I worked at an EB Games in 2005. The important thing to note us that EB didn't use the term "used" for games, but instead used "pre-played." I had a woman come in to buy Sniper Elite for her husband, but I didn't have any more sealed copies, just the gutted display boxes. She doesn't mind this and purchased it at the new game price.
A few hours later, I get an angry phone call from a man who says I sold his wife a used game and charged her for a new copy. He explains who she was and I tell him what happened. He freaks out and says that the game was opened, which makes it used. I let him know that we don't sell used games, we sell pre-played games and assure him that the disc was removed from the case, sleeved, and filed, which means it has never been played and is therefore a new copy. He gets loud, asks me how old I was (18), and goes off about how he is older than me and is a lawyer. He demands that he be refunded the difference between the prices, so I tell him that my store manager would be in the next morning and he could take it up with her. To my knowledge, he never called her, so I think he just gave up.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/bicr5z/gamestop_employees_of_reddit_what_are_some_of/elzvk9w/
I was an ASM for about a year, had done retail before. Our store was right in between a fairly upscale touristy part of town as well as some of the poorer neighborhoods so we got all sorts of people. I'll tell one horror story and then one uplifting story
The holiday season was in full swing and we were always crowded. This particular day we had a few seasonal hires in to help with the work load and I was behind the counter pulling games as people came up, to make the transactions faster. Then suddenly a smell hit the entire building like a hundred cats had peed in the air conditioner and someone had tried to get it dry by stoking a fire with burning hair.
My seasonals looked at me with a mix of confusion and terror as a family of four approached the counter and it slowly became apparent that they were the cause of the smell. I've been noseblind before from staying with an aunt who used to be an animal hoarder, but this was far worse.
I sent my seasonals on break, grabbed the hand sanitizer, pumped a small mountain of it into my hands and as casually as possible smeared it on my upper lip, hoping my facial hair would hold onto it and block the smell. It mostly worked. I was already in holiday rush mode but this was the fastest I ever got a used Xbox 360 and GTA V packaged and ready to go.
When they left, we noticed that the store had actually cleared out of all other customers, who also couldn't deal with the odor. My SM came out of the back, gave me props for not embarrassing them, and promptly proceeded to fill our store with Febreeze.
Ok, one uplifting story. I know it's not what you asked for but you're not the one making this post, so nyeh.
We had our regular customers and over time we would get to recognize a few people and have a general sense of what their interests were. Beyond just being salespeople and trying to pitch whatever was hot and new. Frequently we would also get people who knew they had 7 days or however long to trade a game back in for the full amount they paid for, and would use us as a general rental service that way. We were supposed to flag their account (somehow??) to stop this from happening but it wasn't common enough at our location to really care, we weren't losing money and it was better than them stealing from us.
One sort of grungy guy missing a couple of teeth would come in regularly and he had a few different criteria: he owned a regular DS, he didn't have much money, and he wanted the games to be very long so they could occupy his time. Usually RPGs, but they had to have a good story. He'd bring it back if it wasn't engaging and ask for something else. The first couple of times he did this I thought maybe he was trying to put one over on us, but the games he was picking actually were too long to reasonably finish in the time he would have them. (I guess I could've checked the save files, but it wasn't that big of a deal.)
He disappears for a couple of weeks and then one day I'm working and I get a call, it's him. It's not too busy so we chat for a few minutes. He basically wants to pick my brain about what we've got that's less than $10 that will last for a month, and if it's worth his time to come get it because his money is so tight that just driving to our store and not finding something will be sort of a significant loss. This happens to be during a week where Dragon Quest 9 is on sale for less than ten bucks, and we have one copy left, so I set it aside and tell him to try it out. My wife isn't a big JRPG fan but she tried it and it held her interest for quite a while, so maybe this guy will like it too. He comes by, gets it, thanks me and leaves.
I don't see him for months. He's one of those regulars who you get to thinking about, whether or not you would really say you were acquainted, but just that general "I hope they're okay" sort of thing. Then one day he comes back in wearing a FULL SUIT, grinning ear to ear. I recognize him right away and ask how things are going. He tells me they turned around and he got a job as a cook at a Sonic within walking distance from his house, and had been able to save his money for a while, thanks to Dragon Quest being so long, and he wanted to say thanks and to buy his mom a PS3. He knew the only games she really recognized were classics, so we picked out one of the new Pac-Man games and Namco Museum. He was looking at the price tags of a couple of other ones and I could tell he was doing some quick mental math, so I told him "pick the ones you're looking at and we'll see what we can make work". He gets one more game for his mom and brings them up to the front.
