Game Stop And EB Games

I don't like to think of myself as a vindictive bastard. I'm pretty easy going.

Those of you who know me personally will know that I worked at EB Games for two years. I enjoyed my time there, mostly.

Now, a lot of people know of Game Stop and EB Games for the utter disregard for the customer saying "no", and how they will continue to sell you stuff you never wanted until you almost literally pull out a knife and shank them. That's fair enough, I'd want to do the same. I admit I still go to EB, mainly because they're the only place close enough who sell games. I bypass that by letting the salespeople know I'm a former employee, so I know all their tricks and policies and they won't work on me.

Anyway, the point of this blog is simple. Working for Game Stop (if you're overseas) or EB Games (as they're owned by Game Stop) can be hell. I bore it for two years, and again, while I say I enjoyed my time, I also knew just how badly they were milking me and my replaceability. Looking at the massive stack of resume's in the storeroom each day is enough to reinforce the idea that any other dipshit could take my job at a moments notice.

Enter WhistleBlowerZero, a former Game Stop employee who is fed up with their bullshit. His series of videos, in a direct parody of Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw of Zero Punctuation fame, seek to inform those of us who purchase from Game Stop / EB Games, and those of us who might want to work for them, just how raw of a deal you're getting. Spanning 10 videos totalling around 90 minutes, WhistleBlowerZero goes on to show just how hard employees are being driven, and how much of a cash-cow the company sees the consumer as.

I want to point out, even though WhistleBlowerZero is based in the Unites States, everything he says applies to Australia, and almost assuredly the entire world where you'll find one of their store franchises. I'll recount a story of my own experience, just to emphasise the point that when the customer says "no", to EB it means "keep asking until they're about to punch you."

I had a guy come im looking to buy a PlayStation 2. He already owned one, but something happened, and it died. He was already kitted out with games, controllers, memory cards and the like. All the wanted was a new unit, a cost of $200AU at the time. Upon making the purchase, I continued to offer things to bump up the sale. Dodgy third-party controller didn't work? Okay, how about the dodgy third-party memorycard? On and on until the guy was going red with frustration. But, at the end of that transaction, I'd sold him not only a PlayStation 2 console, but an extended warranty (which as my manager put to me so succinctly "is pure profit to the company"), two games, a couple of pre-orders, gift certificate and the famous "discount" card. So instead of his intended $200 purchase, he left my store carrying roughly $450 worth of goods. My manager, who watched the whole sale patted me on the back with a chuckle, and the next week my hours went up.

So as you're watching WhistleBlowerZero's videos, don't start to think he's blowing things out of proportion. It's all true.

Oh, and if you happen to be a Game Stop / EB Games "gamestopio" (as coined by WhistleBlowerZero), fuck you. I will not close my mouth. For everyone else, the more you know. Don't let this corporate serpent digest whole.

WhistleBlowerZero's YouTube Channel