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PhantomViper wrote:

 Skinnereal wrote:
A way to be loyal and still avoid snooping is to have more than 1 GW website account.

I'm sorry, is GW a company trying to sell you miniatures or are they your wife that you feel you are cheating on?

"You never talk to me any more! And you've been hanging out with that Wayland hussy, don't deny it!"

This thread has been a great/hilarious read. The manager has no right to determine where you spend your money beyond the fact of, "Are you playing with GW models in my GW store?" If yes, move along, If no... "Well can I interest you in a box of tactical marines?"

This was a humorous discussion at my FLGS on Friday, about how we can buy our Star Wars X-Wing stuff online where places have it available, or we can buy it from our FLGS, and the owner looks with a smile and says, "Sure you can play with your models that you bought from another store, but I'm sorry I just spilled this caustic glue on your minis... sorry, I'm all thumbs tonight" We had a good laugh because he knows that I came into his store having most of my stuff purchased already as I was new to the area, but we buy from him because he gives a place to game. If your local GW manager is keeping tabs on what you have bought from him, try to convince the dakkanaught to attend another store that way neither of you are hassled for where you purchased your models from.

Edit:

Sorry, deleted cause I went off on a tangent.

badgermeister wrote:


I go occasionally to a local GW and ive never encountered or seen anything like this before and the guy who runs it is super friendly. I do have a personal belief that nothing is free so if i go and paint or game i spend at least 15-20 notes per visit on paints/books/miniatures then i feel i've paid for my 2-3 hour of painting or gaming fun (i consider it personal therapy).

we once encountered super-miserable staff in canterbury, who seemed grumpy even that we'd bought stuff from another, more local store (this was recently, before that they were nice). When my nipper told them he was on a budget and dad wasn't spending any £££ today, they said "he can use his credit card, can't he?" !!! So we didn't game there.

But contrary to some other reports, even if we just bought some paint or a WD after a three hour gaming session, I've always found the staff in other shops totally cool, and this has all been since gaming was supposedly banned.

 BryllCream wrote:
Can store managers access this record? I'm curious as to what database the manager looked up in the op's story

It's been my experience in Canadian stores that they ask you for your name and look you up in the system when you buy something.
So they do have some sort of record accessible in their till computer that shows what you've bought.

Ashitaka wrote:

 BryllCream wrote:
Can store managers access this record? I'm curious as to what database the manager looked up in the op's story

It's been my experience in Canadian stores that they ask you for your name and look you up in the system when you buy something.
So they do have some sort of record accessible in their till computer that shows what you've bought.

That's kinda terrifying. I guess Canada doesn't have an equivalent of the Data Protection Act 1998 - the ombudsman would go off his rocker if checkout staff could access individual purchase histories over here.

Mythal wrote:

Ashitaka wrote:

 BryllCream wrote:
Can store managers access this record? I'm curious as to what database the manager looked up in the op's story

It's been my experience in Canadian stores that they ask you for your name and look you up in the system when you buy something.
So they do have some sort of record accessible in their till computer that shows what you've bought.

That's kinda terrifying. I guess Canada doesn't have an equivalent of the Data Protection Act 1998 - the ombudsman would go off his rocker if checkout staff could access individual purchase histories over here.

They ask for your name in the states too. Everyone wants a mailing list, shopping history, etc. How else will they know how much more bread you buy when they put peanut butter on sale?

 MRPYM wrote:

Hivefleet Oblivion wrote:
The fact he can look your purchases up on the system is a little scary.

We buy some of our stuff from GW stores (and some from Dark Sphere) so we can feel relaxed about playing in their stores. If I felt we were under surveillance, if it were a compulsion rather than a question of goodwill, maybe we'd simply move on, play somewhere else.

At the same time, you can see the manager's point, can't you?

I would understand the managers point only if I my entire army was bought from my flgs and that I game there regularly(no on both parts). I have not been to the store to game for several months.

They been tracking your purchases and what types of purchases for years. Heh Heh Heh. The thought police are after ya

 Lansirill wrote:

Mythal wrote:

Ashitaka wrote:

 BryllCream wrote:
Can store managers access this record? I'm curious as to what database the manager looked up in the op's story

It's been my experience in Canadian stores that they ask you for your name and look you up in the system when you buy something.
So they do have some sort of record accessible in their till computer that shows what you've bought.

