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**AllSeeingSkink**

Grot 6 wrote:
AllSeeingSkink wrote:
HairySticks wrote:
So I was just at my local GW store earlier, picking up a pot of agrax earthsahde specifically.
But as I walked in, the manager was discussing (with another customer), the website, laughing at how the faq's were 'forgotten' and that theres another update scheduled for the website where they will be thrown in. But the excuses he was coming out with for it were just embarassing for GW - the old team thought the new guys were doing it, the new team thought the old team were doing it; thus no one did. Thats pathetic! ( apparantly it took less than 15minutes for them to recieve email complaints informing them about the error lol)

He didnt seem overly impressed when I criticised GW for the full day of downtime that they had started to get a bit white knight on me defending his bosses at all costs then, but tripped up a bit; he stated that GW's customers love to complain, and will always find something to complain about, so it doesnt really matter how good or bad a thing is :S I had to leave the store at that point as I was ready to blow my lid at the guy LOL I definitely give praise where praise is due, the fact that I have 99% criticism for GW should be indicative that theyre doing something wrong, but instead the clientèle (who should always be right) is written off as a bunch of whiners by the staff that GW employ. He had no acceptable excuse for why they needed 24 hours of downtime for something that is normally done offline and is a quick url changeover. Granted he's a store clerk, but he didnt seem to understand much about this here internet, I supsect his superiors know even less.
He lost some sales by showing his opinion too :/ I was ready to buy stormboyz, ork bomber, how to paint book, some chaos figs for my nephew, some paints and maybe a knight lol.

A couple of things wrong with this story. One, who gives a damn what a random GW store dude thinks. We all know they have no more information than the rest of us.

Two, you said you were in the store all day bitching about GW... the company he works for... the company that signs his pay cheques... and you expect him to NOT do a bit of whiteknighting?

If you came in to my store and bitched all day long I'd assume you weren't going to buy anything either.

"I came in critising GW for the full day but then was gonna buy a few things and got put off because the store manager finally got sick of me"

GW employees are indoctrinated to behave this way.

There is nothing wrong with his story, you misread the first point of the discussion. HE didn't go in being a mutt, he went in and entered into ongoing conversation.
The issue was the lap dog mentality that put Harry off. not that he went in picking a fight.

( Yes, this is the king of curmudgeons saying this, believe it or not. I feel Harry was honestly justified in his reaction, seeing that Mr Shopjocky was a jerky jerk. The alternative of kicking his slats in was probably not a viable option. )

Well the other odd thing I found about this story... what sort of crazy person is in to the hobby enough to be on this forum chatting and yet actually burns money by buying large amounts of models from a GW store?

I actually rather like the guy at my local GW... but I only ever buy paints and GW direct-only items from him.

**Azreal13**

I disagree, kicking his slats in is always a viable option!

**Grimtuff**

AllSeeingSkink wrote:
Well the other odd thing I found about this story... what sort of crazy person is in to the hobby enough to be on this forum chatting and yet actually burns money by buying large amounts of models from a GW store? I actually rather like the guy at my local GW... but I only ever buy paints and GW direct-only items from him.

Hairysticks is in the UK. I presume this was a combination of the need for instant gratification coupled with the UK's rarer-than-rocking-horse-gak FLGS to GW store ratio.

**The Division Of Joy**

Lincoln has a FLGS now so I guess you'll never have to go to GW now eh Grimtuff

**Grimtuff**

The Division Of Joy wrote:
Lincoln has a FLGS now so I guess you'll never have to go to GW now eh Grimtuff

Since when?

Don't go into GW at all anyways. If I'm desperate for paint Boyes also sell them.

**The Division Of Joy**

High street, new store opening. Was announced at Gobstyks a few weeks ago

**HairySticks**

whoa i missed a fair bit there... went off for a spot to eat! hehe.

Erm yeah, I didnt exactly go in looking to bash GW, I wetn in to purchase a pot of paint I knew I'd need later, and resist dropping the months pay on shiny new plastic!

I kind of interupted the store manager and a customer (maybe just his buddy idk) having a good old chuckle about the website and some of its shortcomings.. so I threw in my 2cents on the matter (didnt even mention the poorly described Cadian Defence force set that says it includes 3 'Squads' of weapons teams rather than 3 teams - theres a box named squad, and its got 3 in someone... anyone please demand 6 more weapons teams out of them for that!)
And then they all but turned on me

maybe im not in the club or something hehe... although i get that the manager probably has a hard time with his company being so easy to criticise sometimes and having to somehow try and spin it lol...

**The Division Of Joy**

Again. He works for a company. He's going to stick up for them.

**HairySticks**

The Division Of Joy wrote:
Again. He works for a company. He's going to stick up for them.

