Why are my FLGS completely ignorant?

[DonTadow]

That's basically the reason I don't shop at any local gamestores anymore. I got sick of it after moving to michigan, and I'll be damned before I ever shop at a local store again.

Where do you live at in Michigan?

I've had nothing but the best experiences with my stores in michigan. Pandominum, RIW and the Fotress in Lansing. I don't think its the FLGS that is your problem, its the people running them. I don't see how you think you'll get great gaming customer service at a borders or toys r us.

I'd give the guy the benefit of the doubt, heck stormwrack is not the best thing coming out by wotc this year and with so many other titles its hard to keep track of one book that may not be a good seller. I realize this may be a troll (and i'm feeding it) but I always hate to hear bad comments about FLGS's and its never good reasoning.

 

[Dagger75]

Same here, the game store owner is a moron. I asked about stuff and he said whats that and who publishes it, next words out his mouth "It is coming on the next delivery."

He didn't even know what game system it was for, what it was and who published it, yet he knew it was coming with his next delivery. And for the record, its not there yet. Loser.


And yes working retail for many, many years people do expect you to know when a certain brand is coming out with what and when. Game stores are niche market, you have to be well informed if want to suceed at it.

 

[Pebele]

Where do you live at in Michigan?

I've had nothing but the best experiences with my stores in michigan. Pandominum, RIW and the Fotress in Lansing. I don't think its the FLGS that is your problem, its the people running them. I don't see how you think you'll get great gaming customer service at a borders or toys r us.

My husband and I live in Ypsilanti (closer to Milan really), and the nearest stores are Rider's, Underworld (which has since closed), and some not so great store in downtown Ann Arbor. Livonia, and Lansing are a might far to go for a book or two. So until we return to Denver, we are doing all our shopping online.

 

[Mystery Man]

Did you call Dragon's Lair or Ground Zero? DL hires morons and I will never go there again and I will never call them again as I've had the same experiences you have.

I've been going to the new Ground Zero at the corner of 50th and L since it opened and it's great. It has a large inventory and the staff is always helpful and friendly. When Races of Eberron came out, I called them the day before it was on the shelves and they held a copy for me for a couple of days until I could pick it up.

I just called them (402-733-7212) and they told me they have Stormwrack in stock.

You guessed it right. DL and I should have known better.

I love Ground Zero but since I moved all the way across town (I used to live just a few minutes away) it's been sort of a hassle to get to them. I'll remedy that though.

 

[ForceUser]

The folks at my FLGS (shout-out to Game Towne, San Diego!) are friendly, knowledgeable about all games they sell and many they don't, and are passionate about the hobby. If they don't have it, they can get it for you within a week. I have no complaints.

 

[Ry]

I've had basically the same experience; if my Shackled City doesn't come out on Friday as promised, I will kill again. I mean boycott FLGSes forever.

I went into another FLGS in my town (London, Ontario) and said "I'm looking for any old or used 3.0 D&D material."

I mean, I said OLD or USED.

I got a :

"3.0?!!? 3.0 isn't out anymore. Never again. No more 3.0."

Apparently there's been a crusade to burn everyone's D&D 3.0 books...

 

[Rykion]

Even good stores have to hire new people on occasion. There is also the fact that a ton of D20 material is released every month. Then you must consider that many game stores carry CCGs, boardgames, minis, comics, collectables etc. Even a well trained employee who is a gamer is unlikely to be aware of all new releases that their store might be able to stock. They should try to find out for you though.

I've never had a good experience trying to find info on the release of a product that isn't in stock at a big box store unless it is a major video or videogame release.

A big online retailer once told me that a book I had preordered had not been printed yet. This was more than a week after I had seen the book in a store, and 3 or 4 days after their site had listed it as shipping within 24 hours. Even better they told me it would probably be weeks after they got it before they would ship it to me because of the number of orders. I guess they didn't mind accepting more preorders then they could fill.

No store is perfect, but I've found my FLGS much more responsive than major retailers.

 

[reveal]

No store is perfect, but I've found my FLGS much more responsive than major retailers.

This is true. But the every person I have talked to about the particular FLGS Mystery Man is referring to (we live in the same area) has had nothing but disdain for the lack of knowledge possessed by the staff.

 

[the Jester]

Service and knowing what the hell I'm talking about are the only ways my FLGS can compete with big chains. After all, big chains can afford to slap discounts on the stuff I want pretty often.

But I much prefer Bizarro World, my FLGS (just to name-drop in case you're ever in Davis, CA)!

 

[wingsandsword]

This is true. But the every person I have talked to about the particular FLGS Mystery Man is referring to (we live in the same area) has had nothing but disdain for the lack of knowledge possessed by the staff.

And that's when the Free Market kicks in. Every discussion about the viability of the FLGS business model seems to always come down to the idea that the real advantage of the FLGS over chain bookstores and online shops is the quality of the service and staff, those intangibles. We always hear "support your FLGS!", and frankly I try, but when your FLGS isn't supporting you, I won't support them

It's inexcusable for any gaming store to act like that. Yes, retail employees aren't often the best and brightest, and I wouldn't expect somebody at a clothing shop to know every new release from every new designer, but the gaming industry is a little unique here. WotC is the 800 lb. Gorilla of the industry, and just to be a marginally competent FLGS you need to know everything coming out from them. Also, just like there are far more gamers who want to be professional writers than there are room for professional writers (what you get with a hobby that strongly encourages creativity and where most of the professionals were once fans themselves as well), many gamers would be happy just to work at a FLGS.

I know plenty of gamers who are always hunting for a job, honest hardworking folk who just want steady hours and a decent paycheck from a good employer (the job market is a little rough right now), and I know plenty of knowledgeable, enthusiastic, helpful gamers with plenty of retail experience who would work at a FLGS in a heartbeat (if the pay was comparable to their existing retail/fast food jobs) and would be happy to help. These folk who ignore you if you aren't there to buy their favorite game, or ignore the major releases of a company or gaming style (CCG, RPG, CMG, metal minis) they don't like is just unforgivable.

A FLGS who acts like this is unsustainable, and I would seriously doubt they'll stay in business in the long run.