VIP GameStore — Attraction in Garden City

If you plan to visit this store or visit this store again, I STRONGLY wouldn't recommend it! I hope you can take the time to listen to my story. I promise you its to help you all and unveil who the store manager, Bill really is. This incident took place around 5:35 PM on August 19, 2021.

My brothers and I were on our way to visit the store in Overland because we needed to get a new ps3 controller. Once we finally made, we've entered the shop, had a small greeting and began searching. It didn't take long, but we found the controller for my brother and I believe it had "knight" in the name. The controller was $25.99. We've went to the front counter to make our purchase and bought it without a sweat. Afterwards, my brothers and I went to our vehicle. As we were driving back, my brother made a discovery by pointing out that the controller we bought from Bill was around $21.99 -$22.99 online which was the consensus price. Bill sold it to us for $26.00 which was $4.00 more. At that point, I became a bit suspicious and I told my brothers that we were going to go back and handle this issue. My younger brother (who we bought the controller for) was reluctant to go back because he had a very bad feeling of what was to come if we confronted Bill. I also sensed a similar feeling but I promised my brother that if anything were to happen, I will step forward and handle it, myself. As we've entered, my brother pointed out to Bill that the controller he sold us was more expensive than the ones we've found online. We then wanted a refund for that.

Now we're here. After confronting Bill, he said in a grumpy tone, "Well you could've bought it from Walmart or Amazon then." I kid you not for what's about to happen. 2-3 seconds later, suddenly, Bill said, "Listen, please don't call our store anymore." "You call us everyday asking, 'what's in our inventory' and you didn't even buy the Teen Titans game you've requested." He had a smug look on his face while his eyes were wide open. At this point, my suspicions were CONFIRMED after he made these statements.

Before I continue, I've NEVER called to order the Teen Titans game, perhaps someone else did, but it was not me at all. Anyways, after Bill made this remark, I began a short lived argument with the owner. I told him, "Listen, we're JUST customers. I don't want to argue." I will speak more on that in a bit. I was going mention of what I told you all about the Teen Titans game but he cut me off right there with a small sigh and both his hands wide open in the air symbolizing, "that's enough."

After our final interaction, my brothers and I have walked out of the store. Seconds later, my brothers started criticizing me after Bill's irrational decision and interaction. At some point, we cooled down and made up. We realized that we are not going to let some immature jerk tear us apart over video games.

About 2 hours later, I checked the VIP Gamestore Facebook page and this dude posted the interaction he had with us. We were shocked and enraged that he would even do that. My dislike for Bill increased because of this and eventually resulted in my long-term debate to write this review. My family found out about this and we've decided to completely shut off any interaction and completely remove this store from our lives.

Bill is a GREEDY, MANIPULATIVE, LIAR who wants you all to believe that we were the villains and he used us as a scapegoat to purify his reputation. He was virtue signaling. He loves to exploit his customers on the web to boost his reptation and ego. I thought he was nice just like you all do/did, but the second you point out his wrongdoings, he instantly becomes your worst enemy.

Before I go, What I meant about the " "Listen, we're JUST customers" part. It means we hold no authority over the owners and we do not wish to argue. He took this and manipulated you to believe that we're the villains.

I hope you all make the right decision and find better businesses who can serve your gaming needs. Thank you for your time! You all deserve the best!...

EDIT: After visiting here many more times across the last few years, I can say that they listened and changed their business for the better. All of the employees are consistently helpful and friendly, which is a great relief. Plus, most of the games are a pretty good deal :)

Original: I’ve visited this establish 3 or 4 times, and after two of those visits, I left feeling degraded and embarrassed afterwards. The customer service is very disappointing, and I would love to support a local business which sells things that I’m interested in, but both of the men that run the place are very rude and seem like they don’t really enjoy it. One of the times I came in to look at their selection of GBA games in search of some rarer Pokémon games. I wasn’t surprised to see that they didn’t have them since they are pretty rare, but when I asked the owner if they ever get some of them in, his tone and language felt very belittling and condescending, as if I didn’t know what I was talking about. I wasn’t sure if he was normally like this, or if it had something to do with me being a young woman and thinking I’m unknowledgeable with the rarity of the games I was looking for, but regardless, it was a bad experience that made me wish I hadn’t visited in the first place. Another time, I came in to exchange some games for cash. Overall, it took under 5 minutes which was a relief considering as soon as I stepped up to the counter to tell the man that I wanted to exchange some games, he made a snarky, rude remark to me, which even my sister that was with me noticed. I simply went in to exchange a few games for cash and in the minimal amount of time I was in the store, I was made to feel stupid, and once again regretted my visit. I really tried hard not to judge the establishment off of the first bad experience I had because I truly believe that nothing should just be given one chance to prove itself, but after two bad experiences, I’m not sure if I’ll be visiting again, which is saddening considering it’s a neat business I wish I could support. I would definitely reconsider if they attempted to improve their customer service. Just looking at their replies to other disappointed customers on here shows how passive aggressive and condescending they are to criticism. I would really love to support your business if you had better customer service, so please consider improving...

What can’t I say about VIP GameStore?

In my humble opinion this is the most premiere locally owned gaming establishment in the area. This isn’t to take away from Retro World & 8-Bit Plus in Nampa, however, they have amazing offerings and are also fantastic additions to the community.

Bill & crew have been nothing short of fantastic in my near decade of shopping with them. They get some insane rarities traded in, a lot of which I’ve literally only ever seen here. The shop has a funky motif with the checkered title floor, the “gentlemen’s” tie, it all comes together in a warming, but comical way. If there’s one thing this crew excels in its leaning into their comedic quips. From the radio ad (my god please listen to it), to the INCREDIBLE custom artwork (10/10) for games without cases, there’s no shortage of a smile or a good chuckle during your visit here.

I’m a huge collector, of retro games & consoles as well as random old school peripherals and accessories and of course I’m a massive Strategy Guide preservationist & connoisseur. In every facet of my personal tastes VIP has bent over backwards (not too far backwards as Bill might snap those creaky bones) to accommodate my needs and wants and I am forever grateful. They also have an incredibly broad selection of DVDs, Blu Ray, Anime & Television series for all ages & all interests that shouldn’t be ignored.

In summary, game shops like this should not exist by any means nowadays but we should all be more than grateful that they do. I really dislike being negative, but I will share fair criticisms as they come up. All in all I’m happy to spread some positivity about some incredible game stores that make this...