Why I don't support my LGS

[I'm A Banana]

I agree. I worked retail for years and we never rushed the customers out. If you are closing lock the door and let the last few customers finish up, they usually know you want to go home too and don't linger.

If they do linger, that's when I like to apply *aggressive* customer service. I follow them around. Point out things they might buy. Talk them into spending more than they should. Keep asking to make sure they're finding what they want...

"Don't you have something you need to do?"
"No, miss, I'm all closed up! Just helping you get what you need."

 

[WhatGravitas]

I don't know what retail stores you've been in, but in all my experience, both as a reg'lar peon and as a managerial type, the rule is "If you're buying stuff, take your time, and I'll be here to help you with whatever you need. I'm gonna lock the door, though, because we are closed, you folks will be the last ones."

E-x-a-c-t-l-y. Most stores do not rush people out. They're polite and made their point clear.

Of course, it's completely possible that people have a bad day, so giving a second chance is okay... but in my experience (Germany and UK), I was *never* kicked out of a store - I rather hear "We're closing, please hurry, because we have to close the store and cannot sell anything any more" - or "We're closing and have already locked the cash desk, so we cannot sell anything ".

Not "You guys might as well turn around and go right back out, because we're closing!"

 

[dpetroc]

I agree. I worked retail for years and we never rushed the customers out. If you are closing lock the door and let the last few customers finish up, they usually know you want to go home too and don't linger.

PLUS the store earns the goodwill of the customer... Considering there are much cheaper venues, and considering most LGS are folding up their tents in droves, they need to go the extra mile -- be really customer friendly. And I don't just mean friendly to the 10-year olds renting space at tables to play Magic.

 

[jdrakeh]

IME, they tend to hire people who are good at neither. My local comic shop is killing itself with bad customer service. At this point, it only seems to have customers wandering in when they're waiting on the nearby movies. Most of them leave without buying anything, which is a good trick when they're going to see, say, Spider-Man 2.

You need to get down to either Topeka, KS (home of Gatekeeper Hobbies) or Colorado Springs, CO (home of Compleat Games & Hobbies). I've lived in over a dozen cities in the US and these two stores are among the best that I've ever seen. Both are owner operated and both make your stereotypical game store look horribly bad by comparison. Also, though their game selection is lmited, Just Imagine in the tiny town of Ridgecrest, CA is a great store service-wise.

There are truly great stores out there, you just have to look in order to find them -- but then again, that isn't the point of this thread. This thread is about the extreme evil of retailers who won't throw themselves on a pyre for the consumer

 

[I'm A Banana]

Not "You guys might as well turn around and go right back out, because we're closing!"

If I was running the store, and I found out someone had told that to a customer, I would have told *him* to buy the 10 packs of Pokemon cards he just cost us (without a discount).

There are extenuating circumstances, possibly. But you do *not* cost a small store their business. A small store lives or dies on the regulars who just like to come in and enjoy the place.

Which is why, I guess, if I owned a FLGS, I'd be focusing my efforts on employing not-fatbeards.

 

[Gallo22]

Not to be rude but many of you have no idea what your talking about. How many of you have truely worked in retail? And I'm not talking about McDonalds on the weekends.

Any business worth their weight in salt would never have kicked those customers out. A truely professional store would informed their customers that they are closing soon and to please decide what they needed. If the customers responded that they were just here to look around the clerk should politely respond that they will have to come back when the store re-opens as he/she is preparing to close for the night.

Additionally, staying open past retail hours is VERY common and expected if a customer is in the store before closing time. It's business suicide to do anything different.

A perfect example of this is a large game store in Upstate NY that was being run by mostly gamers. They cared nothing for the customers, cleanliness of the store, neatness of the store, assisting customers with questions, etc. The list could go on. all they wanted to do was sit around and talk to their friends and play games while on the clock. They were losing customers left and right, and not getting new customers because of reputation the store was getting. Especially from parents, who would not bring their children in because the place was such a mess. The owner finally hired a real manager and over the course of a few years the store is doing great. They got rid of the gamers who just wanted to play all day and hired employees with actual retail and game experience. They are expected to greet customers and ask if they need assistance with anything. I could go on and on with a list of all the things they are finally doing right. And because of this I am now a return and repeat customer.

I know the manager, and if any of his employees treated a customer like the example given, they would have been let go. The manager realizes that the only way to keep customers is with CUSTOMER SERVICE. The only thing left that the on-line stores cannot provide. This is key to the survival of any game store!!!!!!!!!!

Without these changes they store would have "fallen in" on its self.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

PLUS the store earns the goodwill of the customer... Considering there are much cheaper venues, and considering most LGS are folding up their tents in droves, they need to go the extra mile -- be really customer friendly. And I don't just mean friendly to the 10-year olds renting space at tables to play Magic.

Goodwill goes a long way. I will pay a bit more if I know I'll get quality product and great service. If I'm getting poor service or treated like my buisness is a burden I will just go where I get it cheapest.

 

[Arnwyn]

Well, my point was that staying open past posted hours isn't standard retail operating procedure. Expecting that from every retailer just because one prefers it based on personal experience elsewhere isn't reasonable or realistic.

As others have said, out here it's the exact opposite.

Seriously.

Unlikely.

(Though the rest of the stuff about bad consumers is correct - but that's getting to the level of extremism [ahh, teh intarweb] and is irrelevant to this thread and the OP.)


Though in any case, I just laugh at and then ignore all the nonsensical "support your LGS!" calls (seen only on gaming messageboards, BTW). They are often inconvenient, have questionable ordering and stocking practices, are unreliable, and on top of all that, don't offer any value to the uncompetitive MSRP they invariably charge (nothing wrong with charging full price, as long as there is some other value they offer to make themselves competitive).

"Support the LGS!"? No way. "Buy from the LGS if they're competitive"? Sure.

 

[I'm A Banana]

This thread is about the evil of retailers who won't throw themselves on a pyre for the consumer

It's not about the consumer...it's about the money in their wallets. As a businessman, the consumer is just the delivery method. And you want to keep that delivery coming in...

I've got no qualms with you kicking out someone who's just browsing, or kids who only want to see what the new pokemon card set is....but paying customers?! Are you daft, man?!

 

[Kafkonia]

I'd give them a second chance, it may be that he was on his way out permanently, after all...

The only store I've not given a "second chance" to was the goth store where my friend and I stood at the counter for five minutes while the clerk (who was right behind the counter) ignored us in favour of her magazine.

My FLGS actually often sells books at competitive prices compared to Amazon -- sometimes even lower! And consequently they get a lot of my business; they'd get even more if they took Visa.