Updated/Resolved: HORRIFYING experience at Game Crazy
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Sharp Katana
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the insurance is optional. The clerk should have asked you if you wanted it, instead of slapping it on there. I would contact the manager there.
Indiana Jones
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[quote name='SaraAB']I am pretty tempted to just tell them either:
1. I have already crunched the numbers and decided that the purchase of an Edge/MVP card is not worth it for me. I would have to spend $200 in this store just to save 5$ extra after the cost of membership. I can save a lot more shopping with amazon, newegg, ebay or just by waiting for prices to drop and I don't have to buy a membership to anywhere to do that. (In fact, by doing this I save a lot more than 5$ PER GAME I buy). For the occasional sale game I buy at GS or wherever, it just isn't worth it.
2. I am a customer of this store, I want to buy said item at the advertised price, I am not here to inflate your numbers or your store's numbers.
Note that these would only be used in a situation of extreme hard sell if the employees did not shut up, I wouldn't say this unless they wouldn't stop trying to sell me stuff I didn't want.[/QUOTE]
I may just turn around and walk out if I start getting the hard sell and have to say "no" five times to everything they're trying to sell me.
This is only an issue at my local shop. The one on the other end of town only tries to soft sell me.
1. I have already crunched the numbers and decided that the purchase of an Edge/MVP card is not worth it for me. I would have to spend $200 in this store just to save 5$ extra after the cost of membership. I can save a lot more shopping with amazon, newegg, ebay or just by waiting for prices to drop and I don't have to buy a membership to anywhere to do that. (In fact, by doing this I save a lot more than 5$ PER GAME I buy). For the occasional sale game I buy at GS or wherever, it just isn't worth it.
2. I am a customer of this store, I want to buy said item at the advertised price, I am not here to inflate your numbers or your store's numbers.
Note that these would only be used in a situation of extreme hard sell if the employees did not shut up, I wouldn't say this unless they wouldn't stop trying to sell me stuff I didn't want.[/QUOTE]
I may just turn around and walk out if I start getting the hard sell and have to say "no" five times to everything they're trying to sell me.
This is only an issue at my local shop. The one on the other end of town only tries to soft sell me.
[quote name='jcizzla']as much as i want gc to be cool, they all suck
i special ordered a game, 2 months later nothing
and i try to get my money back and 'they dont know how'
the stores are always a huge mess
too many hs kids playing guitar queero
viva la game stop[/QUOTE]
I almost took your post seriously until I saw "guitar queero". Any opinion you have on anything in any aspect of life is now void.
It's the higher-ups that are making it this way. I'm starting to prefer digital distribution myself.
See, I like customers like this^^. You don't have the overly-douchey "I can buy it somewhere else cheaper yet for some reason here I am standing in this store" ego that a lot of people seem to exhibit when they go to gamestores, yet you still politely decline the offer.
I really feel bad for any of you that have pushy GC salespeople. If the person will legitimately save money and I've seen them multiple times in the store, or if the opportunity is really good, I'll pitch the MVP. More often than not, the people that sign up are the ones buying new release used games, since the MVP is roughly half price or cheaper when you buy one ($49.99 used game + $10 card - 10% off used game price = $5 MVP card). If they say no, I shrug and go on my way.
What's really funny, though, is that GameGuard's aren't even weighted that heavy on the ranking system. It's actually the least important thing on there.
But I agree with Indiana Jones (I wonder if this is the first time I've said this in my life). If the employee just doesn't get the hint, set the stuff down, say "nevermind" and walk out. I know I would.
i special ordered a game, 2 months later nothing
and i try to get my money back and 'they dont know how'
the stores are always a huge mess
too many hs kids playing guitar queero
viva la game stop[/QUOTE]
I almost took your post seriously until I saw "guitar queero". Any opinion you have on anything in any aspect of life is now void.
It's the higher-ups that are making it this way. I'm starting to prefer digital distribution myself.
See, I like customers like this^^. You don't have the overly-douchey "I can buy it somewhere else cheaper yet for some reason here I am standing in this store" ego that a lot of people seem to exhibit when they go to gamestores, yet you still politely decline the offer.
I really feel bad for any of you that have pushy GC salespeople. If the person will legitimately save money and I've seen them multiple times in the store, or if the opportunity is really good, I'll pitch the MVP. More often than not, the people that sign up are the ones buying new release used games, since the MVP is roughly half price or cheaper when you buy one ($49.99 used game + $10 card - 10% off used game price = $5 MVP card). If they say no, I shrug and go on my way.
What's really funny, though, is that GameGuard's aren't even weighted that heavy on the ranking system. It's actually the least important thing on there.
But I agree with Indiana Jones (I wonder if this is the first time I've said this in my life). If the employee just doesn't get the hint, set the stuff down, say "nevermind" and walk out. I know I would.
GrimParrot
CAG Veteran
Massively disgruntled former manager here.
All this Game Crazy is a good company with a couple bad eggs is a utter load of crap. Game Crazy is a company with a lot of good people in the store level and corporate management so incompetent they set good people up to do crap like that which is seen here.
All Game Crazy employees are ranked according to a "E4" ranker. It supposedly measures behaviors which lead to high revenue. It does this via absolutely asinine metrics, which force associates to pad their numbers because if they don't they cant compete with the people who do and as these metrics are ranked on a percentile basis they HAVE to or lose their jobs.
My former DM, Diane Walters and Regional manager Mark Bishop would have us call in MVP, preorder, game guard, etc percentages to total invoices, and threaten to fire a normal employee if he was under the 70% percentile. In other words you HAD to be in the top 30% of the entire company in those metrics or you WOULD BE FIRED. I was told this DAILY. If you were a store manager you had to be in the 90% percentile. So if I as a SM did not rank in the top 10% I was at risk of losing my job. If my guys wer under 70% and I did not find an excuse to fire them I could also be FIRED. I was told this DAILY. And a lot of the time I pulled it off, without cheating, without padding my numbers. A lot of my fellow managers did not. I know 4 who are ex managers as I am directly as a result. The best people in the world crack under that kind of pressure, and start screwing their customers just to hit the numbers. And the DM and RM will keep on cheering, because its just fine as long as you dont get caught. An example of the kind of crap this produces can be found here. A DM tells people to quit offering the disc buffing card and only sell the MVP membership card (which comes with a buff card at twice the price) without telling the customer what they are doing to pad their MVP numbers. That DM still works there.
The fraud doesn't occur simply because of a few bad eggs. It occurs because corporate management is
ing inhuman.
Former GC guys, unless you've been with the company post bankruptcy rule of Sherif Mityas, you have no clue how bad it got.
All this Game Crazy is a good company with a couple bad eggs is a utter load of crap. Game Crazy is a company with a lot of good people in the store level and corporate management so incompetent they set good people up to do crap like that which is seen here.
All Game Crazy employees are ranked according to a "E4" ranker. It supposedly measures behaviors which lead to high revenue. It does this via absolutely asinine metrics, which force associates to pad their numbers because if they don't they cant compete with the people who do and as these metrics are ranked on a percentile basis they HAVE to or lose their jobs.
My former DM, Diane Walters and Regional manager Mark Bishop would have us call in MVP, preorder, game guard, etc percentages to total invoices, and threaten to fire a normal employee if he was under the 70% percentile. In other words you HAD to be in the top 30% of the entire company in those metrics or you WOULD BE FIRED. I was told this DAILY. If you were a store manager you had to be in the 90% percentile. So if I as a SM did not rank in the top 10% I was at risk of losing my job. If my guys wer under 70% and I did not find an excuse to fire them I could also be FIRED. I was told this DAILY. And a lot of the time I pulled it off, without cheating, without padding my numbers. A lot of my fellow managers did not. I know 4 who are ex managers as I am directly as a result. The best people in the world crack under that kind of pressure, and start screwing their customers just to hit the numbers. And the DM and RM will keep on cheering, because its just fine as long as you dont get caught. An example of the kind of crap this produces can be found here. A DM tells people to quit offering the disc buffing card and only sell the MVP membership card (which comes with a buff card at twice the price) without telling the customer what they are doing to pad their MVP numbers. That DM still works there.
The fraud doesn't occur simply because of a few bad eggs. It occurs because corporate management is
ing inhuman.Former GC guys, unless you've been with the company post bankruptcy rule of Sherif Mityas, you have no clue how bad it got.
bigdaddybruce44
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Wow, that's some pretty ed up shit.
ed up shit.[quote name='GrimParrot']Massively disgruntled former manager here.
All this Game Crazy is a good company with a couple bad eggs is a utter load of crap. Game Crazy is a company with a lot of good people in the store level and corporate management so incompetent they set good people up to do crap like that which is seen here.
All Game Crazy employees are ranked according to a "E4" ranker. It supposedly measures behaviors which lead to high revenue. It does this via absolutely asinine metrics, which force associates to pad their numbers because if they don't they cant compete with the people who do and as these metrics are ranked on a percentile basis they HAVE to or lose their jobs.
