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okay, this may turn into a bit of a rant, but I feel I really need to discuss this as I want to see what other's views are on the matter.

Recently I've been feeling my FLGS has gained a very toxic atmosphere, 3 times within the last week I've come home and felt absolutely horrible. the most recent instance occurred when I was trying to play a game bystanders (including the cover manager) were all sitting about, not actually doing anything were absolutely taking the p out of my army, I ignored them and continued to play. Eventually they started moving and hiding my models (again the "manager" included) all while I was still trying to play, by this point I was getting annoyed but I didn't let on and kept on playing.

By the time the game ended I started to pack up to go home, I noticed my WHFB rulebook was not in any of my bags, (I realized that someone else had picked it up and put it down elsewhere when I was playing in the morning) I looked around and asked if anyone had seen it they all said they hadn't seen it, I kept on looking for my book while packing up at which point instead of offering to help look they all started to take the p out of me again (yet again "manager" included) saying things like, "if you can't keep track of it then you deserved to loose it" (which is really pretty spiteful), despite the fact that it had been mislaid through no fault of my own and I had explained so, they continued taking the p and being generally rude, by this point I was feeling really quite upset, again not showing it.

In the end I left with the only fantasy rulebook left unclaimed on the advice of the particularly unhelpful manager that "it must be yours as it is the only one left despite the fact that it obviously wasn't, as mine was in good condition whereas the one that was left had lots of pages falling out of the back and the pages were horribly creased and dog-eared. I hope to retrieve it next weekend as I have reason to believe that one of the other fantasy players may have picked it up by accident as I know they own copies of the same rulebook.

now while I am upset about my rulebook what upset me the most was how rude, unpleasant and unhelpful the other customers were and the fact that rather than doing anything about it the "manager" actually joined in with them. What is worse is that this is not a privately owned store but an official GW store where you would expect more professional behavior from the staff. This is not the first time this particular group have gone out their way to insult me either (they have no reason to, I never get involved with them, I only come to play for some fun). needless to say by the time I got home I felt so unhappy that I felt like giving up the hobby that I dearly love.

I know most will suggest I find a new place to play, but the problem is that it is my only store that I can get to by train that is within reasonable distance and there are no gaming clubs that operate in my area, I'm not really sure where to proceed from here as I don't really want to keep having to put up with that level of toxicity just to play a couple of games.

sorry for the rant and wall of text, I hope that you guys can understand why I am so upset with the current situation, any helpful advice will be appreciated.

Write your name in your books, or otherwise mark then so that they are identifiable.

The less your rulebook looks like everyone else's rulebook, the less people are going to mistake it for their own or the store rulebook.

Disclaimer: You're posting on the Internet. Fairness requires assuming that everyone involved (you, the store manager, the players, the bystanders, the people walking outside, the people on the TV, everyone) was acting like a jerk.

While that is good advice to always put your name in your book, it doesn't address the issue and kind of blames you for what happened.

If a place is getting too toxic or making you unhappy, don't go back. Your time is worth more than wasting it trying to have fun around people hell bent on preventing you from having fun. If you feel it's worth it or they'll listen, it may be worth your while to talk to a few people that go to the store. Maybe if you can find some people who have gotten the same impression as you to go as a group you guys can change the atmosphere. Or perhaps someone has gotten the same feeling and is willing to try and make it a better place.

I've walked away from stores for the same reason, often times without any other options for a FLGS. It sucks, but it's games and they should be fun.

The store employees behavior was unproffessional.

Sadly, it is apparent that for some reason they do not like you, and are trying to make you feel unwelcome. You should look into reporting thier behavior up the coporate ladder to the District Manager.

However, you really do need to keep an eye on your stuff.

I agree, Don't go back. Use craigslist, Dakka, and Facebook to try to find or form a group and play with people elsewhere.

Go back to get your book. That would annoy me to no end. Also call, on a phone, the district manager's office. Then write a letter (the kind that use stamps) to customer service and the district manager, then email them as well. Lastly, leave poor reviews on sites like Google maps. You want the higher ups to understand how upset you were, you want change. Unless they want the bad reputation then they will try to make that change.

I'm tired of hearing about businesses, employees, and managers behaving rudely to customers. Feth them, I am going to do more than "stop going", I'm telling the people who might care a little more, and I'm warning the other customers.

Get fair treatment, you're a human too.

If they don't like you then they probably don't like your money either. If it's an independent store you may be out of luck. If it is part of a chain then a written complaint to the head office with specific dates, times, events, and quotes from the antagonists might be your only recourse.

 adamsouza wrote:
The store employees behavior was unproffessional.

Sadly, it is apparent that for some reason they do not like you, and are trying to make you feel unwelcome. You should look into reporting thier behavior up the coporate ladder to the District Manager.

However, you really do need to keep an eye on your stuff.

Yeah, this is a great benefit of GW's stores- they have someone who supervises them. Figure out who you can report this information to, even if it's just the customer service line on GW's website. Who knows, it may be effective!

Complaining to corporate, about individual stores and employees, works with most big companies.
They don't really care about the customers, but they do care that their employees are costing them money by alienating customers.

