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We've got a couple of FLGS in my area, and I personally like one over the others. I used to be a customer of store X, but now frequent Y because I think it's a better store. Some of my friends still like to go to X because it's closer, etc. So we were up at store X this weekend, and one of the guy's wife decided it would be a good time to have a discussion about the relative merits of the two stores. This was partially because I had suggested we meet at store Y, since I like it better.

Do you think it's polite to talk about store Y in store X? I really don't want to stir anything up, so I usually avoid mentioning it, or where I'm going, or anything like that, because I don't want to offend the people who work at store X. When she decided to talk about the various stores my response was to tell her it wasn't appropriate to discuss it at the moment.

OTOH maybe the people at store X might want to hear what they're doing wrong.

I had to deal with a very similar situation in my hometown. The key difference was owner/operator of store X and owner/operator of store Y hated each other. If this is the same case for you then I recommend keeping comments and the like to yourself while in store X and/or Y.

If the owner/operator of these two stores get along (as I'm sure they know of each other) then I don't think it's an issue.

As long as your having an intelligent conversation and it doesn't degenerate into a bashfest i would say your ok. Though i would pay attention to your surroundings and if the employees look uncomfortable or offended i would maybe tone it down.

The last time we had two gaming stores in my locality, there was such a wide difference between them that anybody with a brain in their head went to the better one. (Tabletop game and hobby, Overland Park, Kansas. Shameless plug) The other one closed, and they will have to tear the building down and remove the foundation to get rid of the stink of BO and stale pot smoke.

FLGS X wants to know what FLGS Y is doing and vice versa. It would be good, though, if FLGS's X and Y communicated and scheduled their events on non-conflicting weekends so patrons of both X and Y can attend.

Unfortunately, a lot of the times, this is not the case. Stores will purposely schedule events on top of, or before another store's tournies or events to sabotage them. Not good for business or the community.

Back on topic: If she's asking why you suggest meeting at Y, tell her (is she one of the owners or owners wife?). Owners (if they have an acumen of business sense) will try to keep their clientele happy and remedy any shortcomings their store may have compared to the others (although they can't control location).

But it would be good ettiquite not to bash X in X's store or tout Y in X's store. Your course of action is correct.

Le Grognard wrote:
Back on topic: If she's asking why you suggest meeting at Y, tell her (is she one of the owners or owners wife?). Owners (if they have an acumen of business sense) will try to keep their clientele happy and remedy any shortcomings their store may have compared to the others (although they can't control location).

But it would be good ettiquite not to bash X in X's store or tout Y in X's store. Your course of action is correct.

No, in this case, she's the wife of the guy who live about 5 minutes from the store. Everybody else has a 30 minute drive to either one.

I'd really rather not mention some of the failings of store X on this forum. Honestly, I got into some trouble with that a few years ago, and some of the same people are still on here. I also don't think that store X is horrible, just that store Y does a ton more.

I think that most of my friends still go to store X from habit/loyalty, and because of all the people there. I've also still got quite a few friends who work or hang out there, and I'm not really interesting in bad mouthing them, or their store.

You are correct that in a perfect world the owner of store X would probably want to know what they're doing "wrong", but I don't think that it's likely to work quite like that in this case. I'm also not the owner of either one, so I'm not really privy to their private struggles with running a game store. Regardless, nobody is really asking me what I think about either one*, but I've made up my mind, and I've voted with my wallet.

This is the other reason I want to go to store Y. I don't feel comfortable playing in a store I'm not spending money in.

EDIT: *Actually come to think of it, the owner of store Y had a 25% off sale, and asked that everybody complete a survey indicating what they thought could be improved, or changed.

Personally, the adage of, "if you can't say something nice, don't bother saying anything" holds true in this situation. You can have an intelligent conversation without being negative about one store vs. another. I float between 2 stores too. I like each for different reasons. I'd rather play at one vs. the other, based on some of the other players, but I'm pretty indifferent. If I could, I'd go to both.

