So, I start at Gamestop today...

[apsham]

And I was just wondering if anyone who works for a Gamestop or in a store similar to such, has any advice for me. I'm going to school at the same time so I'm probably only going to be having a couple of shifts a week. The only thing that I'm really anxious about is having to do the whole "Do you have anything that you want to preorder, would you like the scratch guarantee" since I'm not all that pushy of a person, but I'm sure it'll get easier.

Honestly, I must've been wanting a job there for ages but now I'm kind of intimidated of the whole experience, and I'm only really asking because I know we have at LEAST three people who work at game stores and there must be more that have in the past. Proceed to fill the rest of this thread up with whatever you choose whether it be sarcasm, an off topic argument or the hazing of someone new to the forums.

[ThrillhouseMAX]

I used to work at GameStop, and it sucked. But I wish you luck. Expect to be bored out of your mind if you working early on during weekdays. Its not really a hard job, just act like you know what you're doing and the customers will eat out of your hand.

[Cactus Drags]

I work at Gamestation, so I guess it's a pretty similar spiel. First thing is to remember that you are an avid gamer, or at least you are compared to the average person coming into the store. They probably don't follow blogs or producer's twitters and the like, so although they might seem to ask stupid questions, you have to take it on the chin. Otherwise you can get pretty frustrated. Second, generally, the stuff they want you to push is beneficial to them, whether it's pre-order bonus, extra stuff they want you to sell (our upper level managers get proper hard-ons over attaching stuff like play and charge kits to sales). So rather than think of it as a chore to be pushing stuff on people, think of it as you helping them out with stuff that could be useful (again, not everyone knows what accessories are available and what they'd be likely to use). Also, a few of our guys get frustrated when they spend time with a customer and don't get anything to show for it. Instead of getting frustrated, think that they're more likely to come back in and get something another time than if you just shrug them off because they're not willing to spend x amount of money. At the end of the day you can't force someone to buy something they don't want, and you're not going to get in trouble for not getting a sale. As long as you're offering stuff and mentioning what your bosses want you to, you can't go far wrong. Like, we have a system called "6 killer questions" where you basically have to mention pre-orders, offer preowned alternatives, talk about trade, the store card and try and expand the sale, and as long as we're ticking those boxes, you're fine.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

6 Killer Questions. Wow sounds like they're getting even more big on add-ons etc since I left.

[Summers]

Even more so, Gamestation and Game are now more 'officially' ran together. So there's more integration. Game was always heavier on that side of things, so now it's creeping over a bit more.

[apsham]

From what I can figure out; they always seem to ask if there's anything that I want to pre-order and they always push the 3 dollar scratch guarantee. Nothing all that bad, but then again they are very used to me coming in so I suppose I will have to get used to some of the questions that the non-gamer asks and what is best to recommend, etc.

I have worked in electronics before, but it was at Walmart so it wasn't as focused as Gamestop.

What I am mostly wondering about is totals - I have heard them discussing certain amounts of sales, etc. I am just trying to figure out what the expectations would be on an individuals sales etc.

Rather confident of my ability to talk to people, in fact I've been describing games to employees that I have known and been told by them that I would make a great employee at the store due to my enthusiasm and the way that I simplify things.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

Even more so, Gamestation and Game are now more 'officially' ran together. So there's more integration. Game was always heavier on that side of things, so now it's creeping over a bit more.

Ahh. Game took over while I was working there. Trade rates got worse and various changes were made. We were also pushed to sell console insurance and loads of add-ons. Also console bundles got more convoluted and it got harder to just buy a console on its' own. They also got stricter on wearing the polo shirt or t-shirts for special offers. Before then we used to wear any kind of geek t-shirt.

When I went back a year after I left, they now couldn't wear shorts any more and had to wear smart shoes. It really seems to becoming closer which is a shame as I felt that the Gamestation way of doing things originally WAS always better for the "true gamers" as they sold themselves while Game was better for gifting parents. Shops really should specialise. Now they're both kinda centralising and will lose loyal custom.

[NobBe Nobbs]

I am just trying to figure out what the expectations would be on an individuals sales etc.

My guess is that sales would either be tied to locations or tied to the amount of hours you're working. I'm not quite in that situation, but I do work retail (Rosetta Stone) and because of the nature of the product - language-learning software - it's something I often have to go quite in-depth with. I get that you're weird about having to push things like pre-orders on people, but I was like that when I started here: it does get easier and it helps if you remember a lot of people buying from you will be or have worked retail themselves and will probably have been in your position before.

Good luck with it nonetheless.

[Cactus Drags]

6 Killer Questions. Wow sounds like they're getting even more big on add-ons etc since I left.

Aye, they've back right off the warranties now though, which helps. It's all about getting deposits these days.

Even more so, Gamestation and Game are now more 'officially' ran together. So there's more integration. Game was always heavier on that side of things, so now it's creeping over a bit more.

So much so that I question whether it's actually legal. I could have sworn that the only reason GAME didn't fall afoul of the monopoly folk was that they were to run the two companies as separate. Yet we often swap stock with the GAME around the corner, and have even had staff cover their shifts and stuff.

The smart clothing thing hasn't hit us. Always worn trainers. We were never allowed to wear shorts in the summer but we fought it because our store is so bastard hot, and there's no aircon. I'm sure there's supposed to be rules about comfortable work environments and temperature, and I'm equally sure that we're breaking them. Customers complain regularly, and I've had several faint in-store. Setting aside the health concern, it makes it harder for us to do our jobs and talk to people about all these extras and add-ons when they're too uncomfortable to stay in the store for more than a minute or two.

I digress >_>

Sales-wise, we do have a weekly store target, which is based on a combination of noting what new releases are out that week, building on figures from last year and sheer pulling the numbers right the fuck out from thin air. A while ago, we started filtering this down to individual employee targets (tied to how many hours they worked), but it isn't really enforced or checked up on at all. That kind of thing tends to vary by region or even individual stores (e.g. if your store is doing alright, there's far less chance they're going to waste time tracking an individual sales assistant's performance).

[apsham]

it all went swimmingly actually... and luckily I showed up right at the perfect time to get me some Gears of War 3 swag as well, huzzah.

[KevinStorm]

I used to work in electronics at Walmart. The video game stuff was mostly A) understand that not everyone knows much about games/systems, especially when you get parents/grandparents coming in for holiday shopping and stuff like that, and most of them will appreciate you taking time to explain things, and B) even if you have to push stuff, chances are most of it is beneficial. If you can explain to people how it benefits them, they're more likely to get it. It also helps to only push things that will actually help them instead of just trying to make more money. As an example, whenever I sold an XBox 360, I'd almost always get people to get the charge station with the 2 rechargeable battery packs, but I would actually talk people out of buying the Intercoolers. People remember that stuff and will come back specifically to you because they'll trust you.