My former DM, Diane Walters and Regional manager Mark Bishop would have us call in MVP, preorder, game guard, etc percentages to total invoices, and threaten to fire a normal employee if he was under the 70% percentile. In other words you HAD to be in the top 30% of the entire company in those metrics or you WOULD BE FIRED. I was told this DAILY. If you were a store manager you had to be in the 90% percentile. So if I as a SM did not rank in the top 10% I was at risk of losing my job. If my guys wer under 70% and I did not find an excuse to fire them I could also be FIRED. I was told this DAILY. And a lot of the time I pulled it off, without cheating, without padding my numbers. A lot of my fellow managers did not. I know 4 who are ex managers as I am directly as a result. The best people in the world crack under that kind of pressure, and start screwing their customers just to hit the numbers. And the DM and RM will keep on cheering, because its just fine as long as you dont get caught. An example of the kind of crap this produces can be found here. A DM tells people to quit offering the disc buffing card and only sell the MVP membership card (which comes with a buff card at twice the price) without telling the customer what they are doing to pad their MVP numbers. That DM still works there.
The fraud doesn't occur simply because of a few bad eggs. It occurs because corporate management ising inhuman.
Former GC guys, unless you've been with the company post bankruptcy rule of Sherif Mityas, you have no clue how bad it got.[/QUOTE]
nah dude, but scorch says gamecrazy is cool in practically every post he makes, so they must be.
All this Game Crazy is a good company with a couple bad eggs is a utter load of crap. Game Crazy is a company with a lot of good people in the store level and corporate management so incompetent they set good people up to do crap like that which is seen here.
All Game Crazy employees are ranked according to a "E4" ranker. It supposedly measures behaviors which lead to high revenue. It does this via absolutely asinine metrics, which force associates to pad their numbers because if they don't they cant compete with the people who do and as these metrics are ranked on a percentile basis they HAVE to or lose their jobs.
My former DM, Diane Walters and Regional manager Mark Bishop would have us call in MVP, preorder, game guard, etc percentages to total invoices, and threaten to fire a normal employee if he was under the 70% percentile. In other words you HAD to be in the top 30% of the entire company in those metrics or you WOULD BE FIRED. I was told this DAILY. If you were a store manager you had to be in the 90% percentile. So if I as a SM did not rank in the top 10% I was at risk of losing my job. If my guys wer under 70% and I did not find an excuse to fire them I could also be FIRED. I was told this DAILY. And a lot of the time I pulled it off, without cheating, without padding my numbers. A lot of my fellow managers did not. I know 4 who are ex managers as I am directly as a result. The best people in the world crack under that kind of pressure, and start screwing their customers just to hit the numbers. And the DM and RM will keep on cheering, because its just fine as long as you dont get caught. An example of the kind of crap this produces can be found here. A DM tells people to quit offering the disc buffing card and only sell the MVP membership card (which comes with a buff card at twice the price) without telling the customer what they are doing to pad their MVP numbers. That DM still works there.
The fraud doesn't occur simply because of a few bad eggs. It occurs because corporate management is
ing inhuman.Former GC guys, unless you've been with the company post bankruptcy rule of Sherif Mityas, you have no clue how bad it got.[/QUOTE]
nah dude, but scorch says gamecrazy is cool in practically every post he makes, so they must be.
I don't say it in every post I make. I say that they've got some pretty decent deals with asinine number metrics, just as GrimParrot said. I've heard the whole "had to be a certain percentile or you would be fired" speech many times. If you work in a high volume store (read: Las Vegas or any other major city), you can easily make high numbers without padding. I'd be lying if I would say that I didn't know that people were padding, or that I didn't know anyone who was fired for padding.
As I've said, a large majority of it depends on your store and its manager. I do my best to bring you guys the deals they offer (and I'm going to try to update twitter as often as I can with trade-in values, deals, etc) and I hope that some of you do get in on these deals. The only thing I can encourage you to do if you do have a bad experience is to call 1-8-Speak-To-Us. They take calls very seriously and quite often, results will happen within an hour to remedy your problem.
The main problem is that they're comparing this year's numbers to last year's, when the economy was in a much better shape. They don't take into account that the economy is in the shitter right now. Numbers are very hard to hit when some stores get very few customers, which leads to employees being more aggressive to hit the numbers, which leads to angrier customers. It'd be great if it was a district by district comparison. I think it's pretty stupid to compare the numbers of a store like Vegas to ones in bum Nebraska. The Vegas district constantly runs high numbers which puts the entire company on a curve. I'd imagine that they have a lot more foot traffic than the majority of stores.
As I've said, a large majority of it depends on your store and its manager. I do my best to bring you guys the deals they offer (and I'm going to try to update twitter as often as I can with trade-in values, deals, etc) and I hope that some of you do get in on these deals. The only thing I can encourage you to do if you do have a bad experience is to call 1-8-Speak-To-Us. They take calls very seriously and quite often, results will happen within an hour to remedy your problem.
The main problem is that they're comparing this year's numbers to last year's, when the economy was in a much better shape. They don't take into account that the economy is in the shitter right now. Numbers are very hard to hit when some stores get very few customers, which leads to employees being more aggressive to hit the numbers, which leads to angrier customers. It'd be great if it was a district by district comparison. I think it's pretty stupid to compare the numbers of a store like Vegas to ones in bum
Nebraska. The Vegas district constantly runs high numbers which puts the entire company on a curve. I'd imagine that they have a lot more foot traffic than the majority of stores.GrimParrot
CAG Veteran
[quote name='Scorch']I don't say it in every post I make. I say that they've got some pretty decent deals with asinine number metrics, just as GrimParrot said. I've heard the whole "had to be a certain percentile or you would be fired" speech many times. If you work in a high volume store (read: Las Vegas or any other major city), you can easily make high numbers without padding. I'd be lying if I would say that I didn't know that people were padding, or that I didn't know anyone who was fired for padding.
As I've said, a large majority of it depends on your store and its manager. I do my best to bring you guys the deals they offer (and I'm going to try to update twitter as often as I can with trade-in values, deals, etc) and I hope that some of you do get in on these deals. The only thing I can encourage you to do if you do have a bad experience is to call 1-8-Speak-To-Us. They take calls very seriously and quite often, results will happen within an hour to remedy your problem.
The main problem is that they're comparing this year's numbers to last year's, when the economy was in a much better shape. They don't take into account that the economy is in the shitter right now. Numbers are very hard to hit when some stores get very few customers, which leads to employees being more aggressive to hit the numbers, which leads to angrier customers. It'd be great if it was a district by district comparison. I think it's pretty stupid to compare the numbers of a store like Vegas to ones in bum Nebraska. The Vegas district constantly runs high numbers which puts the entire company on a curve. I'd imagine that they have a lot more foot traffic than the majority of stores.[/QUOTE]
Actually one of the more asinine aspects is that the high volume stores get screwed over more than the little ones. Thats how evil the whole thing is.
I ran a REALLY low volume store. Lets say on a Monday I rang up 20 invoices. I would need to get 2 MVPs and 4 Preorders out of that to hit goal. Now if I am dishonest (which I wasn't) I could easily make this by slapping a couple preorders on accounts which had credit on them. You guys who have had credit on the system at a GCV ever get a call on a preorder you never asked for? Yeah, thats what happened. Might want to check, you might find out you are a MVP member and didnt know it too. But even at that, I could sell one deck in a day, like a original xbox, sell a 9.99 service contract (which we were instructed to just build into the price by the unethical DM Ill mention later) and we were at 100% service contracts for the day and a hero.
Now lets consider my friend, lets call him Andy, who ran the highest volume store in the state. He would ring up 200 invoices that same day. That meant he had to sell 20 MVP cards and 40 preorders just to keep up with me. Now that might work if all 200 were new customers, but a lot of them are repeat buisness, and have been hit up for a MVP or Preorder way too often. His store is making shitloads more money than mine, but hes got the DM pointing at me saying Hey, why cant you produce like that guy? He got over 20% preorders! True story, and Im not even exaggerating the numbers. If andy sold 10 360s and got 39.99 service contracts on 7, youd think hed be a hero for making the company a hell of a lot more money than I did with my fify dollar original xbox and 9.99 service contracts wouldnt you? Nope, Id be the hero for being at 100% and him ONLY 70%, which would put that metric around the lower half of the company, jeapardizing his job. He was actually fired BYW. Won his unemployment hearing thank God, they tried to claim they canned him for incompetance when he ran the most profitable store in the state.
Now remember, everything is based on percentile, so Andy isnt just competing with me, but every other store out there. And he's doing it with not a hack of a lot more hours allocated for labor than I had. He had to sell the same percentage on 200 transactions that I had to sell on 20, and still get all the stocking, cleaning and whatnot done with that much more traffic, and he MIGHT get a extra 5 hours of someone helping him do so than I got.
If the numbers were based on stright sales, like they were when I first joined the company, the bigger store WOULD be much better to run, and they were. But then they switched to these insane metrics, which make no sense whatsoever. Probably because a lot of the upper management had no college whatsoever. I know the two managers above me did not.
I'm not taking you to task here Scortch, gamers are really loyal customers, and I had a lot of loyal ones in my store. I think it reflects well on us...we reward good service and punish bad. Its not that your store is badly run...now. Its that the system is set up to reward the greedy, ethically challenged, and get rid of the rest.
Most retailers don't make firing decisions on metrics like these. Tyhey track them, and incentivize them, but bonuses and firing come down to total revenue, not silly percentage based behaviors.
My personal bottom line after a really nasty exit (there was time in court involved, and yes, I won) is that I won't give my cash to a company that puts guys who just want to make a living working with games in the position I saw myself and a lot of good friends in.
