Looking at Roujin's post from the opposite perspective; online retailers can ONLY get the game to you on launch day, quickly, easily, cheaper, and without selling you tat you don't want.  Game could do a LOT more than that because you have real people there selling to real people, but instead, you use your people as a negative by getting them to sell crap and force bundles and warranties on people.

Also sell more game related stuff, t-shirts etc. I hate buying clothes online so I'd spend a ton if you had some Trial/Borderlands/Far Cry t-shirts or stuff.

Game needs more sex but probably not of the DS kind

Elmlea wrote:

Stop trying to force bundles on me, stop trying to ram second hand games down my throat too.  If I've decided to buy a new one, maybe I just want the new one?  I don't care if a sweaty pre-handled copy is £2 cheaper. 

I can’t speak for other stores, but for us, we’d only push a particular bundle if it’s really a much better offer. Like at the moment you can get a 4Gb 360 with a 320GB hard drive, Forza 4 and Skyrim for a tenner cheaper than a 250GB on its own.

As far as pre-owned goes, I don’t see what’s wrong with an offer. It depends what you mean by ramming it down your throat. I’ve seen people take issue with a simple offer of “Do you want this for £2 less”. That’s bollocks, if you don’t want it, just say no.  Some people haven’t seen it, but would prefer it. To me it’s poor customer service not to offer the choice.

Elmlea wrote:

Pre-release lock-ins or tournaments etc sound like they're going to attract loads of 15 year olds, which means you might be relying on parents to bring them etc.  I think demo access is difficult as so many games nowadays are so big that you're not going to get the immediate feedback from something unless it's a sports game or fighting game, or something of that ilk. 

Possibly, though we’re in a student heavy town, and if it’s an 18, they’d have to be 18. But yeah, otherwise you’re right.

 

Elmlea wrote:

Social media; absolutely.  I was very impressed that one GAME in Edinburgh replied to my tweets about 3DS XL trade-ins, so that's absolutely essential.  If they had a Facebook page where I knew my question would get answered by someone local who knew what they were talking about, then I'd use it. 

Not every store does do this, but there are some. I’ve got lax with Twitter recently, so will make an effort to keep on top of it. Game Newcaslte are someone I think does Twitter really well.

Elmlea wrote:

The staff are the big thing though.  Right now it appears to be "can I help you find something?" followed by "would you like to pre-order/would you like this bundle/we have this pre-owned?" at the till.  No-one likes that sort of thing unless they're in their 70s buying for a young relative or something, so lesson one to your staff is that at 33, I was probably playing Spectrum games before they were born so they need to not bracket people by age!  

Not really sure what you mean by the last line. I think the can I help you thing is a personal thing though. I think it was Google who liked it because it meant he could get what he wanted and get out in the shortest possible time. When I’m shopping I also prefer someone who knows where everything is to get what I need for me.

Elmlea wrote:

Get staff who know what they're talking about and make sensible, serious recommendations.  Sure, hordes of people will just flood in to buy CoD, but when I'm picking up something esoteric that's your opportunity to try and point out to me a few things I might not have considered.  The stores might need redesigned to fit that though, as it's normally an assembly line at the till, so even if the guy notices that I've bought something wacky like Tenchu Z and realises I might like the older Hitman games, he doesn't have the chance to pull me aside, show me, and talk to me about them.  I will react favourably to someone who's smart enough to talk about Alpha Protocol because of what I'm buying, but not to someone going "DO YOU WANT TO PRE-ORDER COD AND FIFA" because they're the next big releases. 

Yeah, I absolutely agree with this. We’re lucky that we have this, though I’ve seen other stores where staff don’t have a clue. Usually management. It doesn’t take much to learn though, but if management don’t care, why is the 4 hours a week lad going to bother to find out more about the products?

Elmlea wrote:

The fact you have the people there in front of you is what makes you different from online.  You can make recommendations and think about what people might like by assessing them there and then, not running an algorithm on a website that says "people who bought X like Y.  BUY Y."  Sure, suggest pre-owned to me, but be open about it; I was impressed once where a guy in Gamestation said "I'd normally not recommend it, but the pre-owned version of this is on offer so you'll actually save £8 rather than £2, and if you're tempted, I'll make sure I find one where the DLC code hasn't been used?"  And off he trotted and came back with one with the code intact and unused, and even offered to fire it up on their test machine to make sure the disc worked. 

Having test machines is an issue there, but if you have it absolutely. Showing the quality is easy enough to do. “Do you want this?” as I show you a pristine disc doesn’t take much effort.

 

Elmlea wrote:

Right now it seems it's mostly full of disillusioned people pushing the shit bundles that management want, and half the employees seem unsure of what they're selling.  If you can't tell the difference between the various models of DS then you shouldn't be working there.

