I could make an entire thread out of some of the

[Art Sandusky 0]

Teenagers/college kids who act like they know everything I can understand, but parents who are looking for crap for their kids? Come on, their sugared-up rugrats tell 'em what they want and that's that. The parents have more important things to worry about.

[AndrewTS 0]

How? It's assumed as long as the customer is paying the rental fee on the system, he should be able to have one game out at a time with no extra charge.

 

Maybe if the system was returned early I could see--but even so, I'd have asked about that before keeping the game and taking it for granted. However, if the customer was keeping the game *only* for the duration of the rental period...what was he going to do with it? Since he wouldn't have had a system, I would think. Only an idiot makes assumptions about a store's policy, then acts indignant when he/she finds out it isn't the case.

 

It's no wonder Blockbuster started instituting that "no late fee!" policy, where they just charge your credit card for the full retail price after a while (at least I think that's how it works, I don't have one near me so I never actually rented from there).

 

Teenagers/college kids who act like they know everything I can understand, but parents who are looking for crap for their kids? Come on, their sugared-up rugrats tell 'em what they want and that's that. The parents have more important things to worry about.

 

Well, I've seen instances of that happen (asking for games that don't exist), and there's two situations that happen. One: the clerk calmly explains there is no such game, i.e. "Mario Kart Double Dash isn't on Playstation 2. It's made by Nintendo, and since it's their game it's only on the Nintendo Gamecube. They chose not to develop a version of the game for their competitors' systems, so you have to buy their system to play it." The parent understood this, and said that they'd call home and check if the kid had that system. Two: they don't believe the clerk and freak out, like some of the folks on that site. The former is okay, the latter isn't.

 

Many time when clerks were tied up with a line and I was checking out the games anyway, I've offered advice to parents on games (appropriateness for age groups, the game content, the difference between the systems). Most of them are courteous and appreciate it--especially since the differences between what games run on a Playstation 1 and 2 (especially with memory cards) and the various Game Boys aren't common knowledge among non-gamers.

 

Parents that freak out and insist another store has the game, or that the store is refusing to sell the game for some stupid reason are just idiots.

[Craig Th 0]

By the way, I am loving this site.

 

Where is the store located? Because I'd love to meet Gord.

[AndrewTS 0]

By the way, I am loving this site.

 

Where is the store located? Because I'd love to meet Gord.

 

It was in British Columbia.

 

http://www.answers.com/topic/acts-of-gord

 

"Post-Gamer's Edge

After Gamer's Edge closed, Gord moved to Korea for approximately 3 years to teach English to Korean students. During this period, he kept a semi-blog on his forum so friends and family members could keep in contact.

 

Recently, Gord has moved back to Canada, and opened a LAN centre in Kelowna called PC Bang. Unfortunately, there will be no "Acts of Gord II" appearing, to prevent people coming in purely to cause trouble."

[Craig Th 0]

Ahh, oh well. Still nice to read this though.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

Well, at least now I can click on the last post link without being denied, but I still don't know why I have this stupid thread format that causes anyone I ask about it to think I'm crazy (edit: which is now fixed).

 

I don't feel like clicking on the individual links to see what people have said (although I read most of this thread fine at work, since I wasn't logged in) but I read a good article - either in EGM or on 1up.com - about the problems with places that bug you about offers. I can also relate with the person that mentioned not having near the problems people in the states complain about in Canada; the EB Games here does ask you about their game insurance policy and remind you to give them used games, but often while going through the process of ringing up your order and not disrupting your consumerage in any way. In contrast, when I was in Dearborn, MI, just stepping foot into an EB Games that was already full of people resulted in the clerks talking to me - from the register, while I was at the entrance - about pre-ordering and trading in.

 

That Gord site is awesome but has one of those unhappy endings where I see the man has a store, see him talking about GST and PST and realize this is a Canadian store I might possibly be able to visit someday... then realize these are tales of a store not in business. Also, he hates Nintendo (boy would Anya have loved this store).

 

An interesting (sort of) point is I am picturing this store to look very similar to a local store here (Game City) although it sounds a bit bigger. Anyway, at least in the 90s, Game City did mod PS1s, persumably because they felt it would help the rental aspect of their business. I see Gord's point, but it's not out of the question that rental business can pick up to the point of off setting the decline of game buyers due to people being able to 'own' every game they rent, but I guess his policy of $1 per day rentals (as opposed to a mandatory $5 flat rate) would work against him there.

[KingPK 0]

Customer walks into the store to speak to the Gord.

