Gamers Guild AZ - Tempe — Local services in Tempe

Can't recommend this place, the staff is rude and think they are better than you.

1st instance - went in looking for an Ixilan vampire precon and when I got there was told the store closed early that day and I had to leave, this would have been fine if I hadn't been talked to like I was a dog or some type of idiot. How about putting a sign on the door and locking it and maybe mention it on the website or at least take your events off of the schedule on mtg companion.

2nd instance- went with my brother during black Friday sale. We were there to try and play commander but things were very busy and we couldn't find the people playing (if there were any) and when we tried to ask staff we were ignored so we just brought a few deck boxes and left.

3rd instance - went again with my brother to try and play commander. When we arrive there is a huge line for something so before queuing up I decided it might be smart to ask what the line is for and someone standing in it says it's for a One piece tournament sign up. At this point I realize I see 2 registers and 2 employees behind the case and naturally assume the set up is like that so you don't have to stop business for 20 minutes while an event gets signed up. So I go to the other person who is looking at their phone at this time and ask about commander bonanza quest. Your employees seems a little annoyed but gave us the info so we asked to buy a quest and his response was to tell us we needed to wait in line like everyone else he even mentioned that there were only 2 registers and the store was busy (again one register being unused) at this point my brother and I go get in line (both of us not wanting to ruin card day for the other by being upset and leaving) after spending a few minutes in line we realized we both felt the same way and left.

Conclusion - the store is staffed by people who aspire to be like comic book guy from the Simpsons and this makes me not want to go there regardless of how good the selection or prices are.

Exception - the 1st time I went there was actually very enjoyable. It was the commander masters preview on July 28th and was the thing I decided to spend money on for my birthday. The event was well organized and the people attending were very nice and welcoming I didn't interact with staff much outside of paying my entry fee and collecting prizes but in this instance they did seem to be well organized focused on work and have...

Preordered several Bandai One Piece products 6 months in advance. Didn't get my first product. Asked customer service when it was shipping. They blamed it on Bandai and said they "might be able to ship something to me in August" when the product I ordered was released in July. (When other stores currently have these decks in stock.) You might be asking well why didn't I go get a deck at another store, because I had over $200.00 of pre-orders from this store and didn't want to spend more money and I wanted to pay retail price!) How is this Bandai's fault? Try not selling products in advance that you will not be allocated. This isn't a Bandai problem. This is an honesty problem. Waiting until after the release date and forcing the customer to contact customer service to get a refund is not good customer service.

In response to the owner:

Every single time you have blamed the problem on Bandai or your card distributor or me not joining your discord channel. The person at fault for my poor customer service issue was your store and staff. I don't belong to your discord server, it's not a substitute for customer service. If you sent out an email, it might have went to spam or I might have incorrectly guessed that it didn't apply to me, because you didn't cancel my orders. The proper thing to do would have been to reach out and cancel the orders via your online shopify store where I would have been notified in the app of the cancelation and refund my money so I could have ordered from another vendor the minute you knew you weren't going to have the product in stock. So you just keep telling yourself I'm at fault for being unhappy with your service or that's it's someone else's fault, but I'm pretty sure I know who is at fault for this situation and it wasn't me and it wasn't Bandai and it wasn't your card distributor. My business simply wasn't important enough for you to even make an effort to refund or cancel my orders in a timely manner, so I could get the game I purchased at the price I purchased it at. I can assure you I will never in my life take a chance on your store again.

Edited slightly to clarify my stance on what the problem actually was. The problem was selling items you knew you weren't going to be allocated and then holding people's money for months while you made excuses about another...

Excellent store. Ownership and staff sincerely care about everyone having a good time and feeling welcome. They're the only store in the valley (to my knowledge) that has a strong, written code of conduct that is enforced. That alone makes this store stand out, but there's so much more. They've got massive selections of board games, minis, supplies, singles, and sealed product. They also have several premium rooms that are delightful venues for anything from D&D games to just playing commander. They've also recently expanded their tabletop gaming space and are continuing to expand further. Their store is also unique for offering a $50 monthly membership which is packed with benefits that makes it a no-brainer if you go there regularly.

It's truly admirable that the ownership group has a level of ambition that many entrepreneurs wish they had while also having a drive to make their space and services accessible to EVERYONE. I've gone here and been a member since around the time they opened and they've grown in so many ways. While the changes haven't always been the greatest, the benefits of their growth very often trickle down to eventually become benefits for everyone. One thing that has been abundantly clear is that the folks who are calling the shots aren't just looking at the bottom line, but also making sure the store is not just a positive place to be and play, but also a positive influence on the community. A good example of this was their Thanksgiving feast which was welcome to anyone that needed a place to go. I wish every business owner, from sole proprietor to multinational CEO, had the care that these folks do for their community. It makes them stand out in a way that is entirely their own.

My only note is that it can tend to get a bit crowded and loud on busier days, so be aware of that if that's something you're sensitive to. Thankfully, they thought of that, too and have a space that's a bit quieter. Remember how I said this place is for EVERYONE? I meant it.

Gamers Guild is a store that doesn't have any equivalents I can think of. It's very much "its own thing" and operates at a level substantially higher than most game stores. I can easily recommend this place as one of the best places in the valley for this kind of product.

TL;DR: Go...