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There is no GW store anywhere near where i live (and I live in the state capital) but my local FLGS is awesomesauce

Borderlands Games in salem are a great bunch. They know their 40k/Fantasy and are willing to chat about your/their army a bit when the store's quiet. The nearest they get to a hardsell is 'got enough glue?'. Thanks guys

They also run several monthly tournaments at different points levels, which are equally awesome

Last time i was in an honest-to-golly GW store i got hardselled just like the OP, mainly for marine scrud (i collect orks and necrons, but neither had recent releases at the time, except the Stompa (would like one, but it would be scenery as I don't play Apoc).

My reaction to a hardsell is to instantly dislike the product and start pointing out things I dislike about it, starting with the fact that it for the wrong army...

Closest shop is about 100 km away, so i don't really have bad experiences with shops.

No GW near me but the tales remind me of gamestop and there pushy preorder speech. HI i would like to get random JRPG ok hey would you like to preorder flavor of the month COD clone.

H.B.M.C. wrote:The use of shiny objects is an easy method to startle or even distract the feeble minded. One's house/car keys are often the closest at hand when such a situation arises.

What was I doing..
somehow got distracted.

oh well



...

my local store is nothing like that. They make a point to get to know anyone that comes in on a semi-regular basis and give them -good- suggestions if someone asks.

"I'm just looking" is enough to get you left alone.

And shockingly enough, my local store is considered "in growth" becsause the staff don't chase customers out the door with crazy.

One time I went in my local GW I was immediately (and I really mean immediately) stopped, just inside the door.
"What are you looking for?" the guy asked.
"Ummm... A Chaos Attack Squad." I replied.
"A Chaos Space Marines attack squad?"
"Yeah, " I said, although I was thinking "No, a Chaos Squats Attack Squad."
He led me directly to the box and then started talking to me about all the other units nearby.
"These are really great, because they come with this, it's a Heavy Bolter and it's really good for ripping through infantry. And these guys (khorne Beserkers) are insane in close combat".
Now, I don't look like a noob by any stretch of the imagination. I have grey hairs, for goodness sake. After a few scathing utterances of "Yes, I know!" he finally left me alone.

Oh, and last time I went into the store, one of the assistants tried to sell me the Realm of Battle board

The most awkward thing I find is when I'm the only person in the store, and whenever I turn around the shop owner or accountant is eagerly staring at me.
After 10 minutes of walking around the shop I turn and leave empty handed and catch a glance of dissapointement on the managers face.

I also have had an incident when I was offered kit after kit for armies I didn't even play.

The last is the worst, and this happens to me alot: You engage into a conversation with the redshirt and he stands in your way when to try and exit the store, he offeres you kit after kit, the only soloution is to buy something, or throw a brick at their head. I suppose buying something is less harmful!!

Make it a half-brick.

They are forced into this mode of selling, after all..

What's a red shirt? i've never seen anyone in a red shirt. only black and blue.

elchristoff wrote:What's a red shirt? i've never seen anyone in a red shirt. only black and blue.

Im with you lol.

Never once have I been persuaded to buy somethin that I wasnt interested in.

When i did go into the local GW for the first time I was left to have a look at some stuff, (as I am a somewhat scary guy or so im told). Eventually one of the staff members comes over to see if i need help. So I told him that I was thinkin of restarting the hobby. So he asks what army iv played and some of my past habits. He looked a lil confused since i was looking at Tau when i had used Chaos Marines before but it didnt phaze him. Told him that I was drawn to Tau, Tyranids and Necrons. So he goes over each of the armies and asks if i had played before, i replied i knew the basics. Once i said that i was quite fond of Tau he went over some of the basic unit and such. I thanked him for the help and went over to see some of the games being played.

The same thing roughly happened when I started fantasy apart from i knew what i was after. During the convo the Tomb King releases got brought up and i said i liked them, but would rather go for the IOB set since it would help me get into the game easier.

So yea iv pretty much had good exp with GW staff, and i dont plan on cutting off GW from my hobby purely because of it. I may stop buying stuff but it wont stop me going to the store.

a red shirt is the first victim in any star trek episode in terms of GW i think their employees used to wear red shirts ... anyway back on topic, I don't think I have ever had any of these encounters before. But I have heard similar stories from some people I have played with.

Kanluwen wrote:Sorry, where did I say that? Context is important here, HB.

