The Heart of Gaming — Local services in London

Our visit had been greatly anticipated, there's nothing better than seeing your child's eyes light up with wonder. I had been building up this place to my son for weeks. He's an ardent gaming fan, this is a passion we proudly share. My son, a well behaved 6 year old wearing a Sonic the hedgehog cap, Minecraft t-shirt, and Super Mario Bros Trainers was delighted to discover while walking up the escalators that today was the day we were visiting!

Our excitement quickly turned to disappointment upon arrival. Merely moments after we walked in, with my son standing around 3 meters away from me, completely absorbed by the surroundings, I was abruptly told “you have to call him back” by the disinterested member of staff at the till. He was nowhere near any machines, barely past the end of the counter.

The manner was neither kind nor understanding, but curt and dismissive. I understand the need for safety and rules, but the approach matters. Instead of being welcomed and guided, we were an annoyance like I’d just walked in and let a dog off the lead. The rest of the interaction didn't get much better (“Computer says no”) although there was another member of staff alongside who had an excellent manner and was far more helpful, had she not been there I would have called back my son as suggested, but walked out.

This set a rather off-putting tone for our entire visit, but I was determined to try to not let this ruin our visit and had a fun time playing the machines and games together. Some game breaking glitches on ManxTT, some loose bolts on steering wheel on Mario GP, but overall fair wear and tear on the rest of the machines. These are legendary machines and great to see still going.

I brought the feedback regarding the initial matter to the attention of the staff member as we were leaving, hoping future visitors might benefit from more empathetic interactions. However, the response I received did not inspire confidence. At one point during the conversation a gentleman approached claiming to be the manager,I had to explain the whole situation to him also (Previously he was just hanging around, didn't even seem like a staff member. I counted 4).

The reason given by her was that I "hadn't paid yet," a comment that felt premature and dismissive, especially since I was engaged at the counter, and in the process of taking out my wallet. And again, my son was barely past the end of the counter. The presumption that I would somehow dodge payment, especially when I was in the midst of getting my card out, was not just inappropriate but insulting. Then I was told it was because my son is under 10 years old, this is despite 5-15 year olds being grouped together in ticket price. And again, I can’t stress enough, my son was barely past the end of the counter. We saw that there were other children unaccompanied by adults who were actually walking around the venue, playing the consoles while we were there.

For a venue that promises an inclusive, family-friendly environment, the essence of courteous hospitality sadly seemed amiss on our visit. I did find the entire exchange with the staff to be rather tedious, and something that I could have really done without on a Sunday afternoon, before hearing a reluctant apology for feeling how I felt. The conversation felt less like a constructive dialogue with a customer-facing professional and more like a needless overly defensive back-and-forth with the youth of today! I must be getting old. We parted on relatively peaceful terms (I offered and we made a fist bump). Definitely old.

Thinking back, I'm actually more disappointed than anything else. Its raised questions about the venue's overall customer service culture. So sadly for that reason I’d really hesitate to recommend a visit to anyone, especially those with children under 10 years old. As much as it pains me knowing the time, effort and money that would need to go into making such a place a reality.

I sincerely hope that this feedback is received in the spirit it's intended. To serve as honest,...

If retro gaming or just gaming in general is your thing, then this is your heaven!

The Heart of Gaming (The H.O.G.) is Run and owned by Mark Starkey.

Mark and his amazing team always provide a warm, open and welcoming atmosphere.

*Children are Welcome.

*They host multiple tournaments on different platforms.

*Can be booked for events.

*Pay your entrance fee and all machines are FREE PLAY!

The H.O.G. is a place to meet like minded people who share a passion for gaming, whether it be Retro, Arcade, Console, Hand held, P.C, board game and now even Android and Apple thanks to games like Pokèmon Go!

Its place where you can share strategic ideas on how to beat the latest level or the best way to get that long saught achievement.

Mark and his team are always so helpfull 9/10 if you can't find a game you want to play with a simple ask and a smile they dont fail to deliver setting you up with controllers and a console to relive those childhood memories or share them with your children!

One of the main things that IMO makes The H.O.G. stand out above all is the fact that Mark listens to his customers he walks around and talks with everyone gets to know you, what style games you like to play and will even give you some recommendations to try.

When it comes to expanding his games he always talks to his customers and gets feedback from them and bases his decisions on their feedback!

If you haven't been and your nearby and got some time spare I would definitely recommend you...

What's not to love about this place? Fantastic range of arcade cabinets and games, actual CRT TVs hooked up to retro consoles for that authentic nostalgia feeling (Mega Drive, N64, SNES, Playstation), giant 90 inch TVs hooked up to more modern consoles (PS4 with FIFA, WiiU with Mario Kart, Switch with Smash Bros, etc).

I had an absolute blast with all the brilliant range of light gun and racing arcade cabinets. I initially thought the price of £20pp entry fee was fairly steep, but I spent 2.5hrs here (felt more like 30mins cos of all the fun I had) so I definitely hope to return soon. They also have cheaper entry fees for children and people who only want to spectate.

I'd recommend going with people who are into gaming as well, otherwise it feels like your wife/sister/whoever isn't into gaming is just sat there waiting for you.

The only downside to this place I'd say is that some of the cabinets really need some upkeep. I was looking forward to playing some Time Crisis 2, but unfortunately the guns are in reality poor condition, with the recoil often getting stuck and worst of all was that some of the gun cabinets are not calibrated properly which really sucked the fun out of it.

Otherwise, it's a great place and I'll be...