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Made in ca
Mechanized Halqa






Due to a recent event that occurred at my local GW store,

I was wondering if it is a current trend in GW stores to ask longtime customers if you want to game in their stores either buy all your GW products at a GW store or leave the store?

I was wondering if this is just my area or this is something thats happening more recently in all GW stores?

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.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/07/08 07:24:24



 
   
Made in us
Drone without a Controller




Sydney, Australia

Wow, being a longtime customer I would be pissed if my FLGS said that to not only me, but any of the 'usuals'.

Of course though, they have the right (in Australia anyway) to deny you access to their premises for any reason they see fit. But this is pretty much blackmail.

I would be taking my business elsewhere!

- Tau WIP Blog
- WIP 
   
Made in au
Hacking Proxy Mk.1





Australia

I haven't seen it happen in my area but it certainly seems to be the way GW stores are moving. First they moved to one man closets, then they removed all open gaming in a few places, telling people to buy something (and/)or get out is the next logical step.

 Fafnir wrote:
Oh, I certainly vote with my dollar, but the problem is that that is not enough. The problem with the 'vote with your dollar' response is that it doesn't take into account why we're not buying the product. I want to enjoy 40k enough to buy back in. It was my introduction to traditional games, and there was a time when I enjoyed it very much. I want to buy 40k, but Gamesworkshop is doing their very best to push me away, and simply not buying their product won't tell them that.
 
   
Made in gb
Lord Commander in a Plush Chair





Beijing

That they let people play in store at all is a remnant of the old ways. Tables are for demo games and making sales, especially in the smaller stores where space is at a premium. Many independent FLGS hold gaming nights that don't net much profit, but by encouraging a community to form they hope to reap benefits over time, it's what stores like Dark Sphere or Firestorm Games do. GW don't see it like this, you are either spending right now or you are not.
   
Made in au
Norn Queen






The problem is you are generalising all GW store managers into this. Store managers have a sales quota to fill, but as long as they tote the company line and don't generate complaints to HQ and don't step outside of their rules, GW mostly leaves them to how they make their sales quota.

Some managers are like this - they want you either buying product or not be in the store. They don't want to 'babysit' a bunch of people who are not giving him sales.

Some managers take a more community related approach - if you're in the store, having fun with likeminded people, you're more likely to spend at the store.

Some manager do a mix. They'll have gaming days and non-gaming days. On non-gaming days, it's buy or get out. On gaming days, they help foster the community.

Some managers love their job, love interacting with people, and love getting involved with the community. Some managers are complete douchebags who aren't overley interested in the community, players or sometimes even really the game - they're just there to do their job.

While it's fun saying 'All GW store owners are jerks', it's a pretty unfair generalization. There's just as much a chance to have an donkey-cave GW store manager as there is to have an donkey-cave independant store manager.

This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2013/07/08 06:59:28


 
   
Made in us
Hunter with Harpoon Laucher




Castle Clarkenstein

Gaming nights, events, casual play...all adds up to more income for the FLGS. You support your customers, they support you.

There is no need (and many reasons against) telling customers something like "buy or leave".

The longer someone is in the store, the more likely they are to buy somethime.

....and lo!.....The Age of Sigmar came to an end when Saint Veetock and his hamster legions smote the false Sigmar and destroyed the bubbleverse and lead the true believers back to the Old World.
 
   
Made in ca
Mechanized Halqa






 mikhaila wrote:
Gaming nights, events, casual play...all adds up to more income for the FLGS. You support your customers, they support you.

There is no need (and many reasons against) telling customers something like "buy or leave".

The longer someone is in the store, the more likely they are to buy somethime.


Thankfully I have since found a FLGS that's great to me.


 
   
Made in de
Decrepit Dakkanaut







You must understand this, the GW store manager wants to be alone in the store from time to time

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Made in us
Auspicious Skink Shaman





Greer, SC

 mikhaila wrote:
Gaming nights, events, casual play...all adds up to more income for the FLGS. You support your customers, they support you.

There is no need (and many reasons against) telling customers something like "buy or leave".

The longer someone is in the store, the more likely they are to buy somethime.


Yeah... If you take the "buy something or leave" mindset with any store, but especially a game store, then you are basically killing yourself.... B/c customers remember that kind of stuff, and will happily buy their stuff online for way cheaper and play at somebody's house if you force them to do so....

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Made in gb
Infiltrating Broodlord






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?

   
Made in gb
[SWAP SHOP MOD]
Yvan eht nioj






In my Austin Ambassador Y Reg

 -Loki- wrote:
The problem is you are generalising all GW store managers into this. Store managers have a sales quota to fill, but as long as they tote the company line and don't generate complaints to HQ and don't step outside of their rules, GW mostly leaves them to how they make their sales quota.

Some managers are like this - they want you either buying product or not be in the store. They don't want to 'babysit' a bunch of people who are not giving him sales.

Some managers take a more community related approach - if you're in the store, having fun with likeminded people, you're more likely to spend at the store.

Some manager do a mix. They'll have gaming days and non-gaming days. On non-gaming days, it's buy or get out. On gaming days, they help foster the community.

Some managers love their job, love interacting with people, and love getting involved with the community. Some managers are complete douchebags who aren't overley interested in the community, players or sometimes even really the game - they're just there to do their job.

While it's fun saying 'All GW store owners are jerks', it's a pretty unfair generalization. There's just as much a chance to have an donkey-cave GW store manager as there is to have an donkey-cave independant store manager.


This is certainly very true, however, in the UK at least, the things outlined in the OP and other threads of a similar topic are becoming more and more like policy dictated by HQ. Pretty much all UK stores are one man now (I suppose there are some that aren't but I think the drive is to get them all that way) and there have been more and more instances of free gaming (ie. tip up and use a table) being banned. In fact, some stores have gone as far as banning gaming completely, even if you book in advance.

