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Went by there this morning seeing what they had in the window display and the had a sign that said they were closing on the 18th of November. This is a damned shame because this was one of the few GW staffs that I actually liked. They weren't Pushy and didn't try the hard sell on regulars. Nothing yet on if they are moving or just shutting down entirely. I hope the staff there get transferred somewhere.

Yea there closing the GW in Katy Mills too. Easily getting the most new members into the hobby.

There supposed to be moving it to westimer and down grading but, i still don't see how they are going to have a booming business with small out of the way stores like these.
You have to have stores in major areas like malls.

Fallen668 wrote:...They weren't Pushy and didn't try the hard sell on regulars...

Maybe thats why they got closed.

aka_mythos wrote:

Fallen668 wrote:...They weren't Pushy and didn't try the hard sell on regulars...

Maybe thats why they got closed.

ouch!

Another reason I liked that location is because it was in an area I found myself in a lot. I go to the Rice village area nearly every weekend for breakfast with the girlfriend so it was always on the way. No... I think it will be back to stepping into a GW once a quarter at most because all the others are too hard for me to get to since I don't drive.

aka_mythos wrote:

Fallen668 wrote:...They weren't Pushy and didn't try the hard sell on regulars...

Maybe thats why they got closed.

But the thing is that the stores we had didn't have to get pushy about sells they would just talk to you as if they were another player.
They made there sales guaranteed, heck in one Saturday they sold at least 12+ starter boxes for 40k alone. And usually had the academy filled up so, money making wasn't an issue.

Counterpoint. Parking was horrendous at GW Rice, absolutely horrendous. The butjob who thought they'd put a gaming store in some of most expensive retail in Houston is...probably not working for GW any more.

They did open a GW on 290 and the one in Willowbrook remains open I believe.

Both of those stores are too small though. Hopefully the new store will be larger. Maybe GW will figure out someday that they need room for like 10 4X8 tables to be a viable place to play, have tourneys, and have a decent club.

What new store is being referred here?

Some new store on Westheimer. I am seriously hoping it will be easy to get to. While Asgard is good for most things... I really hope this new one won't be too far out. Traveling entirely by bus in Houston sucks... HARD!

Fallen668 wrote:They weren't Pushy and didn't try the hard sell on regulars.

I hate going to the GW store nearest to me. As soon as you walk in they are on you like vultures. They won't let you browse. They want to know exactly what you want because they know whats in stock. I'm like "DOOD back off I just want to browse and buy whatever strikes me as awesome." And my local gaming store has a better selection anyway.

aka_mythos wrote:

Fallen668 wrote:...They weren't Pushy and didn't try the hard sell on regulars...

Maybe thats why they got closed.

Ding Ding Ding, we have a winner!

Cheers

3 stores in houston closing
2 stores opening

kinghammer wrote:

aka_mythos wrote:

Fallen668 wrote:...They weren't Pushy and didn't try the hard sell on regulars...

Maybe thats why they got closed.

Ding Ding Ding, we have a winner!

Cheers

EDITED BY THE MODQUISITION. FUZZYGUY, PLEASE SEE YOUR PRIVATE MESSAGE INBOX. -The Mgmt.

End Rant

Atleast there are still quite a few independents around town (Montags, Nan's, Asgard, etc), and Royal Oaks is only about 20 minutes away from Rice which isn't too bad given the size of Houston. They have quite a few gaming tables at Royal Oaks too.

Asgaard is just down the street.

Royal oaks?

Royal Orks!

I looked at the map today... all the stores are now outside the beltway. And it is not just 20 minutes away for me to get to Royal Oaks. Rice Village was convenient... all their stores being on the west side of town and outside the beltway is not. Even my girlfriend who get stuck taking me to these places is looking at that like it is going to be a bit far.

Frazzled is right... Asgard is down the street. Great store... I pretty much use them exclusively and will wait to have them order things instead of going to Nan's now. Asgard though does not offer all the services that a real GW store does.

fuzzyguy wrote:

kinghammer wrote:

aka_mythos wrote:

Fallen668 wrote:...They weren't Pushy and didn't try the hard sell on regulars...

Maybe thats why they got closed.

Ding Ding Ding, we have a winner!

Cheers

It is better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt. You DO NOT know the reasons for the store closing nor their numbers. Your comment adds nothing to the conversation and only makes you to appear an ass. Read what others have posted about the store and you'll know more about the store performance than simply shooting off your mouth.

Keep your pants on, I think he was taking a shot at the fact the stereotypical GW store employee tends to be more sales-oriented than friendly.

Frazzled wrote:Counterpoint. Parking was horrendous at GW Rice, absolutely horrendous. The butjob who thought they'd put a gaming store in some of most expensive retail in Houston is...probably not working for GW any more.