I agree. As a former Black Shirt (Red Shirt for you older types) this is completely unacceptable. Contact corporate and tell them the entire situation in a calm and rational manner. Use names and give quotes along with the specific store, date, and time. I'd even say call customer service and ask to speak to their supervisor, that will get their attention.

Sounds like you were the target of some good old fashioned group based bullying. For whatever reason, they all decided to feth with you and try to ruin your fun. By all banding together to pick on you, they all feel closer to each other and superior to you. Hooray! You're helping others!


Yeah, man. That sucks. Honestly it sounds like they have a clique and they don't want you in it. Feth those guys. Follow the advice of others ITT and use the magic of the internet to reach out and find new opponents.

Write or e-mail or other method to GW head office retail. Explain in a calm and factual manner your experiences at the store and how you no longer feel welcome. Make sure you don't rant. Explain the Rulebook loss as well. Include your contact details when contacting them.

At the very least they'll do some investigations as GW takes the threat of any lost custom caused by their staff very seriously.

 adamsouza wrote:
The store employees behavior was unproffessional.

Sadly, it is apparent that for some reason they do not like you, and are trying to make you feel unwelcome. You should look into reporting thier behavior up the coporate ladder to the District Manager.

However, you really do need to keep an eye on your stuff.

Gonna wholeheartedly agree here.


The way they treated you was unprofessional from the employees front, douchebaggery on the patrons front.

That said... while none of it was acceptable, i have to assume that there's something that triggered it ; even if only the group think wolf pack mentality that pervades a lot of LGS' when they are run like club houses for the owner and friends, and not a business. A real business wouldn't stand for this, especially if you bring money in.

Therefore, talk to the owner. Not the manager (if different) not another cover manager. The Owner. If you buy things there, he will listen. If you don't, and you buy online and bring them into his shop to play with, understand right now that while i don't condone it, you have exactly zero recourse. THe owner won't care. If you DO purchase there, he will care, and will do something about it.

The book is a whole other matter. I'd bring this up to store staff no matter what, whether they care or not. I'd be irate if someone book swapped on me.

That said, you will never find any of my stuff more than arms length away from me, or without a trusted friend's eye on it. Frankly, I don't "know", truly, many people at my LGS. I know 3 of the 5 employees well enough to trust them, and probably 1-2 other guys, and my friends. I don't trust anyone other than my friends and the employees to keep an eye on my stuff as i step into the bathroom, grab lunch across the street to bring back, etc.

Moral: Keep an eye on your stuff. Ultimately it's your responsibility. You actually kinda got lucky: you still have a book, though I TOTALLY agree is super shady someone swapped a gakky condition copy with a good condition copy. However, they could have flat out stole it.

Put your name in your books. Keep an eye on your models.

As to them "taking the piss" out of you, it sounds like you play in a clubhouse type LGS, which sucks. Been there, and it's absolutely horrible. What is worse is when its a clubhouse mentality LGS that insists on engaging in low tier (braincell) social darwinism vis-a-vis, group thinkery and wolf pack pick-on tactics. They pick a prey, and then they all hop in an join in. Because the group dynamic is condoning it, and the store is doing nothing to stop it, this type of behavior takes root and is therefore "socially" deemed acceptable. People on the fringe, as long as they aren't the target, will join in because, Hey, at least they aren't the target.

It's terrible, and common. The only solace is that often these shops don't last long, at least here in the states. YOu can't keep a shop open on the patronage of 5-10 good friends, and ad hoc customers that drop in, and leave after purchase.


If you have no other choice, and there are like minded people : set up a house league. Play at someone's house or basement, etc. Start a club. You don't NEED that store. You just need people to play with. If they treat everyone this way, then really all you need is some starting point - someone to get things going.

 Haight wrote:
Snip

This was a GW store it seems.

Just echoing comments from others here- make this known to GW corporate and don't be shy about it.

Take the managers keys and hide them. By his own logic he'll understand its not your fault but his .

Edit: don't forget to leave some crappy plastic key or something in it's place. That one will have to be his.

Start hitting the gym, bulk up with steroids and come back in 6 months when you are huge and tear their heads off.


In all seriousness if the GW over there is anything like the GW here in the US the employees have a very short lifespan and any sort of complaints to corporate can easily see them dismissed. GW here has a very high turn over as they believe it's a much safer bet to let an easily replaceable wage slave go than to risk allowing a bad customer service experience. Write a letter to GW explaining what happened. Be factual and professional about the details and try and keep your wordings from being influenced by your emotions, I'm not sure how well taking the piss will come across at detailing your experience, so it's best to stick to calm demeanor and cite specific behavior and language the employee directly said.

On the one hand, it's your stuff, keep track of it, especially if people are acting like jerks (I used to go to GREAT lengths to keep my things unique and personalised, especially after my first tournament!)