This is a polar opposite to what we have, so yeah, if you’ve been in that store, I wouldn’t want to go back either.

Elmlea seems desperate to have folk sacked.  Maybe better training would help.

I dunno, um.

Knowledge, spend a bit of time edumacating staff on games. If you're gonna upsell pre-orders at least make them relevant, not just reel off a list of stuff out in the next 2 months.

"I see you have Sleeping Dogs in your hand, the Northpoint DLC was amazing, here buy some points so you can get it"
"I see you have Bioshock 2 there. The sequel is out soon, thought about a pre-order?"
"I see you're buying a Vita. You're a fucking idiot. Here let me show you our 3DS range"


Learn to tell the difference between a customer that wants help and one that doesn't.

If it's rammed at the tills people will just turn round and walk out. If you've got games in baggies behind the counter run down the queue and get them ready. Then might be a good time to temporarily kill the upsell debasement and Reward card whoring.

If you haven't got enough room in the stock room for big box items, tough. Stacking them in the window is not an acceptable alternative.

Keep an eye on demo pods. If a reasonably dressed middle aged man with slightly questionable hair is hovering by the WiiU pod there stands a good chance he's more likely to be buying one than the 12 year old scrote in school uniform who's been on it for the last 20 minutes.

Would it kill you to not treat PC games like a second class citizen? Squeezing 10 shelves worth of stock on to one because you've only allocated one section to them does not make for a pleasant browsing experience.

---

There now follows a rant about what GAME plc should do. Any reference to 'you' is GAME plc, not Dante, or anyone else on the shopfloor:

If you're going to ask me to pre-order a game but can't tell me what it costs then you (excuse my French) are a fucking moron.

Pre-ordering helps GAME a lot more than it does me. If you want MY help then tell me how much I'm commiting to pay for a game before taking £5 or whatever it is off me.

Stop charging for 'Reward' cards or whatever they're called this week. Want all my buying habit preferences and marketing opportunities? Sure, make it worth my while don't (excuse my French) fucking charge for it.

Don't upsell me at the till like a two bit market trader. Sell me something politely and efficiently then let me leave. No I don't want a strategy guide any more than I want a massive bar of chocolate with my newspaper.

Let me check online how much you want for a game, then reserve it in my local store, then have it available for me for (excuse my French) the same fucking price. NO, prices MAY NOT vary in store.

Stop selling second hand games dearer than new ones. Have some comprehension of the wider market, If retailer X are doing an offer match it. Or at least try to get close to it.

If you're going to sell non game but game related tat, which I do like the idea of, at least make it semi desirable, not the mankiest low rent licensed stuff imaginable.

Don't take the absolute piss with trade in prices. It's a good service to the gaming community. You treat it like a merciless cash cow and seriously risk killing golden goose. Mixed farmyard metaphor wahey.

And breathe.

I still think targeted, sensible upselling with a decent amount of time to think about it is fine.  It's just the "DO YOU WANT THIS NOW?" at the till when there's a queue that I hate.

FFS I CAN USE STAIRS

Since when were they free? They used to be charged for. Why have I never heard someone say they're free. I read sites and enough posts here.

Nowhere on the GAME site does it say it's free. Not till you actually click the Signup and see £0.00

Mod74 wrote:

Since when were they free? They used to be charged for. Why have I never heard someone say they're free. I read sites and enough posts here. Nowhere on the GAME site does it say it's free. Not till you actually click the Signup and see £0.00

About 18 months? Maybe more. I don't really use our site, but having looked it's shocking that it doesn't mention it's free. At best it's implied. That's an email to fire off I think.

Been a while since ive been to the Brighton Game but it wasnt much fun, actually iirc it was being opened while i lived there and was interesting to see a new branch lack so much character

There's some gold in here Dante.

I think you can split the suggestions into two categories related to competition. Price and differentiation.

In terms of price;
Its going to cost me a couple of quid at least to drive or get into town, and then I've got to park. To then find you're selling the newest release for £43.99 or £39.99 as opposed to £32.99 to £36 means that to be honest, eventually I'm never even going to make the journey. I realise you're hamstrung here slightly by head office, their pricing and returns strategy, but they have to be realistic in the end £5 more expensive is not getting my money (and eventually as I say I'll stop even coming in the shop...as why bother) £1 or £2, and brand loyalty will kick in.
Pre owned? Lots of profit in these (and the risk of upsetting publishers, and cutting off future supplies), but £1 or £2 cheaper is a joke, especially when people know that you are paying significantly less for them at trade in. Make less sell more. (and gain shop footfall)