They did open a GW on 290 and the one in Willowbrook remains open I believe.

No, Will is not.

Forgot to mention when I was there that the schedule for Rice village has been cut back severely. They are now open less than 30 hours a week.

Store hours are as follows...

Mon and Tue- Closed
Wed-Fri 3:30PM to 9:00pm (used to be noon to 9:00)
Sat 1:00pm to 9:00pm (used to open at noon on both weekend days)
Sunday 1:00Pm to 6:00PM

With these hours, they are now effectively closed to me because of my work schedule and sleep schedule. I can not make it in at all without seriously impacting my sleep schedule for work. It would be like someone who works a regular 8-5 job trying to make it to a store that was only open in the late middle part of the night. At least previously when they opened at noon on the weekends, I could swing by there right at opening and still make it home in enough time to get 4.5 hours of sleep before work.

I never though I would actually lament a GW store closing, but here I am doing it. I will probably make it into the new ones once or twice a year if I am lucky now.

I, for one, would love to see a GW open up somewhere in my area. Clear Lake isn't too far from me and would be nice fo those Saturday afternoon mini runs.

As it stands, All of the stores, besides the Rice Village shop, are well over 45 minutes to an hour away.

Lol, there's only one person kinghammer could be, and his post is hilarious coming from him.

While I haven't talked to him in almost a year, he would know about the inner workings of GW better than I would, and sadly I know more than I want to.

For people saying he wouldn't know better, uh yeah, actually he would.

fuzzyguy wrote:

It is better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt. You DO NOT know the reasons for the store closing nor their numbers. Your comment adds nothing to the conversation and only makes you to appear an ass. Read what others have posted about the store and you'll know more about the store performance than simply shooting off your mouth.

End Rant

wow, if this is your first post then i see many a reported post in your future if this is the inaugural tone you're setting. perhaps you need to follow your own advice and read the dakka rules (especially rule #1).

Let me quote one of my colleagues, his online handle is Cato Sicarius: Read between the lines of what he's saying, and you'll get straight up the changes to GW US the upper management is trying to make.

"I love GW. I love thier models and I love their games. However I am not of the opinion that they can do no wrong. Their first main problem is the current state of thei retail philosophy. When I got and into the hobby and later on when I worked at on of their mall sites and then at a bunker the red shirt was a HOBBY SPECIALIST. These are the guys that taught me how to play and how to paint. And in return I spent stupid amounts of money. Later on as I worked there I tried to be like them. Always wanting to get people excited about the hobby. Most of the people at my store liked me because I was not pushy. But I still sold stuff. I got people excited about the hobby, not about spending money. Now as I look and see what is going it (specifically in my old stomping grounds....LA) makes me sick. The word from the regional managers mouth was that he wants people that can sell not people that can hobby. Why would I pay full retail price to go to GW store where the guys have no clue what they are talking about instead of going to an independent retailer and getting a discount? GW retail has lost its way."

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/90/257169.page#993062

Asgard is right up the road, and I've been there a few times to play a buddy. Nice place. Friendly staff.

I only went to the Rice Village GW a few times, but they seemed nice enough. Asgard and the Rice GW are a bit of a drive from Clear Lake.

The only game store that i know of near Clear Lake is Predator Games. I haven't been there, so I can't speak about it. I just heard about it, recently.

Le Grognard wrote:

Frazzled wrote:Counterpoint. Parking was horrendous at GW Rice, absolutely horrendous. The butjob who thought they'd put a gaming store in some of most expensive retail in Houston is...probably not working for GW any more.

They did open a GW on 290 and the one in Willowbrook remains open I believe.

No, Will is not.

Hey. Will atleast knew how to keep stores open..... and those stores in the most expensive retail markets..... were doing well enough to make Houston one of the best markets for GW.... it wasn't until after Will was let go that GW's in Houston started having problems. And the main reason why Rice Village GW was so "calm" is because it was the main training center for new staff member in the Houston area.

Fom what ed fm theaff members, Willowbrook i also closing down. The new stores include one of 529 and Highway 6, and one on 290 and Barker Cypress. If you're seeking a "calm yet professional setting", go to the one on 290 and Barker Cypress, as 2 out of three of the guys working at the 529/6 store are a little "pushy".....

There's also The 290 Battle Bunker.... nothing to buy there, but it's a gamer ran gaming club, not a bad group of guys.....

Either way you go, you're looking at 3 tables tops to play on.

Angron wrote:

Le Grognard wrote:

Frazzled wrote:Counterpoint. Parking was horrendous at GW Rice, absolutely horrendous. The butjob who thought they'd put a gaming store in some of most expensive retail in Houston is...probably not working for GW any more.

