I can't stand being approached by sales staff in GAME, nothing could be more insulting to me than to have someone ask me if I need 'help'. I only ever go in there with any frequency to collect pre-orders and am lucky to get to the till before one lunges towards me.

What do they expect me to say when they ask?

"Yes I do need help, I'm looking for a generic first person shooter but I'm new to this kind of thing and I just want you to trick me into spending my money on whichever title your manager has told you to push on us"

Probably something like that. If supermarkets mean I can browse games in peace and buy them at a cheaper price then that's brilliant. Isn't it? YES IT IS.

Sorry, Lisa, but beyond being a 'video games specialist' there is nothing unique about shopping in GAME. GAME is just another generic high street retailer offering the same old deals, the same old sales and is staffed mostly by people who have no real knowledge of the product and who are trained to push as much unwanted crap onto the unsuspecting public as possible.

GAME-The supermarket of video games retail.

"some of our more unique benefits like our trade-in programme, our pre-owned offer or even our GAME reward card"

Game give the lowest trade in value out of any of the pre-owned handling retailers, yet sell pre-owned for almost new prices. How is that a benefit to anyone other than those raking in the Game profits?

Game's reward card is also only worth about half the value of the HMV reward card. So you spend more and earn less.

Not to mention the ratio of preowned stock to new stock these days!

i think Lisa is living in cloud cuckoo land and doesnt know what customers ACTAULLY think? i think i speak for most people here when i say that most game staff dont know anything, other than how to push which games the manager has told them to, the shops are a disgrace...bascially turning into 2nd hand shops now....more than half the shops are pre-owned! and the prices are always the worst/highest and offer the lowest/worst value trade-ins...from them and wii sales, they are raking it in! and until the supermarkets offer trade-ins (the sooner the better if you ask me) then game will always con the customer!
ebay is ALWAYS cheaper

What with Game asking customers to pay three times the trade in value on pre-owned, I can certainly say that it feels like a unique experience. As others have posted, it's somewhat akin to walking into a charity shop with the amount of tatty product in there. And since when can used items constitute Sale stock?
Then again, this is the company that Edge exposed in '02 as demanding money from publishers to go into their catalogue.

I object to the generalisation that you "think i speak for most people here when i say that most game staff dont know anything".
While not all GAME staff are perfect for the role, I know myself and my team are very hard working, very helpful, and try our best every day to do the best we can for our customers.
You can't please all the people all the time, but please don't presume that if you are unimpressed with how your local GAME store operates, that they are all like that.
Today is the perfect example. My team started at 6am and finished at 7pm, and dealt with wave after wave of excited customers awaiting GTA4.
Yes that's our job, but we work long and hard with very little positive feedback from forums and articles like this.
My customers were happy they could save some money by trading in games.
They got 500 free Xbox live points for pre-ordering and gamer themes and pictures and the atmosphere was one of a gaming community, with us swapping gamertags and discussing what we hoped was in the new game.
Don't get me wrong..........Life isn't all sweetness and roses at GAME and not everyone shops there or likes the way things are done, but at least you have the choice to shop there or not.
My point is please do not generalise that we are all such sheep as to "push which games the manager has told them to".
We are people, hard workers, and more importantly gamers like you

@ 7

Whether you like it or not most GAME stores offer a pretty poor shopping experience, one filled with agressive sales techniques that have been drumed into the staff to then be launched onto every customer that walks through the door. Congratulations on making an effort in your own store, but don't try to convince us that yours is the only store that doesn't adhere to GAME's strict daily targets and scheduals, customer harassment, high prices and pittiful trade in values..

Are you going to sit here and try and convince everyone that GAMECare is a worthwhile investment for the customer-when we both know its not?

Do you honestly think asking only £5 less than a new game for a pre-ownwed one is good value for money?

Do you really think that not giving the customer any real choice on console bundles, other than crap the non one wants or games that are a year old and cheaper to buy elsewhere on their own is good value for money?

And asking £3.00 for a reward card only to recieve £2.50 back after spending £100 is an utter pi*s take.

Do you think harrassing every single customer who walks through the door just to achieve targets is fair?

Forced bundles?

I could go on, but I think everyone here gets the picture and that only covers the customer side of things, the appalling treament of staff at GAME is a whole other kettle of fish.

EB/GAME used to be a great company, but as time has gone by they've become as crooked and underhanded as any other multi-national company. People don't rise to the top and win awards by playing fair.

I will conceed that, yes, at first, GAME staff were completely useless. They did not know me from Adam, and simply provided me with the standard recommendations.

However, I go into my local GAME frequently and have now built up a great rapport with the staff and management. Now that I have gotten to know them, and they are aware of my gaming likes and dislikes, they are really great for being genuine in their advice.

I have to say, I have been surprised on more than one occasion when a recommendation from one of the staff turned out to be exactly what i was looking for.

They know me, know that I'm a gamer at heart, and in no way, shape or form patronise me when I go in.

When I do go in and there is a new staff member, yes; they do come over and pitch to me. I say thanks, listen to them and try to be as appreciative as possible. More often than not, the management will wait for the staff to finish up, then simply say, 'it's ok, he's a regular'.

What usually follows is a great discussion about the games the n00b is into, and usually some flaming thrown in for good measure, just for a luagh!

I have no doubt that if staff didn't come over or appear to take an interest, there would be an equal number of complainers on here commenting.

On another note, I have found that the pre-orders are good value. My GOW.CoO was taken back for 20% more than the other local stores were offerring. Furthermore, when I was looking for SH:Origins, the staff were great - they actually suggested I save money by taking a pre-order. They looked out 2 copies, took the better book, the better disk, put them together and sold me the package for a lot less than the rrp on the new one.

I love the personal touch of the store, and - even though they are more expensive, I wouldn't shop elsewhere, as their opinions (now that they know me) are very accurate.

Take the time to get to know the staff and you won't be disappointed!!!

Thank you Sean, that was the point of my comment, to not generalise that all staff are useless and just do as they are told.
There is high turnover at GAME because the standards and expectations are so high, and it is hard to adhere to them, and strive to be the best, while retaining the sense of fun that made you apply in the first place.
People come and go, resulting in new staff and that constant approach to the customer to assist, but over time, if you get a good team, you get to know your customers and they get to know you,and you find it a much more acceptable shopping experience.
Please view us as individuals and I am sure you will see that yes, we do have targets and policies to achieve and follow, but we are not robots and want to offer the best advice we can, despite the way we are trained and pushed.
JB, you speak as someone with GAME experience and I will in no way pretend that I believe in all the policies and promotions, and concede that staff are treated poorly in some ways, but I never said I did, I just asked not to be tarred with the same brush as the poorer employees who do not do the job with the right passion and enthusiasm, but do it because it is just a job.
I couldn't sell shoes......
Some of us do care, and I hope you get a better experience next time you visit your local store.
Thanks for your feedback though, it is always interesting to read how others see GAME and I always wonder if those higher up read these pages and if so, what they think.
Any comments Lisa?

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