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While I am certain they may be nice to have a beer with outside work, when they are on the job, they are doing their job.

They may appear friendly, but anyone looking to become "friends" with a redshirt is usually just looking for an in-store advantage.

Been friends with a number of them - managers and staff alike, in some cases before they joined the company. Trying to seek an advantage?

Not really. I'm just a friendly person.

Sometimes.

In the 1.5-2 years that I have gone to my local GW (since it opened)
I have seen 4 permanent blackshirts come and go
#1 Steve: He seemed like a nice guy, but he once conned me out of £8... After he
left I found out that he was a donkey-cave who was fired for always being 2-3 hrs
late every day.
#2 Chris: He was your typical nerd, weighing about 200Kg owning a greasy ponytail down
to his knees. Sometimes he was a rules lawyer and left after a month, having finished
his training.
#3 Richard: He studied Theology at Cambridge and we would discuss everything from
Tostoy to mangas. He was a great guy but got moved to another store randomley.
#4 Matt: He seems kinda OK but not good enough to replace "Rich"

AvatarForm wrote:While I am certain they may be nice to have a beer with outside work, when they are on the job, they are doing their job.

They may appear friendly, but anyone looking to become "friends" with a redshirt is usually just looking for an in-store advantage.

I never really had that problem. our customers art least if they were regulars were just coming in to hang out. generally were really nice and fun to talk to.

the ones that tried to "hit us up" were usually teenagers or the average random gak monkey trying to get something for nothing. they were also usually the ones trying to steal from us.

we even had after hours games setup with some of our regulars, just an opportunity to game with the staff and enjoy. it was nice.

And Green for Smeugol

Rhimmy posted :

we even had after hours games setup with some of our regulars, just an opportunity to game with the staff and enjoy. it was nice.

Back in the good o` days when a GW store was a friendly place to sit in and talk about things, I and a few veterans would help the various red shirts in different ways. From building new terrain, repairing tools (showed many the fine art of filing down a gaked edge of snippers) to helping cleaning up the store. They were our friends.

After wards it was gaming or all of us going to bar/restaurants, strip joints etc, and having a good time. I miss those days.

no friends of mine. Red/Black are a bunch of elitists at my downtown GW. they sneer @ me because they know i buy my stuff online, and i've heard them talking poorly about my paint purchases saying "he thinks he needs to buy someting to play here, and all he buys is paint..."
The red/black @ the mall is not much better, I asked if they knew when the new GK were being released some time ago his response "anytime after now" they then proceeded to laugh like hyaenas in my face until i left the store...
they are now "freind"ly people, very uninviting, and if i saw them outside of the store, I would make it a point of putting them down, and laughing in their faces.

I worked for GW for ten years, in three stores; I live with one still-serving manager and am very good friends with the two other managers in my city as well (they worked for / with me back in the day). They ignore my abandonment of GW games (and subsequent love of PP), I ignore them when they're in 'work mode': We still get on famously, and paint at the same table when they're at my house or I'm at theirs.

Built-in wrote:they then proceeded to laugh like hyaenas in my face until i left the store...

I am no fan of most GW policies and their customer service attitude is outdated at best, but this doesn't sound like the full story -The behaviour you describe seems pretty unimaginable and unacceptable; Staff or managers acting that way in a GW store here wouldn't last a week. Have you considered contacting GW HQ / customer service?

It is the full story (the bigger guy took a breath from laughing to say "that's a good answer to a stupid question."

But I am not about too complain too the higher-ups. Even if I am bitter, I can't bring myself to jeapordize anyones job. I spoke about it to a friend who hangs out at that local most weekends, he knew which guys I was refering too, and said "that's just the way he is"

My opinion of the situation is, I am a fairly big fit individual with sleaves of tattoos; maybe his defence mechinisims went off. Aka redshirta=/=friends

Built-in wrote:It is the full story (the bigger guy took a breath from laughing to say "that's a good answer to a stupid question."