 

"I have been looking for Megaman X4 forever! I've looked everywhere! I really, really want it. Do you have it?"

 

"Yes."

 

"New, used, or rental?"

 

"Yes. All of the above."

 

"Ah good." And then he leaves.

 

"Err… Ok…."

 

Some people when faced with the end of a journey simply decide to begin anew I guess.

[Sideburnious 0]

This thread allows me to happily direct you over to http://www.actsofgord.com/ which contains tons of similar tales. For anyone who works in a video game store (or generally have to deal with stupid people to make a living), this should probably make for some good reading material.

 

Wow, it's like a real life comic book guy. You know he's dying alone.

[In Credible 0]

"Do you sell mod chips?"

 

"Go ahead, ask me what I sell."

 

"What do you sell?"

 

"I sell video games. What a stupid question."

 

"What does a mod chip cost?"

 

"Apparently one of us isn't keeping up."

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"If I sold you a mod chip, then you would never buy a game from me ever again. And that would be very much in opposition to my being able to run a profitable business."

 

"I just want one to play copied games."

 

"What? Do I look like an idiot? What the hell did you think I thought you wanted it for?"

 

"err…"

 

"Exactly. Now look, if I were to sell you a mod chip I would lose you as a customer. Now, if I were going to lose you as a customer I'd rather do it on a high note like setting you on fire. At least then I would have some satisfaction of a job well done."

 

"I'm leaving!"

 

"But I haven't set you on fire yet!"

[Craig Th 0]

Now sometimes Gord is wrong and I can see why he went out of business. He a tad bit rude to customers sometimes.

 

A few days before Christmas. Customer asks Gord to hold a used copy of Perfect Dark. The claim is that he'll be back in before Christmas to pick it up.

 

Christmas comes and goes. Our story continues on Boxing Day.

 

"Yes, I was in a few days ago. You're holding a copy of Perfect Dark for me."

 

"Very well then, here it is. $49 plus tax comes to $55.86."

 

"What about the Boxing day sale?"

 

"What about it?"

 

"It should be on sale."

 

"That applies to merchandise on the floor, not titles being held."

 

"That's false advertising."

 

"Just because you say it is doesn't make it so."

 

"Very well. I just won't buy it then. I'll just wait till you put it out, then I'll buy it."

 

"No, that's quite alright. I've got a waiting list for it now."

 

"Fine. I'll buy it."

 

"Buy what?"

 

"Perfect Dark."

 

"I'm sold out."

 

"You have one right there!"

 

"Yes, but you said you didn't want it. It's now on hold for someone else. See the post-it note with the name 'Dave' on it? You're not Dave."

 

"I'm leaving!"

 

"That would be the end goal of my actions. Door is to your left."

Now I can see not giving him the sale, but not selling it to him after he says he won't take it hoping he would get a sale by putting it back on the floor? Come on, it was worth a try.

 

And then this one.

 

"Do you rent VCR's?"

 

"Nope. We're a video game store. We strictly do video game related products."

 

"Then why don't you rent VCR's?"

 

"Well, VCR's aren't really a game machine. They are used to watch movies."

 

"Well, how do you hook up a PlayStation to an older TV then when the TV doesn't have A/V jacks?"

 

"I sell little devices which are called RF adaptors that hook up a PlayStation through the cable adaptor. They sell for $12. Or rent for $1 a day."

 

"Oh."

Not everyone knows those sort of things.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

VCR is a tad harsh (why they would think his store with no VCRs has one is another story), the Perfect Dark story is warranted. It sounds like he ran the type of business where he orders a small amount of games to sell and rent plus extra for customers who pre-order, so it's not like he had extra copies for this cheap bastard.

[Guest Princess Leena]

That Gord site is funny...

 

Although, he is overly rude at times. Educating people about games is part of your job, not something you insult people for.

 

Also, he doesn't seem to grasp that people sometimes just want to browse, or don't have the money on them to buy games immediately.

[Guest Smues]

"What's this about your collection company saying I never returned Resident Evil 2!"

 

Well, you didn't return Resident Evil 2. Too complicated a concept?

 

"We returned it the day after we got it right though the return slot on the door!"

 

Really?

 

"Yes!"

 

Who did exactly?

 

"He did!" (point to friend).

 

You did?

 

"Yes."

 

Care to explain how you did that 2 months ago when that drop slot was only put in on Thursday? Here's the invoice I got a few minutes ago for it. See the date?

 

<dramatic pause>

 

"FUCK YOU!" and they storm out.