You were telling him he couldn’t have his Custodes army the way he wanted it, only the way you’d do it. You even just explained it:

“That's far from "infantry heavy"--which really is counterintuitive to the whole idea of Custodes.”

Yes, ‘cause how dare someone do the army that they want to do. We really should check with you before we do anything, lest we do something you don’t approve of.

Kanluwen wrote:Notice that I said nothing at all about "You can't have this!". In fact, I never really say anything of that nature. This seems to be something you've worked up yourself.

There was a thread a while back where people were talking about adding armies to 40K. An overwhelming theme in the thread was people wanting Adeptus Mechanicus armies. Yet, and in spite of the bizarre way you see Tech-Priests everywhere, you came along and told everyone that they were wrong for wanting an Ad Mech army and that they shouldn’t have one.

You have told me on more than one occasion that having a Deathwatch army was wrong and that I shouldn’t do that.

You are Dakka’s resident WRONGBADFUN, Kan – the person who can’t let others have fun the way they want to have fun, the kid who kicks over the other kid’s sand castle because he’s ‘not doing it right’. One only need look in the CRASSUS ARMOURED ASSAULT TRANSPORT threads to see that, or just to this thread, where someone’s doing Custodes in a way you don’t agree with, so you have the snidely lecture them about it: “Because Custodes are all about infantry, right? Oh wait... ... they're "heroes" not "soldiers".”

Maybe I have a rare thing going here...

But the GW Store in Marysville, WA is fantastic.

It's a one man store, and it's small, but it has 5 active gaming tables and decent stock. Plus a fairly nice hobbying bench with space for at least 6-8 people to be building/painting at. Lots of tools/brushes for free use.

The manager-operator is a great guy.

I consider myself one of "the regulars" there, and the other "regulars" are awesome dudes as well. There is only one TFG and even he is semi-tolerable.

at my gw store my friend who played salamanders was always told the following

GW "hey you know what is a really cool salamanders list"
friend "what I run?"
Gw "no, get 3 Ironclad dreds in drop pods"
friend "that requires me buying 3 ironclads and 3 droppods"
gw "yea but its such a cool list"
friend "do you have 200$ rofl?"

HBMC, let me say this from bottom of my heart. , im scared to imagine what dakka would turn into without you.

I hope you wont let the embargo halt your wargaming so you can always be around dakka dakka.

Cottonjaw wrote:Maybe I have a rare thing going here...

But the GW Store in Marysville, WA is fantastic.

It's a one man store, and it's small, but it has 5 active gaming tables and decent stock. Plus a fairly nice hobbying bench with space for at least 6-8 people to be building/painting at. Lots of tools/brushes for free use.

The manager-operator is a great guy.

I consider myself one of "the regulars" there, and the other "regulars" are awesome dudes as well. There is only one TFG and even he is semi-tolerable.

sadly, the way that GW thinks, THAT store will be on the chopping block next fiscal quarter. Profits need to come from somewhere, might as well be the sacrificial lamb.

cherish that store as long as you can. It won't stay that way for long.

Grot 6 wrote:

Cottonjaw wrote:Maybe I have a rare thing going here...

But the GW Store in Marysville, WA is fantastic.

It's a one man store, and it's small, but it has 5 active gaming tables and decent stock. Plus a fairly nice hobbying bench with space for at least 6-8 people to be building/painting at. Lots of tools/brushes for free use.

The manager-operator is a great guy.

I consider myself one of "the regulars" there, and the other "regulars" are awesome dudes as well. There is only one TFG and even he is semi-tolerable.

sadly, the way that GW thinks, THAT store will be on the chopping block next fiscal quarter. Profits need to come from somewhere, might as well be the sacrificial lamb.

cherish that store as long as you can. It won't stay that way for long.

Thats the thing. Most of the costumers of GW Marysville buy from the store instead of online retailers, to try and help keep the store around. It has year or so left on it's lease @ the shopping center it's in. I don't think it will get chopped before the lease is up. Hopefully it sticks around for a long time.

I don't mind a store employee mentioning or suggesting something to me, but I HATE it when they try to convince me to buy it after I've said I don't want it.

