Stranglehold Vs. Halo 3 Vs. Shipping Issues

Store: GameStop
Location: St. Louis, MO
Employee Description: Surfer Dude and Older Woman
Submitted By: Ed Button

I walked into my local GameStop today to snag Stranglehold on release day (what can I say, I wanted the faceplate), and asked Surfer Dude at the counter if I could get a copy.

“Oh, we haven’t got that yet. Our computer says it’s been delayed until the 17th.”

“…the 17th,” I asked. I keep up with gaming news all the time and had heard nothing of this delay.

Older Woman chimed with: “Yeah, we’re horribly sorry. It turns out Midway wanted something to compete with Halo 3.”

I was stunned. No way could something like Stranglehold compete with the Halo 3, possibly the most anticipated game of the year. “Sooooooooooooo do you wanna pre-order a copy of Halo 3,” Surfer Dude asked. I said no, and that I’d be back. Then I left. I’ve never had an issue with EBuncolandStop. All the people that have worked at them have been nice and polite, and dare I say it, knowledgeable, so I was quite shocked by this statement.

I called the EB about a mile down the road and asked if they had it.

“No,” the guy says, “our computers say its been delayed until the 17th. From what I heard from corporate, it’s been pushed back because Midway had some issues with the shipping.”

A 13-day delay because of shipping?

“Well, your website says its out now, and so does everywhere else,” I said.

“Well, I checked Best Buy before I came in today, and they don’t have it,” he said.

After getting off of the phone with him, I call Best Buy.

“Yeah do you guys have Stranglehold for the 360?”

“Yes sir, we have it.”

Halo 3 not available until March?

Store: GameStop
Location: Victorville, California
Employee Description: Lying D-bag
Submitted By: Joshua Searls

I went to my local GameStop and I was waiting behind this sweet old lady and her grandson. The customer in front of them left and she took up a copy of Shawdowrun for the kid. During the sale Lying D-bag says that she needs to pre-order Halo 3 or else she wouldn’t be able to find it until next March. Now I can deal with a little bit of under-handedness but that was excessive. I spoke up, “Ma’am, Halo 3 is going to be a very popular game and you will have no trouble finding it during the week it comes out.” She looks at him and says, “No, thank you,” as I get the dirtiest look I’ve ever seen. So she left and I went up to the counter and said, “I’d like my pre-ordered copy of Bioshock.”

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?

Is that for the PS2?

Store: GameStop
Location: Orlando, FL
Employee Description: Dumb hot chick they hired who knows nothing about games
Submitted By: Chris L

So I got a 360 for Christmas of 2006. I finally was able to jump on the bandwagon that was Halo 2 multiplayer.

I visit a GameStop, in a plaza in a poor section of Orlando, and this little girl is behind the counter.

Me: Can I please get a used copy of Halo 2?
Girl: Sure you can! Be right back.

(A few minutes go by of her looking up and down the shelves for Halo 2)
(She comes back)

Girl: I’m sorry, did you want that for Playstation 2?
Me: [LOL]
Girl: ?
Me: Uh, no, Xbox.

(Me and my friend look at each other, laugh, then look at the store manager watching her, and we all chuckle)
(Girl comes back)

Girl: Here you go
(Girl takes out the disc of the unmarked GameStop-brand box)
(Girl notices something wrong)
Manager: Uh, that’s the Map Pack for Halo 2. Sir gimme one sec.

(Me and my friend are laughing so hard on the inside now…)

Girl: Sorry about that..
Me: …[LOL]

Girl: You’re all rung up
Me: Oh wait, let me use my GameStop card
Girl: …

(Girl takes literally 10 minutes to figure out how to give me my crappy discount; eventually the manager comes and does it for her)

Girl: Ok, you’re all set
Me: Thanks…
Girl: Hey, have you pre-ordered Halo 3? The game is going to rock!

“For You, Anything…”

Store: GameStop
Location: Hollywood, CA
Employee: Tall Blonde
Submitted by: Serpico

OK so, I’m a manager for EB Games (laugh it up). I’ve been reading your site, and I’d have to say that every single thing on here is 100% true. I’ve seen some employees do some dirty stuff to appease their managers, who in turn have to appease THEIR managers. It’s nasty and unfair, because the people who are forcing these high-pressure pre-order goals on the employees are not the ones that actually have to sell them. It creates a stressful environment where people get desperate to keep their jobs. And it makes exchanges like this happen.This happened when I was an assistant manager transferred into a new store:

Customer: “Do you have any more Halo 2?”
Tall Blonde: “All the copies I have have been reserved but I can do something for you. I’ll go ahead and sell you one anyway, but you have to reserve something else. It’s just a way to trick my computer.”
Customer: “OK, I’ll do it.”