 

Note: The reason why they were in was because buddy wasn't able to get a car loan because this appeared on his credit file… And the Gord was satisfied.

[Aero 0]

"What does it take to sign up an account?"

 

"ID and credit card."

 

"What if I have no credit card?"

 

"Drivers licence and a social insurance number."

 

"Well, I brought my phone bill to show where I live and my name."

 

"... Sir, this is a disconnection notice for your phone."

[Craig Th 0]

I just read the whole site, except for the ones where he predicts what will happen with games, and it was a great read. One of the best I've read online. Actually, I don't think I've ever read a whole website before.

[CanadianGuitarist 0]

That Gord site is funny...

 

Although, he is overly rude at times. Educating people about games is part of your job, not something you insult people for.

 

Also, he doesn't seem to grasp that people sometimes just want to browse, or don't have the money on them to buy games immediately.

 

I agree. Some of it was funny, and often the general public are indeed drooling retards when it comes to video games.....But Gord struck me as being more of a prick than being a 'don't fuck with me' type.

 

On topic, I work with a guy who would defend Playstation up and down over anything else. My claim in July 2005 of "Dan, I've owned both systems(XBox and PS2), and I simply prefer Xbox" led to his calling my mother a bitch and his promising me that (and this is an exact quote I remember very vividly) "XBox sucks, man! It fucking sucks! Microsoft is going to go under because PS2 is so much better".

 

Oh, by the way. He bought a 360 this past October, after telling me "Yeah, I'm gonna trade in my PS2. It's junk, and all my games for it are cruddy". Anyone ever see the Spongebob where Squidward pretends not to like Krabby Patties, and is caught eating hundreds of them at the end of the episode? If you have, you surely remember the look on Spongebob's face at the end of it. I had that same look on my face for at least a month when I saw him.

[razazteca 0]

I overheard a parent asking if there was a RF converter for the Xbox 360.

[Scroby 0]

I overheard a parent asking if there was a RF converter for the Xbox 360.

Well there is.

[AndrewTS 0]

I overheard a parent asking if there was a RF converter for the Xbox 360.

 

That's all some people have.

 

I'm pretty sure there is, too.

[Jericholic82 0]

At Best Buy I've had to explain multiple times that there will never ever be Mario games on the Playstation or XBox because Nintendo created Mario and they have their own console. Of course....I also had a woman ask me if CNN was a broadcast channel in there once.

I feel your pain, last week some guy almost rioted at we told him there was no Mario on PSP and how Nintendo is a diferent company then Sony. He was screaming at my coworker for awhile. this has happened multiple stimes. just like this past weekend (I had to work xmas eve weekend and then all day on the eve) parents looking for a "Nintendo DX" Or "Nintendo PSP" or "DSP" it was pretty funny. I epseically love that they thought we may have wis aor ps3s lying around and that they were surprised that all the ds's and psps and ps2s were gone by sunday

 

sure I know parents have better things to worry about, but it still waists time and then you deal with angry parents when we try to tell them stuff. Just like some guy who came in sat night and wanted a free controller with purchase of the xbox 360 he showed me an ad, but it wa sthe ad for this coming week and the free controller was for the one day only sale on sunday, and it clearly said so at the top, so he got mad at me when I told him that sale is tommorrow (you mean I have to com eback) as if I was making the rules on the spot and trying to screw him. I really wish people didnt think I was the ceo of Circuit City.

[Guest Princess Leena]

I overheard a parent asking if there was a RF converter for the Xbox 360.

There is.

 

There's many people who don't have the slightest clue about the many ways you can connect consoles to your TV. Or, they don't know about switches.

[MillenniumMan831 0]

I was visiting a friend who works at a Gamestop. This was about a month or two after the 1st Halo came out so naturally people are in there buzzing about how great it is (I've never played it, not really into video games as a whole). Just to make time stand still, I wait for someone to clearly belt out the word "Halo" just so I can retort "Halo SUCKS!" I may as well have said the n-word for the reaction I got. Highly recommended people go to their nearest Gamestop and bitch about Gears of War.

[converge241 0]

the Madden 05 story

 

*mike pre-orders madden 05 CE as soon as it's available*

 

*gets call the day before the release*

 

"mike this is so and so at Gamestop..your Madden 05 CE will be in the stores at 5pm sharp tomorrow"

 

*mike shows up at 4:45, leaving a tad early from work*

 

5pm: "the maddens arent here yet but will be here shortly"

6pm: "anytime now"

7pm: "by 730 at the latest"

8pm: "they just called on route"

830pm "the maddens are here but no Collector's Edition"

 

when asked why the calls and promises and shortages etc some people were actually told "hey preorder it next time"

 

of course 98% of the people in the store pre-ordered it!!

