650°

GameStop employees report extreme pressure from ‘desperate’ bosses

In multiple interviews with Polygon, store managers and staff speak of plummeting morale

Visceral891525d ago

I haven't bought a game at Gamestop in over a year, I used too all the time before, and they would hound me to preorder something. When I was at the midnight launch for Spider-man ps4 I had to tell the guy I didn't want to preorder Black Ops 4, 5 times and then he gets mad at me.

Jin_Sakai1525d ago

I always hated how pushy the employees were. It’s one of the reasons I hated going to GameStop.

I plan on trading two PS4 Pro consoles in to help with one of my PS5 purchases. Hopefully they’re still in business at by the time it launches.

arkard1524d ago

@jin Just sell it yourself, trade in prices are garbage

Jin_Sakai1524d ago (Edited 1524d ago )

“Just sell it yourself, trade in prices are garbage“

It’s hard to sell when all my games are digital as most people want games to come with it. On top of that people give you the run around and try to lowball quite often. Either way I’ll do what I have to do.

S2Killinit1524d ago

I never had these experiences. They were always nice and i enjoyed being able to have a conversation about games with the person selling me a game.

SlagWolf1524d ago

@Jin_Saki just sell it on facebooks market place.
You will get mire for it mite then likely then you would at GameStop

Mr Logic1524d ago

@arkard

That's not always true. Sold traded in my Pro for $275 store credit. Considering it can be commonly found brand new for ~$300 that's pretty good. Tried to sell it first and everyone was offering 200-230.

1523d ago
annoyedgamer1523d ago

"It’s hard to sell when all my games are digital"

Let that be a lesson to you. Digital games are not yours sell or trade as you please.

CorndogBurglar1523d ago (Edited 1523d ago )

The sad thing is it's not even the employees fault, really. If they don't hit their pre-order numbers and their tech trade numbers they get fired. No questions asked.

Gamestop has made their company incredibly toxic to work for. These employees that are pushy are only doing that because their job is on the line. They are also required to ask if you want all those things. If they don't? You guessed it. They get fired.

Gamestop will not likely make it to the end of the year. Some reports are saying they may not even make it to the new console launches, which is really their main goal. They believe the new consoles will save their business. Also, supposedly they are planning to take all the pre-order money they can for the new consoles, then file bankruptcy. That way they don't have to pay out what they promised.

They are hemorrhaging money and completely relying on tech trades, because they turn around and sell those phones to other countries at a high amount. It's the only thing they are making good money on.

Watch this series on YouTube called Gamestop Chronicles. It will really open your eyes to what a shady business they are running and how horribly they are treating their employees, and how they are 100% using trickery and underhanded tactics to get money from customers. Like not telling customers that there are two versions of the Power Up Rewards program and only telling them about the more expensive one. Then if the customer turns it down, they sign them up anyway.

It's getting really bad because they are totally desperate.

LordJamar1523d ago

It’s just their job most don’t mean any harm

Chexs19901523d ago

Used to part time in one while I was still studying.

Honestly, most of that pressure isn't coming from the employees themselves.
It's the store and area managers basically telling them that if they can't keep up a specific weekly quota, they will be replaced.

A quota which became more and more unreachable by the month, unless the employees aggressively targeted weak willed people.

I was let go for not pushing pre-orders if the customers could get something to their tastes right away instead.

Teflon021523d ago

Trade in for consoles when the new one drops is definitely worth it in Ontario Canada. We got 13% tax. When you trade in, you don’t pay that 13% tax on every dollar traded in. So if you traded in $300 for the pro towards the new console with whatever promo they’ll likely have. You actually got $339 off the console because that’s not taxable. If $500, you’re paying $226 now but if that was $300 you got from someone on the street, you’d pay $265. I don’t think trade in values are bad WHEN they have promos etc. You just gotta know what and when to trade in. If something isn’t wanted, there’s no reason to have a high value as it’s not in demand. But it’s bs since some of the $5 are games they sell for $50 which is ridiculous. But if it’s a wanted game that $50 maybe worth $35 to $40 which is fair. But I think the lower end shouldn’t be lower than say 50% of the price if it’s not a wanted game. It’s pretty bs when they say a games with 75c but you buy for $19.99 used

iplay1up21523d ago

Why would you sell you digital games? Selling you consoles, just do a factory reset. Keep your games.

SyntheticForm1523d ago

I've never had this problem myself.

I always enjoyed talking to the employees about games, the console wars, etc. Some of them were very informed and it was a pleasure to talk to them.

darthv721523d ago

when I buy a system 2nd hand, I prefer they dont come with games because I'm usually just wanting to buy the system because its a variant that I dont already have. And digital games arent really a selling point because people cant really use them without the original profile anyways.

