Some of these stories are pretty messed up. But when I hear the flip side stories, what this all boils down to is that people are people and it makes me hate the general populous all the more. When I see people ignoring other people's rights... I really have to stuff my irritation down deep inside so that I don't spout off at the mouth. My best friend has always said that one day my mouth would get me into trouble. Well, not yet, but damn close.
What I hope you all can realize is that companies like GameStop and EB don't have videos like the one on the Chapell show. They don't tell their employees to hate the customer or give the customer a hard time because they don't like the same games that the employee does. In fact, it's quite the opposite. They want the customer treated with the utmost respect because a happy customer is a return customer. Why would you want to go into a store to pre-order a game when you hate the rat-faced girl behind the counter? I've always strived to hire people who don't have a superiority complex. But they do leak into my stores from time to time.
There are times, guys and gals, when people's general lack of knowledge and/or common sense really drags me down and I don't want to do my job anymore. Managing a game store was one of my better ideas and I enjoy it a lot more than my last job. I've been playing games since 1978 if my memory serves me correctly. I didn't get my first system until the Intellevision came out. But you should roughly get my age. I've had more than a passing interest in games due to their ability to remove me from situations that would require another person to be in the room with me. I could spend time by myself and enjoy the challenge of a good game. Over the years, I've come across a good amount of knowledge about game systems, how they work, and how many of the games play and whether or not they're fun. I enjoy talking to customers much like yourselves who get frustrated with stupid people and just want to enjoy games. But when you hear things like I've heard, been witness to situations that I've witnessed, you would tend to not want to be in any kind of service industry. Case in point:
A woman walks into my store and asks my senior game advisor about the PS2 and PS One. She is asking the usual questions... price, accessories needed, and games. But then she asks the clinching question for most people to go ahead and pick up a PS2 (who have no idea what gaming is) " Does the PS2 play PS One games?" We of course reply that it does, in fact, play PS One games thereby increasing the gaming library to thousands of games (of which 5% are decent and not based on Mary Kate and Ashley). But what came out of this woman's mouth next has had me laughing to this day. She said, and I quote, "So lemme get this straight. You can play the PS One games on the PS2, but you can't play the PS2 games on the PS One? Well.... THAT'S dumb!"
What I don't get is why is that dumb? Can a cassette player play a CD? Can a DVD player play a Laser Disc (the one the size of an album)? Do 8-tracks play in cassette players and cassettes play in 8-track players? Can a CD be played on a record player? Can you shit dog food to save money? The answer is no! It makes no sense. Even if you are completely technologically stupid. You must at least understand what it takes to make money. If your new games played on the old $50 PS One, then why in hell would people pay upwards of $300 to buy the new hardware? And this is the mildest of cases. There are those who want employees to hold their hand through their purchasing experience. There are those who push other customers out of the way, literally, to be one ahead in the checkout line. Some customers are thieves and so are some employees. Welcome... to the real world.
My point is, there are stupid customers and there are stupid game store clerks. One thing is for sure... You guys are all going to shop where you're comfortable. You're not going to pre-order a game you don't want and you're not going to subscribe to a magazine you don't want to read. Why get hostile if they continue to ask you if you want to subscribe? They don't remember you from each time you visit, and if they do then maybe you should try being friendly and get to know them a little so they just acknowledge that you don't want the stupid magazine? Do you have to walk into a store with a chip on your shoulder? If you work for one of these stores, do you have to be so condescending?
My father showed me a saying at one point in my life that is as true today as the first day I read it: "When problems descend on my brow, it helps to remember somehow, that one hundred years latter, these problems won't matter.... in fact, they don't matter now."
I've said my piece and I hope it falls into capable minds. I'd like to think that you aren't all 10 years old with the attention span of a hummingbird.
You could've got it for at least $10 cheaper.