wages and next to nothing in commission. So take it easy on these guys, they're not trying to be assholes, are greedy, but they WILL lose their job unless they PUSH you.

See, that's not even remotely sympathetic.

[Riotsword]

Re: preorder pushers

That's why I support my local gaming store. They beat places like EBGames because while they use EBGames's price guide as a base, they go the extra mile and reduce prices while giving back more store credit/cash in return. Plus, they sell used DVDs, Magic: The Gathering, HorrorClix miniatures, D&D books, and even comics. Beat THAT, corporate a-holes.

[Kirin]

Re: preorder pushers

Apparently the GameStop I'm employed with must be the only place that's fun to work at or visit. Sure, I've to sell preorders and Edge membership cards, but I only ask once and they either say no or sign up with me. Usually by the end of the night I'll have made at least 5-6 sales of Edge membership cards and 2-3 reserves, which suits my manager just fine. In fact, the only thing I find annoying about working there is having to file hundreds of game alphabetically at the end of the day. I'm not getting paid much, but I can definitely say that I'm enjoying my job.

As for my "technique," the way I try to get people to pay for a membership/reserve is by showing them that with discounts or coupons, the card/reserve will pay, or almost pay for itself. Say a person shows up with 80 bucks worth of trade-ins. If the 10% add-on applies, then they have an extra 8 dollars and I tell them that "Well, the normal price is $15, but I can sell it to you today for $7 based on what you traded in." Same goes for reserves. If they've an extra 8 dollars (and a reserve's only $5), I tell them "You can get get a reserve free (as in not having to pay out-of-pocket) today and still have $3 left over!" By doing the math for them, it makes them more likely to buy something from me. That's the technique my boss taught me.

but they WILL lose their job unless they PUSH you.

I'll lose my job if my sales go down, but that doesn't mean I'm supposed to keep it by lying to others and using underhanded tricks. Just being friendly/confident/knowledgable goes a long way too. I've had several people say "Not this time, but I'll buy it from you the next time I come in since you were so helpful," and actually mean it.

I can safely say that I nor anyone I've worked with has ever told a lie to anyone that walks in our store, nor used underhanded techniques to trick someone into buying something. In fact, my manager's fired people for using those techniques.

It's disheartening to hear/read such horror stories, but at least I can feel better knowing that my local branch isn't like that.

I will say this though: I do use my gender to an advantage when trying to sell, especially since I actually play games. I bat my eyes, smile, and carry on a twenty minute conversation about NCAA '08 and a reserve is as good as sold. Does that count as a sneaky technique?

[Denmo]

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GameStop IS a rip-off, which is why it pains me that our local store was bought out by GameStop, so now they basically monopolize the city.

I have to be a good boyfriend, though. I got that membership and a pre-order Zelda for DS to add to Kirin's sales the other day. Doubtful I'll ever use the card, but eh.

Must've been that girl gender advantage.