Oh and buy the way, if you ARNT going to buy the MVP, or buy a service contract (Game Crazy's are utter crap BTW but thats a whole different topic) with that deck your considering, or you just dont have anything you want to preorder, if youi REALLY like those guys at game crazy, youll buy it from Gamestop or Walmart or something, because if you fail to buy those accountables your just screwing up their percentages, and that will get them fired quicker than cheating a customer will. The ripoffreport.com site I linked to early has a couple posts about the fraud of a DM, I know for a FACT at least the regional manager saw it, and THAT DM STILL WORKS THERE. They just yelled at her for getting caught and sent her on her way. Because her percentages are good.
(edit)
Ahh rereading makes things clearer. Scorch, your a GC employee in the Vegas area? If so you might have a misconception on why your numbers are high. Its cause Vegas is a relatively new market, which means a hella lot more of your customers have never heard the MVP pitch, and havent had time to realize how shitty the service contract coverage is, or how fantastically unreliable the used units are (on average 70% of the used units I got from corporate red ringed within a month of sale. They just took service contract defectives, had a monkey at the werehouse plug em in, if they glowed green a sec, wipe em off, box em and send em to the stores for sale) etc. The store I was at was one of the first 200 or so stores, and dominated the first three years. Now they are in a market where ALL of their customers have a MVP, or WILL NOT buy one, and they just arnt going to get many new ones. The location sucks too bad. Around 70% of the people who shop there are MVPs already, partially because I was REALLY good at selling them for years, so their MVP % is probably in the teens or twenties by now. Itll happen to Vegas too in time, as they open a new market, and the new markets up the curve for everyone else.
As I've said, a large majority of it depends on your store and its manager. I do my best to bring you guys the deals they offer (and I'm going to try to update twitter as often as I can with trade-in values, deals, etc) and I hope that some of you do get in on these deals. The only thing I can encourage you to do if you do have a bad experience is to call 1-8-Speak-To-Us. They take calls very seriously and quite often, results will happen within an hour to remedy your problem.
The main problem is that they're comparing this year's numbers to last year's, when the economy was in a much better shape. They don't take into account that the economy is in the shitter right now. Numbers are very hard to hit when some stores get very few customers, which leads to employees being more aggressive to hit the numbers, which leads to angrier customers. It'd be great if it was a district by district comparison. I think it's pretty stupid to compare the numbers of a store like Vegas to ones in bum
Nebraska. The Vegas district constantly runs high numbers which puts the entire company on a curve. I'd imagine that they have a lot more foot traffic than the majority of stores.[/QUOTE]Actually one of the more asinine aspects is that the high volume stores get screwed over more than the little ones. Thats how evil the whole thing is.
I ran a REALLY low volume store. Lets say on a Monday I rang up 20 invoices. I would need to get 2 MVPs and 4 Preorders out of that to hit goal. Now if I am dishonest (which I wasn't) I could easily make this by slapping a couple preorders on accounts which had credit on them. You guys who have had credit on the system at a GCV ever get a call on a preorder you never asked for? Yeah, thats what happened. Might want to check, you might find out you are a MVP member and didnt know it too. But even at that, I could sell one deck in a day, like a original xbox, sell a 9.99 service contract (which we were instructed to just build into the price by the unethical DM Ill mention later) and we were at 100% service contracts for the day and a hero.
Now lets consider my friend, lets call him Andy, who ran the highest volume store in the state. He would ring up 200 invoices that same day. That meant he had to sell 20 MVP cards and 40 preorders just to keep up with me. Now that might work if all 200 were new customers, but a lot of them are repeat buisness, and have been hit up for a MVP or Preorder way too often. His store is making shitloads more money than mine, but hes got the DM pointing at me saying Hey, why cant you produce like that guy? He got over 20% preorders! True story, and Im not even exaggerating the numbers. If andy sold 10 360s and got 39.99 service contracts on 7, youd think hed be a hero for making the company a hell of a lot more money than I did with my fify dollar original xbox and 9.99 service contracts wouldnt you? Nope, Id be the hero for being at 100% and him ONLY 70%, which would put that metric around the lower half of the company, jeapardizing his job. He was actually fired BYW. Won his unemployment hearing thank God, they tried to claim they canned him for incompetance when he ran the most profitable store in the state.
Now remember, everything is based on percentile, so Andy isnt just competing with me, but every other store out there. And he's doing it with not a hack of a lot more hours allocated for labor than I had. He had to sell the same percentage on 200 transactions that I had to sell on 20, and still get all the stocking, cleaning and whatnot done with that much more traffic, and he MIGHT get a extra 5 hours of someone helping him do so than I got.
If the numbers were based on stright sales, like they were when I first joined the company, the bigger store WOULD be much better to run, and they were. But then they switched to these insane metrics, which make no sense whatsoever. Probably because a lot of the upper management had no college whatsoever. I know the two managers above me did not.
I'm not taking you to task here Scortch, gamers are really loyal customers, and I had a lot of loyal ones in my store. I think it reflects well on us...we reward good service and punish bad. Its not that your store is badly run...now. Its that the system is set up to reward the greedy, ethically challenged, and get rid of the rest.
Most retailers don't make firing decisions on metrics like these. Tyhey track them, and incentivize them, but bonuses and firing come down to total revenue, not silly percentage based behaviors.
My personal bottom line after a really nasty exit (there was time in court involved, and yes, I won) is that I won't give my cash to a company that puts guys who just want to make a living working with games in the position I saw myself and a lot of good friends in.
Oh and buy the way, if you ARNT going to buy the MVP, or buy a service contract (Game Crazy's are utter crap BTW but thats a whole different topic) with that deck your considering, or you just dont have anything you want to preorder, if youi REALLY like those guys at game crazy, youll buy it from Gamestop or Walmart or something, because if you fail to buy those accountables your just screwing up their percentages, and that will get them fired quicker than cheating a customer will. The ripoffreport.com site I linked to early has a couple posts about the fraud of a DM, I know for a FACT at least the regional manager saw it, and THAT DM STILL WORKS THERE. They just yelled at her for getting caught and sent her on her way. Because her percentages are good.
(edit)
Ahh rereading makes things clearer. Scorch, your a GC employee in the Vegas area? If so you might have a misconception on why your numbers are high. Its cause Vegas is a relatively new market, which means a hella lot more of your customers have never heard the MVP pitch, and havent had time to realize how shitty the service contract coverage is, or how fantastically unreliable the used units are (on average 70% of the used units I got from corporate red ringed within a month of sale. They just took service contract defectives, had a monkey at the werehouse plug em in, if they glowed green a sec, wipe em off, box em and send em to the stores for sale) etc. The store I was at was one of the first 200 or so stores, and dominated the first three years. Now they are in a market where ALL of their customers have a MVP, or WILL NOT buy one, and they just arnt going to get many new ones. The location sucks too bad. Around 70% of the people who shop there are MVPs already, partially because I was REALLY good at selling them for years, so their MVP % is probably in the teens or twenties by now. Itll happen to Vegas too in time, as they open a new market, and the new market
s up the curve for everyone else.
Last edited by a moderator:
Wow, sad to see Game Crazy stores go down hill so much. I remember going to the one in my town when it opened in 2004 and being amazed at all the retro games. My friends who lived nearby the store used to walk there all the time and just hang out with the employees. Everyone was for the most part friendly and not pushy. It closed 3 years later due to lack of sales. I remember one employee mentioning a problem with their regulars not coming back as some employees were fired or left. Something like that.
Anyway, never really shopped at Game Crazy since the year after they closed when I scavenged 2 for Genesis games. Its a shame to see them fall so far. I remember special ordering Sonic Jam and Power Stone 2, only to find my order was never put through. An employee realized this and fixed the correction no charge. The only problem was Power Stone 2 was scratched and the return did not cover shipping... Ah well, a shame they probably wouldn't do something like that now.
Anyway, never really shopped at Game Crazy since the year after they closed when I scavenged 2 for Genesis games. Its a shame to see them fall so far. I remember special ordering Sonic Jam and Power Stone 2, only to find my order was never put through. An employee realized this and fixed the correction no charge. The only problem was Power Stone 2 was scratched and the return did not cover shipping... Ah well, a shame they probably wouldn't do something like that now.
haha god I wish I was in Vegas.. if I was, I certainly wouldn't be at GC! I know what you mean about percentages and comparisons. It's pretty messed up. I just mentioned Vegas because I looked up their region (when we could actually still do that) and saw some of their numbers. It's not that they're a new market out there, it's just because it's VEGAS. People have so much money to spend there.
It seems like they change the weight of the items on a monthly basis. Service contracts don't weigh nearly as much as shit you sell with the system now. I think net dollars is the heaviest ranked thing.. you could be a 40 or 50 in every area, but if your net $ and hardware attach are high (Over $100 for hardware attach and over $80 for net dollar), you will still be ranked really high.. and I hear they're going to shift the weight again. They add all of these things and they cut commission down to nearly nothing.. sigh.
Oh, and they changed the price of the 360 warranties. There's only a one year one now and it's $59.99. Lame.
It seems like they change the weight of the items on a monthly basis. Service contracts don't weigh nearly as much as shit you sell with the system now. I think net dollars is the heaviest ranked thing.. you could be a 40 or 50 in every area, but if your net $ and hardware attach are high (Over $100 for hardware attach and over $80 for net dollar), you will still be ranked really high.. and I hear they're going to shift the weight again. They add all of these things and they cut commission down to nearly nothing.. sigh.
