Like many game journalists and personalities, I’ve spent some time working the brick and mortar stores of GameStop. It was one of my favorite retail jobs and I’ve made a lot of good friends by working there. There were a steady stream of new orders from the top of the chain for new ways to increase profits, often resulting in complaints by those being asked to do them. Anyone who can use Reddit can see the backlash of these major decisions. Floating around the news today is details claiming that GameStop is asking their employees to lie to their customers, which doesn’t sound that strange considering the things I’ve witnessed first hand.
Once again, before we dive into this, I have worked at GameStop and I really did enjoy my time there. In fact, the only reason I don’t continue to work there was a disagreement with management about this very subject.
Now according to a post by Kotaku, employees are being asked to tell those asking for new games that they are simply out of stock, all in an effort to boost pre-owned sales. This is similar to the fiasco several months ago in which GameStop took away one of the main programs used for daily business, even mocking employees to prompt them to get more pre-owned sales. Those employees not meeting these pre-owned goals have often been threatened with termination. An anonymous GameStop employee gave the Kotaku writer some information as well.
We are telling people we don’t have new systems in stock so we won’t take a $300 or $400 dollar hit on our pre-owned numbers. This is company wide and in discussions with my peers it is a common practice. We also tell customers we don’t have copies of new games in stock when they are on sale—for example, Watch Dogs 2 is currently $29.99 new and $54.99 pre-owned. We just tell them we don’t have the new one in stock and shuffle them out the door. – Anonymous Employee
Now, even though the company puts a ton of pressure on the stores and employees to hit these goals, there are often uncontrollable variables that can make good employees look bad, just from sheer circumstance. This includes the launch of new games and hardware. Not all buyers pre-order new games, often hoping to stumble into what’s new or getting a recommendation from the employees, which messes up numbers and percentages.
The other day working the RE7/Kingdom Hearts launch we were telling walk-in (non-reserve) customers that we didn’t have the games in stock or that they were only for pre-orders in order to not sell new copies of games. It’s that bad. – Anonymous Employee
Employees across the country are left to scratch their heads in dismay. Many good workers have been fired over these exact reasons. What’s worse is that GameStop does this under the thought that it’s better for the customer. Unfortunately for the company, employees are rarely silent and making this a journalistic endeavor continues to put the spotlight on these poor practices.
While GameStop is one of the most prominent stores that sells used games, it’s definitely not singular. There are plenty of places to pick up games, either online or in a smaller store. Customers pick up on how employees are treated. Treating them fairly and really putting the customers needs first usually makes for better business in the long run. Happy employees usually work harder too.
It’s a shame really, but there’s no good solution for customers aside from straight refusing to shop at GameStop. Personally, I just want to see them clean up their act. If nothing changes, the business will collapse and most assuredly will be quickly replaced.
My condolences to all those working in this dark time. Just remember that no job is worth your integrity as a person.