Buying WoW Dark Portal expansion
Game Stop: Would you like to get the strategy guide as well?
Me: No thanks, I've got internet sites I use to look up game hints.
Game Stop: But this is so much more convenient!
Me: It's also probably Already outdated, as the online game is constantly changing and they websites will have the actual up to date information.
Game Stop: But you can use it for maps, so it's sitting open and you don't have keep getting out of the game to look at them.
Me: I have side by side computer monitors, I keep the maps with relevant information and locations marked on them open on one, with the game on the other.

That all of the argument I remember, but I hated it, and have not been back in since for anything. I downloaded the Lich King expansion rather than go to the store for it.

lord_blackfang wrote:Wow, I thought I was socially awkward but I have yet to flee from a store and avoid it forever just because one employee was sorta pushy.

Not so much a case of "social awkwardness" as much as a case of " Could you please get the hell away from me."
On the rare occasions I've set foot in a GW store (perhaps five times total), I felt as though I was in some perverse version of The Stepford Wives.." The Stepford Red Shirts", no matter how many times I told them "Just looking" they kept smiling and trying to show me kits I had absolutely zero interest in...sure,they're sales people..it's their job...I get that...but how many ways can you politely tell some one to leave you alone and let you browse?
This,coupled with tables filled with howling pre-teens is why I avoid GW stores like the plague.

Yeeeeh! Lets stop GW staff selling stuff to us even though thats what they are hired for!!
*Yawn...


Sorry if i am treading on anyones toes. I really don't mean to annoy anyone or hurt anyones feelings.
I know i'm VERY new here so sorry if i am out of line but these people are staff first and hobbyists second, while at work anyway. I like it when they try and sell me things, it can be quite helpful sometimes.
If you feel that the extremely basic sales techniques they are using are tricking you into buying things you didn't want... Do not under any circumstances procreate.
Also if you have a fair issue with a member of staff who is too pushy then report him/her. Feedback about staff is important to ALL companies, GW included! This is normal and acceptable:
GW staff should approach you; Ask what you are in for/buying; Suggest one or more purchases based on your answer; Mention new models; Provide any guidance needed; And be friendly/polite.
If you are clear that you will not be buying the suggested models then they will not waste selling time on you.
I reiterate: If you have a fair complaint then tell GW.

Sorry...

Smitty0305 wrote:at my gw store my friend who played salamanders was always told the following

GW "hey you know what is a really cool salamanders list"
friend "what I run?"
Gw "no, get 3 Ironclad dreds in drop pods"
friend "that requires me buying 3 ironclads and 3 droppods"
gw "yea but its such a cool list"
friend "do you have 200$ rofl?"

Sounds like the local ki who now has 30 Bloodclaws in LRC with no Wolf Priests...

Never take list advice from a Red Shirt...

LostSoulCasey'sLaw wrote:I know i'm VERY new here so sorry if i am out of line but these people are staff first and hobbyists second, while at work anyway.

From my experience, that's actually completely backwards. GW tends to hire people for their devotion to the hobby first, their tractibility second and their sales ability last... and then expects them to meet rather optimistic sales targets, despite the fact that, by and large, they're not very good at it.

Hence the over-the-top sales approach, where they will try to sell you the latest shiny, regardless of what you're actually looking for, or will try to upgrade you from that single blister to buying the entire top shelf... which you can get away with if you're a very, very good salesman, and which just irritates the hell out of people if you're not.

That's not to say that there aren't GW store staff who are good at their job. I've met a few over the years who were brilliant at it... and by and large, they were the ones who disregarded the Codex-approved sales pitch and acted like human beings.

I can tell of a LGS that i used to visit, well the last visit. I was standing there with the group, who were all sitting down eating KFC, well a father and son walked in to look at the product on the shelves.

Well the girlfriend of the Store Manager a little swear bear at the best of time was dropping "F" and "C" bombs as if they were going out of fashion, and several of the boys were doing the same.

I felt embarrassed, because the father of the child gave them an almighty spray over their use of bad language, he told them that this was supposed to be a place of business and not some dingy livinging room in a slum. And the father stormed out.

But alas i have found out nothing has changed, their only saving grace as a business is that they are the only place now who conducts Warhammer tournaments as the other three leagues have stopped.

So it is not just GW who have lousey business practices.

insaniak wrote:From my experience, that's actually completely backwards. GW tends to hire people for their devotion to the hobby first, their tractibility second and their sales ability last... and then expects them to meet rather optimistic sales targets, despite the fact that, by and large, they're not very good at it.

