Substance TV

When one thinks of the phrase “Scum of the Earth”, what comes to mind? For some it’s lawyers. For others it’s used car salesmen. Still for some it’s Lady Gaga (C’mon folks, just stop listening to her. Like a stray cat, if you stop feeding it, it will slowly die off).

But ask that same question to a gamer and the response will be one company: GameStop. From the workers trying to push their EDGE card, terrible trade in values, bad customer service, used games with no manual or cover, sucky pre-order bonuses, jacked up prices, or the lack of video game knowledge, many folks do not heart GameStop. As a general rule of thumb, I agree with this sentiment. Most of my video game shopping is done online, at local used stores, pawn shops, or thrift stores. GameStop is usually my last resort.

When I first found out GameStop was offering a free demo of Monster Hunter Tri, I was mildly interested. Throw in $5 off the game and a free 500 Wii points card if I pre-order? Now you’ve got my attention. I begrudgingly pre-ordered the $60 edition with the Wii Classic Controller at a GameStop near my work. As is the case with GameStop pre-orders, you don’t get the bonus until you pick up the game. Seems they had a problem with people pre-ordering, getting the bonus, and never picking up the game. I have no idea who would do such a thing.

The blessed release day arrived and I swing by GameStop after work. I give them my name and phone number. Easy enough. They find my pre-order and ring me up. I ask about the free 500 points Wii card, and the employees tells me, “Oh, it’s in the box”. Luckily I had just got off the phone with Erik a few minutes before who told me there was no card in the box. I inform this bright gentleman that the card is not in the box but handed out separately. His eyebrows twinge as if to signify confusion. Another employee comes around the counter and informed him that yes, the card did come separately. So the two of them stumble around looking around for it. Seriously, on the day of a new release, you don’t know about your own store’s pre-order bonuses? Finally after a few minutes they find a stack of cards and hand me one.

Alright, halfway there. He rings me up and I notice my total is only $5 less than the normal price. It should be $10 off: my $5 pre-order, and the $5 off pre-order bonus offer. I bring this to his attention. Once again a look of bewilderment appears on his face. He has no recollection of any kind of offer. This time he has no epiphany, no discovery, no great thought. He just stares at me. After a good five minutes of discussion, still nothing. So instead of wasting my time arguing with this slack jaw, I had a better idea. I took my game and promptly went to another GameStop close to my house to resolve this situation.

Over the years, I’ve gotten to know most of the staff at this particular GameStop, and they are great guys who enjoy games without sucking the life out of you. I’ve even had a few of them over to my house for a gaming night a few weeks ago. So I go to the counter and chat it up with one of the guys I’m acquainted with. I let him know about my little issue. He knew exactly what I was talking about and promptly took my receipt, pressed a few buttons, and gave me my $5 back. Here’s the best part, he hands me a free 500 Wii points card. What is this? A kind gesture from a GameStop employee? In fact it was.

So you know what I do, I put that $5 he gave back to me on a pre-order. He scratched my back, I scratched his. From now on, if I ever pre-order or shop at any GameStop, it will be that location only.

Moral of this story. GameStop as a corporation sucks, but there are a few select individuals who make it suck less. Treat them with a fair share of decency and see what happens. You might be surprised, or supremely disappointed. Not sure which.