BUYER EB-WARE
I don't know if you can print the following, but i wanted to issue a warning to all EBgames customers.
I was a manager at an EB directly across the street from a Game stop. After the "merger" (actually a corporate buyout) everyone from the corporate office got real hush-hush about the futures of EB employees, especially ones such as myself who were in direct competition with a neighboring GameStop. So of course rumors start floating, and eventually leaks start coming out that alot of people would be either losing thier jobs or laid off with the option of being rehired by the new company...at a lower pay rate. So I did what any man with a son and bills would do, I started looking for a new job. That apparently offended my District Manager, who since the merger had doubled our pre-played sales goals (thats the way these companies make thier REAL money: "Here's $4 in trade for your used game that we will sell for $40...trade and save my ASS!). So to make a long story short, my wealthy DM tried to screw me over, i wont get into those details, so I shall return the favor by letting video game consumers in on some of the dirty trade secrets.
Pay special attention to some of these because they are new tricks.
As printed by other disgruntled employees a few issues back I can attest to the claims that our employers use job-threatening tactics to push the staff to perform sometimes unethical practices. These tactics and practices have been doubled now that the company has been sold because a bunch of rich corporate types are scrambling to GOUGE the public and get as much money for THEMSELVES as possible before the "merger" becomes official. Here are a few to look out for if you go into an EB:
1. DO NOT-UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES- GIVE YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS:
This is a NEW practice for a company that is going UNDER??? WHY? They say its so the home office can send you "money saving coupons" online. THAT IS A LOAD OF CRAP!
More than likely the company is gathering e-mails to SELL to online marketing agencies who pay good money for lists they can bombard with SPAM and SCAM e-mails. The number of "E-mail captures" had to be tracked daily and reported to the DM at closing EVERYDAY! Think about it for a minute...I really don't think our DM is THAT concerned with saving our customers money.
2. DO NOT ACCEPT THE FREE MAGAZINES!!! This is a scam that the company also makes money from. Sure, you get two free mags, but you're only eligible by using a credit card. WHY??? you ask? SO THEY HAVE A BILLING ADDRESS!!! So when the mags keep coming, because they automatically do, the company can automatically charge your credit card. ASK SOMEONE WHO TOOK THOSE FREEBIES IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE!
3. WHO NEEDS A YEAR-LONG MEMBERSHIP TO A COMPANY THAT WON'T BE AROUND IN 6 MONTHS? This is self-explanatory.
4. CANCEL ALL PRE-ORDERS!!! EB loves when people forget they put that $5 down on that hot coming soon title. 6 months ago, before the "merger" store managers got the word one day to cancel all pre-orders that weren't picked up and deposit the money from them with the rest of your cash at the end of the night. WOAH! It totaled over $900 in CASH that the company just confiscated from customers who trusted us enough to leave us thier hard earned money. So you might wanna get that $50 deposit on the XBOX 360 back and put it in at a GAMESTOP.
5. INSPECT ALL PRE-OWNED GAMES THOROUGHLY! EB will take any game in trade regardless of the condition. They have resurfacing machines at the wharehouses to fix scratched games like new. BUT, shortly after telling all my employees to defect out any pre-played game they would not buy themselves, I got an e-mail from the DM. He wrote that I was defecting too many games out, and actually wrote: "Who are you to say that the customer doesn't want that scratched game?" Who am I? A GAMER, FOOL!!!!
Before I sign off let me apologize to any of our loyal customers whom I may have bamboozled with any of these schemes. As they say in the military, I was only following orders. As I stated earlier, my job was at stake and I have a son to feed.
Lastly, to anyone who thinks working in a game store would be a dream job, YOU ARE SADLY MISTAKEN!!! You can't play games or you'll get written up. You are constantly hounded and bombarded with scams, and an endless stream of marketing rhetoric you MUST SPOUT EVERYTIME YOU ANSWER THE PHONE, GREET A CUSTOMER, OR CLOSE A SALE. The pay is crap because the company philosophy is "working here and your 15% discount are reward enough"...my part timer, who was making $6.50/hr., busted his ass for 9 months, learned to open, close and did all the work of an assistant, topped the district ranking list for part time sales associates, and outperformed most STORE MANAGERS in sales. As a reward for his hardwork, 3 weeks ago, my man got a 25 cent raise. A 25 CENT RAISE!!!!! THAT IS A SLAP IN THE FACE FOR A GROWN MAN WITH BILLS AND RENT TO PAY!!! He didn't even get a promotion to senior sales associate.
So buyer EB-ware....
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