Being from Northern Kentucky, I believe I know what stores you're talking about. Since there are only five FLGS in Cincinnati, I'll call Y 'Central' and X 'East'. South is in NKY and West used to be owned by South. North has out of town ownership. Much like you, I've been frequenting Central more often than East, even though I don't really play much since Arena Games closed years ago but that's mainly because they're the only FoW retailer in Cincinnati. Central has really been on the ball lately, hosting a league and sprucing up their playing area. The only downside is that they don't carry the stock in store. If you want something, you have to order it. East has some stock on hand (not too sure how they've been on new releases lately) but their store is a little sloppy. Am I close on the problems?

You did the right thing by saying nothing.

There is nothing to be gained by saying why you prefer the other store. People may think that you are helping the store owner by telling them their shortcomings, but that is not the way people will take it, and instead they will just get upset at you.

I dont know, if you really like the other store better.. Why not just say why you think it is? Why be afraid to speak the truth and shoot straight.

Ghaz wrote:Much like you, I've been frequenting Central more often than East, even though I don't really play much since Arena Games closed years ago but that's mainly because they're the only FoW retailer in Cincinnati. Central has really been on the ball lately, hosting a league and sprucing up their playing area.

Exactly. I'd love to run into you up there some day. I go by GreenJello on their forum. I'm also in the FoW league up there, which I've been having a lot of fun with. It's what got me into FoW.

I'd really rather not say anything else about the situation, I literally had a huge flame out with some of the regulars from the other store on this very forum several years ago (2003-2004?) about some remarks I made on here. Some of those people are still here, lurking or posting. At the time some of them had their accounts banned, or deleted them. Despite apologies on my part, some of the regulars of East still haven't forgiven me, which also makes it uncomfortable for me. I used to be a regular at East, but I *like* Central better. Now I only go to East because that's where my friends want to go. As you said, Central's REALLY been on the ball lately, so I feel like it's a better store.

Really I'm just interested in the general feelings people have about dealing with their FLGS, and what they do when there are multiples and they'd much rather be in one than the other.

I dont know, if you really like the other store better.. Why not just say why you think it is? Why be afraid to speak the truth and shoot straight.

Last time I made some joking remarks about various people or situations at the store there was a huge flame war on this forum. I'd prefer to avoid that if possible. Really I gain no benefits from being honest with the store owners about any issues I feel they might have, and everything to lose. So instead of saying anything it's much easier to just move onto the next place. I think this is how most people deal with businesses. You don't complain, or at least not to the owner, you just move on.

In my opinion, you've handled the situation with tact, and that's the key, I think, to keep from burning bridges.

If you have some issues with a store that you feel might be taken as 'negative' by store owners/operators, it's best to discuss such issues with them directly and in private.

Looking at the situation you were in, what positive could come from ripping into the store you like less amongst a group of customers, nevertheless while on their own turf? Probably not a lot. It's one thing to get into a heated 1 vs 1 debate with a store-owner - it's another to pass negative judgement on the same people, in front of other customers. It's one of those things that you may have a 'right' to do (airing your opinion), but that doesn't mean you 'should' do. At least in my opinion.

I haven't been down to Cincy for gaming for a few years now, but I also think I have an idea of at least who one of the stores is.

As for the 'multiple store' issue - I would simply talk to your friends, in private, about your reasons for meeting location preferences. Chances are, some of them feel the same way you do. Either way, you should take your gaming (and your dollars) with you to the store you prefer. There's absolutely nothing wrong with patronizing the store that brings you more enjoyment.

Just my 2 coppers, tho.

Personally from what I see, East isn't doing anything 'wrong', it's more like they're just not doing anything to really draw in new business or keep the business that they have. Central on the other hand has recently had a 40K league conclude, is in the midst of a Flames of War league, publishes a monthly newsletter, has an active online forum, is willing to bring in new lines (I believe they've picked up Uncharted Seas recently) and is improving their instore playing area (too bad they couldn't open their 'Gaming Dungeon' because of insurance reasons). That's more than enough reasons to want to choose one FLGS over another and to want to get your friends to go there as well.

