Do you help out fellow video game shoppers?

C

Chi-Town

Member
I do this most of the year anyway but it just seems to happen more often in the lead up to Chrsitmas. More confused people out buying games and systems + handful of sales people(who can be clueless themselves sometimes)= lots of opportunites to help out.

Just today, I was at the mall and Target and Best Buy were both out of the PS2. I did happen to see one sitting on the shelf at an FYE though as I was walking around. Over at Best Buy, I overheard an elderly woman talking with her family saying she was trying to find a PS2 and didn't know what she was going to do. I jumped in and mentioned that I saw one at the FYE. I went in to the mall a little later and she was buying the PS2(which turned out to be the only one they had). She had to buy it as a bundle with a controller and a game but she was just happy to find one and thanked me and wished me Happy Holidays.
 
Hell, no. I'll occasionally give folks playing the DS kiosk funny looks and mumble something like "wow, that looks like an ugly gadget", but that's it -- if people wanna buy crap, more power to 'em.
 
I do. Moms that come in looking for games that either forget the name of the game or only know the gameplay type. It's pretty funny hearing them describe the gameplay if they forget the name.
 
Whenever I see someone looking for a Gamecube, I just tell em to get a Xbox instead. I usually just say it's more powerful than the GC and it comes with free XBL and 2 games, which sounds much better than 1 game and 2 controller. Gets them everytime
 
Wario64 said:
Whenever I see someone looking for a Gamecube, I just tell em to get a Xbox instead. I usually just say it's more powerful than the GC and it comes with free XBL and 2 games, which sounds much better than 1 game and 2 controller. Gets them everytime
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sellyourNDSitsallover.gif
 
Ehhh due to two years of retail hell it still haunts me. I don't go out of the way to help anyone but I gladly assist people who ask me questions. I never steer them towards any particular product unless they specifically ask me to and I always try to answer their questions about a game/system to the best of my ability. It's almost always questions about the content of a game, what system should they buy (I always answer according to what they want), or what game they're thinking of but forgot the name (happens all the time). I don't indulge in this system preference bullshit, what the customer wants not what I think should sell more. They did a damn good job drilling it into me it seems.

It's happened to me on occasion while picking up Christmas gifts or new releases. Anyways I happen to shop at stores where friend's work so I'm sure they tell them to ask me to offload some of their customer rep work. Bastards.
 
Wario64 said:
Whenever I see someone looking for a Gamecube, I just tell em to get a Xbox instead. I usually just say it's more powerful than the GC and it comes with free XBL and 2 games, which sounds much better than 1 game and 2 controller. Gets them everytime
Click to expand...

You are awesome sir.

XBL makes gamers happy!!!
 
I tell people that if they buy an Xbox Microsoft will make them pay ongoing fees each time they turn it on. For the PS2 i tell them they break down all the time and you have to pay to get it fixed or buy a new one. Leaves them with only one alternative... the Gamecube. Gets them everytime.
 
Scrow said:
I tell people that if they buy an Xbox Microsoft will make them pay ongoing fees each time they turn it on. For the PS2 i tell them they break down all the time and you have to pay to get it fixed or buy a new one. Leaves them with only one alternative... the Gamecube. Gets them everytime.
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No, the one true alternative is
sega_saturn.jpg
 
I usually help clueless parents in the store. I was out in Dublin last Christmas (or was it the year before?) and it's only an hour or so away from where I live but there's actual farms and such out there... (they were having a deal at Best Buy out there for fireman and my friend who works at Moffett Field FD wanted to buy some really expensive items and save some major $$$). The trip ended up being a bust, so we went to the Gamestop as they had some PS1 games I hadn't seen in stock anywhere else for a long time in their used section.

While I was waiting to pay for 'em, there was a guy at the register looking for Hikaru no Go GBA for his kid. His kid wanted them for xmas and this guy was able to spell it right, but the store employees were baffled as to what this guy was asking for. I took over and wrote down 3-4 import shops I trust and suggested he go there. He also wanted an actual Go game so I suggested he go to Japantown San Francisco and hit Kinokuniya.

I also don't like people getting ripped off. I was in a Good Guys looking for a specific model VCR for a friend to replace his dead one and right next to me, a sales guy was really bullshitting this older couple on the costs of DirecTV (the boxes with Tivo built-in). He said it was going to cost them ~$700 more than it really did. He went to go check something and when he went away, I pulled them aside and gave them the real scoop on where to get it all and get free install (and how your Tivo stuff is tied to your account, not each box, so you wouldn't have to pay $250 each for lifetime).

They can lie a little and I don't care either way, but when they're making huge ones like that, I'd prefer people knew the truth (or where to get it cheaper).
 
Im fucking conditioned by 3 years of retail. When I picked up catacombs the other day the clerk was alone and prepping copies of catacombs to sell for 2 customers (one being me) and the lady had a simple question of (where is diablo II, my son wants it).

I tried to resist, but the retail employee in my emerged (plus I had worked at this store a little over a year ago) and I showed her where the game was and answered her questions.

*sigh*
 
I had a grandparent at Best Buy ask me what games their kid would like because he was about my age. Poor kid got Blinx 2 and fightclub. That'll teach him not go give his grandmother a list of stuff he wants.
 