Oh, and they changed the price of the 360 warranties. There's only a one year one now and it's $59.99. Lame.
gamecrazy customer service is stupid and dumb cuz once i bought some games with the promo b1 g1 50% off and the ad shows that you can't use the mvp card so i went to the register to pay and the salesmen said do you want to use your mvp and i said ok and i know that gamecrazy ad said you can't use your mvp card so i used my mvp card
another time was when i wanted to applied for mvp so i told them my address and my name and when they gave me the receipt so i checked it they spelled my name wrong and they spelled my address too
another time was when i wanted to applied for mvp so i told them my address and my name and when they gave me the receipt so i checked it they spelled my name wrong and they spelled my address too
Chairman_LMAO
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@p123p: I wouldn't chide them for misspelling if I were you.
@GrimParrot: I think you're my new favorite CAG. Please post more Game Crazy horror stories.
@GrimParrot: I think you're my new favorite CAG. Please post more Game Crazy horror stories.
perdition(troy
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Sigh. I tried trading in bionic commando at two gamecrazys last night and got the same response at both. "we don't have enough money in the till". it pissed me off, because at one of them a kid bought a 19.99 headset (with tax 21.09). Bionic commando trades in $20 cash. Argh.
Wow, this is a company I really don't want to do business with, thankfully there aren't any GC's left in my area so doing business with them would be kind of hard. Probably because my area wasn't getting enough sales. I'd rather shop at walmart then shop at GC, at least they don't pitch things like crazy to people, you are in and out in no time with walmart.
If I am in a store buying a game its because said store has the lowest price on the game that I can find between all online retailers, ebay and B&M retailers. I don't pay more to have it right away.
Note, customers hate being pitched at for things they don't need, especially in this economy, do it to me (especially in excess or adding it to my order when I didn't ask for it) and I am taking my business elsewhere permanently. Plenty of other places to buy games which are non essentials in life really. There isn't any game I have to have immediately.. I can wait a little longer so I don't have to support a company with this type of business model. I don't go to a store to be treated like I am at a game stand at a local carnival.
If I am in a store buying a game its because said store has the lowest price on the game that I can find between all online retailers, ebay and B&M retailers. I don't pay more to have it right away.
Note, customers hate being pitched at for things they don't need, especially in this economy, do it to me (especially in excess or adding it to my order when I didn't ask for it) and I am taking my business elsewhere permanently. Plenty of other places to buy games which are non essentials in life really. There isn't any game I have to have immediately.. I can wait a little longer so I don't have to support a company with this type of business model. I don't go to a store to be treated like I am at a game stand at a local carnival.
It sucks hearing about all these horror stories regarding GameCrazy. Personally, I've never had any problem with the ones near me. If anything, they've gone above and beyond the call of duty for me.
This one time, I was looking for an RPG for the GBA that they didn't have. They called around to their stores in the United States and found one that had a new copy. They had it shipped to that GameCrazy at no extra charge and even gave me $5 off the game.
And as far as used games being re-shrinked and sold as new? I've NEVER had that happen, only at GameStop (where I chewed out the employee and then promptly left to buy the game at another store :lol. Another wonderful practice of GameStop's: Price increases on popular games. Just an example: WiiMotion+ MSRP is $19.99 and they sell it for $24.99. When F-Zero GX came out for the GameCube, they had it for $56.99; regular MSRP $49.99.
This one time, I was looking for an RPG for the GBA that they didn't have. They called around to their stores in the United States and found one that had a new copy. They had it shipped to that GameCrazy at no extra charge and even gave me $5 off the game.
And as far as used games being re-shrinked and sold as new? I've NEVER had that happen, only at GameStop (where I chewed out the employee and then promptly left to buy the game at another store :lol
. Another wonderful practice of GameStop's: Price increases on popular games. Just an example: WiiMotion+ MSRP is $19.99 and they sell it for $24.99. When F-Zero GX came out for the GameCube, they had it for $56.99; regular MSRP $49.99.GrimParrot
CAG Veteran
Guide to shopping at Game Crazy (if you absolutely must)
1. Always verify every price as are being rung out. Game Crazy's inventory management and POS systems are archaic. They are still using the same basic software as when they were founded in the late 80's with just a few version updates along the way. Were talking a dos text UI coded in COBAL. To say it is hard to use is a understatement, and half the employees have no clue on how to refund to a credit or debit card. I recommend using cash. In my time there I experienced a couple times where cards were double charged by the credit card provider.
It is always easier to verify a price rather than having to do a refund. And their pricing is very likely off, particularly on used games. Used games are priced when they are taken in by the store. Very rarely when prices drop, as they often do, are the prices on the cases updated. They are SUPPOSED to be, but there the system is set up so backwards it is so much work to do so many shift leaders fail to bother. When I left the company they were working on a system to fix that, and it very well may be in place by now.
2. If you trade stuff in NEVER EVER leave the money on your account, have them put it on a gift card. That way some asshat employee wont be using your balance to pad his preorder percentage.
3. Service contracts on USED decks are worth it, on NEW almost never are. You get 90 days on the used decks regardless. You get nothing whatsoever from the store until the manufacturers warranty expires anyway. So if you red ring the same day you bought it they will tell you to send it to Microsoft regardless. Anyone buying a service contract on a Wii or PS3 needs a mental evaluation.
4. Never ever buy a used deck from Game Crazy if it comes out of the back in a sealed corporate box. ONLY buy a used deck if they plug it in and let you see it run for a half hour or so. If it comes in a sealed box it is likely a unit returned to corporate as defective, gone over by a tech then sold as used. When I was there 80%-90% of these units were returned within 90 days.
5. Check your discs before you leave. Make sure they are the right game for the right console,even if new, unless shrinkwrapped in the ORIGINAL shrink. Some stores do have shrinkwrap machines. If you look close you can tell the difference. Check for scratches. Even if they are smooth they may have been buffed to the point they dont work, look for signs of buffing. Have them put it in a deck for you BEFORE they ring you up when in doubt.
6. Game guard is worth it for X360 games. It is absolutely NOT worth it for PS/3. Blu Ray discs are very difficult to damage.
7. Preordering is a asinine thing to do unless its like a Halo 3 situation, and even then it isnt YOUR job to make sure the store gets product to sell its THEIRS. Yes, Walmart and Target WILL have that game, even if Game Crazy doesn't. If the preorder gift is cool, call the morning of release to make sure some asshat employee doesn't give them all out to their buddies.
Before buying anything from them, ask yourself, is supporting a company that treats its employees, customers, and vendors like dirt worth it? Can you buy directly from the developer? Can you support direct download services like Steam? Can you get it from Amazon or Ebay cheaper? Might it be a better deal to rent it (it NEVER is cheaper to rent from Hollywood. I rent quite a bit from Family Video and am happy).
Remember buying used games supports the development of games no more than pirating them does. It only supports the retailer.
1. Always verify every price as are being rung out. Game Crazy's inventory management and POS systems are archaic. They are still using the same basic software as when they were founded in the late 80's with just a few version updates along the way. Were talking a dos text UI coded in COBAL. To say it is hard to use is a understatement, and half the employees have no clue on how to refund to a credit or debit card. I recommend using cash. In my time there I experienced a couple times where cards were double charged by the credit card provider.
It is always easier to verify a price rather than having to do a refund. And their pricing is very likely off, particularly on used games. Used games are priced when they are taken in by the store. Very rarely when prices drop, as they often do, are the prices on the cases updated. They are SUPPOSED to be, but there the system is set up so backwards it is so much work to do so many shift leaders fail to bother. When I left the company they were working on a system to fix that, and it very well may be in place by now.
2. If you trade stuff in NEVER EVER leave the money on your account, have them put it on a gift card. That way some asshat employee wont be using your balance to pad his preorder percentage.
3. Service contracts on USED decks are worth it, on NEW almost never are. You get 90 days on the used decks regardless. You get nothing whatsoever from the store until the manufacturers warranty expires anyway. So if you red ring the same day you bought it they will tell you to send it to Microsoft regardless. Anyone buying a service contract on a Wii or PS3 needs a mental evaluation.
4. Never ever buy a used deck from Game Crazy if it comes out of the back in a sealed corporate box. ONLY buy a used deck if they plug it in and let you see it run for a half hour or so. If it comes in a sealed box it is likely a unit returned to corporate as defective, gone over by a tech then sold as used. When I was there 80%-90% of these units were returned within 90 days.
5. Check your discs before you leave. Make sure they are the right game for the right console,even if new, unless shrinkwrapped in the ORIGINAL shrink. Some stores do have shrinkwrap machines. If you look close you can tell the difference. Check for scratches. Even if they are smooth they may have been buffed to the point they dont work, look for signs of buffing. Have them put it in a deck for you BEFORE they ring you up when in doubt.
6. Game guard is worth it for X360 games. It is absolutely NOT worth it for PS/3. Blu Ray discs are very difficult to damage.
7. Preordering is a asinine thing to do unless its like a Halo 3 situation, and even then it isnt YOUR job to make sure the store gets product to sell its THEIRS. Yes, Walmart and Target WILL have that game, even if Game Crazy doesn't. If the preorder gift is cool, call the morning of release to make sure some asshat employee doesn't give them all out to their buddies.
