Fine Print

Store: Game
Location: Epsom, UK
Employee Description: Bearded Idiot (B.I.), Friendly Manager (F.M.)
Submitted by: Blaggers

I was about ten or eleven when EyeToy Play came out for the first time in the UK, and I was super excited (I realize now it was just a gimmick, but I digress). I used to buy the magazine Games Master, and in one issue, they had a coupon for £5 (about $10) off any game . Awesome, I thought… being so young, I had very little money to buy games with.

So, my best friend, my mum and I went to Game in Epsom after she picked us up from some summer activities camp. She gave me £40 (£35 of which was actually mine, with the other £5 for me to bring back to her as change) and went to do some food shopping, and my friend and I went to the Game that was in the same shopping center. So, I went up to the counter with the game and camera package, and handed over the money and the coupon to BI, who was the only guy behind the counter. He read the coupon carefully and said:

“This isn’t valid.”

“What?” I was confused, as the coupon was well within the start and end dates of validity.

“Yeah, this coupon is for a game, and Eye Toy isn’t a game, it’s a peripheral.”

“But it has a game with it.”

“It has a game with it, but that doesn’t make it a game, does it? But you’ve got enough money there, you can still get it.”

“Not all of it’s mine to spend.”

So, we went and met up with my mum, and she asked why we didn’t have the game. Up until this point, I hadn’t bothered to read any of the fine print on the coupon, but she took it from me, read it and told me it applied to games or peripherals. So, we went back to the shop to try again, only this time my mum came, as we all felt that B.I. had tried to shaft me just because I was a little kid. When we got back, B.I. was restocking a shelf, and F.M. was behind the counter.

My mum explained to him what had happened, and while he didn’t look totally happy we were using a discount coupon, he was very polite and agreed that B.I.’s actions had been unfair and unacceptable. So, we paid for the game with the discount, and as we left the shop, we heard B.I. shouting to F.M.:

“I don’t care if it’s a game and peripheral package, the coupon said ‘Any game or peripheral!'”

Crackdown and Dollar Burgers

Store: GameStop
Location: The Mall in Columbia, Columbia, MD
Employee Description: The manager (?)
Submitted by: Nuttyturnip

I normally try to avoid GameStop for obvious reasons, but I had a coupon that would give me $10 off a used copy of Crackdown for the 360, which brought the price down to $30. Here’s how it went:

Me: Can I take a look at that disc before you put it in the case?
Clerk: Sure.
Me: (Look at the disk, see a few scratches and scuffs.) Can I get a disc that looks better?
Clerk: (Slightly bewildered) Sure, hold on. (Turning around to get another disc) You know, those scuffs won’t make the game not work. The disc has to be really scratched, and besides, all the game data is stored on the other side anyway, the side with the label.
Me: (Chuckle to myself but don’t comment)

The clerk got a disc in good condition and started the transaction.

Clerk: You know you could save $4 today with an Edge card (pulls out a card and lays it on the counter).
Me: That’s ok, I’ve got a coupon.
Clerk: You could still save $4 on top of that.
Me: But you have to pay to get that card.
Clerk: Yes, but you’ll save on future purchases and…
Me: No, I never buy used games, except for this one, since I’ve got the coupon.
Clerk: It’s really a good deal though, you get this magazine (pulls that out) and…
Me: NO, I’M NOT INTERESTED.
Clerk: Hey, hey, I’m just trying to save you some money.
Me: That’s ok, I know you’ve got a quota to fill on those.
Clerk: What? We don’t work on commission here.
Me: No, but if you don’t sell a certain number of those, your hours get cut.
Clerk: But, I’m the manager. Help me out here man. (Looks over at the female clerk) We’re all living on dollar hamburgers here.
Me: Yeah, well, unfortunately me too.

(Brief pause)

Clerk: Would you like to pre-order Halo 3 today?