Pandemonium Games and Hobbies — Attraction in Garden City

The first time coming into this store my husband and I were very impressed with not only the size of this store but the variety of games available from D&D, to magic, to Pokémon and so much more. However, the unwelcoming environment and unfriendly, unknowledgeable, and visibly irritated staff completely ruined the what could have been, a great experience. For that reason we have decided we will not be going back.

We have been to this store a handful of times, and each time we feel completely unwelcome and as if we are being watched. The staff also make it seem like it’s a chore and a burden for you to ask them anything or to grab a card out of a box/case.

Our last visit to this store we came to trade in magic cards and purchase others. We did want to purchase a rather large number of cards as most of them were bulk cards and we knew it would be a project for whoever chose to help us. We had mentioned to the gentleman helping us that we needed a number of cards and apologized for the inconvenience. We both could tell he was instantly irritated. We started to name off cards and was met with a curt attitude. After grabbing a few cards, said employee decided to inform us with the same irritation that next time we would need to go online and put in a list for the cards we need because now and I quote “I will have to go through and individually price all of these cards and it’s going to take a while.” Here is why that irked us… It was said with irritation behind it, which if you are working in customer service you should never visibly show to your customer. Especially when said customer already apologized for the inconvenience. We can completely understand implementing a system to make things easier on the staff of the store however we are not regulars in this store and that’s not something that gets advertised so how were we supposed to be aware of that process set in place by the store Going into a hobby store to see all the card options and get excited about what you are trying to build is part of the experience of not only the customer of the store but also the player of the game itself. It can not be expected of the player to give that up just to make it more convenient for the employee helping you. And We watched another customer come in after us and ask for a larger number of cards and he was not met with irritation and annoyance. We then watched said customer start talking to the staff on a friendly manner and that’s when we realized he is a regular in the store.

As a manager in retail myself I was completely disappointed in how we were treated. I can respect that each store has its own policies and procedures put in place to help the staff. However, those policies and procedures should not take away from the experience the customer has. It is completely inappropriate for a staff member to visibly show their irritation and it is completely inappropriate to pick and choose who you are friendly to based off of if that person is a regular or not. With each customer that walks through those doors the staff should be trying to make everyone a “regular.” It is very disappointing that we had such an experience that we did as this store has a lot...

I have tried to give this place a chance, but time and time again, the staff fails to create an open, safe, and inviting experience.

My second time visiting, I was looking for a copy of a single Magic card. After the staff replied they didn’t have one, I thanked them and continued to look at the display cases. The staff member then replied “You have to submit a list online with you are looking for more!” in a very sharp and rude tone. He then quickly turned away and continued his private conversation with the other staff members standing around. Not quite the response I was expecting, but I left.

I joined their Discord server looking for future events last year. The day I joined, I was witness to what can only be described as a firefight between the staff and a couple of customers. One customer asked a question about the store, another customer replied with an answer and suggested asking they contact the store directly for more info. A staff member named Holly shot out a very sharp “you don’t speak for the store” response. When the customer agreed and explained he advised his community member to reach out to Pandemonium staff - Holly doubled down on her misunderstanding. And when other community members tried to clarify the situation, Holly shifted the focus away from her error and threw out the gender card. Two hours later the owner Brandon had to step in and apologize for the staff members responses. This was day 1 of being on their Discord - wow.

And yesterday the staff felt it was appropriate to dress down a customer publicly, without taking steps to actually understand the situation. Many customers witnessed this interaction and many felt fear in shopping at this location due to the harsh, inappropriate response taken by the staff toward a customer.

The poor experiences I’ve received at Pandemonium Games have finally come to an end. From asking about stock of a single card and being met with a bark about requiring a list being sent online, to the cold approach of nearly each staff member - making it feel that I’m bothering them and interrupting their private conversation, and to the most recent and public shouting of the staff to a customer and their purposeful embarrassing actions - I’m done.

There are many game stores in the metro Detroit area, all of which I’ve found to be welcoming and inviting to all players, veteran & new. Pandemonium Games is not one of them. The staff needs to be retrained and/or replaced.

An LGS (Local Game Shop) has a very important and influencing role in the gaming community. Poor customer service will lead to scaring off potential new members of the community. The staff of Pandemonium Games has position themselves as an LGS that doesn’t want to interact with their community members in a positive manner.

Pandemonium Staff - You Need...

I've been a customer at this store for years now. I'm an avid Warhammer 40k D&D and Killteam player and painter. I have 4 armies each of which are 2,000 points or more and 95% of which I have purchased from this location as well as the painting supplies. Anyone who knows anything about Warhammer will tell you just how expensive it can be so I have spent a lot of my hard earned money here. Twice now over the past few years I have paid for their $50, %20 off discount on GW products (which I later discovered is offered for free at several other FLGS that are just a bit further of a drive for me) and it was explained to me by the fairly friendly staff that this money goes towards the renovations of the gaming room.

So when I walked in yesterday to purchase a few paints and basing supplies, I was naturally curious about the state of the gaming room. The red haired woman behind the counter rang me up. While she did I asked if she knew when the room would be reopened. She told me "we are working on a date we don't know when it will be open" she then explained the new checkout process. I followed the prompt and nothing worked, she then repeated it to me very slowly, as if I'm an idiot. I said "I did press confirm, nothings happening." "Oh you might need to double-click" she replied. Yes, I did need to double click. I can follow simple instructions, thank you. She then went on about the game room saying "The staff is tired of being pestered about it. You will know when its open we will post it on facebook and put posters all over the windows." This entire time this woman has given me nothing but a bad attitude. All I did was ask about the game room. I have never seen her there in all the years I've been coming here. I finished checking out and said "yeah it will be nice when it's open, I've been waiting over two years now." She simply responded with "yep, so have we good bye." Still carrying that attitude .

What is so wrong with wanting to use the game room that I helped renovate? I have spent thousands of dollars at this store! After this experience I will no longer be coming to this LGS (notice I left out the F for friendly) and will be taking my business elsewhere. Even if it means driving just a little further, to a friendlier store with an open gameroom and...