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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dire Bare" data-source="post: 6167771" data-attributes="member: 18182">It is of course true that other types of retail stores can suffer from the same problems mentioned in the linked article and in this thread, sucky stores are run by folks with little to no business sense.  However, we are hobbyists that shop at hobby stores and are particular concerned with having well-run hobby stores to shop at! So, this perennial conversation makes  perfect sense in context.I have four local gaming stores in my area, two are HobbyTown USA locations that are a locally-owned franchise.  All have their strengths and weaknesses in how they run their businesses, all do some things well and somethings poorly . . . . but I find myself increasingly purchasing my gaming materials online, not to save money (although that's nice), but I keep getting irritated by the way these local stores are run.Too many times I'm left whistling at the counter while an oblivious employee plays a game with a pal, or has a non-work conversation with a pal.  Too many times I order something, only to have it never show up, or sold to someone else when it does, or to have my order lost.  Too many times do I go looking for a new release only to find bare (or nearly so) shelves.  Too many times do I have questions about a product, and the employee knows nothing, refuses to try and find out for me, or worse, trys to sell me on his favorite game rather than what I am asking about.Online shopping and information retrieval is soooo less stressful.  The only reason I still sometimes shop at my local gaming stores is impulse buys and guilt-induced purchases for the one store with a decent play area.On a lighter note, one of the local stores recently hired a handful of women to run the store/counter.  These women are certainly attractive (although I don't think that is why they were hired), but more importantly they seem geeky, knowledgeable, and they offer EXCELLENT customer service.  The complete opposite of most of the guys that work at this store.  None of these women have left me standing at the counter while they chat or play a game, they are helpful, courteous, and have yet to answer any of my questions with a non-committal grunt of "dunno".  Good move on the store owner's part!  Spent some money in the store for the first time in a long time.</blockquote>

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