What pro's are you looking to sell Jin? I may be interested.

Jin_Sakai1523d ago

@annoyedgamer

“Let that be a lesson to you. Digital games are not yours sell or trade as you please.”

Then I’ll save up to get PS5. I like the convenience of digital games. Not going back to physical.

SublimeStylee21522d ago

Well considering u plan on purchasing a ps5 wouldn't u want to keep ur digital purchases? You wouldn't see money from that on a trade in anyway. U would still get more selling hardware privately then getting ripped off at GS....

+ Show (13) more repliesLast reply 1522d ago
KeenBean3451524d ago

It's worth noting that the employees are just doing this stuff usually due to upper management pressuring them too, as they think it results in more sales/preorders. Most employees (at least the ones I've spoke to) don't like pushing all the membership/preorder crap on people but are forced to by their bosses.

persona4chie1524d ago

Can confirm, used to work at GameStop. I never pushed for stuff unless the district manager was in the store. But it’s annoying

AngelicIceDiamond1524d ago

At my location they had a used car salesman as a boss. He didn't know anything about games nor did he care. He even conditioned his workers not to care about the games and just push for a used purchase. You can say something like

"have you tried the new maps in COD?"

"No, so you want to buy COD used"

Or

"yes its fun you want to buy it used?

They'll shut down conversation or fake one to get you to buy. I know its nit picky but I don't feel valued or important as a gamer and tell me if a game is good or not or give me insight on what you think. No I don't wanna look it up I'm a at a video game store we should be able to have a quick conversation or exchange his or hers knowledge or passion should inspire me to make the purchase.

Haven't been their for 6 years, don't plan on going back.

Teflon021523d ago

The one by me, I’m friends with the old manager, he never pushed his employees , but did say higher ups always wanted him to. But he didn’t care. He eventually quit because he hated it. But now the new one is always down necks to get preorders for specific games etc. I feel bad for the employees mostly. Only positive is if you like games, you can make a lot of friends working there

Elda1524d ago

Wow. At my local GameStop which there are 2 the staff are really nice.

MIDNIITE_Z3RO1524d ago

They lost my pre-order once, never went back. It was only five bucks, but I was a teenager at the time and didn't have a ton of money. I put five bucks down and wanted to pay the rest off when the game came out. I went up there on release day and they said they didn't have my pre-order on file. I left and never went back. Built a PC, been buying games mad cheap ever since.

gamer78041524d ago

I've been to alot of gamestops, the ones in my hometown and ones nearby are fantastic, its actually fun to go to, people aren't pushy and love to talk about games. It basically depends on the area you live in/area you visit. Visit a good part of town you are likely to have a good experience, visit one in a less well to do area and you are more likely to have a negative experience.

neutralgamer19921523d ago

I know it's a popular thing to hate on GS but over a decade long experience I have had great experiences. People make it sound like GS is the worst place t buy when they usually have their used games cheaper than eBay especially older games

Everyone wants GS to go away its less options and gives publishers more leeway to be even more greedy

meka26111523d ago

To be fair it's not the employees fault. I used to work as an SGA at gamestop and you get reprimanded if you don't get subs to their card and reservations. And I mean they are in danger of getting fired if they don't do it, it really sucks working there.

dumahim1523d ago

I have tried to boycott the company for like 12 years now. I keep failing and deciding to give them another chance every few years when their grubby fingers lands some exclusive I want.
Every.
Single.
Time. They remind me why I was in a boycott. It's quite impressive actually, to see what lengths they go to in order to annoy their paying customers. Most companies would rely on keeping customers satisfied.

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 1522d ago
TheColbertinator1524d ago

Lousy corporate dogs.

"If it worked 15 years ago, it should work today too!"

Idiots.

sander97021524d ago

Nobody likes corporate money-worshipers not even themselves and not even Jesus.

CrimsonWing691524d ago

Working for GameStop was one of the worst experiences I ever had at a job and this was back when the 360 was only out for a couple years.

AngelicIceDiamond1524d ago

KIinda surprised because 7th gen Gamestop was at its peak.

Kabaneri1524d ago

Gamestop is on its death bed.

Double_O_Revan1524d ago

I've said it before, I question if they'll make it through this year.

