GAME exits Administration

[Mr Kipling]

When I took it to the counter I was given a manual with a big crease in it and a disc that - whilst not scratched - did have some dirt and fingerprints on it and looked like it had been played at some point. I asked if this was a new copy and was given the most withering, demeaning look the manager could muster before being told in no uncertain terms that it was. I took the game, but I'm sure something iffy was going on. Probably the staff had been taking it home to play and then slipping it back on the shelf and selling it as 'new'.

Seriously man, I would have put my card/cash back in my wallet and told Mr Stroppy in no uncertain terms if he didn't get me a new one right now I'll be walking straight out. I shop in Gamestation so infrequently now I wouldn't particularly care if the staff think I'm being a tw@t.

I'm normally a bloody nice guy, but if I get the slightest whiff that someone's trying to pull a fast one on me..

[AceGrace]

I went into the Eastbourne Game yesterday and they were selling Ray on HD-DVD for £24.99!!!

[djcarlos]

I went into the Eastbourne Game yesterday and they were selling Ray on HD-DVD for £24.99!!!

Really? I'll pop in after work!

[commanderkaiser]

Remember the copy of Excite Truck I took back to GS about a year ago because it didn't work, only to find they were selling the same copy again a week or two later?

I remember this happening to me it has probably happened a few times without me knowing but this was the one time i did in fact notice. It was a couple of years ago now and I bought Soul Calibur 3 preowned from Gamestation, I got home to find out the game would crash whenever one of the game modes was selected meaning you could pretty much never play selected modes so I took it back. I asked for another and was told there where non so just got my money back, a few minutes later I went back in just to check for something else and to my surprise the guy was putting the game back on the shelf.

I confronted him about it and said is that the copy I just told you was broken you are putting back out, and he replied yes, in the end I just walked out.

[James A]

Just asked about them getting Akai katana in to which the reply was no. The guy i spoke to said there still having trouble getting new stock in and getting back dated stock that they didn't have chance to release. Seems there still going all out to get pre owned stuff in but its mainly over priced tat.

[Megamixer]

Some of the stories over the last few pages absolutely reek of terrible customer service and patronising attitudes towards customers. Gamers know that GBA carts don't come from the factory with save files on them 'by mistake'. Gamers also know that creased instruction manuals and dirty discs have been used. No consumer expects to be questioned about stuff like manuals and have other customers hauled into the discussion

There really are a lot of Game/GS staff who just don't give a sh!t and I reckon most of the patronisation is these tw@ts getting all huffy about being called out on something they've done wrong. If I give some incorrect information out at work or do something wrong then I apologise to the customer and do my best to sort it not get all p!ssed off because I was found out.

Honestly, a lot of these stores sound like they don't deserve any business. I know I was all in favour for the company surviving for the sake of jobs but there are certain people who really need to be working somewhere else where they can't infuriate customers.

[dste]

Bar £1.60 I spent the last of my credit today so now pretty much have no reason to carry on going in.

[Negative Creep]

Never had a problem with my Gamestation. Closest I've had was getting home and noticing there were no instructions (yes, I should have checked at the time). Went back the next day and they gave me a spare, easy as that.As with all stores, you'll get good and bad members of staff, and having worked in retail I have learnt there's always 2 sides and the shop is rarely 100% to blame

[Syntesis]

Buying games from HMV/Game/GS is for parents who don't know better and people who don't know of the internet's existence. I can buy a game from Shopto anytime before 17:30 (last post) and have it arrive the next morning with their free delivery. Zavvi and Amazon are great too. I am surprised some of you are only now realising just how bad Game are, the internet has been the best way to buy games since the Dreamcast and now with smart phones you can quickly order a game for the weekend while on the train.

Much cheaper, more convenient, better choice, always get a sealed game, no getting into an argument with some pillock behind the till because you don't want to buy a used copy etc. Gaming has never been cheaper and hopefully Game will die off completely so more people will see that.

[killbot]

Buying games from HMV/Game/GS is for parents who don't know better and people who don't know of the internet's existence. I can buy a game from Shopto anytime before 17:30 (last post) and have it arrive the next morning with their free delivery. Zavvi and Amazon are great too. I am surprised some of you are only now realising just how bad Game are, the internet has been the best way to buy games since the Dreamcast and now with smart phones you can quickly order a game for the weekend while on the train.

Much cheaper, more convenient, better choice, always get a sealed game, no getting into an argument with some pillock behind the till because you don't want to buy a used copy etc. Gaming has never been cheaper and hopefully Game will die off completely so more people will see that.