Partly this is due to the fact that UK stores are on the whole tiny anyway, but also it seems to be more of a direction from on up high that casual gaming is to be discouraged and that only demos are allowed. The fact that some managers are now preventing people from hanging around in stores without buying stuff is really just a follow on to this. Wasn't there a similar thread recently about someone being asked to leave a GW Store because he had no intention of buying anything?

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Made in au
Roarin' Runtherd




This kind of scares me that the GW we visit in AUS. Is only wanting to make profit out of talking with us.
Not feeling the love GW..

"Wot's faster than a warbuggy, more killy than a warbike, and flies through da air like a bird? I got no bleedin' idea, but I'm gonna find out". - Speedfreak 
   
Made in gb
Wrathful Warlord Titan Commander





Ramsden Heath, Essex

[This thread again face]

Small shops filled with (often) smelly gamers standing about chatting and not buying anything are not conducive to selling moar games and whose very presence reduces sight lines enabling theft and could also represent a Heath & Safety risk in the event of fire/apocalypse. Said gamers have no right or entitlement to be there beyond the acceptance of the onsite management.

I think I captured the way this whole discussion goes in one neat paragraph.

Okay people lets shut this baby down till next time.

Let this be a lesson to you urchin, now be on yer way least I call the rozzers.

How do you promote your Hobby? - Legoburner "I run some crappy wargaming website " 
   
Made in ca
Mechanized Halqa






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


 
   
Made in gb
Infiltrating Broodlord






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?

   
Made in ca
Mechanized Halqa






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.


 
   
Made in us
Auspicious Skink Shaman





Greer, SC

 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


WOW.... so it is your job to make sure he has a job.... that is sad.

Skaven: 3000 pts
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Made in au
[MOD]
Not as Good as a Minion






Brisbane

 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.


I'm surprised that there is a system to look you up in. I never had to sign in or something when I was buying at my local GW

I wish I had time for all the game systems I own, let alone want to own... 
   
Made in ie
Calculating Commissar




Frostgrave

I'd have told him that I buy a lot from GW direct and where I got a particular item is none of his business, but with that attitude he can be sure that little of it will be from him in the future, but if I need to pay to play I'll have a pot of Chaos black paint, thanks*.

I'd also at least be threatening to contact their head office because that's no way to treat customers.

I also reckon that as long as one of the gaming players using a table buy stuffs or is a regular gamer then there should be no problem with their opponent not buying, it is a social game after all.


*You can never have too much of it, it's probably the cheapest thing in store, and it'll probably mess up his sale averages which I believe they have targets on.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
 motyak wrote:
 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.


I'm surprised that there is a system to look you up in. I never had to sign in or something when I was buying at my local GW


He can probably check the stuff you've put through that register and your online sales. If you'd paid cash he'd have no way to tell, and if you hadn't been in for a while I'd be surprised he'd remember you.

More likely is that he checked who he sold the Codex or Wraithknights to (since he won't have had many) and you weren't one of them, so would have no way to dispute if you bought if from GW online or from another GW store.

This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2013/07/08 08:24:43


 
   
Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut




I've not encountered this at my local store - they're more than happy to chat or discuss the game or painting techniques without expecting me to buy something there and then. Granted, there's an unspoken covenant that if they're running a demo game, you don't interrupt - but that's just basic good manners. They do have those quotas to make, after all, and I'm more than happy for them to make them off someone else if I'm not after buying.

Then again, my local GW isn't a one-man show - there're normally two staff in at any given time, occasionally three. And they do take a more community-centric approach now than they did a few years back under the previous management (weekend club, organised tournaments, etc). Every model you field has to be GW, Forgeworld, or kit-bashed from the two, but again I'd consider it good manners not to take along models with third-party stuff on them to a GW Hobby Centre, so the limitation doesn't annoy me in the slightest.
   
Made in gb
[DCM]
Moustache-twirling Princeps





Gone-to-ground in the craters of Coventry

A way to be loyal and still avoid snooping is to have more than 1 GW website account.
Usually, a staffer should not be allowed to scan through a user's details, by policy. That kind of info should only be used for marketing and finance reasons, not for managers to keep tabs on customers.

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Made in gb
Growlin' Guntrukk Driver with Killacannon





Scotland, but nowhere near my rulebook

"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...
   
Made in pt
Tea-Kettle of Blood




 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?
   
Made in us
Nihilistic Necron Lord






And here the local FLGS (not a GW store) is wishing the guy in the joint next door would leave so we can scoop up the place and expand our game room and sales floor.

 
   
Made in us
Auspicious Skink Shaman





Greer, SC

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?


pretty sure for some of us they can be like a mistress you are cheating on our wives with... lol j/king!

Skaven: 3000 pts
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Lizardmen: 4000 pts
Rohan: 2000 pts
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Jesus: check

 
   
Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut




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.
   
Made in ca
Sinister Chaos Marine




 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


If your FLGS is a GW "stockist" then they are an official GW channel and he shouldn't be upset. There's nothing unethical about buying from somewhere GW says they want you to buy from. He should be more curious about why you bought there and not from him, and what he can do to overcome his disadvantage (usually price).
   
Made in gb
Ian Pickstock




Nottingham

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

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Made in gb
Jealous that Horus is Warmaster




all over the world

i kinda suspect theres some personal agenda motivating a manager to go that far. Genuinely i dont go the extra mile for a person as a favour or punitive measure unless theres some personal satisfaction in it.

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).

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Made in gb
Regular Dakkanaut




 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.
   
 
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