... Again... He wasnt... untill I joined him in having criticisms.

**Grimtuff**

The Division Of Joy wrote:
Again. He works for a company. He's going to stick up for them.

There's a difference though. In all other retail dynamics, if a customer calls them out on something they've blatantly fethed up on, you'll get no end of apologies.

GW, OTOH decides to play the victim. Yes, I work in retail and you'll do it behind closed doors. Not in front of your customers.

**Zweischneid**

HairySticks wrote:
whoa i missed a fair bit there... went off for a spot to eat! hehe.

Erm yeah, I didnt exactly go in looking to bash GW, I wetn in to purchase a pot of paint I knew I'd need later, and resist dropping the months pay on shiny new plastic!

I kind of interupted the store manager and a customer (maybe just his buddy idk) having a good old chuckle about the website and some of its shortcomings.. so I threw in my 2cents on the matter (didnt even mention the poorly described Cadian Defence force set that says it includes 3 'Squads' of weapons teams rather than 3 teams - theres a box named squad, and its got 3 in someone... anyone please demand 6 more weapons teams out of them for that!)
And then they all but turned on me maybe im not in the club or something hehe... although i get that the manager probably has a hard time with his company being so easy to criticise sometimes and having to somehow try and spin it lol...

Either way... the question remains. You claim you would've spend a hundred quid or more, but you didn't because the store-manager refused to denigrate his own company before an unknown customer?

What did you expect? Do you go into Apple stores with the intend of splashing for a new fancy iPhone, but only if the store-manager bashes Apple and praises the newest Windows Phone?

**HairySticks**

lol wow... just wow.

youve all missed the point entirely.

The manager was basically having a chortle at his own companies expense. WHILST I was browsing the store within ear shot.
When I made a small contribution to the conversation (perhaps I was unwelcome too or something idk) the reaction I got was less than friendly, the conversation quickly turned to bashing the customer base for being whiners no matter what happens.
This is what annoyed me, not that he wont bash GW with me in their own store... he was doing it first ffs :/

**Grimtuff**

Zweischneid wrote:

Either way... the question remains. You claim you would've spend a hundred quid or more, but you didn't because the store-manager refused to denigrate his own company before an unknown customer?

What did you expect? Do you go into Apple stores with the intend of splashing for a new fancy iPhone, but only if the store-manager bashes Apple and praises the newest Windows Phone?

That's not what was being questioned though. The website launch was pretty much FUBAR. He called them out on it.

In any other retail dynamic you'd at least get an apology from the staff member (Even if its not their fault and have no power to fix it. Its just how it works) to placate you and you'll try and steer the conversation away. If they want to escalate it, show them where to go to do so.

**Saxon**

The moral of the story is not to eavesdrop, it is bad manners.

Anyway, I don't mind the website and will probably buy the 2nd limited edition Marine. Want to pick up some of the current Greater Daemons and Daemon Princes so would be making orders anyway.

**CthuluIsSpy**

HairySticks wrote:
lol wow... just wow.

youve all missed the point entirely.

The manager was basically having a chortle at his own companies expense. WHILST I was browsing the store within ear shot.
When I made a small contribution to the conversation (perhaps I was unwelcome too or something idk) the reaction I got was less than friendly, the conversation quickly turned to bashing the customer base for being whiners no matter what happens.
This is what annoyed me, not that he wont bash GW with me in their own store... he was doing it first ffs :/

Wait, so he was criticizing the company first, and then got defensive when someone else joined in?
Now those are some double standards.

**Grimtuff**

Saxon wrote:
The moral of the story is not to eavesdrop, it is bad manners.

Is it?

**HairySticks**

Saxon wrote:
The moral of the story is not to eavesdrop, it is bad manners.

Anyway, I don't mind the website and will probably buy the 2nd limited edition Marine. Want to pick up some of the current Greater Daemons and Daemon Princes so would be making orders anyway.

xD yes... I suppose it is lol.

He saved me a bunch of money though! Hats off to the chap

everything I mightve bought will still get bought...eventually... probably online though. (I've got a hooge queue of models to paint as it is)
Just the attitude of a store manager to call his entire customer-base people who will complain about it no matter what seemed a bit poor to me....particularly after letting me hear him laugh and complain about it 30seconds prior.

**Johnnytorrance**

The store owner didn't have anything to do with the website, why even complain to him about it.

**HairySticks**

Johnnytorrance wrote:
The store owner didn't have anything to do with the website, why even complain to him about it.

Because it was the topic of conversation... HIS conversation. I didnt initiate the complainathon or anything guys... just got shunned for jumping on the band wagon and adding to his list of things wrong with the site.

**Azreal13**

Johnnytorrance wrote:
The store owner didn't have anything to do with the website, why even complain to him about it.

