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We all love our Local GW for Various Reasons (Store Collections, Staff Being Awesome and Epic Events)
However, there is Usually one thing that is Wrong, or Bad about your local GW that you *Hate* And how this Causes a problem

My Local GW
The one thing i *hate* about my local GW is no FW, EVER (Models, Rulesets, ANYTHING)
The Problem this causes is that most people who play there, have FW models and Play 30k, and this makes us not want to attend any events that may occur, and we cant use our cool looking GW armies that have FW models (one of us has a 40k IF army and uses A LOT of MK3) (the only exceptions are Rhino/Land Raider doors)
This ALSO causes the problem of Weak armies (E.G SoB) Being Constantly Stomped by Stong Armies(E.G SM and Eldar), and the weak armies cant try to combat it with FW support (E.G Repressors)

The only reason i can see my local GW doing this, is that the manager is the only staff member, and so he wants sales to be at their maximum (I.E He doesnt want people coming in and seeing the cool FW models and then buying those at home)

So yeah, name one thing you *Hate* about your local GW!

The minute I walk through the door the red shirts hump my leg like a randy Alsatian trying to get me to buy stuff. I appreciate they have sales targets but when I walk in for a pot of paint I do not want the Nagash box being thrust in my hands or a start collecting set for an army I have no interest in being waved in front of me.

It actively discourages me going in at times as I know it will be the same rigmaroll each time. I am by default a mild mannered and polite chap who has a lot of patience but I have at times found myself getting a bit arsey with the staff when they start to try and shove a box of Centurions in my pants, figuratively speaking.

Getting curbstomped by a kid without an army list taking nine Dreadnoughts of various Blood Angel flavours, Dante, Sanguinor, three rhinos loaded with footslog death company (!) and a storm raven in a "1000" point game.

I was not amused.

And the problem is - the place is a 1 table store, so there is no getting around it.

High prices -> It makes me not buy stuff


Automatically Appended Next Post:

SNAAAAKE wrote:
Getting curbstomped by a kid without an army list taking nine Dreadnoughts

Lol a allmost all walker army krumped you that kid is a hero : D

The last time I visited a GW, I got told that games can only be polayed on special events, where everyone in the store plays a massive apocalypse game. This apocalypse game is "good guys vs bad guys".
Already thinking this was bs, I looked into it, and the apoc game is:

Eldar, Tau and all IOM forces vs Everyone Else

And since over 60% of players there at the time had Eldar, Tau or IOM, this meant that the conclusion was predictable af.

In other news, I have also visited two other GW stores that only have one gaming table available for games (and was contended by 40k and WHFB). The other three tables were "displays only".
Which is hilarious, as you couldn't see the GW store from the street.

zoggy the dreads were gone turn 3 (They were all too far away to shoot) the problem was them tying my sternguard up so I immediately get curbstomped with about 80 attacks a phase by the rest of them.

I hate that my 'local' GW is over 125 miles away.

The nearest GW store is a 10 hour drive away.

Don't feel like going there since GW stores doesn't provide anything I can't get from a local game store or the internet. Haven't had any problems with the sales people but I've only been in an official GW store maybe five times.

I guess the only issue with mine is that it's a little cramped. But other than that it's a great store with fantastic staff.

Cramped and now the staff attempt to violate my wallet every time I enter.
Hence I havnt been in for many years.

It's been a while since I lived anywhere close to a GW that had any kind of influence on my FLGS.

This is what I remember from that time: We would get new players from the GW store because it was small and had only two tables, and they would hear about the FLGS and "Warhammer Saturday" and our large game room, tables, and terrrain. So these new players would roll in with the worst possible lists filled with garbage units and starter set models. They could maybe play 1000 points, but most likely 750, and they would be in awe of a 2,000 point list. They would be all cute and innocent, and not realizing that most games are played at the 1500-2000 point levels, and just could not believe that people could actually paint so well and so many models...! And of course all the bad habits, like "Oh, we never look at the rulebook! We just roll a d6..." and "But the Red Shirt said..."

Basically, the worst kind of new player was from the GW Store.

I don't like that GW finally opened a store in Boston but they put it in Brookline where I can't get there in less than an hour. Coincidentally it's right by my old college, which kinda makes it even worse knowing I could have been hanging out so close to a game store!

 NoiseMarine with Tinnitus wrote:
The minute I walk through the door the red shirts hump my leg like a randy Alsatian trying to get me to buy stuff.

This is the main reason that I have not been in an official GW store for many, many years. This sort of thing just drives me up the wall!

SNAAAAKE wrote:
Getting curbstomped by a kid without an army list taking nine Dreadnoughts of various Blood Angel flavours, Dante, Sanguinor, three rhinos loaded with footslog death company (!) and a storm raven in a "1000" point game.

I've run across similar situations and just told the kid "that's not a legal army" and either helped him come up with something legal or walked away. To me its not worth the aggravation just to get a half- game in.

SNAAAAKE wrote:
And the problem is - the place is a 1 table store, so there is no getting around it.

I have not run into the "one table store" but I haven't been into a GW store in a long time. One more reason not to break my unbroken avoidance of company stores.

I got no complaints about my FLGS. At least we have one now . Only thing I wish was that he could give out discounts. I guess the discount I get now is I don't have to drive to the next FLGS (not so local 1/2 one way) so I save gas and wear and tear on my car.

SNAAAAKE wrote:Getting curbstomped by a kid without an army list taking nine Dreadnoughts of various Blood Angel flavours, Dante, Sanguinor, three rhinos loaded with footslog death company (!) and a storm raven in a "1000" point game.

I was not amused.

And the problem is - the place is a 1 table store, so there is no getting around it.