They did open a GW on 290 and the one in Willowbrook remains open I believe.

No, Will is not.

Hey. Will atleast knew how to keep stores open..... and those stores in the most expensive retail markets..... were doing well enough to make Houston one of the best markets for GW.... it wasn't until after Will was let go that GW's in Houston started having problems. And the main reason why Rice Village GW was so "calm" is because it was the main training center for new staff member in the Houston area.

Fom what ed fm theaff members, Willowbrook i also closing down. The new stores include one of 529 and Highway 6, and one on 290 and Barker Cypress. If you're seeking a "calm yet professional setting", go to the one on 290 and Barker Cypress, as 2 out of three of the guys working at the 529/6 store are a little "pushy".....

There's also The 290 Battle Bunker.... nothing to buy there, but it's a gamer ran gaming club, not a bad group of guys.....

Either way you go, you're looking at 3 tables tops to play on.

I heard Willowbrook is moving to 249 and Cypresswood. I haven't gone into any of the stores for a little while. The district manager, Elizibeth, makes me very uncomfortable and her recent decisions (over the past six months or so) on staff really pisses me off. I've been visiting independant retailers like Fat Ogre lately. They're much more gamer friendly than the GW stores of late.

I've always wondered why GW clustered their stores together in the west and north west side of town, and ignored the Clear lake, Pearland, Friendswood area.
But I could care less about them closing their stores because they are always a last resort for me. I hate pushy sales people and I always feel harrassed whenever I try to go in one.
Pushy Redshirt: HAY!!!! DO YOU PLAY 40K!!!!
Me at 40k rack: Yeah.
Pushy Redshirt: WHAT ARMY DO YOU PLAY!?!?
Me raising sleeve to show Space Wolf tatoo on shoulder: Take a guess.
Pushy Redshirt: WOW!!!! AWESOME!!!! BLAH BLAH BLAH etc.

As for independants in Clear lake, we have 3 left around the area since Horizon games closed down some years ago.
Predator games is to the south in Dickinson on hwy 517.
Montag games is on the otherside of Pearland on 518 near 288. Its a nice little place. Had plenty of customers and the shopkeep was a nice guy both times I went.
Skirmish Games is in Deer Park on Spencer across from San Jacinto college. Big place but the owner can sometimes be a jerk.

Tyras wrote:

Angron wrote:

Le Grognard wrote:

Frazzled wrote:Counterpoint. Parking was horrendous at GW Rice, absolutely horrendous. The butjob who thought they'd put a gaming store in some of most expensive retail in Houston is...probably not working for GW any more.

They did open a GW on 290 and the one in Willowbrook remains open I believe.

No, Will is not.

Hey. Will atleast knew how to keep stores open..... and those stores in the most expensive retail markets..... were doing well enough to make Houston one of the best markets for GW.... it wasn't until after Will was let go that GW's in Houston started having problems. And the main reason why Rice Village GW was so "calm" is because it was the main training center for new staff member in the Houston area.

Fom what ed fm theaff members, Willowbrook i also closing down. The new stores include one of 529 and Highway 6, and one on 290 and Barker Cypress. If you're seeking a "calm yet professional setting", go to the one on 290 and Barker Cypress, as 2 out of three of the guys working at the 529/6 store are a little "pushy".....

There's also The 290 Battle Bunker.... nothing to buy there, but it's a gamer ran gaming club, not a bad group of guys.....

Either way you go, you're looking at 3 tables tops to play on.

I heard Willowbrook is moving to 249 and Cypresswood. I haven't gone into any of the stores for a little while. The district manager, Elizibeth, makes me very uncomfortable and her recent decisions (over the past six months or so) on staff really pisses me off. I've been visiting independant retailers like Fat Ogre lately. They're much more gamer friendly than the GW stores of late.

Elizabeth? Spunky, short, dishwater blonde that started out in the Memphis Battle Bunker? Egads. I thought Jamey would have had that job by now.

I started to hate Elizabeth ahwile ago. But with the recent closing, it is most probably because the owners are trying to increase the rent on the store. I do believe though that closing katy mills is going to be a costly mistake, that was the first gw store i ever went in, and it has by far the most foot traffic. I also walked into the Sugar Land store about a week back and i learned that they dont provide paint or store copies of the codex. So the "hobby shop" isnt really a hobby shop. Currently the staff is over doing the selling, i personally come in to get a specific item, instead they spend 5 minutes asking if ai need glue.....

Is this the same for all stores in houston, becuase i may just stop my weekly stops at GW and start going back to asgards or montages.