The store manager was already talking about it, Hairysticks just joined in.

**Zweischneid**

Grimtuff wrote:

That's not what was being questioned though. The website launch was pretty much FUBAR. He called them out on it.

In any other retail dynamic you'd at least get an apology from the staff member (Even if its not their fault and have no power to fix it. Its just how it works) to placate you and you'll try and steer the conversation away. If they want to escalate it, show them where to go to do so.

Nobody doubts that there were issues with the website. But not any bigger than ... say ... happend when Mantic Games launched their new website (how long is the Dakka-thread on Mantic's new website again?).

And it certainly wasn't anything like Burger King or Pinterest or Kickstarter getting hacked or something of that caliber. And even with the latter, nobody gave a gak. So in some ways, the store clerk speaking his mind about the over-excitable fan-base wasn't all that far-fetched, even if it wasn't the "ideal" psychologically schooled retail-answer. Guess what... minimum-wage store-clerks are just fallible humans.

So the only correct answer by the store-clerk would've been to abase himself before HairySticks, going through some elaborate Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culp, to not "lose" a few quid in Ork sales?

Yeah, good luck with that.

**scuzz_bucket**

HairySticks wrote:
Johnnytorrance wrote:
The store owner didn't have anything to do with the website, why even complain to him about it.

Because it was the topic of conversation... HIS conversation. I didnt initiate the complainathon or anything guys... just got shunned for jumping on the band wagon and adding to his list of things wrong with the site.

This is getting so meta, Hairysticks complains in store, manager points out hou much his customers complain. Hairysticks then begins and still continues to complain online. Now we're complaining about his behavior.. whoa... so meta.....

**Zweischneid**

HairySticks wrote:
Johnnytorrance wrote:
The store owner didn't have anything to do with the website, why even complain to him about it.

Because it was the topic of conversation... HIS conversation. I didnt initiate the complainathon or anything guys... just got shunned for jumping on the band wagon and adding to his list of things wrong with the site.

So what? You caught him doing naughty stuff he shoudn't have been doing in the first place, and you were surprised he zipped up when caught, instead of letting you join?

**CthuluIsSpy**

Zweischneid wrote:
HairySticks wrote:
Johnnytorrance wrote:
The store owner didn't have anything to do with the website, why even complain to him about it.

Because it was the topic of conversation... HIS conversation. I didnt initiate the complainathon or anything guys... just got shunned for jumping on the band wagon and adding to his list of things wrong with the site.

So what? You caught him doing naughty stuff he shoudn't have been doing in the first place, and you were surprised he zipped up when caught, instead of letting you join?

Ah, but according to Sticks, he was already discussing it with another customer.
If it were a staff member, you may have had a point, but as it was a customer, well, it's complicated.

**HairySticks**

Ahh well... take form my experience what you will.
I still bought the paint I needed, Im not like morally outraged by it. Just a bit disapointed tbh.
Say that were some other big chain store.. that guy would probably get disciplined for that kind of behaviour before a customer.
Obviously its a flaw in the one man store system, that no one knows how they behave on an avg day because theyre the only staff member present. There is probably no consistency in it at all tbh.

Thought Id share it because of the website related context of the discussion.
Comical excuses for why no faq's and such

**CthuluIsSpy**

scuzz_bucket wrote:
HairySticks wrote:
Johnnytorrance wrote:
The store owner didn't have anything to do with the website, why even complain to him about it.

Because it was the topic of conversation... HIS conversation. I didnt initiate the complainathon or anything guys... just got shunned for jumping on the band wagon and adding to his list of things wrong with the site.

This is getting so meta, Hairysticks complains in store, manager points out hou much his customers complain. Hairysticks then begins and still continues to complain online. Now we're complaining about his behavior.. whoa... so meta.....

Complainception?

**HairySticks**

xD can we have a complainers convention? I hear 40k fans are the bestest

(there can be only one btw)

**Azreal13**

HairySticks wrote:
xD can we have a complainers convention? I hear 40k fans are the bestest

Complainceptioncon?

**Grimtuff**

Zweischneid wrote:

So the only correct answer by the store-clerk would've been to abase himself before HairySticks, going through some elaborate Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culp, to not "lose" a few quid in Ork sales?

Yeah, good luck with that.

Yes, as that's unfortunately how retail works.

You can argue it all you want, (and lets face it Zwei; we know you will as it your raison d'etre) but that's how it goes down. I've lost count of the amount of times I've had to apologise to customers for something I have zero control over.

**CthuluIsSpy**

azreal13 wrote:
HairySticks wrote:
xD can we have a complainers convention? I hear 40k fans are the bestest

Complainceptioncon?

It would be filled with people complaining how long the name is