It's been a few years since, so I honestly don't remember what if any promotions we had going on at the time, but wouldn't you know it? He got enough of a discount for some mysterious reason that he was able to afford everything.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/bicr5z/gamestop_employees_of_reddit_what_are_some_of/elzyhic/
I once had a lady and her teenage son come in to trade in several dvds and games they had just stolen from the Walmart behind the strip mall where our store was. Walmart employee calls me to ask if they are in my store and says the cops are on the way, so stall or do what you can to keep them there. I said sure! I told them the cash vs. store credit value of their items without mentioning that I can't even take them because they are still wrapped in the cellophane. I walk them around the store and talk about which games are the best value for the money, etc. The cops show up and ask them to step outside and I just smile and go back behind the counter. They followed the police out and one officer comes back a minute later to get the merchandise. Last I heard about it. Not a horror story but definitely weird.
Then there was this wealthy couple who had three kids and each kid had a wii, a PS3, and an Xbox 360. They would preorder every major game that came out for each system, always the deluxe edition. They spent a ton of money in our store. And they were CRAZY. So abusive to every employee, they cussed at us and called us stupid, they would ask for things they knew they couldn't have and then throw a fit, they would scour their receipts for anything that could be a mistake and make you explain it to them over and over. I went to work at a different company and they came into my store there, and got in line for my favorite cashier. I immediately called a manager over when it was their turn to check out, explained how I knew then and that there was a 99% chance they would make the cashier cry. He went over and just as he got there they were beginning to raise their voices about some supposed mistake. Luckily that manager is super good at "handling" people and got them out without letting them get a word in edgewise. I practically had ptsd from dealing with them. I think they got off on abusing people together. They would sometimes be laughing as they did it. If they found a legitimate mistake in anything, their faces would just light up. Truly evil people.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/bicr5z/gamestop_employees_of_reddit_what_are_some_of/em024lb/
Worked there years ago during 2006-2009 ish.
An adult guy came in a traded in a bunch of Game Cube and PS2 games. One of them was a Mary Kate and Ashley game. The cases were clean but we always wiped them down. When my coworker got to the MK&A game I guess the windex caused some sort of reaction because something came back to life and smeared all over the case. We threw the case away lol.
Another guy would come in and only buy Leisure Suit Larry games and the Dead or Alive Volleyball games.
We used to play the console testing TV from the back room lol. It was a fun job but some of the regulars. I have a lot more lol.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/bicr5z/gamestop_employees_of_reddit_what_are_some_of/em001sj/
Former employee. Two wonderful stories:
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Older lady brings in a bag. She looks like an addict and she wants to sell her Wii. I put my hand in the bag and it’s soaking wet…..Cat Piss. She was furious I wouldn’t take it. From that day forward, made every customer take all trades out of bags themselves
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My first store was long and I had a kid and mom in back. Mom wasn’t paying attention at all. 8 year old walking around. Gets really REALLY quiet. Then mom rushes the kid out of the store. Go back there and he took a shit on the floor. Watch the tape, mom finds him squatting. Let’s him finish then takes him out.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/bicr5z/gamestop_employees_of_reddit_what_are_some_of/em02256/
A gentleman comes in to buy one of our old 360 bundles (used, the old system that required the HD). He brings it back a few days later and complains that it doesn’t work. We start our normal troubleshooting methods in store.
We couldn’t figure anything out. So I do a swap, take his old system in as defective, then sell him a replacement bundle.
I go through and try to wipe the system so we can ship it back to the warehouse. Cockroaches start crawling out of the system instead. I freak out. Throw the system in one of our giant shopping bags, throw that in a box, tape it shut, and throw THAT in another bag.
My manager tells me to just shrink it out (meaning we take the loss) and destroy it in the back. I take it out to the parking lot and have to throw it around to destroy it. These cockroaches freaking scatter like marbles on a floor. I’m dancing around the parking lot on my tiptoes to avoid the flood. It was awful.
Second story: one of my regulars was a skunk farmer. I will say no more.
Source:https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/bicr5z/gamestop_employees_of_reddit_what_are_some_of/em04frh/