I agree with you actually. You will have to excuse my badly phrased post. I agree this is pretty much how they hire most of the staff BUT; What i was trying to say was that while the staff are at work they are salesmen first because thats what they are being paid for.

insaniak wrote:Hence the over-the-top sales approach, where they will try to sell you the latest shiny, regardless of what you're actually looking for, or will try to upgrade you from that single blister to buying the entire top shelf... which you can get away with if you're a very, very good salesman, and which just irritates the hell out of people if you're not.

As i said before, if you politely tell them you are not going to be buying anything you have not already got in mind then they aren't going to waste sales time on you and ergo you will not be irritated. If they persist then we should complain because GW are not the Antichrist and they do not want staff putting off customers.

insaniak wrote:That's not to say that there aren't GW store staff who are good at their job. I've met a few over the years who were brilliant at it... and by and large, they were the ones who disregarded the Codex-approved sales pitch and acted like human beings.

I agree completely, there are some great staff out there. Lets give them a round of applause!

I guess 78% of the respondents have never worked corporate retail, huh? Now, understand, I responded that way, too, but I have my reasons. When I enter a store and am approached by salespeople, I am very clear about what I am there for. I have done their job before and know how much it sucks to waste time on someone who is not making us any money. Sounds harsh, but its a fact. When I have dealt with making money, I have more time to chat with browsers, rather than trying to sell them stuff while watching actual customers go elsewhere.

Managers of corporate store are usually the worst kind of salespeople out there. Not that there aren't good ones, but when the have regional mandates to "SELL, SELL, SELL THE NEW STUFF!!!!" hitting their e-mails everyday, they tend to fall into a rut of sounding like identically broken records. They are trying to meet sales goals and the only way some (i.e. the ones we hear the most about) can do so is to hard sell whatever is new. Many of these particular managers don't even really play, they are there to demo the products and run a cash register. Quite often, if a retailer hears "I don't know" they will try and funnel the decision making process; little do people realize unless they have one particular thing picked out, the salesperson controls the conversation.

Grow up and grow a pair. If they are not trying to sell, they are at the least losing their job. Not too many businesses like this one are faring right now. Some people start to get a little punchy about sales quotas, and to get into semantic arguments with people who you do not know won't make either situation better.

Try this on for size the next time any of the 78% go to a game store. Clearly define what you are looking for, whether it be paint, glue, battleforce, etc. If they try and off-sell you, restate your intention. If they still don't get the point, then you have yourself someone who is never gonna get it.

The brick-and-mortar store is a necessity in this economy. It provides local tax dollars to *your* community, therefore relieving your pressure to pay it off later. Why not invest something into your community, both the society and the gaming ones, rather than paying the bills of places you will never go?

^What i said but better worded and more aggressive.

SoloFalcon1138 wrote:Try this on for size the next time any of the 78% go to a game store. Clearly define what you are looking for, whether it be paint, glue, battleforce, etc. If they try and off-sell you, restate your intention. If they still don't get the point, then you have yourself someone who is never gonna get it.

Have you not been reading this thread? That's what a lot of people have done. "I collect X" or "I only play Y" or "I'm here to get some Z"... and they still try to sell you a Stompa.

No one is denying that retail stores need to sell things (and up-sell). This thread isn't about people selling things, it's about the ones that never go away and suggest dopey things for people who clearly either don't want or don't need it.

SoloFalcon1138 wrote:Grow up and grow a pair.

I would just like to reiterate my most important point before i stop posting on this thread:

If they are being too pushy then complain about the staff member by name to GW.

Happy gaming!

SoloFalcon1138 wrote:Grow up and grow a pair. If they are not trying to sell, they are at the least losing their job. Not too many businesses like this one are faring right now. Some people start to get a little punchy about sales quotas, and to get into semantic arguments with people who you do not know won't make either situation better.

That was rather uneccessary. The fact that some people think that the hard sell is necessary in no way mitigates its annoyance factor.


For what it's worth, I have worked in corporate retail. For quite a long time. And the fastest way to persuade me to leave your shop without buying anything is to keep talking to me when I've just said that I'm fine having a browse.

Which is one of the reasons I rarely set foot in GW stores these days.

I get it bad, as i tend to go in just wanting something cool to paint and make, last time it was dire avengers, although last time i went in (today) i said i fancied something like bikes or something similar, so was directed to the blood knights.