DarkZane1524d ago

I would just quit if I were them. Minimum wage jobs are everywhere and most of them don't have that much pressure.

zmeatheadz1523d ago

Gamestop is a potential gold mine though, especially if they do an even better job of targeting families. Add lego and and rid of underperforming crap quickly. they have the same advantage as walmart vs amazon - instant gratification! I would make them so rich, unfortunately when a company gets so big they become less nimble, culture creep and poor vision too

Show all comments (84)
70°

The INDIE Live Expo 2024 event is to feature over 100 game titles

INDIE Live Expo, Japan’s premiere online digital showcase series , will debut never-before-seen games & content updates across more than 100 titles on May 25th.

140°

PlayStation Doesn't Need a Dedicated PC Store Launcher

With all the PlayStation games that are now coming to PC, is it time for Sony to release a dedicated PC launcher?

thorstein3d ago

No, and they already solved any need with the overlay that's coming.

Vits3d ago

Unless they are trying to kill their recently created PC business, I would advise against opening a dedicated PC store. It's an extremely hard endeavor, and people, in general, are very comfortable with Steam. Even Epic, with their billions of dollars invested, is still struggling to find a foothold, and they have Fortnite.

just_looken1d 20h ago (Edited 1d 20h ago )

Money is one thing security is another but again millions have 0 knowledge past 2020.

Epic store for years struggled with a shopping cart/account theft/credit card theft

Rockstar launcher/store to this day over 5 years later still has horrific user interface security flaws lost account's and stolen CC

Then you got that activision need phone number oh we lost it launcher

The crown jewel is the ea launcher/store ea app 3 yrs old still has hundreds of threads were people lost games/accounts/game access or just straight up crashes.

Edit" Oh ubi launcher were you buy a game that may or may not be there again or work and the launcher 5yrs old still has no 4K support if you launch it on a 4k screen there is a high chance it will just crash.

ocelot072d ago

Can tell who ever put this together is not all that clued up on pc gaming.

It's just a known fact. The PC gaming community prefer Steam and Steam alone. They don't like different launchers. I personally don't mind them. But majority just stick with steam. Hence why EA and Ubisoft went back to on releasing on steam and why Microsoft release games on steam as people hated buying from the windows store.

The only other launchers that I imagine are doing ok is GOG due to being drm free and epic games due to the free games every week. Sony shouldn't release any sort of pc launcher n

Nitrowolf22d ago (Edited 2d ago )

It literally says in the OP that PC gamers don't like multiple launchers lol. It even mentions Steam being the go to for gamers

Tacoboto2d ago

Title: "PlayStation Doesn't Need a Dedicated PC Store Launcher"

N4G: "Can tell who ever put this together is not all that clued up on pc gaming"

When you don't even read the headline...

ocelot072d ago

I read it and had a brain fart. As read the title then this "With all the PlayStation games that are now coming to PC, is it time for Sony to release a dedicated PC launcher?"

So I hold my hands up on that mistake. Rest of my comment still stands.

Giblet_Head1d 20h ago (Edited 1d 20h ago )

Steam and GOG are highly preferred because of the rich feature set. Ubisoft, Rockstar, EA, Epic etc have all set a precedent over the years for customers to instinctively expect individual publisher launchers to be so extremely half-assed that the majority simply don't want to bother dealing with what is almost an inevitable disappointment by comparison to Steam or GOG. Those publishers and their inaction or general disinterest to improve have effectively ruined any future adoption to be taken seriously.

Einhander19722d ago (Edited 2d ago )

This is just another ridiculous double standard article.

It's like how Microsoft can spend 20 years of making nothing but gaas and live service style games to sell microtransactions, dlc and subscriptions and get praise for doing it, but if Sony wants to make a single game like that every website under the sun is writing articles saying how Sony is anti-consumer or whatever.

derek2d ago

Yep, huge double standard look at the tortured reaction to the ps5pro, websites hyperventilating like Sony is forcing people to buy it.

just_looken1d 20h ago

Wait my xbox from 2004 has avengers gaas on it? wow your so smart

m$ Gaas started with the other companies like sony

Gamepass yes they are deep into that but its still a huge money saver sense you do not own your games then get a service like that.

Now there pc xbox launcher that is trash for years now

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90°

German Computer Game Awards 2024 has just announced its winners

"The best games of the year and the creative teams behind them were in the spotlight at the grand award ceremony of the German Computer Game Award 2024." - German Computer Game Awards.

anast3d ago

BG3 has won everything possible. It's insane.

TGG_overlord2d ago

That's right, well, BG3 deserved it imo.

anast2d ago

It's definitely a game of the generation if not all time.

InUrFoxHole2d ago

Sure buddy... You're trying to tell me it has a deeper story than goat 🐐 simulator 4000?!?!?. I wanna give bg3 a shot but my brain is burnt out on long games