That's kinda terrifying. I guess Canada doesn't have an equivalent of the Data Protection Act 1998 - the ombudsman would go off his rocker if checkout staff could access individual purchase histories over here.

They ask for your name in the states too. Everyone wants a mailing list, shopping history, etc. How else will they know how much more bread you buy when they put peanut butter on sale?

They do try that sort of tracking here, I think, usually by following your store card and such. But the difference here is that any such data is always inaccessible to the cashier staff themselves - the till girl at our local Sainsbury's might know I have a deep-seated love for Belgian waffles, because she sees me buying them, but the cashier at a Sainsbury's I might use in London wouldn't know it just from swiping my Nectar Card.

 MRPYM wrote:

I come into the store for a game against another dakkanite (this store was the only place he could go to). I see the manager and we banter for a bit, he then asks about what I am bringing, I say eldar and I have the new codex.

He then checks his computer and see's that I did not buy my codex from any GW store. He brings me aside and asks where I bought my codex. I tell him the truth.

Funny. I've bought from 2 local GW's and at neither did I give them ANY information that would show up on their systems. Just "Hey, I'll buy this .. here's my cash. Thanks, have a good day!"

After telling him the truth he goes into a speech about whether what I did was ethical. He says that what was I doing caused the closure of another GW I liked alot and that I have responsibility to make sure that his store stays open and that he keeps his job so he can feed his family.

YOUR responsibility? Not in the least. Poor salesman, poor manager. It is HIS responsibility to make sure he keeps his job so he can feed his family. This is a pure case of blackmail and poor salesmanship.

I have no pitty for this particular GW employee at this point.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Ashitaka wrote:

 BryllCream wrote:
Can store managers access this record? I'm curious as to what database the manager looked up in the op's story

It's been my experience in Canadian stores that they ask you for your name and look you up in the system when you buy something.
So they do have some sort of record accessible in their till computer that shows what you've bought.

However, you do not, ever, have to give them any information to make a purchase.

The Japanese GW stores have been quite good actually and host games on Weekends. We play there pretty often and usually people end up buying things after games just because we like the people there.

They showed us players a good time by having tables and well painted terrain so most times people buy at least like a pot of paint or such (or in the last few weeks 300 bucks of stuff for apoc battle bundles....)

Our GW stores seem to like us on weekends anyway. Besides, having more people in a store generally makes people want to go check out what the fuss is all about. Having an empty store makes your product much less appealing. At least in Asia it does anyway.

Mythal wrote:

 BryllCream wrote:

Mythal wrote:

Graphite wrote:
"Can I have a look at all the stuff you have on me as required by the Data Protection Act? Like, RIGHT NOW?"

Checking up on you like that is bananas...

Agreed, what that store manager did was nuts.

As regards your question about the records GW keeps on you, though, you can see them by logging into your GW website account - there's a record of your previous orders and their status, and that's about it. From my order history, I guess a store manager would, rightly, deduce I collect SoB. My local store manager doesn't need to, though, since he already knows I collect SoB.

Can store managers access this record? I'm curious as to what database the manager looked up in the op's story

In UK stores, not directly. They can call customer services with your name, and have them check orders for you (if, say, there's been a delivery mix-up), or they can look over your shoulder when you're using an in-store terminal to place a web-order (since they observe the process anyway to make sure the in-store payment is correct), but there's no direct access to your own account for the shop-floor staff. But that is in the UK - no idea what the case might be where the OP lives - and, as someone said earlier, it might have been his own sales records he accessed; if he only sold two or three Wraithknights, it's an easy process of elimination for him to think about who he remembered bought them.

It's nonsense, he lied to try and reinforce his point, and I'm a little surprised so many have accepted it unquestioningly. It is far more likely he knew the OP, and therefore was sure he hadn't purchased those items from him. How on earth does anyone think that GW would implement this?! They don't even ask for your details on any in store purchase consistently!