Ghaz wrote:Personally from what I see, East isn't doing anything 'wrong', it's more like they're just not doing anything to really draw in new business or keep the business that they have. Central on the other hand has recently had a 40K league conclude, is in the midst of a Flames of War league, publishes a monthly newsletter, has an active online forum, is willing to bring in new lines (I believe they've picked up Uncharted Seas recently) and is improving their instore playing area (too bad they couldn't open their 'Gaming Dungeon' because of insurance reasons). That's more than enough reasons to want to choose one FLGS over another and to want to get your friends to go there as well.

Exactly. My friends still want to go to East, which makes sense for the guy who still lives next door, or for other reasons, but for me Central seems like the best bet.

Then bring up these points to them at a neutral location (out to lunch, etc.).

Ghaz wrote:Then bring up these points to them at a neutral location (out to lunch, etc.).

Might I recommend Switzerland.

I was going to comment, but then I remembered where you guys are from, and figured out which store "Central" is....and I think I know which one is "East" too.

So to not be too biased, I won't say much about it, other than just be tactful and be aware of when, where and how you discuss things, and I don't think there's any problem. Talking about another store in a different store isn't necessarily bad form or rude, it all depends on how you approach it.

That said, I didn't realize you were GreenJello though, BigToof. I thought Ghaz and I were the only ones who posted on Dakka who had been to "Central." It seems like you started playing at "Central" after I left the States, so I don't think we've met. I'm looking forward to playing in the next FoW league when I get back next year though, hopefully!

Ghaz wrote:Then bring up these points to them at a neutral location (out to lunch, etc.).

Which is what I had done earlier, via email. It's almost like you're reading my mind.

Hordini wrote:
That said, I didn't realize you were GreenJello though, BigToof. I thought Ghaz and I were the only ones who posted on Dakka who had been to "Central." It seems like you started playing at "Central" after I left the States, so I don't think we've met. I'm looking forward to playing in the next FoW league when I get back next year though, hopefully!

That would be great!

Agree strongly with Mort, Blackmoor, and Ifurita. I think it’s not a good idea to talk up one store while on the premises of another. Even if you keep your comments exclusively positive, we’re still talking about competing businesses, in a very tough segment, even when the business climate isn’t as rough as it is now.

Have the discussion elsewhere; like as a restaurant, and keep any criticisms polite and constructive. If you are on good terms with the owners of the less-preferred store, it can be a good thing to offer them feedback. But you don’t want to do it in a way that embarrasses them in front of customers, or that comes across in a negative way. Most gaming store owners are not experienced retail professionals, and relationships can be easily damaged.

BigToof wrote:We've got a couple of FLGS in my area, and I personally like one over the others. I used to be a customer of store X, but now frequent Y because I think it's a better store. Some of my friends still like to go to X because it's closer, etc. So we were up at store X this weekend, and one of the guy's wife decided it would be a good time to have a discussion about the relative merits of the two stores. This was partially because I had suggested we meet at store Y, since I like it better.

Do you think it's polite to talk about store Y in store X? I really don't want to stir anything up, so I usually avoid mentioning it, or where I'm going, or anything like that, because I don't want to offend the people who work at store X. When she decided to talk about the various stores my response was to tell her it wasn't appropriate to discuss it at the moment.

IMO, you've adopted the BEST policy... Don't talk about one while at the other.

Now, if the woman genuinely wants feedback, then give it to her... just don't mention the other store while doing it.

"I prefer the way Store Y is laid out." = Bad
"Your store layout would be far more functional if you..." = Good

"Store Y sells on the internet and offers a 20% discount." = Bad
"Have you thought about boosting your sales by selling online? Even by offering a discount, you could make a decent profit." = Good


You get the idea.

BigToof wrote:Which is what I had done earlier, via email.

Something like this needs to be done in person, not via email.