Tried and True Practices of Successful Shops

[darjr]

The other way I've seen how a night of drinks and snacks were handled is via gift cards. Patrons would buy a gift card and use that for snacks and drinks through the day.

 

[Umbran]

hot geek girls are always a winner

Toxic masculinity, however, isn't.

I know he meant this tonguez-in-cheek P), but it *is* exactly the kind of comment that will have the ladies leaving your establishment behind. In the modern age, the ladies know more and more that they don't have to put up with such, and will take their custom elsewhere if you don't provide a safe environment for them. If you have events... consider having a harassment policy, and actually enforcing it.

 

[ccs]

Don't screw around playing games when it comes to the business end of your business.
Pay your bills.
Pay your taxes.
Don't hire anyone under the age of 18, or still in High School. Labor Laws concerning minors are a Pain in the ***
Hire a damned good accountant & have access to a lawyer.

 

[SunGold]

I know it's been mentioned, but I'm going to say it again because it's so incredibly important: customer service needs to be top notch. At least where I live, having Amazon Prime means they'll throw things at my door within hours of my ordering them. If I'm laying around on a Saturday morning and decide I want a game/sourcebook/whatever, I need a damn good reason why I should get presentable, drive to a shop, and donate an extra 30% of the price to the store. Dealing with Comic Book Guy (or his brother, Barely Acknowledges You With a Sulk Guy) is not that reason.

 

[McNabb Games]

here's a good idea a friend of mine liked at a shop, that we hadn't seen done before.

If your shop has snacks/drinks, setup a bar tab process, so that while I am playing, I can grab a twinkie and box of dice and put it on my tab. Before I leave, I close out my tab.

This makes it easier for racking up some sales while being convenient for the customer that they don't have to make 3 credit card transactions for a 3 hour stay to play D&D.

That does sound like a good idea. As a customer it'd be more convenient to deal with one transaction vs multiple during a game. As a business owner I think this has a potential to encourage impulse purchasing. Thanks, this hadn't even crossed my mind.

 

[McNabb Games]

Toxic masculinity, however, isn't.

I know he meant this tonguez-in-cheek P), but it *is* exactly the kind of comment that will have the ladies leaving your establishment behind. In the modern age, the ladies know more and more that they don't have to put up with such, and will take their custom elsewhere if you don't provide a safe environment for them. If you have events... consider having a harassment policy, and actually enforcing it.

We actually have a poster of game room etiquette that we created a few years ago and one of the main rules is that "unwanted advances and discrimination will not be tolerated." It was meant to be a tongue and cheek set of references but had a huge impact on the quality of our games, as well as business meetings.

 

[Gilladian]

An unpleasant environment for female customers can be even more subtle than that. I don't go to my local comic shop much, because when I walk in, two or three guy employees close in on me to chat, hang around the whole time I'm in the store, and don't let me browse. I'm apparently such a unique animal - a woman comic reader, albeit in my 50's, that they can't get over it. It gets old, fast.

 

[megamania]

Not a store owner but I can comment on stores I like and dislike.

Clean is important.

Organized is important.

FRIENDLY is important.

KNOWLEDGABLE is important.

From there..... listen to your costumers. Balance what they want with what is affordable. Roleplaying? Boardgames? Card games? Comics? TPBs? etc.....

and from there on the negative side..... be prepared for the theft. Several shops have come and gone in my area due to theft alone.