How can you differentiate yourself from competitors.
Already said, but I'd like friendly, non laddish, knowledgable staff. I realise the pay isn't awesome, but I do believe the more you try and put into your job, the more you get out. You guys should know more about games and tech than I. Talk to me about it tell me about that 2nd hand cheap copy of a game thats similar to my purchase (i.e. bayonetta if I've got anarchy reigns) you got in the other day in trade that I might want as well. Thats the kind of upselling I like.
I really don't mind being asked about a loyalty card, I find it easy to say yes or no without having a stroke (no dig DS!). Don't charge me to take one out though.
Personally I don't mind more explicit upselling of the next big thing or strategy guides, but maybe preface the sell with 'so do you use strategy guides at all?' or 'Do you play CoD?', then know about the product (for example the Dark Souls guide was a beauty) don't just push it like a robot. It's a little better and less embarrassing for you this way too.
more rewards for Pre-orders
Bundles and 3 for 2s to clear old stock. Look how much stuff Game shifted in the liquidation sale last year.
If anyone ever sneers at one of my purchases. I'm never coming back!
Personally I'd like the shop to be clean and smell nice. And this goes for the Pre owned stuff too. Clean the boxes and the contents. I'm not buying something with unidentified stuff on the box cover. No pubes please.
Clean the demo pod controller after each person has used it. With wet wipes.
Parent nights for them to take the kids along to play together and to educate them about games in general sounds good to me.
A twitter account for each store that actually talks about games like it loves them, interacts and is funny would be good (Oxford st Waterstones used to be a good one).
I'm sure there's more, but that's off the top of my head.

Diluted Dante wrote:

I can’t speak for other stores, but for us, we’d only push a particular bundle if it’s really a much better offer. Like at the moment you can get a 4Gb 360 with a 320GB hard drive, Forza 4 and Skyrim for a tenner cheaper than a 250GB on its own. As far as pre-owned goes, I don’t see what’s wrong with an offer. It depends what you mean by ramming it down your throat. I’ve seen people take issue with a simple offer of “Do you want this for £2 less”. That’s bollocks, if you don’t want it, just say no.  Some people haven’t seen it, but would prefer it. To me it’s poor customer service not to offer the choice.

What I didn't like was ages ago, when trying to just buy a 360, and being told I couldn't unless I bought it as part of a bundle with a pile of stuff I didn't want.  Likewise the games in bundles being fixed.  A 360 with HD, extra controller, and "any 2 games" sounds MUCH better than the wall full of random deals where it's £x for one with FIFA and Halo and then a slightly different price with Forza and Skyrim but the one with CoD and Halo is a different SKU etc etc...

Diluted Dante wrote:

 
 Not every store does do this, but there are some. I’ve got lax with Twitter recently, so will make an effort to keep on top of it. Game Newcaslte are someone I think does Twitter really well. 

It's all about engendering that sort of community feeling.

Diluted Dante wrote:

Not really sure what you mean by the last line. I think the can I help you thing is a personal thing though. I think it was Google who liked it because it meant he could get what he wanted and get out in the shortest possible time. When I’m shopping I also prefer someone who knows where everything is to get what I need for me.

Don't pigeon-hole your customers, is what I mean.  Not every 17 year old just wants FIFA and CoD and not every single mid-30s guy there is buying for a kid.  What I mean is that virtually every sub-25 member of staff at GAME I've dealt with seems a bit surprised that anyone older than them might be a big gamer.  Know your market, we're the ones with huge disposable incomes!

Diluted Dante wrote:

Yeah, I absolutely agree with this. We’re lucky that we have this, though I’ve seen other stores where staff don’t have a clue. Usually management. It doesn’t take much to learn though, but if management don’t care, why is the 4 hours a week lad going to bother to find out more about the products?

And therein lies the rot that means the whole chain is probably double fucked again in the future.  How can you have a company selling videogames with a bunch of people in management who don't know what videogames are?

I mean, I have enough relevant experience to apply for executive level jobs.  Maybe I should apply to run the chain.  There must be plenty out there!

Diluted Dante wrote:

Having test machines is an issue there, but if you have it absolutely. Showing the quality is easy enough to do. “Do you want this?” as I show you a pristine disc doesn’t take much effort.  

Forget the test issue, it was more the fact that the generic "do you want this pre-owned for £2 less" was replaced by someone who appreciated that maybe £2 was worth it for a new copy, and who also understood that the presence or otherwise of the DLC code would make more of a difference than a tiny discount.

Dark Soldier wrote:

FFS I CAN USE STAIRS

OK some sort of DS emancipation grid then

Every store should have DS fapping away in the corner and never be acknowledged.