games™ Forum

My local GAME in Stockport is absolutely fantastic, the staff are really nice, friendly and helpful and I can only congratulate them on their fast and efficient way they handled my Wii Pre-order and purchase, I was never pushed to buy any bundles either and despite warnings that some games may have sold old, I received all my pre-ordered games as well.

I've shopped at GAME for over five years ever since I bought my PS2 and I have never had any trouble with them.

I rarely shop anywhere else for games.

Don't accept that excuse about the till programming.

It's true that they can't change the packs - they are already programmed - but if you weren't buying a pack, that doesn't come into it. Fact is, they had stock of the stuff you were promised (and paid deposit for), and were obliged to sell it to you.

GAME's training tells the staff to encourage the customer to buy extras, try to convince them that they need them. However, if the customer doesn't want these extra items, their needs should still be fulfilled.

Your experience boils down to staff members trying to reach a daily target of "Highest Basket Spend" (keeping the total value of sales high) and "Attachment Rate" (the number of GAME extras, etc. bundled with the machine). These targets are just that... targets. They don't mean you can be refused sale of your pre-order.

Somerset Bumpkin wrote:I hate game. When I got my 360 in Bristol they tried to force me to buy the bundle for about £450, I told them that they can't force me to buy other things, they told me that if I didn't want it someone else would

Trouble is, thats true. If you didn't buy it someone else would.

so I took the 360 box, ripped off King Kong and the 3rd party controller and told them that they better scan what I wanted

Damaging store property? Threatning behaviour? You wouldn't of pulled that sh*t in my store. I'd of asked you to leave the store and not return. If you refused I'd of called the police and have you removed from the store. Regardless of your opinions of GAME and their bundles no one should have to put up with people like you being abusive and aggressive. Simple as that.

Magius wrote:

Somerset Bumpkin wrote:I hate game. When I got my 360 in Bristol they tried to force me to buy the bundle for about £450, I told them that they can't force me to buy other things, they told me that if I didn't want it someone else would

Trouble is, thats true. If you didn't buy it someone else would.

so I took the 360 box, ripped off King Kong and the 3rd party controller and told them that they better scan what I wanted

Damaging store property? Threatning behaviour? You wouldn't of pulled that sh*t in my store. I'd of asked you to leave the store and not return. If you refused I'd of called the police and have you removed from the store. Regardless of your opinions of GAME and their bundles no one should have to put up with people like you being abusive and aggressive. Simple as that.

I suppose the counter argument to that is that people have every right to challenge stores that are trying to rip them off to push up their sales. In Bumpkins case he didn't damage store property or become abusive. He simply removed the games he didn't want and demanded they cut out the bullsh*t.
Situations like the above are ultimately why shops like GAME get little respect from people because they treat their customers like cash addled bovine scum. This lack of customer focus and policies designed to rip people off will eventually come back and bite them on the arse.
Its just another example of the rip off culture in stores that are pushing increasing numbers of people toward the internet.

All in all its very, very, shortsighted in terms of fostering customer loyalty, and protecting the longer term interests of the High Street trade.

Magius wrote:

Somerset Bumpkin wrote:I hate game. When I got my 360 in Bristol they tried to force me to buy the bundle for about £450, I told them that they can't force me to buy other things, they told me that if I didn't want it someone else would

Trouble is, thats true. If you didn't buy it someone else would.

thig is with that, is that it's against the staff's training to force anything on the customer. the staff are meant to convince the customer to buy the extra items, not give them the "buy the pack or get out" ultimatum. any sale is better than no sale. not only that, it is a matter of business ethics and customer relations, and someone in your position shouldn't be reinforcing the nonchalant attitude to customer satisfaction in a public forum. can't imagine your bosses would be happy with that.

so I took the 360 box, ripped off King Kong and the 3rd party controller and told them that they better scan what I wanted

Damaging store property? Threatning behaviour? You wouldn't of pulled that sh*t in my store. I'd of asked you to leave the store and not return. If you refused I'd of called the police and have you removed from the store. Regardless of your opinions of GAME and their bundles no one should have to put up with people like you being abusive and aggressive. Simple as that.

So extorting visitors to your store is accepted behaviour?

In this particular case, all that would be damaged is the adhesive nature of the tape used to put the display boxes together. Faced with stubborn and inconsiderate staff such as you're presenting yourself to be, he would be well within his rights to make demands on his purchase within reason. I would normally recommend requesting to see the manager about such instances, but if i remember correctly you are one... not much help at all.

I had the same thing happen to me with the 360 in game. I contacted customer services via there website who said that they are ment to let you have the console on its own.

when i went back into game after new year in a different town and tried to get a 360 they said I had to have a 4 game bundle. When I told them i didn't as i had spoke to there customer services. They said that wasn't true and I still had to get the 4 game bundle.

And then complained via the website and just took the games back and exchanged them under there normal returns policy

toneeblair wrote:

Magius wrote:

Somerset Bumpkin wrote:I hate game. When I got my 360 in Bristol they tried to force me to buy the bundle for about £450, I told them that they can't force me to buy other things, they told me that if I didn't want it someone else would

Trouble is, thats true. If you didn't buy it someone else would.

thig is with that, is that it's against the staff's training to force anything on the customer. the staff are meant to convince the customer to buy the extra items, not give them the "buy the pack or get out" ultimatum. any sale is better than no sale. not only that, it is a matter of business ethics and customer relations, and someone in your position shouldn't be reinforcing the nonchalant attitude to customer satisfaction in a public forum. can't imagine your bosses would be happy with that.