On the other hand, this is a corporate store and that behaviour is unacceptable. If I still had my little green GW employee folder I'd tell you exactly which sections and subclauses that staff member was violating, but alas it's more than a decade out of date and packed away somewhere

thanks for all the really positive feedback folks,
I've decided to talk to the regular manager when he gets back on Wednesday and inform him of the situation and see what he has to say and make a decision based on that, he's been very helpful to me and others and I'm sure he would be pretty annoyed about what happened and would definitely do something about it as I discovered in a conversation with him a few weeks ago that he is one of GW's very high ranking and more experienced managers.
As for the book, I plan to also ask about that on Wednesday and see if he could keep an eye out for it in case it is still in the store and to ask about to see if anyone picked it up by mistake (which I'm sure was the case, it has happened to others before and has been resolved). On the off chance that we discovered that it had been purposefully stolen then I'm sure something would be done about it as I'm sure he would be annoyed to learn that such events were occurring in his store during his absence.
I'll let you know how it goes.

All the points made previously in this thread are valid. What I would like to add is that you have to manage your FLGS, there's no reason to assume it's going to be a welcoming and inviting place.

Around 2007, the FLGS near me was a hive of scum and villainy - meaning, players were stealing from other players, fights over tables were common, there were some cliques that made for a toxic atmosphere.

It took a couple years, but we cleaned up the place. This meant calling the cops a couple times when we caught guys stealing, setting up a table reservation system to stop all the arguments, organizing narrative campaigns that would get people playing against folks they normally would not play against, etc.

What really made the difference, tho, was mentoring - towards the end of 5th edition, we had about 15 guys who really knew each faction and would spend time teaching new players the rules. This included civility and sportsmanship, and it changed the way people played when they were there.

The owner was more into comic books and kind of left the wargaming part of the store in the hands of an assistant named Kevin who had no problem with problems. Part of the way we got this to happen was by just making friends with the owner and getting Kevin to accept being managed.

As this is corporate GW, i'd say go into the meeting with the manager with a clear outcome in your mind - this to me is full apology, your book returned and i suggest a discount voucher.

If this is not forthcoming, tell him you'll be speaking to GW corporate and your local paper about how GW encourages a bullying culture in its stores. I guarantee that while gw hate media, any hint of a story whoch targets their main audience (eg school kids) is going to cause a real stink very quickly.

You are in the right here and are owed big time.

 stanman wrote:
Start hitting the gym, bulk up with steroids and come back in 6 months when you are huge and tear their heads off. :

/Thread

 Glasdir wrote:
thanks for all the really positive feedback folks,
I've decided to talk to the regular manager when he gets back on Wednesday and inform him of the situation and see what he has to say and make a decision based on that, he's been very helpful to me and others and I'm sure he would be pretty annoyed about what happened and would definitely do something about it as I discovered in a conversation with him a few weeks ago that he is one of GW's very high ranking and more experienced managers.
As for the book, I plan to also ask about that on Wednesday and see if he could keep an eye out for it in case it is still in the store and to ask about to see if anyone picked it up by mistake (which I'm sure was the case, it has happened to others before and has been resolved). On the off chance that we discovered that it had been purposefully stolen then I'm sure something would be done about it as I'm sure he would be annoyed to learn that such events were occurring in his store during his absence.
I'll let you know how it goes.

Keep in mind that it will be your word against that of the other people involved. Do you have at least one person who can back you up?

Simply this, I would walk into the shop with the cops and ask for my book back or i'll press charges and sue the company.

Name and shame.

Where was this?

I'd complain to the manager/owner.

I'd also not take that crap from them.

Don't ignore them, confront them. If they move your models ask them not to, if they continue, be loud. "WTF? I ask nicely and you donkey-caves ignore me. Not being nice, keep your hands off my fething models and let me play my game"
"YO! Mr. Store employee! You part of this? You like your job? WTF do you think I'm doing when I leave here, call and recommend you for a raise for bullying me?".

A dreadsock could help too.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
As for your book:

You came into the GW with a book in good shape. The employee was playing games with your stuff along with other people. Your book is missing.

GW owes you a new book, not a ratty one. Tell the manager that, and if you get no tracking, call customer service and complain. A GW store is especially vulnerable to complaints like this.

 mikhaila wrote:
I'd complain to the manager/owner.

I'd also not take that crap from them.

Don't ignore them, confront them. If they move your models ask them not to, if they continue, be loud. "WTF? I ask nicely and you donkey-caves ignore me. Not being nice, keep your hands off my fething models and let me play my game"
"YO! Mr. Store employee! You part of this? You like your job? WTF do you think I'm doing when I leave here, call and recommend you for a raise for bullying me?".

A dreadsock could help too.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
As for your book:

You came into the GW with a book in good shape. The employee was playing games with your stuff along with other people. Your book is missing.

GW owes you a new book, not a ratty one. Tell the manager that, and if you get no tracking, call customer service and complain. A GW store is especially vulnerable to complaints like this.

This right here. Good luck and keep us updated!

I have to echo others here. Complain to the manager, and if the issue is not resolved to your satisfaction, call the district manager. My wife worked at a video game retail store- policy meant nothing if a customer complained to the DM. Low level employees are expendable as well in favor of a customer, right or wrong.

The fact that a store manager was helping other customers take your belongings, even if in jest, is appalling. The fact that he joined in bullying is even more appalling.

Follow mikhailas advice.

sounds like this wasn't even the store manager, but Im gonna guess the "temp hired help"