Yes, online orders could be tracked, but even if store staff had access (dubious because of Data Protection) all it would confirm is you hadn't ordered it direct from GW's website.

I'm calling BS on this managers shenanigans.

 Lansirill wrote:

Mythal wrote:

Ashitaka wrote:

 BryllCream wrote:
Can store managers access this record? I'm curious as to what database the manager looked up in the op's story

It's been my experience in Canadian stores that they ask you for your name and look you up in the system when you buy something.
So they do have some sort of record accessible in their till computer that shows what you've bought.

That's kinda terrifying. I guess Canada doesn't have an equivalent of the Data Protection Act 1998 - the ombudsman would go off his rocker if checkout staff could access individual purchase histories over here.

They ask for your name in the states too. Everyone wants a mailing list, shopping history, etc. How else will they know how much more bread you buy when they put peanut butter on sale?

Anyone shop at Petsmart or Michael's or Best Buy or any other place that has those discount/club cards that they cashier always asks you for at check out? Will most often give you discounts on various items for using it. They're a means of tracking a customer's shopping patterns for use in market research.

While what the manager did was, well, abhorrent, he is partially correct.

While it is his job to help his store succeed, we as consumer do have some amount of obligation to the greater economy and in the internet age - to brick and mortar stores.

Who knows, maybe this manager recently got word from higher ups that if his store didn't start performing better that it would be shuttered soon. So he, wrongly, saw you are a threat to his bottom line.

We vote with our wallets, sometimes we go for the most affordable route because it makes more sense, but it does have a cost. Every time another hobby shop (GW or otherwise) closes, those of us with hobby interests now have to travel farther, find someone's house to use, or in more extreme cases give up a hobby altogether.

It hurts the overall gaming community, it reduces the chance that new players will be attracted to any particular hobby and hurts companies that make something that we enjoy.

I've been gaming (only recently started WH40k) my whole life and I've always felt that supporting my local store meant more than just getting the product.

I remember a small sports card store which had just a few boxes of MTG on the shelf, but let us have a table. It gave me a hangout during high school where my friends and I could play MTG whenever we wanted, our presence attracted more players which lead to weekly tournaments. The sports card store grew from almost exclusively sports to a CCG hobby shop with vast collections of singles, games of all types on the shelves and a bustling ccg community.

I loved being part of that, I loved what our little store had become and most importantly it was fun. Sadly, the owner of the store who had allowed the manager to accommodate us decided that he didn't like us playing games in his store and wanted to go back to exclusively sports cards. That was that; not even a year after he booted us the store shut down. Years later I ran into Rob (the manager) at a FNM and he said that they stopped making any money after they stopped MTG and had to close.

Anyway, I may have gone on a bit of nostalgia tangent there, but the greater point is that if you like something, you should consider yourself a steward and help support it. It's not about ethics, you don't owe them anything. But it's an ecosystem that feeds off itself. You make something successful, it stays in place, newcomers discovers it, they support it and round and round it goes.

 MRPYM wrote:


EDIT: I think I should explain my position more clearly. That recent event I am mentioning resulted in me being told to never come to the store unless I buy something.

Either you have a very daft GW store manager or you are the most annoying customer ever...

Despite what a lot of people tend to believe, this is in the minority, thankfully.

I frequently go to my GW store (well, I see it as frequently, considering I live a good half hour away from it) for a game and/or an event and, aside from Codex/Army Book pre-orders and the odd pot of paint, I haven't bought anything from there for months. And the staff are still more than happy to see me around.

Virgil wrote:
While what the manager did was, well, abhorrent, he is partially correct.

While it is his job to help his store succeed, we as consumer do have some amount of obligation to the greater economy and in the internet age - to brick and mortar stores.

Who knows, maybe this manager recently got word from higher ups that if his store didn't start performing better that it would be shuttered soon. So he, wrongly, saw you are a threat to his bottom line.

We vote with our wallets, sometimes we go for the most affordable route because it makes more sense, but it does have a cost. Every time another hobby shop (GW or otherwise) closes, those of us with hobby interests now have to travel farther, find someone's house to use, or in more extreme cases give up a hobby altogether.