Before buying anything from them, ask yourself, is supporting a company that treats its employees, customers, and vendors like dirt worth it? Can you buy directly from the developer? Can you support direct download services like Steam? Can you get it from Amazon or Ebay cheaper? Might it be a better deal to rent it (it NEVER is cheaper to rent from Hollywood. I rent quite a bit from Family Video and am happy).
Remember buying used games supports the development of games no more than pirating them does. It only supports the retailer.
[quote name='GrimParrot']Remember buying used games supports the development of games no more than pirating them does. It only supports the retailer.[/QUOTE]
But having an outlet to trade/sell your games and purchase them as used at a (minimal) discount makes it worth it to the consumer.
Definitely not the right place for this debate, but it is so multi-faceted that pointing out that one single detriment is like cutting off only one head of the Hydra
But having an outlet to trade/sell your games and purchase them as used at a (minimal) discount makes it worth it to the consumer.
Definitely not the right place for this debate, but it is so multi-faceted that pointing out that one single detriment is like cutting off only one head of the Hydra
bigdaddybruce44
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You're exactly right on both points, friend. I don't wanna get into a debate over used games, either, but I hate when people say stuff like that.
I just received a call from the district manager, and we discussed my experience at the store. He was very courteous, and told me that actions will be taken (nothing specified). He also offered me a free copy of Dead Space. I politely declined the offer, but the gesture was appreciated. My hope is that this was an isolated incident (though from the responses here, I doubt it). Maybe at least the conditions at my local store will improve from this.
Thanks to everyone for their opinions/help on this matter. I already don't buy anything from GS, now I guess GC is off the list too. Looks like it's only Amazon/BB/Fry's/etc for me...
Thanks to everyone for their opinions/help on this matter. I already don't buy anything from GS, now I guess GC is off the list too. Looks like it's only Amazon/BB/Fry's/etc for me...
GrimParrot
CAG Veteran
Yeah, I know the crap was flying when you posted. I remeber discussing this site a few times with different folks at the annual sales confrence. I dont post a heck of a lot but have been lurking quite awhile.
Im sure the consumerist got their attention too.
Best thing people can do when these things happen is to raise a stink in a public place like this. If core gamers just quit putting up with it, the used games market will dry up and GS, GC etc CANNOT survive that.
And you shoulda took that copy of DS and sold it on ebay
Im sure the consumerist got their attention too.
Best thing people can do when these things happen is to raise a stink in a public place like this. If core gamers just quit putting up with it, the used games market will dry up and GS, GC etc CANNOT survive that.
And you shoulda took that copy of DS and sold it on ebay
timesplitt
CAGiversary!
[quote name='zohar']I already don't buy anything from GS[/QUOTE]
so you only know of bad GS stuff from word of mouth them since you don't shop there anymore
only problem Ive had with GS for the past 13 years is them taking my money
so you only know of bad GS stuff from word of mouth them since you don't shop there anymore
only problem Ive had with GS for the past 13 years is them taking my money
[quote name='timesplitt']so you only know of bad GS stuff from word of mouth them since you don't shop there anymore
only problem Ive had with GS for the past 13 years is them taking my money[/QUOTE]
I've experienced the underhanded tactics of GS first hand. Yeah, this was years ago, but like you said, from the stories you hear even today, it's just same old, same old.
On multiple occassions, I've had my preorder items "mysteriously" not arrive (the bonuses, I mean). Of course they also have tried to sell me gutted games, which I always refuse. And let's not forget the constant badgering for subscriptions, cards, and preorders. Oh god, the preorders. Which just leads me back to my indignation regarding the first point.
Most recently, I must shamefully admit that I went to GS to try to buy BlazBlue for PS3 since every other store was sold out. They're like "yeah! you got the last copy! wheeeee" (seriously), and tried to sell me a gutted version.
Seriously. Why. Would. You. Gut. A Limited. Edition. -_-; It almost pained me to see all the discs crammed into a little white CD sleeve.
Alright, this is turning into a GS thread.. let's end that right there.
only problem Ive had with GS for the past 13 years is them taking my money[/QUOTE]
I've experienced the underhanded tactics of GS first hand. Yeah, this was years ago, but like you said, from the stories you hear even today, it's just same old, same old.
On multiple occassions, I've had my preorder items "mysteriously" not arrive (the bonuses, I mean). Of course they also have tried to sell me gutted games, which I always refuse. And let's not forget the constant badgering for subscriptions, cards, and preorders. Oh god, the preorders. Which just leads me back to my indignation regarding the first point.
Most recently, I must shamefully admit that I went to GS to try to buy BlazBlue for PS3 since every other store was sold out. They're like "yeah! you got the last copy! wheeeee" (seriously), and tried to sell me a gutted version.
Seriously. Why. Would. You. Gut. A Limited. Edition. -_-; It almost pained me to see all the discs crammed into a little white CD sleeve.
Alright, this is turning into a GS thread.. let's end that right there.
thingsfallnapart
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[quote name='GrimParrot']Guide to shopping at Game Crazy (if you absolutely must)
1. Always verify every price as are being rung out. Game Crazy's inventory management and POS systems are archaic. They are still using the same basic software as when they were founded in the late 80's with just a few version updates along the way. Were talking a dos text UI coded in COBAL. To say it is hard to use is a understatement, and half the employees have no clue on how to refund to a credit or debit card. I recommend using cash. In my time there I experienced a couple times where cards were double charged by the credit card provider.
It is always easier to verify a price rather than having to do a refund. And their pricing is very likely off, particularly on used games. Used games are priced when they are taken in by the store. Very rarely when prices drop, as they often do, are the prices on the cases updated. They are SUPPOSED to be, but there the system is set up so backwards it is so much work to do so many shift leaders fail to bother. When I left the company they were working on a system to fix that, and it very well may be in place by now.
2. If you trade stuff in NEVER EVER leave the money on your account, have them put it on a gift card. That way some asshat employee wont be using your balance to pad his preorder percentage.
3. Service contracts on USED decks are worth it, on NEW almost never are. You get 90 days on the used decks regardless. You get nothing whatsoever from the store until the manufacturers warranty expires anyway. So if you red ring the same day you bought it they will tell you to send it to Microsoft regardless. Anyone buying a service contract on a Wii or PS3 needs a mental evaluation.
4. Never ever buy a used deck from Game Crazy if it comes out of the back in a sealed corporate box. ONLY buy a used deck if they plug it in and let you see it run for a half hour or so. If it comes in a sealed box it is likely a unit returned to corporate as defective, gone over by a tech then sold as used. When I was there 80%-90% of these units were returned within 90 days.
5. Check your discs before you leave. Make sure they are the right game for the right console,even if new, unless shrinkwrapped in the ORIGINAL shrink. Some stores do have shrinkwrap machines. If you look close you can tell the difference. Check for scratches. Even if they are smooth they may have been buffed to the point they dont work, look for signs of buffing. Have them put it in a deck for you BEFORE they ring you up when in doubt.
6. Game guard is worth it for X360 games. It is absolutely NOT worth it for PS/3. Blu Ray discs are very difficult to damage.
7. Preordering is a asinine thing to do unless its like a Halo 3 situation, and even then it isnt YOUR job to make sure the store gets product to sell its THEIRS. Yes, Walmart and Target WILL have that game, even if Game Crazy doesn't. If the preorder gift is cool, call the morning of release to make sure some asshat employee doesn't give them all out to their buddies.
Before buying anything from them, ask yourself, is supporting a company that treats its employees, customers, and vendors like dirt worth it? Can you buy directly from the developer? Can you support direct download services like Steam? Can you get it from Amazon or Ebay cheaper? Might it be a better deal to rent it (it NEVER is cheaper to rent from Hollywood. I rent quite a bit from Family Video and am happy).
Remember buying used games supports the development of games no more than pirating them does. It only supports the retailer.[/QUOTE]
On 3 :
I Have seen more then enough Ps3's Lasers stop reading so unless you care to do it yourself, I would suggest NOT paying sony the wasteful 165 to repair anything of theirs.
1. Always verify every price as are being rung out. Game Crazy's inventory management and POS systems are archaic. They are still using the same basic software as when they were founded in the late 80's with just a few version updates along the way. Were talking a dos text UI coded in COBAL. To say it is hard to use is a understatement, and half the employees have no clue on how to refund to a credit or debit card. I recommend using cash. In my time there I experienced a couple times where cards were double charged by the credit card provider.
It is always easier to verify a price rather than having to do a refund. And their pricing is very likely off, particularly on used games. Used games are priced when they are taken in by the store. Very rarely when prices drop, as they often do, are the prices on the cases updated. They are SUPPOSED to be, but there the system is set up so backwards it is so much work to do so many shift leaders fail to bother. When I left the company they were working on a system to fix that, and it very well may be in place by now.
2. If you trade stuff in NEVER EVER leave the money on your account, have them put it on a gift card. That way some asshat employee wont be using your balance to pad his preorder percentage.
3. Service contracts on USED decks are worth it, on NEW almost never are. You get 90 days on the used decks regardless. You get nothing whatsoever from the store until the manufacturers warranty expires anyway. So if you red ring the same day you bought it they will tell you to send it to Microsoft regardless. Anyone buying a service contract on a Wii or PS3 needs a mental evaluation.
