GameStop — Local services in Hiram

I worked at this store for six years during my 20s. Back then, it was run by a competent, beloved store manager who invested over two decades into making it a pleasant, happy environment for customers. Currently, it's an absolute travesty with some of the worst management I've ever seen.

A perfect example of this was the Switch 2 midnight release. A neat line formed outside early in the evening. At 10:30pm, the employees ushered everyone inside and forced about a hundred people to disperse into the store, creating absolute chaos that looked like the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.

This was a violation of safety codes and an immensely uncomfortable experience. Moreover, it directly punished a lot of people who arrived early as rowdy groups pushed to the front of the store to try to score prizes and earlier access to the registers. No order. Just pandemonium.

As I stood squished up in the middle of the store talking to people, including a few folks who recognized me from my time working at the store, they pined for the days when the previous store manager worked there. They knew his name. They were his friends. They had memories with him and his team. They were treated fairly with kindness when they came through the door. Now? Now they said they felt disheartened every time they came in the store. They felt misunderstood, frustrated, and annoyed each time they had to interact with an employee who seemed untrained on even basic tasks. And on this night, they were irritable, hot, and exhausted by the absolute mayhem transpiring.

Management didn't even handle pickup receipts early as we always did, meaning that when midnight came around, each customer had to go through the full 5-minute checkout process to get their console. With over a hundred people in the store by that point, I can only imagine the team was there checking people out for hours.

When I finally reached a register, I informed the employee that whoever took my initial Switch 2 pre-order had also applied a pre-order for an expensive warranty to it without my consent. The store manager came over and argued with me, telling me I'd need to go ahead and pay for it and come back the next day to return it.

The truth is that he didn't want to take the hit on a PRP cancelation on a big night like that because it would affect the store's numbers. I know this because I worked there for six years. So, I pushed back. Right as I was on the cusp of calling the district manager, he finally relented and easily canceled the warranty pre-order. It was that simple. He knew it. I knew it. He can inflate his PRP numbers on his own dime next time.

The Switch 2 midnight release marks the final time I'll ever set foot in this store. This company is in a sad state, and this store is a showcase of the worst of it....

The management at this gamestop is very disrespectful condescending and very discriminatory. I went there last night to trade in two games,(two of the same games btw) Carlo the manager told me at first that could not trade in both copies of the game on the same transaction and i accepted that. Then after the first trade he told me that he was suspicious of me and that he could not buy the game from me because my friend handed me the game in the store and that i had to walk in the store with in my hand then he went on to say that its store policy and that it was on the back of the receipt (which it wasnt) and posted in the store (which it wasnt). So i left and came back 30 mins later my firend that handed me the game the first time tried to trade it in. Then some ugly bald white guy with glasses claiming to be the supreme authority of the credibility that my game was stolen and that it was store policy and ga law that he could not buy my game cuz it was stolen.... NONE OF MY GAMES WERE STOLEN I WAS A BLACK AND THATS Y THEY WERE SO RUDE TO ME , i told him that this isnt good customer service and he would not even answer any of my questions before threatening me with calling the police. They were also very unhelpful to another customer who had a problem with something she purchased and caught attitude with her. Carlo and his management style is terrible , bad customer service bad communication skills and lies straight from his mouth about store policy. I go into the store for help not to be accused of being a criminal. GO TO THE GAMESTOP IN ARBOR PLACE ITS 15M MINS AWAY FROM HIRAM AND YOU WONT BE ACCUSED OF STEALING IF YO WANT TO TRADE IN TWO OF THE SAME GAME ....II told the manager i would write a bad review and he told go ahead and that he did not care well now...

Really love this particular store. Employees here are always very polite and upbeat when I visit. Though, think they could do a little better managing their lines. If there are more than three people working they seem to coordinate very well. But, if they're are only two or three then they can sometimes let it get too long before the second or third person jumps in. I understand that they have other tasks as well that need to be juggled, however, so I'm hoping they'll eventually find a good groove. I've noticed that they've done an especially good job during this Christmas season. They communicate well with each other and are incredibly friendly and direct with their customers without bring rude, which is hard to do. Every time I've come in this close to Christmas it has been incredibly busy and they handle it better than most could.

So, I'd say: could be better, but so could everyone. Keep at it, guys.

PS I can't really speak to how knowledgeable they are. I already know a lot about gaming and usually don't have questions. I tend to come in knowing what I want. And, when they make mistakes, they own up to it. I care more about honesty and attitude than I care whether someone has gotten something wrong.

People make mistakes all the time. I think others could stand to have...