It hurts the overall gaming community, it reduces the chance that new players will be attracted to any particular hobby and hurts companies that make something that we enjoy.

I will have to disagree with you, only because we are talking about GW here.

It is good to help support your FLGS with your wallet. and I do that whenever I can. But GW is taking advantage of me with the raising prices every year. I love 40K and the hobby costs was affordable to me back in 2009. Codex for $33CAD. Assault on Black Reach for $90CAD. In a few short years price for anything GW (models, paints, even Black Library) has gone way above my budget. Codex for $59.50. Dark Vengence for $128CAD (special ed). I still love the models and hobby, and still buys the occational paint pot or WD from GW, but can they really fault the customer for buying a model elsewhere which offers a discount? We are just voting with our wallets and saying no to GW prices.

Apart from prices. I believe that playing at a GW store is a gesture of helping them out. We obey GW store policies and use only GW models, we paint them to a tabletop standard, and we have fun playing. Doesn't this drive traffic and entric little kids to walk into the store?

 MRPYM wrote:

Hivefleet Oblivion wrote:
Sad news if this is widespread. We've been in Truro, Bluewater, Cambridge & Canterbury in the last couple of months and not been hassled (altho we did buy Dark Vengeance one visit). We only found one store, Lincoln, wasn't receptive to casual games.

What was your store? And might there have been a particular reason the manager got stroppy?

The particular reason why the manager got stroppy was because I bought my eldar codex and wraithguard at a FLGS recently and I do mean recently.

I was more distressed when he told me he checked my account to see if I bought those models at any GW location.

The full situation as far as I recall was this:

I come into the store for a game against another dakkanite (this store was the only place he could go to). I see the manager and we banter for a bit, he then asks about what I am bringing, I say eldar and I have the new codex.

He then checks his computer and see's that I did not buy my codex from any GW store. He brings me aside and asks where I bought my codex. I tell him the truth.

After telling him the truth he goes into a speech about whether what I did was ethical. He says that what was I doing caused the closure of another GW I liked alot and that I have responsibility to make sure that his store stays open and that he keeps his job so he can feed his family.

The problem is I saw this coming a mile away. Here is another thread I made that explains what I saw coming http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/531008.page

That sounds pretty familiar, its funny when I here the same line from multiple managers, because you know for a fact that they had that pounded into them at the manager meetings. There has been a big push to "support your local GW otherwise it wont be there" line going around. I support pay where you play, but some stuff you cannot justify buying at a GW store.

Which GW was this btw? I know or know of most of the managers in the GTA and can tell you which stores you want to avoid like the plague.

 AduroT wrote:

 Lansirill wrote:

Mythal wrote:

Ashitaka wrote:

 BryllCream wrote:
Can store managers access this record? I'm curious as to what database the manager looked up in the op's story

It's been my experience in Canadian stores that they ask you for your name and look you up in the system when you buy something.
So they do have some sort of record accessible in their till computer that shows what you've bought.

That's kinda terrifying. I guess Canada doesn't have an equivalent of the Data Protection Act 1998 - the ombudsman would go off his rocker if checkout staff could access individual purchase histories over here.

They ask for your name in the states too. Everyone wants a mailing list, shopping history, etc. How else will they know how much more bread you buy when they put peanut butter on sale?

Anyone shop at Petsmart or Michael's or Best Buy or any other place that has those discount/club cards that they cashier always asks you for at check out? Will most often give you discounts on various items for using it. They're a means of tracking a customer's shopping patterns for use in market research.

Ever been asked for a post code?. because that can generate shopping info

I simply don't believe that GW has a system in place that allows them to tell you what you bought, and where. Therefore, I reject the premise of this thread. Perhaps if GW had some sort of customer rewards program or something () where you had an account that you could use I could see it, but as it is now this just seems like nonsense.

If someone was actually ejected from a store, I assume it's for one of the reasons people are generally ejected from stores.

 Monster Rain wrote:
I simply don't believe that GW has a system in place that allows them to tell you what you bought, and where. Therefore, I reject the premise of this thread. Perhaps if GW had some sort of customer rewards program or something () where you had an account that you could use I could see it, but as it is now this just seems like nonsense.