I only step in when I see either a sales person that needs some help with some backup. For instance I was in Walmart and some sweet ole granny is buying her grandkids video games and her 15 year old grandson wanted something called Grand Theft Auto. The guy working had no idea what to say to her, he asked her how old the boy was and when I heard her say 15 I stepped in with a comment about the language. :D Like some grandma needs that on her conscience.

And I was in Bestbuy a couple of weeks back and I was watching this guy that wanted to get an Xbox and Halo2 get walked away from the Xbox section TWICE by some idiot working there that said that GTA:SA is the best F-in game out there and the Xbox has NOTHING like it. The guy even asked if he can play Halo on the PS2 though. The salesman told him no, but then went on again about how you get to gain respect in GTA :lol
I waited till the salesman walked away and I stepped in and had a quick chat with the guy to see what he had actually come in to buy (and I told him that GTA:SA will probably be on the Xbox sometime next spring or summer). He said he came in for an Xbox. He wanted the crystal one that comes with Fable and he wanted to get both Halo and Halo2. I hope he left with what he came in for. Cause that was freakin sad.
 
Yeah basically, anytime they're not sure whatever particular system whether it be PS2/XBox or GameCube. I never mind lending in a hand at all, really.
 
StoOgE said:
I had a grandparent at Best Buy ask me what games their kid would like because he was about my age. Poor kid got Blinx 2 and fightclub. That'll teach him not go give his grandmother a list of stuff he wants.
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You are awesome. :lol
 
A guy was buying a Gamecube at BestBuy a couple months ago and was going to get Four Swords to go with it because he thought 4 player Zelda sounded awesome. I overheard and couldn't help but warn him that he would need 4 gameboys to play it that way. After that he asked about all sorts of Cube games and ended up getting Smash Bros instead I think. On my way out I realized that I forgot to tell him that he could have gotten metroid prime for free.
 
I help out moms and kids whenever I can.

Recently I helped out these 3 kids who were arguing over whether you needed Sims 1 to play Sims 2.
 
The other night this mum (er, sorry, mom) was buying some PS2 things for her daughter...Sing Star 2, Eye Toy etc. The girl also wanted Underworld (game of that shitty Kate Beckinsale movie) and I couldn't help it, had to point out what a turd it was. I mean I tried being constructive and pointed out a heap of other vampire type games that don't suck. The girl wanted Underworld.

The mum goes "But dear this man says it's not good"

Girl just starts crying in the store and I pick up my DVDs and leave quickly.

---

Oh, should add one more. Was at a store killing time during lunch at a work-related thing. A Mum and her 2 boys are looking at the PS2 shelves and one of the boys picks up TY 1. The mum asks the boy if its any good and I start ranting on about how IT'S THE BEST GAME EVER MADE. (This was before TY GBA was released you see). I tell her the game changed my life. She asks if it's really that good and I point to my TY shirt that I was wearing and said that I bought 365 of these shirts so I could wear one every day and not wash them (though I would be stuffed if it was a leap year)

Consequently, TY sales + 1

I really needed sleep that day. See, it's not just here that I'm a shameless whore.
 
Not unless someone asks me, which seems to be happening more often lately, I guess I just have a "Yeah, ask me something" air about me. And I don't even work at these places.

But, yeah: I was at Circuit City earlier today (By the way, is "make the video game shelves as disorganized as possible" some kind of corporate edict?), and this guy asked me if I knew where he could find the Mario games. I pointed him to the Nintendo section.

I've never given unsolicited advice, because, to be honest, they didn't ask for my opinion. I wouldn't have any issues recommending a Gamecube to anyone, as long as they don't mind the caveat that it's basically the Apple of this particular hardware cycle. Not as many games as the PS2 or XBox, but a greater amount of quality overall thanks to the 1st party titles.
 
If I see someone looking confused or about to make a bad decision (like, picking up a horrible game) I offer my assistance. I know the salespeople in the three local shops so I tend to join in on their discussions as well. USUALLY they are upright people who don't sell crap unless the customer really wants it.

Lately I've been doing covert ops into the PS2 sections putting up a VF4 Evo in front of the MKD boxes. If I'm feeling lucky one day, I'll get all the MKD copies and spread them all around the shop, behind crappy DVDs or something. Every little bit helps...
 
I'd love to help, but I've been raised in and formed by Sweden. You don't talk to strangers here, unless you want to make them uncomfortable. No idle chat with the clerks either. If a clerk starts something, there's a good chance you start feeling uncomfortable and want to wiggle your way out of the conversation as soon as possible. It really sucks, I wish our social climate was more akin to the US in that regard. :(

Not related, but I once saw the main clerk at a pretty cool games store tell the customer a game was crap. That was pretty funny.
 
I have to (it's my job). This guy and two kids came in today looking for a new controller. I showed them all the funky third party controllers and the Street Fighter controller as well. Turns out that the kids were his (thought they were brothers), and that his entire family are huge, huge fans of Street Fighter. So I showed him Street Fighter Anniversary Collection and he picked it up. :)
 
I used to help when I was at Target. I don't hang around sections much anymore.

I do remember one time I told a parent that cartoon/tv/movie games are usually trash that appeal for 5 minutes until the kid wants more, rather than fun games.

Another mother piped up out of nowhere and said "Well my girl loves the Spongebob game!"
This was well over 4 years ago, so it was back in the Game Boy Color-dying era, meaning her girl moved Sponebob left and right to enjoy his animation. So sad.
 
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