The kicker is, this girl knew that our reserve copies were all already picked up. The copies we still had were completely and totally first come, first serve. Needless to say her numbers were high so her store manager just let it go.

That’s why when I got my own store I lay off the pre-orders. I let my employees focus on fun and enthusiasm, and sometimes that translates into pre-orders, sometimes it doesn’t. Whatever. Since my customers feel comfortable in my store, and my employees like their job, my sales are generally high even if my pre-orders are low, and no one can really argue with that.

Also, I see a lot of stories of horrendous customer service experiences on here, and while I agree that there is no excuse for an employee to be rude to a customer in most cases, you have to look at who’s training these people and how their being treated. Working in a game store should be the most fun job you can get without being naked. It’s a shame that some of these management types ruin it.

Sony To Purchase Microsoft!

Store: EB Games
Location: Buckland Hills Mall in Manchester, CT
Employee Description: Too much turnover to remember
Submitted By: Nick Utter

This was right about the time that GTA was finally announced for the Xbox. I was browsing the store looking for God knows what and a mother and her small child entered the store. The boy couldn’t have been more than 10. Anyhow, mom noted that she wanted a videogame system for her boy and that he wanted two games. She looked down at him and he noted that he wanted Grand Theft Auto and Halo.

After the parent of the year ceremony ended, the clerk let her know that she’d want a PS2 for her boy. He noted that GTA was a Sony franchise and that those games weren’t going anywhere. As for Halo? Microsoft was going under and Sony was already in position to buy the rights to the Halo franchise…

Halo 3, NOW WITH BETTER GRAPHICS!

Store: GameStop
Location: New York City, New York in Greenwich Village
Employee Description: Employee in HD
Submitted By: Mike Drucker

I’m not entirely against pre-orders. Sometimes they let me get my hands on a game and lay down the money while I have it.

But tell me if you’ve heard this one, because it lost GameStop my business for a long while.

“I’d like to pre-order Halo 3.”

“Great. What edition?”

“Oh, I don’t know, just regular.”

“Really? You’re going to reserve just regular?”

(Beat.)

“Yeah.”

“You know the champion edition* comes with a helmet.”

“I… I don’t have anywhere to put a space helmet.”

“It’s a collector’s item.”

“I don’t collect space helmets.”

“And it has better graphics.”

“I don’t think that’s…”

“No, it is. The regular edition comes only in standard. The special editions are HD. If you buy the regular edition, you’re missing out on half the game.”

“You know what? I’m going to pass on that pre-order.”

*the employee called it Champion instead of Legendary

You simply must have the new HD DVD add-on; it’s divine!

Store: Game Crazy
Location: Virginia Beach, VA
Employee: Manager
Submitted By: Ryu

Was in Game Crazy, picking up my copy of Oblivion, and got to talking to the manager about Halo 3 and PS3. I mentioned that the reasons why I wasn’t getting a PS3 and was sticking with the Xbox 360 was because Hi-def was useless to me, as I dont have an HD TV, and because Halo 3 was only on 360. He responded with something along these lines: “Oh yeah? Well too bad for you, cause Halo 3 is only coming on out HD DVD, Microsoft said so, so guess what sucker? You gotta buy one anyways. Sucks to be you.”

I stared at him for a few moments, and then laughed in his face and walked out. I told all my friends and family, and Game Crazy has since then lost all of our business. Never in my life have I been treated so rudely at any store before.

“We don’t carry adventure games, we only carry big name games like Halo and GTA and Madden football”

Store: EB Games
Location: New Orleans, LA
Employee: Thug
Submitted By: Humanoise

Okay, so I like all kinds of games – whatever – but I’ve always liked adventure games the most (of the point-n-click kind). There is an EB Games by my house that for some reason last year fired everyone and hired straight up ghetto thugs from my neighborhood. They always have their friends there and play sports games on ALL three systems that are set up for up coming or new games. I know they carry PC games and adventures because that is where I buy them at. So when I called for Moment of Silence they said,

“What kind of game is it?”

Now why would that matter… plus the website said they had it and when I told him that he said,

“Well the site isn’t for our store it’s for the company and the web site can’t know what we have in stock.”

Wrong – at 8 AM the site gets updated with stock info for the stores and you can search… blahblahblah.

So then he says,

“We don’t carry adventure games we only carry big name games like Halo and GTA and Madden football.”

“That’s the only type of games you have?” I said.

Get this… “You know videogame magazines? We only get games from those.”

WTF is that?… Anyways, I went in two days later and the game was on the shelf but it was a different guy… Thats my story.