4. Never ever buy a used deck from Game Crazy if it comes out of the back in a sealed corporate box. ONLY buy a used deck if they plug it in and let you see it run for a half hour or so. If it comes in a sealed box it is likely a unit returned to corporate as defective, gone over by a tech then sold as used. When I was there 80%-90% of these units were returned within 90 days.
5. Check your discs before you leave. Make sure they are the right game for the right console,even if new, unless shrinkwrapped in the ORIGINAL shrink. Some stores do have shrinkwrap machines. If you look close you can tell the difference. Check for scratches. Even if they are smooth they may have been buffed to the point they dont work, look for signs of buffing. Have them put it in a deck for you BEFORE they ring you up when in doubt.
6. Game guard is worth it for X360 games. It is absolutely NOT worth it for PS/3. Blu Ray discs are very difficult to damage.
7. Preordering is a asinine thing to do unless its like a Halo 3 situation, and even then it isnt YOUR job to make sure the store gets product to sell its THEIRS. Yes, Walmart and Target WILL have that game, even if Game Crazy doesn't. If the preorder gift is cool, call the morning of release to make sure some asshat employee doesn't give them all out to their buddies.
Before buying anything from them, ask yourself, is supporting a company that treats its employees, customers, and vendors like dirt worth it? Can you buy directly from the developer? Can you support direct download services like Steam? Can you get it from Amazon or Ebay cheaper? Might it be a better deal to rent it (it NEVER is cheaper to rent from Hollywood. I rent quite a bit from Family Video and am happy).
Remember buying used games supports the development of games no more than pirating them does. It only supports the retailer.[/QUOTE]
On 3 :
I Have seen more then enough Ps3's Lasers stop reading so unless you care to do it yourself, I would suggest NOT paying sony the wasteful 165 to repair anything of theirs.
Chairman_LMAO
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[quote name='zohar']
On multiple occassions, I've had my preorder items "mysteriously" not arrive (the bonuses, I mean). [/QUOTE]
I got this when I pre-ordered Phoenix Wright 3. I really only pre-ordered it to get the little PW plush they were giving out. Of course, when I got there at 10 a.m., they didn't have anymore of them to give out. But each employee had one. HANGING FROM THEIRING LANYARDS. It's like they were taunting me. I got my five dollars back and bought the game at a later date from best buy, and never went back to that GS.
And you're right about this turning into a GS hate thread. I guess it's more universal than Game Crazy hate.
On multiple occassions, I've had my preorder items "mysteriously" not arrive (the bonuses, I mean). [/QUOTE]
I got this when I pre-ordered Phoenix Wright 3. I really only pre-ordered it to get the little PW plush they were giving out. Of course, when I got there at 10 a.m., they didn't have anymore of them to give out. But each employee had one. HANGING FROM THEIR
ING LANYARDS. It's like they were taunting me. I got my five dollars back and bought the game at a later date from best buy, and never went back to that GS.And you're right about this turning into a GS hate thread. I guess it's more universal than Game Crazy hate.
uglyteradon
CAGiversary!
I used to work at a GameCrazy (for two years) and it was only became intolerable a year after I was "let go" my (completely insane) manager. The manager I worked for was awesome, he was courteous and told me to be friendly with the customers because nobody likes to be pandered to. There was an understanding in our store that it was a place for gamers to come and hang out while buying games, but at the same time we were courteous to everybody. This was after working for GameStop and wasn't "allowed" to talk to customers without constantly pitching something at them.
It was a sweet job until said manager (back to GameCrazy) decided that he was tired of constantly worrying about the store (making numbers) for our district manager and took a job at a Pac-Sun. He was back with the company in two weeks but his old store was given to another manager, and this is where the story goes downhill. Although we had the eyes of every higher-up in the district constantly on our store, we couldn't do anything about the manager they had stuck us with. Nothing was done with complaints that were filed with her and customers started to bail out due to her bad nature and attitudes... and we basically had to put on a front while she was in the store.
If I wasn't constantly thinking that she was going to be replaced I probably would have given up and just quit beforehand. We would report lost merchandise, customer complaints, and mysterious accounts that popped up (not to mention she was going on dates with some of her customers from her old store / she lived with her boyfriend / she was gross). Everything was just resubmitted back to her so eventually we just stopped trying and continued to build a customer base, a lot of these customers are now my live or life friends.
Eventually my roommate was fired the day before his last day and I was "let go" a week before my last day. A couple months later she finally quit and I got a phone call saying that I was never supposed to be fired and she completely lied about my write ups. The entire time I was refusing to greet customers that I dealt with regularly because they found it to be annoying, so I was being "found out" by secret shoppers. My spirit had pretty much been broken by that point and I wasn't interested in working there anymore, if I would have tried to transfer she would have written me up and lied to upper management so I couldn't bring what I knew to other stores.
Both my roommate and I were offered our jobs back and my roommate took it back while I got a better paying job on campus, he worked for another amazing manager that was much like the first (who later left for a higher paying job at GameStop). My roommate got a job on campus as well and the store was given to a male version of my terrible ex-manager. Now every time I go in there I am asked about pre-orders I won't pick up (but I almost always have credit on my account so I do it anyway), renewals on my card that I don't need, and an extra three dollars added to my bill with the incentive that they might give a shit if my disc breaks.
I don't need this headache anymore, I have another thirty five dollars on my account that will be used for King of Fighters XII and then I'll be done with that store forever! This new manager is just one of those people who get under my skin and I've let him know multiple times... but these are the kinds of people who are able to run these stores (I suppose). The district manager doesn't budge on why we push numbers: It's supposed to give consumers a reason to make GameCrazy the one stop shop for anything that they sell (even though they almost never have anything that isn't completely mainstream)... but I just don't buy into that anymore.
These stores shouldn't be bullied to the point where they have to rip off customers... but it's exactly what happens when your on "the inside" and you think the only way to keep your job is to whore yourself out for them.
(I'm sure this is a convoluted mess of a story, but I'm so bad at explaining things and I don't have a lot of time to even it out).
It was a sweet job until said manager (back to GameCrazy) decided that he was tired of constantly worrying about the store (making numbers) for our district manager and took a job at a Pac-Sun. He was back with the company in two weeks but his old store was given to another manager, and this is where the story goes downhill. Although we had the eyes of every higher-up in the district constantly on our store, we couldn't do anything about the manager they had stuck us with. Nothing was done with complaints that were filed with her and customers started to bail out due to her bad nature and attitudes... and we basically had to put on a front while she was in the store.
If I wasn't constantly thinking that she was going to be replaced I probably would have given up and just quit beforehand. We would report lost merchandise, customer complaints, and mysterious accounts that popped up (not to mention she was going on dates with some of her customers from her old store / she lived with her boyfriend / she was gross). Everything was just resubmitted back to her so eventually we just stopped trying and continued to build a customer base, a lot of these customers are now my live or life friends.
Eventually my roommate was fired the day before his last day and I was "let go" a week before my last day. A couple months later she finally quit and I got a phone call saying that I was never supposed to be fired and she completely lied about my write ups. The entire time I was refusing to greet customers that I dealt with regularly because they found it to be annoying, so I was being "found out" by secret shoppers. My spirit had pretty much been broken by that point and I wasn't interested in working there anymore, if I would have tried to transfer she would have written me up and lied to upper management so I couldn't bring what I knew to other stores.
Both my roommate and I were offered our jobs back and my roommate took it back while I got a better paying job on campus, he worked for another amazing manager that was much like the first (who later left for a higher paying job at GameStop). My roommate got a job on campus as well and the store was given to a male version of my terrible ex-manager. Now every time I go in there I am asked about pre-orders I won't pick up (but I almost always have credit on my account so I do it anyway), renewals on my card that I don't need, and an extra three dollars added to my bill with the incentive that they might give a shit if my disc breaks.
I don't need this headache anymore, I have another thirty five dollars on my account that will be used for King of Fighters XII and then I'll be done with that store forever! This new manager is just one of those people who get under my skin and I've let him know multiple times... but these are the kinds of people who are able to run these stores (I suppose). The district manager doesn't budge on why we push numbers: It's supposed to give consumers a reason to make GameCrazy the one stop shop for anything that they sell (even though they almost never have anything that isn't completely mainstream)... but I just don't buy into that anymore.
These stores shouldn't be bullied to the point where they have to rip off customers... but it's exactly what happens when your on "the inside" and you think the only way to keep your job is to whore yourself out for them.
(I'm sure this is a convoluted mess of a story, but I'm so bad at explaining things and I don't have a lot of time to even it out).
GrimParrot
CAG Veteran
Amen, uglyteradon, amen. We should start a support group. You are not alone (grin).
Keep in mind all the shit you experiance at Gamestops you WILL experiance in Game Crazy.
Game Crazy is just like Gamestop only with a shitload less money/staff/infrastructure because they are keeping two movie rental companies solvent (Movie gallery and Hollywood Video).
So if you think of Gamestop as the ugly fat chick you go to when your so desparate to get a game you just cant stand it, Game Crazy would be her cheap, broke ass, crack whore of a twin sister.
Keep in mind all the shit you experiance at Gamestops you WILL experiance in Game Crazy.
Game Crazy is just like Gamestop only with a shitload less money/staff/infrastructure because they are keeping two movie rental companies solvent (Movie gallery and Hollywood Video).
So if you think of Gamestop as the ugly fat chick you go to when your so desparate to get a game you just cant stand it, Game Crazy would be her cheap, broke ass, crack whore of a twin sister.