 

 

when MVP 05 came out there was no big buzz like there is for maddens every year so i just showed up expecting to grab one at another store

 

"sorry you had to have pre-ordered it"

 

okay no big deal was a little miffed but my own fault I assumed wrong

 

BUT a young kid (im 30) was looking for it and they just went off on him just making fun of him to his face..kid was in tears when he left the store..and whats worse is he said to me he had to wait around for his mom..i let into them telling them not only was that deplorable in itself but that they were perpetuating the stereotype of clerks in stores like that being so holier than though and said they could expect no more business from me or from that kid so on top of everythign else was bad business told them ill just go to the nearby Wal-Mart

 

"you wont find an MVP at Wal-Mart"

 

after the quick drive to wal-mart..they had piles of them i bought two and went back to the store the kid's mom paid me back for the second copy and I made sure to show it all to the staff

[Jericholic82 0]

the Madden 05 story

 

*mike pre-orders madden 05 CE as soon as it's available*

 

*gets call the day before the release*

 

"mike this is so and so at Gamestop..your Madden 05 CE will be in the stores at 5pm sharp tomorrow"

 

*mike shows up at 4:45, leaving a tad early from work*

 

5pm: "the maddens arent here yet but will be here shortly"

6pm: "anytime now"

7pm: "by 730 at the latest"

8pm: "they just called on route"

830pm "the maddens are here but no Collector's Edition"

 

when asked why the calls and promises and shortages etc some people were actually told "hey preorder it next time"

 

of course 98% of the people in the store pre-ordered it!!

 

 

when MVP 05 came out there was no big buzz like there is for maddens every year so i just showed up expecting to grab one at another store

 

"sorry you had to have pre-ordered it"

 

okay no big deal was a little miffed but my own fault I assumed wrong

 

BUT a young kid (im 30) was looking for it and they just went off on him just making fun of him to his face..kid was in tears when he left the store..and whats worse is he said to me he had to wait around for his mom..i let into them telling them not only was that deplorable in itself but that they were perpetuating the stereotype of clerks in stores like that being so holier than though and said they could expect no more business from me or from that kid so on top of everythign else was bad business told them ill just go to the nearby Wal-Mart

 

"you wont find an MVP at Wal-Mart"

 

after the quick drive to wal-mart..they had piles of them i bought two and went back to the store the kid's mom paid me back for the second copy and I made sure to show it all to the staff

YEAAAA BURNNNNNN

 

of course I stiil got people looking for ds and psps and gameboys even though we have been sold out since this weekend.

 

 

"you have gameboy ds?"

"you have any p2s, or p3's"

"you have halo 3?"

[Star Ocean 3 0]

I overheard a parent asking if there was a RF converter for the Xbox 360.

 

THERE IS.

 

WHY DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT

[Guest NYankees]

Jericho, I understand that people are going to ask stupid questions but I guess some people figured that since it has been a couple of days that there might have been a new shipment since the holiday weekend. I went to Software Etc last week and I saw Wii boxes behind the counter and I thought they had a new shipment and I asked and I was told they were sold out.

[razazteca 0]

I overheard a parent asking if there was a RF converter for the Xbox 360.

 

THERE IS.

 

WHY DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT

3 people already beat you to the punch and it amuses me that someone would try to hook up an expensive console to a cheap tv.

[World's Worst Man 0]

It is kind of funny and perplexing. They can shell out $500 for a console, but not $200 for a cheap CRT that supports composite and possibly component?

[Dobbs 3K 0]

Gord's site is great. I've probably read through the whole thing a couple times over the past year or so. I didn't realize he had moved back to Canada...that's nice to hear, I suppose.

 

It seems like Gord's whole thing was about protecting himself financially...sounds like his store was in a kind of dead end, low income town. Lots of deadbeats trying to rip him off, it sounded like.

[SamoaRowe 0]

This Christmas season, I had to tell multiple people that Gamecube games do not work on the Xbox 360. Can anyone think of a reason why so many people would think they would?

 

Other customers thought that there were Mario and Kirby games on Xbox too. This is a bit more understandable, as they were mostly parents confused over their kid's Xmas lists.

 

A few days before Christmas a guy came in looking for a DS Lite. I told him we didn't have any. He angrily replies with "The guys at EB said you got a shipment today." I actually had to debate with him to not trust what an EB employee says about Best Buy, they don't know what they're talking about.