“The dismal truth about working at Gamestop….”
Former Assistant Store Manager in Dallas, TX – Reviewed Jul 16, 2010
Pros – Discount on Games
Freebies from Vendors
Can be slow paced
Can have tattoos and piercings
Cons – CONSTANT marketing
Corporate cares more about the $$ than employees
Inexperienced Managers
Lack of Customer Service
Pushing sales
Not commissioned sales, but are required to push sales as if you were
Can be fired for lack of sales (even in a slow store)
Sexist atmosphere
Lack of hours
Must be willing to relocate with very little notice
HIGH roll over
Give refunds to customers PERIOD.
Get rid of comcards
Advice to Senior Management – I worked for Gamestop for almost 2 years. Being a woman I was treated condescendingly by my manager. Even the smallest mistake I made he would go into a 20-minute tirade. When male employees made greater mistakes it was laughed off. All the company cares about is reserves because to them these are guaranteed sales in their pocket. If a customer comes in get a refund on a reserve, we are required to discourage it. Needless to say most customers would rather take store credit than squabble over $5.
Receipts are required for every return no matter what. Even if the game is sealed and you sold the customer the game. Mind you some managers are human and they make exceptions the majority don’t because refunds hurt stores sales. The corporate office sends emails to the stores daily detailing their sales for the district. Even if your store is slow you are REQUIRED to sell no matter what.
When you are management, you are guaranteed full time hours. If you are below management you are not a necessity for the store. You are NEVER allowed to work overtime. Gamestop DOES NOT pay over time. You can be written up for working overtime. Every week there is marketing to be done; you are required to have this marketing up. Every few weeks stores are secret shoppered and if you miss one little thing you can be fired for not complying with store procedures. Every inch of any Gamestop has been purchased for marketing. There advertisements can change weekly. It common to stay late to ensure all marketing is done, just no OT! Most of the time there is only one manager working an entire store, which is a safety hazard.
If you are a Game Adviser you get 12 hours or less per week. Sometimes a week or two can go by where you don’t work at all. Corporate allots very few hours, which barely covers full time for managers. The attire is khaki pants and a collared shirt. Recently Gamestop has allowed jeans, but they quickly take that away at a whim. For company that demands conservative professionalism you are allowed to have exposed tattoos and piercings.
I was moved to another store with only 5 days notice; it wasn’t until the day prior that I knew what new store I was going too. That store was an hour commute from where I lived; Gamestop does not compensate for gas or mileage. They constantly shift employees from different stores with very little notice. If another store is short staffed the district manager will call your store and ask if you came come fill in for them. Gamestop feels as a manager this is a part of your job duties.
The holidays are the worst because of hours and marketing. The store managers are incredibly over worked at Gamestop and are paid an extremely small salary compared to what other retail companies pay for less work.
The insurance is laughable, and if you are injured Gamestop doesn’t like to hear about. This depends a lot of your district manager too. Insurance is only offered to Managers period and the majority of managers I knew don’t even get it, because their paycheck is so small.
The payroll is a problem due to some story Gamestop tells it employees on how 9/11 prevented a lot of paychecks to get to employees on time, they now give you an ATM type of card. This card is not a debit card. The first time you withdraw money from it, it’s free. Everything else there is a fee. You are also given 5 “ATM” checks. These can be used to transfer money from your ATM card in your bank account. But once you use up all 5 checks you have to reorder more, which takes up to 8 weeks. Gamestop no longer issues paychecks and the ATM card is used in place of direct deposit. You’re meant to use this card temporarily until direct deposit is set up. However that can take up to 4 weeks, I have had employees been waiting up to 16 weeks for there deposit to be processed. When you call and complain neither Gamestop nor the card company can help you other than apologize.
Every employee is required to have high reserves, memberships and game insurance. Even if you only had a 4-hour work week – you will be fired for low sales. Other Gamestop stores are extremely competitive. They will send returns to your store so that they can avoid it on their books. Even at the risk of sending a customer all over the city. I cannot emphasize how strongly returns are discouraged.
Employees do not get a discount on new game systems only used ones. When it comes to games out on the floor, one copy of the new game is “gutted” and the case is put on the floor. When it comes to used games all cases are gutted and put out on the floor. It is against company policy to allow employees to check out new games, only used ones. But I have seen managers still break this rule.
Overall Gamestop is a company who feels they are on a “high horse”. They are cutthroat and only care about money. Employees are over worked & badly treated. There is little to no regard for customer service. I can’t even recommend shopping there…
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