GameStop — Local services in Florence

I visited this store on Black Friday 2020. It was a lack-luster experience, and indicative of why the in-store model of game retail is fading. First, they weren’t checking temperatures or enforcing any COVID safety protocols. They did have a sign stating no more than 15 customers, but no one was minding the sign. There were traffic indicators on the floor, but customers were allowed to walk wherever. I did not see any hand sanitizer available. Second, they didn’t have adequate stock of high-demand gaming hardware. They’re also selling their stock NOT in accordance with how the manufacturer states their products will be sold. Sony, for example, has said PS5 will only be sold online. This creates inconsistencies for customers and invites risky behavior, like camping for days outside a store as well as invites unnecessary COVID exposure. Their model has rightfully drawn criticism for failing to protect customers from COVID exposure, and this store’s lack of local enforcement only amplifies these risks. After all, GameStop has a robust online sales platform they could easily utilize to keep customers and employees alike safe. Third, their staff offered no professional level advice or insight into their merchandise. The employee I spoke to got all of her info from publicly available resource (Twitter in this case)—and passed that as her information. If I’m going to take the time to enter a store, engage with a representative, and ask questions, I expect something more than the latest blurb from her morning Twitter feed. This is lazy appropriation of a public source. Again, I understand why the in-store model is failing. To end the interaction, there was no offer of help, advice, or assistance to help me secure the sought after item. When I take the time to enter your store, I expect some level of an offer of assistance or support—not even a platitude “Please check back later!” I left pleased to purchase the item elsewhere, even if that means I have to wait longer...

Had a weird experience at this location. When we first entered, one of the employees greeted us and offered to assist us if needed which was nice of him. However once we were ready to check out, a different employee was standing behind the desk organizing stuff which is fine and all if he wasn’t just straight up ignoring us. Over five minutes had passed and we were still standing at the desk waiting for him or the other employee to come check us out. At this point a line had formed and I overheard the couple behind us questioning why the employees weren’t checking anyone out so it wasn’t just us noticing the weird behavior. Eventually my dad said we were ready to check out and only then did the ‘nice’ employee from earlier come to check us out except he was acting cold to us during the entire interaction for some reason as if he was annoyed by my dad saying we were ready to check out. But what else were we supposed to do because the other employee was just ignoring the line of people and if we didn’t say anything, we probably would’ve stood there for more than ten minutes. Bad service aside, the store is basically what you expect...

I was purchasing about a hundred and fifty more dollars worth of stuff on a 13 degree day there. This was in addition to cleaning out my son's Christmas money there earlier in the day. My six-year-old said "excuse me sir may I use your restroom please?" And this man said as flat as a heart attack she would need to go down to CiCi's Pizza farther down the Plaza. I will never walk in again. If he had said no to me I would have understood but my kid is 6, if she needed to go and if buying $150 can't get my kid a bathroom use that's just shabby customer service. On the other hand the manager and staff at CiCi's Pizza could not have been nicer even though I didn't...