[quote name='Scorch']I almost took your post seriously until I saw "guitar queero". Any opinion you have on anything in any aspect of life is now void.
See, I like customers like this^^. You don't have the overly-douchey "I can buy it somewhere else cheaper yet for some reason here I am standing in this store" ego that a lot of people seem to exhibit when they go to gamestores, yet you still politely decline the offer.
[/QUOTE]
i'm the same guy scorch
the managers at gc are usually cool actually
i can tell they are going out of their way to help me out with whatever random bs i'm asking for
its really too bad the store is such a mess or else i would actually last longer than 10 seconds inside there (twss)
See, I like customers like this^^. You don't have the overly-douchey "I can buy it somewhere else cheaper yet for some reason here I am standing in this store" ego that a lot of people seem to exhibit when they go to gamestores, yet you still politely decline the offer.
[/QUOTE]
i'm the same guy scorch
the managers at gc are usually cool actually
i can tell they are going out of their way to help me out with whatever random bs i'm asking for
its really too bad the store is such a mess or else i would actually last longer than 10 seconds inside there (twss)
[quote name='Chairman_LMAO']I got this when I pre-ordered Phoenix Wright 3. I really only pre-ordered it to get the little PW plush they were giving out. Of course, when I got there at 10 a.m., they didn't have anymore of them to give out. But each employee had one. HANGING FROM THEIR ING LANYARDS. It's like they were taunting me. I got my five dollars back and bought the game at a later date from best buy, and never went back to that GS.
And you're right about this turning into a GS hate thread. I guess it's more universal than Game Crazy hate.[/QUOTE]
haha i remember this. but the guys at gs were cool and i got mines super cool
ING LANYARDS. It's like they were taunting me. I got my five dollars back and bought the game at a later date from best buy, and never went back to that GS.And you're right about this turning into a GS hate thread. I guess it's more universal than Game Crazy hate.[/QUOTE]
haha i remember this. but the guys at gs were cool and i got mines super cool
supermodestmouse
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wow...i'm glad everything worked out man!
Chairman_LMAO
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Yeah, it sucked for me. I still want one.
And regardless of the stance on Guitar Hero, the kids at GC play it entirely too much. It is funny watching them try to impress their friend by playing Dragonforce on the hardest difficulty, failing hard, and saying the controller must be broken. A kid cried once because of it. Like, literally weeping openly.
And regardless of the stance on Guitar Hero, the kids at GC play it entirely too much. It is funny watching them try to impress their friend by playing Dragonforce on the hardest difficulty, failing hard, and saying the controller must be broken. A kid cried once because of it. Like, literally weeping openly.
Well I guess I learned something today, whenever you have a problem call the DM and they usually solve their problems.
While we are on the subject of GameCrazy, I figure I might as well bring up a memory. I remember their whole PS3/Wii Preorder fiasco. After both were announced, they were flooded with preorders at their store, so they cancelled them all and said they would not take preorders. They kept with this policy for weeks until they decided on a whim to allow preorders with little forewarning. I remember calling Gamecrazy a little before the launch of Wii to see if they had any preorder available and the employee never mentioned them not doing preorders for the longest time, but did tell me that I should have called earlier.
I think that was the only negative experience I had, though i did get a Wii on launch. The other thing I can think of is when I traded in a few games for store credit. The store employee told me I had to put it on preorders for some strange reason. He put part of the credit on Conker: Live and Reloaded (which I did want) and the other part on some sports game. I never understood why, but I guess I do now. I eventually put all of my credit on Conker though, but there was really no reason to preorder it.
While we are on the subject of GameCrazy, I figure I might as well bring up a memory. I remember their whole PS3/Wii Preorder fiasco. After both were announced, they were flooded with preorders at their store, so they cancelled them all and said they would not take preorders. They kept with this policy for weeks until they decided on a whim to allow preorders with little forewarning. I remember calling Gamecrazy a little before the launch of Wii to see if they had any preorder available and the employee never mentioned them not doing preorders for the longest time, but did tell me that I should have called earlier.
I think that was the only negative experience I had, though i did get a Wii on launch. The other thing I can think of is when I traded in a few games for store credit. The store employee told me I had to put it on preorders for some strange reason. He put part of the credit on Conker: Live and Reloaded (which I did want) and the other part on some sports game. I never understood why, but I guess I do now. I eventually put all of my credit on Conker though, but there was really no reason to preorder it.
Chairman_LMAO
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OP, I'm surprised you turned down the free copy of Dead Space. Even if it was from your worst enemy, a free game is a free game.
[quote name='Chairman_LMAO']OP, I'm surprised you turned down the free copy of Dead Space. Even if it was from your worst enemy, a free game is a free game.[/QUOTE]
It just didn't feel right to take the game, especially in the context of the call... it would've seemed like he was "paying me off" or something. Anyway I made the complaint not so I could get something free out of it, but to voice my legitimate concern over the state of my Game Crazy store. I was ready to let that be the end of it, but during the second callback, he really wanted me to try GC again, so I only accepted because this would allow me to try out another location without any monetary risk to myself.
It just didn't feel right to take the game, especially in the context of the call... it would've seemed like he was "paying me off" or something. Anyway I made the complaint not so I could get something free out of it, but to voice my legitimate concern over the state of my Game Crazy store. I was ready to let that be the end of it, but during the second callback, he really wanted me to try GC again, so I only accepted because this would allow me to try out another location without any monetary risk to myself.
Chairman_LMAO
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I see your point. I'm willing to be that if you'd have accepted the game, it's likely that nothing would get resolved.
I'm happy that you did get it resolved, though. Score one for the little guy and all that.
I'm happy that you did get it resolved, though. Score one for the little guy and all that.
MichelleDrummond
CAG Veteran
I just received a call from the district manager, and we
Indiana Jones
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[quote name='zohar']UPDATE #2: I received another call from the district manager, and LOL, they reviewed the security tapes. Omg, that must've been so hilarious. Because when I first walked into the store, I couldn't even FIND the employee -- he was hidden behind a PS3 kiosk and never greeted me. Anyway he apologized again, said that my story checked out 100%, and asked if I'd be willing to accept a gift card and try out one of their other locations. I reluctantly said yes this time, and I do plan on checking out another location. Unfortunately the next closest one is in Seattle so I can't just drive by when I want to, but I'll try to make a stop if I'm ever in the city.[/QUOTE]
If you're in Redmond, wouldn't the Woodinville Gamecrazy be the next closest?
The Gamecrazy in Seattle (Wallingford) by Dick's is the one where the guy keeps trying to hard sell me on MVP, game guard and the kitchen sink. There used to be a cute girl that worked there who was really nice, but I don't know what happened to her. Maybe she didn't sell enough MVPs. Or she's just never there when I go in.
If you're in Redmond, wouldn't the Woodinville Gamecrazy be the next closest?
The Gamecrazy in Seattle (Wallingford) by Dick's is the one where the guy keeps trying to hard sell me on MVP, game guard and the kitchen sink. There used to be a cute girl that worked there who was really nice, but I don't know what happened to her. Maybe she didn't sell enough MVPs. Or she's just never there when I go in.
[quote name='cranguy']The Gamecrazies near me have really been pushing the "Game Guard" lately. Every time, it's been "You want Game Guard on these, right?" "No." "But it's only $2 extra blah blah"
Not as bad as when I got tricked into charging my credit card and signing for someone else's preorders. That was classy![/QUOTE]
Please, I want to hear the full story on this.
Not as bad as when I got tricked into charging my credit card and signing for someone else's preorders. That was classy![/QUOTE]
Please, I want to hear the full story on this.
[quote name='Indiana Jones']If you're in Redmond, wouldn't the Woodinville Gamecrazy be the next closest?
The Gamecrazy in Seattle (Wallingford) by Dick's is the one where the guy keeps trying to hard sell me on MVP, game guard and the kitchen sink. There used to be a cute girl that worked there who was really nice, but I don't know what happened to her. Maybe she didn't sell enough MVPs. Or she's just never there when I go in.[/QUOTE]
True, but there's absolutely no reason for me to go up to Woodinville I'm much more likely to go to Seattle for U-district, downtown, etc. But I guess the Seattle location(s) isn't a good choice by the sound of it..
The Gamecrazy in Seattle (Wallingford) by Dick's is the one where the guy keeps trying to hard sell me on MVP, game guard and the kitchen sink. There used to be a cute girl that worked there who was really nice, but I don't know what happened to her. Maybe she didn't sell enough MVPs. Or she's just never there when I go in.[/QUOTE]
True, but there's absolutely no reason for me to go up to Woodinville
I'm much more likely to go to Seattle for U-district, downtown, etc. But I guess the Seattle location(s) isn't a good choice by the sound of it..manicnymph
CAG Veteran
[quote name='Indiana Jones']If you're in Redmond, wouldn't the Woodinville Gamecrazy be the next closest?
The Gamecrazy in Seattle (Wallingford) by Dick's is the one where the guy keeps trying to hard sell me on MVP, game guard and the kitchen sink. There used to be a cute girl that worked there who was really nice, but I don't know what happened to her. Maybe she didn't sell enough MVPs. Or she's just never there when I go in.[/QUOTE]
the egotistical girlnerd in me, wants to say that was probably me.
hahaha.