Not sure how to take this. On one hand I agree. On the other hand not knowing the full story seems petty. A kid. How old is this kid. How smart is this kid. Does this kid know how to play? The reason I say this can be petty is because we were all kids. We should be encouraging kids to play and have fun. If playing Unbound is fun for them, great let them do so. After all when we are kids we "don't know any better". So maybe this kid doesn't know any better.

Then again, if this kid does know better, then it's not petty at all, and I can fully agree with you then.

Davor wrote:
Not sure how to take this. On one hand I agree. On the other hand not knowing the full story seems petty. A kid. How old is this kid. How smart is this kid. Does this kid know how to play?

Fair point, although I would hope that buy the time he has bought and assembled several hundred dollars worth of miniatures he would have at least a clue about the rules and gameplay. I'm generally glad to help a newbie learn the game but I don't generally think just allowing a young player to ignore the army creation rules does either of us any favors.

The reason I say this can be petty is because we were all kids. We should be encouraging kids to play and have fun. If playing Unbound is fun for them, great let them do so. After all when we are kids we "don't know any better". So maybe this kid doesn't know any better.

I agree. Any local club or gaming community needs to cultivate new blood and I never had a problem with that. If he wants to play "unbound" though, he needs to get another opponent as I don't like playing unbound, I don't collect my the miniatures to play unbound, so I can't provide him with the sort of game he's looking for.

Then again, if this kid does know better, then it's not petty at all, and I can fully agree with you then.

Yeah, generally my experience with players like the OP described are those who can't be bothered to buy their codex, or even the rulebook, and get upset when you try and get them to follow the actual rules.

It's never actually open whenever I'm passing; either I'm too early, it's a closed day, or the manager is taking a dump.

That one (on the 2 occasions I've managed to get in) and the next nearest also suffer from the over eagre staff thing that makes just browsing really awkward. These days I only really go in if I know what I'm wanting already (and I can't get it from my FLGS).

-

One of the two people working there is a GIGANTIC jerk. Pushy, rude, but whining how they don't get money when you order from the GW site to the store, complaining you don't preorder anyway when you tell him you've already preordered etc.

The other guy is nice enough, but getting crap for having to direct order everything is a reason to get crapped on? No.

It's in Winston Salem and not Lincolnton or Hickory.

The problem is, it's too far to drive to on a regular basis.

way too damn small and cramped. Does not carry lotr/hobbit. not close enough to be worth going unless you know they have what you want. the cramped and small makes playing there abysmal, and the staff, while eager, is marginally knowledgable.

I have no problem with my local GW to be honest. For all my dislike of GW in general, the local store I don't mind. The guy is friendly, helpful, willing to chat about general stuff rather than just harping on about GW products.

I guess the area is a bit small, has about 4 or 5 smallish tables, which can be combined in to a couple of larger tables, but some of that space is occupied by intro games so you can realistically only have maybe 3 small games or 1 small and 1 large game going at once.

And I guess the fact they don't offer a discount when the shop a bit further down the road does.

I certainly don't hate anything about mine,

the heavy sales push you get when you come in is an annoyance (and I've had that in non GW gaming stores too),

but they don't push once they've said their HQ mandated spiel and you tell them your just browsing

they're not as cheap as the internet, but if I need something NOW they're a decent shout and are less likely to be sold out than my independent (although they obviously have less choice)

The fact that as a one man store, the two days off are Sunday and Monday, and Sunday is half of my days off too. XD

I don't like the 45 minute drive, or the fact that it's really AoS heavy there. I like AoS, don't get me wrong, but 40k is my stuff, and its a little more challenging to find a pick up game there. If I show up with my Flesh Eater Courts, I'm able to get a game always, even if it's just against the manager (who is totally a cool dude). If I pop in with many of my 40k armies, there's like an 80% chance that I'll have to wait around an hour before someone else rolls in looking to play 40k. Everyone's always down to check out the newest painted or FW stuff (painted or not) I bring in with me, but just not a ton of challengers.

Don't hate mine, just don't play GW games and both flgs have better toys/ paints/staff

 Bookwrack wrote:
The fact that as a one man store, the two days off are Sunday and Monday, and Sunday is half of my days off too. XD

A lot of hobby shops take Sundays off, I've never understood why because Sunday is one of 2 days most people have off and are likely to be doing hobby related stuff. Taking Sunday off makes sense for a lot of other businesses, not so much a hobby shop.

I hate that mine is so damn far away and the traffic is always bad. I really want to play there too, all their terrain is awesome and I just want to have a great scenic battle for once.

The idea that GW is the 'official' place to play and that all models should be 'official' GW models in tournament not even affiliated with the store.

I prefer the GW lackeys stay in the local store playing only other GW lackeys, and keep their propaganda to themselves.

 Tamwulf wrote:

This is what I remember from that time: We would get new players from the GW store because it was small and had only two tables, and they would hear about the FLGS and "Warhammer Saturday" and our large game room, tables, and terrrain. So these new players would roll in with the worst possible lists filled with garbage units and starter set models. They could maybe play 1000 points, but most likely 750, and they would be in awe of a 2,000 point list. They would be all cute and innocent, and not realizing that most games are played at the 1500-2000 point levels, and just could not believe that people could actually paint so well and so many models...!

Wow. I've read some bizarre stuff on Dakka in my time. I think this takes the award for why there's a lot less youngsters in the wargaming hobby these days.

To summarise... you hated the local GW because they got new players to buy starters to start gaming, then your cliquey gaming store put them off because they hadn't managed to paint up 1500+ points and used starter models.

Hope I just misinterpreted your story.

I hate that my local GW closes early (9pm on Saturday) and doesn't provide drinks. Otherwise they're fantastic.