I've always realised that the internet was more convenient - but these shops employ a lot of people and I felt supporting those people's livelihoods was important. However, if GS wants to resort to tactics like knowingly selling faulty games (and for hugely over-inflated prices, to boot) or selling clearly used games as new then they can stew in their own juices.

A shame as my local GS has some really good staff, too, including one guy who used to frequent this forum. But I'm sick of finding that 30% of the games I buy there don't work or are in some way... tainted.

[Syntesis]

I really don't understand that sentiment. They're not a charity. You should have just been buying online and donated the difference to MSF or the Red Cross.

They've been selling games at rip off prices and taking home stock then selling it as new since as long as they have existed.

[killbot]

They're not a charity.

No, but I think it's important to support people's jobs, even if it means paying a slight premium. If all retail business in the UK went digital then countless thousands of jobs would be lost - that's people with mortgages and families. As someone who's had a period of unemployment, I know what it's like.

All that said, the business practices I've witnessed recently have convinced me that the chain is doomed whatever happens. They literally haven't learned a thing from their recent brush with death. Since they're now making shopping there an actively unpleasant experience the I have no qualms about taking my business elsewhere.

[crusto]

Buying games from HMV/Game/GS is for parents who don't know better and people who don't know of the internet's existence. I can buy a game from Shopto anytime before 17:30 (last post) and have it arrive the next morning with their free delivery. Zavvi and Amazon are great too. I am surprised some of you are only now realising just how bad Game are, the internet has been the best way to buy games since the Dreamcast and now with smart phones you can quickly order a game for the weekend while on the train.

Much cheaper, more convenient, better choice, always get a sealed game, no getting into an argument with some pillock behind the till because you don't want to buy a used copy etc. Gaming has never been cheaper and hopefully Game will die off completely so more people will see that.

Im fully aware of both sides of the coin tbh. I know that if I try hard enough I will find pretty much any game cheaper, sealed etc etc and delivered to my door for free online as opposed to the high street. This is something that the high street could never hope to do. But on the flip side I could walk past shops like Game, Gamestation, CEX etc, go in and impulse buy a title for a few quid more and be playing it within the hour. Something that I wouldnt like to miss out on tbh. I like the best of both worlds and wouldnt want that choice taken away. Game are crap, for sure, but I would rather they stayed around and improved their business practices rather than disappear down the plug hole.

[ToxieDogg]

Some of the stories over the last few pages absolutely reek of terrible customer service and patronising attitudes towards customers. Gamers know that GBA carts don't come from the factory with save files on them 'by mistake'. Gamers also know that creased instruction manuals and dirty discs have been used. No consumer expects to be questioned about stuff like manuals and have other customers hauled into the discussion

I honestly wish I was making those stories up, but unfortuantely they're truth. (as I say though, it was CEX where the guy started questioning me about wanting instruction manuals with my games, not Game to be fair). I've had some appalling experiences in Game/Gamestation in the past, to the point where I wrote a detailed complaint to Watchdog and tried to get them to investigate but they just replied and told me not to shop there, they didn't have enough evidence to go on But I've also been in some excellent branches as well so it does seem to be largely down to individuals and poor management at certain stores. There seems to be a disproportionately high amount of twunts working for Game than a lot of other retailers though,

Another fun (true) story...back when Ty The Tasmanian Tiger 2 was first released on PS2/Xbox/Gamecube, it was released for a reduced RRP of £19.99 everywhere, online and in store. Me and my ex went into Game in Banbury during the January sale to pick it up...we weren't expecting it any cheaper or anything as it was a lower priced game anyway and had only been out a short while but it had a 'Sale' sticker on it....WAS '£19.99'...NOW '£19.98'. I decided just to have a bit of a laugh about this whilst I was paying for it and said 'That's a bit of a tight fisted reduction isnt' it?' to which the guy behind the counter replied (in all seriousness!!) 'Yeah, well it's actually reduced from £25, but we ran out of £25 stickers while we were labelling them up' I think he honestly must have believed all of their customers were as thick as pigsh*t. Or, if you take what he said as truth, they wilfully put wrong price stickers on certain games in the shop.

[djcarlos]

They're not a charity.

No, but I think it's important to support people's jobs, even if it means paying a slight premium. If all retail business in the UK went digital then countless thousands of jobs would be lost - that's people with mortgages and families. As someone who's had a period of unemployment, I know what it's like.

Websites need staff too.

Not as many, granted, but if you include the delivery chain you're keeping people in jobs by buying online anyway - it's all the same economy.

Would you go to a crap dentist or car mechanic just to keep them in a job?