You're just assuming that I force bundles upon customers just Bumpkin had it happen to him in another branch, taring every employee at GAME with the same brush. Strikes me that you've just got your bee-in-a-bonnet because someone like myself won't stand for customers who think they can just waltz into a GAME branch and bully the staff into submission. Its not nice and to be perfectly honest we'd rather you're type shop somewhere else so as our 'real' customers can continue with their shopping in relative peace without being subjected to some loud mouth bleating on about 'his rights'.


Gentlemen, I'm afraid you're very much in the minority. Thousands of customers shop at GAME stores across the country everyday and are more than happy to shop at GAME, are happy with the service and are happy with the prices. 99% of the customers who venture into our GAME store are more than happy and often comment on our good service; this weekend and the Wii launch being of particular note.


By the way, I'm not a manager you just assumed I was, much like everything else you've posted.

I understand perfectly weal that I am in the minority.

I can't argue that every other time I shop at GAME the staff are helpful and courteous (particularly in my local Cumbernauld branch,) my complaint with the store is still legitimate, and as such I will be pursuing my complaint as before.

For that matter, those who also have complaints against the store have every right to do so. That every other customer has not is hardly an reasonable argument, and in any other context would be widely ridiculed.

**edited because the grammer of the final paragraph was wrong and made no sense (or at least not the sense I had intended...)

And here was me thinking I was in the minority - I've never had a single problem with Game or Gamestation.
I'm such a saddo that I know exactly what I want, when it's out and on what machines. In fact 9/10 times I know more than they do.

Here's the thing, you walk in, get what you want, pay for it and walk out.
Job done.

If you feel you've been screwed, then buy it somewhere else online or another shop.

FatTrucker wrote:I suppose the counter argument to that is that people have every right to challenge stores that are trying to rip them off to push up their sales. In Bumpkins case he didn't damage store property or become abusive.

Firstly, by tearing apart the bundle deal Bumpkin actively damaged store property. Doesn't matter what it is, it belongs to the store and he has no right to start pulling it apart.

Secondly, 'telling' the staff member that he 'better sell him what he wants is aggressive. If he wasn't happy with the deal then he should of approached the subject in a civilised manner, not start threating members of staff to do exactly as he wants. Its uncalled for and no retail employee should have to stand for it. I stand by what I say. If he came into our store and did that then I would not hesitate to ask him to leave. If he became even more agressive by this then I would have the autorities remove him.

Good customer service does not mean we have to put up with abusive or agressive behaviour.

Right I was going to leave it, but I think I should set the record straight. I didn't bully and staff, I didn't get funny with them or get loudmouthed. And I'm certainly not one to brag about 'rights'.

I said to the chap that I wanted the console but not the extra tat. He refused and said I have to buy the whole lot. I would of walked away if it had not been for his smug grin. Hence why I removed the game and controller and asked him again, looking agitated that time.

For 1 month of the year the chaps at game get a little power trip because suddenly its a sellers market. Game abuses their customers in this respect. Its simple and I don't stand for it.

What I find most striking is that the actual people what work in their are generally nice guys most of the time, and it's beggars belief that suddenly they're willing to abuse there locals to mkae extra profit for their employer. I'm sorry but in my line of work I always try whats best for my client NOT my shareholders, probably because I'm a decent guy with principles who cares about other people. Some of you guys would sell your own mother for a percentage. But then thas sells people in general I suppose - twats

There is always the possibility that customers will act inappropriately when they feel like they are being abused by store staff, and it can be neither condoned nor excused. I do sympathise with Bumpkin on this, however, as were I a more impulsive and passionate person - or possibly less level-headed, whatever way you look at it - I would gave been tempted to do the same.

It all boils down to whether the stores can offer pre-orders on a single item then refuse to sell it without the customer meeting a certain value of purchase. The issue of what you have done or would do in this situation is neither here nor there, though it's obvious that this sort of thing really riles people.

Magius wrote: Good customer service does not mean we have to put up with abusive or agressive behaviour.

You're dead right there. It also means treating your customers with respect and not forcing them to buy bundles when the store apparently is meant to sell stand alone systems as well, thereby frustrating some customers to the point where they lose their temper because they know they are being ripped off.

It means creating a shopping experience that doesn't provoke abusive or aggressive behaviour due to unfair policies designed to seperate people from their money for products they don't want to buy.

Its absolutely right that people don't have to shop in GAME or anywhere else, but the 'if you don't like it then f**k off and shop somewhere else' attitude is exactly what provokes this kind of anger in the first place, and I think everyone should have the right to challenge it when they encounter it.

As consumers of any kind of product we have an interest in getting these practices stopped.

Agaib, I was not abusive or agressive. And Fat-trucker is damn right. Good job that places like game proabably won't exist in 5 years time, with downloading games and cheap interent shopping.

Somerset Bumpkin wrote:
What I find most striking is that the actual people what work in their are generally nice guys most of the time, and it's beggars belief that suddenly they're willing to abuse there locals to mkae extra profit for their employer. I'm sorry but in my line of work I always try whats best for my client NOT my shareholders, probably because I'm a decent guy with principles who cares about other people. Some of you guys would sell your own mother for a percentage. But then thas sells people in general I suppose - twats

Then take it up with GAME, not the staff who are simply paid to do a job. And no, you're not aggressive at all are you.
Calling people twats, telling them they 'better give you what you want', only to back track five minutes later and try to make out you're all sweetness and nice; Making out that all retail staff aren't 'decent like you'; hoping peoples jobs become reduntant in five years. You're a horrible little runt, Somerset Bumpkin, and I'm glad that I'll never have the misfortune of bumping into you.

Fattrucker-No ones being ripped off. You don't have to buy the deals, no ones forcing you to buy anything. YOU make the choice, no one else.

Well I'm done here as it seems you lot have made up your minds that all retail staff are incompetent twats who work for evil corperations and who would sell their grandmother for a profit. Nice attitude guys. Nice attitude.