The Gamecrazy in Seattle (Wallingford) by Dick's is the one where the guy keeps trying to hard sell me on MVP, game guard and the kitchen sink. There used to be a cute girl that worked there who was really nice, but I don't know what happened to her. Maybe she didn't sell enough MVPs. Or she's just never there when I go in.[/QUOTE]
the egotistical girlnerd in me, wants to say that was probably me.
hahaha.
Indiana Jones
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[quote name='zohar']True, but there's absolutely no reason for me to go up to Woodinville I'm much more likely to go to Seattle for U-district, downtown, etc. But I guess the Seattle location(s) isn't a good choice by the sound of it..[/QUOTE]
It probably depends on who's working. It's been the same guy the last few times who's been pitching everything to me like crazy. Usually I'm the only customer there when it happens. Hell, I can't remember the last time there were two employees working at the same time when I was there.
I'm much more likely to go to Seattle for U-district, downtown, etc. But I guess the Seattle location(s) isn't a good choice by the sound of it..[/QUOTE]It probably depends on who's working. It's been the same guy the last few times who's been pitching everything to me like crazy. Usually I'm the only customer there when it happens. Hell, I can't remember the last time there were two employees working at the same time when I was there.
mindslurry
CAG Veteran
As a former Game Crazy employee, I would like to tell you all that they pressure their employees to get numbers no matter what. Which forces employees to act stupid and put false charges on peoples accounts.
I was threatened my hours, my job, and even my position if I did not get 'high enough numbers.' Sadly, this did happen. Because I treated my customers more like friends than a sale.
I will tell you out of experience what exactly we have to say.
1. Did you find everything you were looking for?
2. Have you heard of our MVP discount card? 10% off Games, 10% extra in on trade ins, 5 free disc buffs for 9.99! You would be saving ____ today!
3. Would you like to preorder any games such as ______ or _____?
4. Would you like to Game Guard this?
5. Do you have any games you don't play anymore? Trade them in!
6. Thank you come again, we will be having a _____ special!
I honestly think this customer blanked out after the long pitch that Game Crazy employees have to say and just said 'Yeah whatever' and handed him his card, and if this customers story is honest (I mean not trying to scam the company to get free games or attention) It was a misunderstanding and handled wrong by both parts.
I was recently let go because I failed a test by not asking 5 customers 6 different things in 1 pitch. I honestly think this is NOT good customer service by dragging on with the customers time, especially if they are not interested.
Also, give a game crazy a call sometime, we also have to pitch over the phone. I was hung up MULTIPLE times because people did NOT want to hear the bullshit.
So everyone, employees are pretty much forced to do this, and the former employee, I know, had his hours cut from 40 down to 10 because of his numbers. Nobody can live off of 10 hours. Blame Game Crazy on this one. Not the employee.
I was threatened my hours, my job, and even my position if I did not get 'high enough numbers.' Sadly, this did happen. Because I treated my customers more like friends than a sale.
I will tell you out of experience what exactly we have to say.
1. Did you find everything you were looking for?
2. Have you heard of our MVP discount card? 10% off Games, 10% extra in on trade ins, 5 free disc buffs for 9.99! You would be saving ____ today!
3. Would you like to preorder any games such as ______ or _____?
4. Would you like to Game Guard this?
5. Do you have any games you don't play anymore? Trade them in!
6. Thank you come again, we will be having a _____ special!
I honestly think this customer blanked out after the long pitch that Game Crazy employees have to say and just said 'Yeah whatever' and handed him his card, and if this customers story is honest (I mean not trying to scam the company to get free games or attention) It was a misunderstanding and handled wrong by both parts.
I was recently let go because I failed a test by not asking 5 customers 6 different things in 1 pitch. I honestly think this is NOT good customer service by dragging on with the customers time, especially if they are not interested.
Also, give a game crazy a call sometime, we also have to pitch over the phone. I was hung up MULTIPLE times because people did NOT want to hear the bullshit.
So everyone, employees are pretty much forced to do this, and the former employee, I know, had his hours cut from 40 down to 10 because of his numbers. Nobody can live off of 10 hours. Blame Game Crazy on this one. Not the employee.
[quote name='manicnymph']the egotistical girlnerd in me, wants to say that was probably me.
hahaha.[/QUOTE]
If you were the only girl that worked at that store, then it probably was you
Of course, if there was another nice and cute girl that worked there, well then it would be harder to tell.
hahaha.[/QUOTE]
If you were the only girl that worked at that store, then it probably was you
Of course, if there was another nice and cute girl that worked there, well then it would be harder to tell.
[quote name='mindslurry']As a former Game Crazy employee, I would like to tell you all that they pressure their employees to get numbers no matter what. Which forces employees to act stupid and put false charges on peoples accounts.
I was threatened my hours, my job, and even my position if I did not get 'high enough numbers.' Sadly, this did happen. Because I treated my customers more like friends than a sale.
I will tell you out of experience what exactly we have to say.
1. Did you find everything you were looking for?
2. Have you heard of our MVP discount card? 10% off Games, 10% extra in on trade ins, 5 free disc buffs for 9.99! You would be saving ____ today!
3. Would you like to preorder any games such as ______ or _____?
4. Would you like to Game Guard this?
5. Do you have any games you don't play anymore? Trade them in!
6. Thank you come again, we will be having a _____ special!
I honestly think this customer blanked out after the long pitch that Game Crazy employees have to say and just said 'Yeah whatever' and handed him his card, and if this customers story is honest (I mean not trying to scam the company to get free games or attention) It was a misunderstanding and handled wrong by both parts.
I was recently let go because I failed a test by not asking 5 customers 6 different things in 1 pitch. I honestly think this is NOT good customer service by dragging on with the customers time, especially if they are not interested.
Also, give a game crazy a call sometime, we also have to pitch over the phone. I was hung up MULTIPLE times because people did NOT want to hear the bullshit.
So everyone, employees are pretty much forced to do this, and the former employee, I know, had his hours cut from 40 down to 10 because of his numbers. Nobody can live off of 10 hours. Blame Game Crazy on this one. Not the employee.[/QUOTE]
I definitely understand your perspective here, as it's been brought up numerous times from both GC and GS employees. Basically it's the system that's forcing bad behavior, I get it.
It's an unfortunate fact that the numbers game is what drives the used game business, but I still do not believe it's any justification for the behavior that I observed. Sure, if you have to pitch something, then pitch it -- I can't say I'll like you afterwards, but at least you didn't ADD on fees without my knowledge and then lie to me about it. I think any reasonable employee would not behave in such a way.
I assume the problem is that much of the work force is made up from teenagers who idealize the job, thinking that selling video games all day must be frickin' awesome. And then of course they're jaded by the whole system and eventually stoop to shady tactics. Plus, there is ALWAYS someone else willing and ready to replace you. People need to realize these jobs suck. If and when this ever happens will we ever start to see any change in GS or GC's policies.
But blame cannot be solely placed on only the higher-up corporate types OR the individual employee. It's really a combination of both. The system might make you want to do wrong things, but it's still your choice to do them or not.
Ok... done sounding like an afternoon special.
I was threatened my hours, my job, and even my position if I did not get 'high enough numbers.' Sadly, this did happen. Because I treated my customers more like friends than a sale.
I will tell you out of experience what exactly we have to say.
1. Did you find everything you were looking for?
2. Have you heard of our MVP discount card? 10% off Games, 10% extra in on trade ins, 5 free disc buffs for 9.99! You would be saving ____ today!
3. Would you like to preorder any games such as ______ or _____?
4. Would you like to Game Guard this?
5. Do you have any games you don't play anymore? Trade them in!
6. Thank you come again, we will be having a _____ special!
I honestly think this customer blanked out after the long pitch that Game Crazy employees have to say and just said 'Yeah whatever' and handed him his card, and if this customers story is honest (I mean not trying to scam the company to get free games or attention) It was a misunderstanding and handled wrong by both parts.
I was recently let go because I failed a test by not asking 5 customers 6 different things in 1 pitch. I honestly think this is NOT good customer service by dragging on with the customers time, especially if they are not interested.
Also, give a game crazy a call sometime, we also have to pitch over the phone. I was hung up MULTIPLE times because people did NOT want to hear the bullshit.
So everyone, employees are pretty much forced to do this, and the former employee, I know, had his hours cut from 40 down to 10 because of his numbers. Nobody can live off of 10 hours. Blame Game Crazy on this one. Not the employee.[/QUOTE]
I definitely understand your perspective here, as it's been brought up numerous times from both GC and GS employees. Basically it's the system that's forcing bad behavior, I get it.
It's an unfortunate fact that the numbers game is what drives the used game business, but I still do not believe it's any justification for the behavior that I observed. Sure, if you have to pitch something, then pitch it -- I can't say I'll like you afterwards, but at least you didn't ADD on fees without my knowledge and then lie to me about it. I think any reasonable employee would not behave in such a way.
I assume the problem is that much of the work force is made up from teenagers who idealize the job, thinking that selling video games all day must be frickin' awesome. And then of course they're jaded by the whole system and eventually stoop to shady tactics. Plus, there is ALWAYS someone else willing and ready to replace you. People need to realize these jobs suck. If and when this ever happens will we ever start to see any change in GS or GC's policies.
But blame cannot be solely placed on only the higher-up corporate types OR the individual employee. It's really a combination of both. The system might make you want to do wrong things, but it's still your choice to do them or not.
Ok... done sounding like an afternoon special.
bread's done