But I am not about too complain too the higher-ups. Even if I am bitter, I can't bring myself to jeapordize anyones job. I spoke about it to a friend who hangs out at that local most weekends, he knew which guys I was refering too, and said "that's just the way he is"

My opinion of the situation is, I am a fairly big fit individual with sleaves of tattoos; maybe his defence mechinisims went off. Aka redshirta=/=friends

if the employees are being rude and laughing at you and making snotty remarks, and you dont want to complain? im sure the higher ups would love to know that their employees are treating customers(of any kind) in such a way. If i was being treated like this by an employee in any company or venue, i would make it my goal to have them fired or punished.

Happygrunt wrote:They all switched to blackshirts to make everyone seem equal to shoppers.

I see what you did there.

Did they all grow neckbeards as well?

Built-in wrote:My opinion of the situation is, I am a fairly big fit individual with sleaves of tattoos; maybe his defence mechinisims went off. Aka redshirta=/=friends

You can't be that big and scary if he laughed 'like a hyena' in your face...

bolo wrote:

Built-in wrote:My opinion of the situation is, I am a fairly big fit individual with sleaves of tattoos; maybe his defence mechinisims went off. Aka redshirta=/=friends

You can't be that big and scary if he laughed 'like a hyena' in your face...

That he can. Some socialy repressed nerds have enlarged ego's, and can bring themselves to do such a thing to even a guy with the above mentioned characteristics.

Monster Rain wrote:

Happygrunt wrote:They all switched to blackshirts to make everyone seem equal to shoppers.

I see what you did there.

Did they all grow neckbeards as well?

I'm the only with a Beard at my Store.

well thats just terrible.

I would love to head into that store. it would be fantastic let me tell you.

get ahold of their regional manager, or film it next time you're in. thats just not acceptable behavior.

My manager ALWAYS told us everyone who walks through the door, is a potential customer, gamer, and friend. treat them accordingly.

sadly, amongst the gaming community, snobbery runs high, and it IS mostly a defense mechanism.

I sadly, do not take nor do I recieve much BS from people. I AM a 6'6" 300 lb guy, and prior service military, so i'm not exactly obese ya know? none of my tattoo's except my wedding band are very visible from the normal setting, but I would dare them to try and laugh me out of anywhere.

I feel bad, screw the GW loyalty, I just feel bad as a fellow gamer that you could be treated that way.

screw em.

I still see a few my locals around town, and they're all very nice to me! in fact most are more than willing to play a game or sit and just chat! Guess its all in how you approach people. I'm just a big old teddy bear.... (unless you mess with my kids)

Made my first visit to the GW here in Calgary, I normally shop at my FLGS since I'm friends with the owner and they carry alot more GW stuff than the actual GW store, but was in the neighbourhood and figured I'd go and see what the hubbub about red/blackshirts I see on this forum was all about.

Well, upon entering the store, I was greeted by a Blackshirt, Darren. He asked what I was looking for and I told him, I was completely new to the game and have never played but had been collecting and painting for a few years and that I was building a Blood Angels army to actually play and was looking on how to round it out, given the fact that I only had Infantry up to this point.

The guy didn't try and upsell or shove a load extra crap under my nose (There was no "Oh he has no idea about the game, I'm gonna try and sell him a couple Land Raiders and a Sanguinor or tell him he should switch armies and go all finecast chaos")... I did end up spending $400 but that's completely my fault (Damn you Forgeworld Armour books for being so enticing!). He in fact, commented politely on my existing army and suggested how I could best work with what I have to make up for the shortfall in vehicles if I didn't want to buy any vehicles or a couple inexpensive bikes and loadup the drivers with melta bombs for antivehicle work.

He did ask if I had all the paint, glue and purity seal I needed, which to be honest, I'd expect anywhere, but that's just common courtesy to see if you've forgotten anything that you might need.

All in all, I don't see what the hubbub is about, or maybe this store is one of those exceptions...

I visited a GW at Lakeside a few weeks ago, the first I had been in in years.

I was askedif I needed any help when I entered, I told him I did not so I was left to browse.

I picked up a few blisters and was warmly greeted by blackshirted fellow behind the till who chatted politely about my purchase with me while the Ccard machine did its thing.

From memory I would struggle to think of how this was differant from the many GW stores I have been to in the last 20 years.

So friendly but no friends here [working in GW store that is ]