If someone was actually ejected from a store, I assume it's for one of the reasons people are generally ejected from stores.

I can 100% ensure you GW does has such a system. Other stores only asks for your zip/postal code. But GW (Canada) does ask for your name when you make a purchase. during a causal conversation at the cashier, GW store A was able to tell I used to buy from GW store B (which closed down).

And they can tell you exactly what you bought, and when?

I've never been asked my name at a GW.

wufai wrote:

 Monster Rain wrote:
I simply don't believe that GW has a system in place that allows them to tell you what you bought, and where. Therefore, I reject the premise of this thread. Perhaps if GW had some sort of customer rewards program or something () where you had an account that you could use I could see it, but as it is now this just seems like nonsense.

If someone was actually ejected from a store, I assume it's for one of the reasons people are generally ejected from stores.

I can 100% ensure you GW does has such a system. Other stores only asks for your zip/postal code. But GW (Canada) does ask for your name when you make a purchase. during a causal conversation at the cashier, GW store A was able to tell I used to buy from GW store B (which closed down).

As I stated earlier (and as you can guess, I am in Canada), I have never given them any information to allow them to know what/where/when I have bought anything in store. Yes, my local store knows my first name, but that is the extent of it.

All of my in store purchases have consisted of paying cash, no personal information provided and none asked for.

Something about this whole story smells funny.

 mikhaila wrote:
Gaming nights, events, casual play...all adds up to more income for the FLGS.

Not if no one buys anything, not to mention that all of those things cost time, money, and effort to plan and do. I don't find it that unreasonable to be expected to buy something or leave. The FLGS lets me play on their tables and provides me with a community to play with, I don't want to see it go under and lose those things, so I offer it my services. It isn't that hard, just pick up some paints or something when you stop by, I can always find something to pick up when I'm there, for example I am currently low on black and white paint, and could probably use some silver or steel colour paints. Next time I go there I will pick up the paints I need before I leave.

It's been a long time since I've played anything in any store, but every time I do I go outta my way to buy something.. even if it's a store I don't frequent or there's no new models I feel like I need at the time.. I can always use some extra paints or something, as a way of saying "thanks for letting me play here"

But if a store owner or manager told me flat out to buy something or leave, I'd leave.. and then go to Showcase

This is quite sad, as my GW manger is extremely nice. Last saturday i went into the store and there were two games going and about four people building or painting. I guess that's what I've been use to.

Sigh. Why can't it the customer/store manager relationships can be like the goods old days? I go to the store plays some games, buy some models. everybody is happy.

Nowdays I go to a GW store, try to avoid the sales guy, pay my game, then buy that ramdom paint pot as a gesture of throwing them a bone. All the while making excuses why I'm not starting a new army or expanding my current one.

I blame the coperation for seeming shifting their target customers from me to kids with wealthy parents.

I also envy those rich die hard GW guys who can still afford the game and buy at current prices without whining.

 Monster Rain wrote:
I simply don't believe that GW has a system in place that allows them to tell you what you bought, and where. Therefore, I reject the premise of this thread. Perhaps if GW had some sort of customer rewards program or something () where you had an account that you could use I could see it, but as it is now this just seems like nonsense.

If someone was actually ejected from a store, I assume it's for one of the reasons people are generally ejected from stores.

I concur. I don't believe the original premise, I have always just bought gak from GW stores, and they certainly don't get your name or address off you, I bought a few boxes of gak in the GW that closed down in the mall near my missus house in LA and the guy didnt ask me feth all, not my name, not my address, if you pay cash, how the feth can they tell that gak?

Ergo, this is more needless hate based around a spurious yarn, and I'm all for slagging off GW when its warranted, but theres no need to make gak up is there!?

wufai wrote:
then buy that ramdom paint pot as a gesture of throwing them a bone.

Ironically you may be screwing the person who is running the register when you do that. The last I heard the sales staff were expected to maintain an average sale of 70USD, so picking up a single pot of paint can be a hit. Of course I'm not suggesting that spending 70 dollars as a gesture is a good idea. I will say that I get exhausted when I try to think about ways to toss money at my local GW; my latest solution has just been to say it's too damn much effort and avoid it.