Whoops! Coleco Player Decals: The Buffalo Sabres - The Forgotten Team

No photoshop yet, so whoever wants the sabres has to take the whole sheet. Big download, but who cares. Enjoy! Sorry for fergettin' them.

C

Defining Poor Customer Service: Issues with EB Games/ Gamestop

Now, we've all come across bad customer service in our days. Be it at a restaurant, a store, or even in passing, we see a service agent or sales associate who just couldn't care less about their job and are more concerned about their 10 bucks an hour rather than the job itself. given the bulk of these jobs are occupied by folks 18-27 who are going through school or just earning a living, it's something that most people have come to expect.

I do not want to shoot down every person in a job like this. In many instances, dealing with the public can be a trying exercise at best. For every guy or girl who is polite and says thank you, there are a dozen dickheads who think they are entitled and in turn take it out on young staffers when not given their way. I do my best each and every time I am provided good customer service that I at the very least say "thank you". Maybe they appreciate it, maybe they don't. But in the very least they get some sort of minimal gratification for their daily duty. (I do get weird looks when I say thank you to a checkout girl or guy, but who cares. They did their job checking me through fast and were pleasant, why not?)

Anyway, I received a call from my local EB Games this past weekend. Apparently, my copy of Dragon Age 2 had been damaged in shipping and they wanted to let me know and I could come down and check it out so I could not worry about any issues that may arise from it. "Great" I said. Andrew, the assistant manager of the store thought enough of me and my patronage that he gave me a pleasant call to let me know there was an issue wanted to make sure I was aware of it so if I had a problem with it, it could be taken care of. This, people, is what good customer service is all about.

I would say in the last 2 years I spent literally thousands of dollars in that store from purchasing, and generated thousands upon thousands more from trading and taking advantage of their trade specials. I would define this as a regular customer and a good customer. I won't be so bold as to say I'm their best customer, but to my own fault I think I spend more time in that store than most of their staff. :S (scheduling thing with my wife, it just works out that way). Anyway, when I get to the store to check on the product, the manager Sarah says "I can't show you that, I'm not allowed."

What.

The.

Fuck.

First off, the major wrong thing here is that the store called ME and said I could check this out. Secondly, you can't shit a shitter. This was the biggest bullshit line ANYONE in retail has ever pulled on me. I've worked in gaming retail for 8+ years, and been a major buyer for that plus 5 more years, so I know the rules of what one can and cannot do. SERIOUSLY. Thirdly, and most importantly, referencing the previous paragraph, I was a regular, GOOD customer who had a concern and wanted it dealt with. It wasn't even asking for a favor, it was a valid concern that someone in their store had brought up to me and suddenly they cannot help me?

What.

The.

Fuck.


I stayed calm and didn't yell. No matter what the issue is, nobody deserves being yelled at. It's common courtesy. So, I took my only course of action and found a valid way of dealing with this.

"You can't show me, but... you can refund the purchase, yes?"

I said this with the straightest face possible to show I was serious. The manager was immediately on her heels and said:

"but, you have the special edition pre-ordered".

I responded "well, someone else will be able to get it then. I'll just go pick it up somewhere else. No worries." She tickered away on her computer for a second and then looked up and said "Chris, you know I love you, but I just can't do it when someone else is in the store."


Issue number two. Lying sucks. This was bigger bullshit than the first wad.


So she pulled out the game and showed me the issue and it took all of 2 minutes. Seriously people, that's all it took. The whole ordeal lasted 15 minutes.

Now, if I had been asking a favor, or for privileged information, she'd have every right to say "Chris, I'm just not allowed to do this." But this is information that someone in their own store had said "Come down and see this". I'd even have understood it if they were actually busy and couldn't do this because servicing other consumers and making money would take precedence. But, the manager and the staffer were standing behind the counter chatting about something non work related. They can get out of their own ways to serve a customer, especially a good, regular customer.

There are literally more than a dozen places in St. John's where I can purchase games. I always brought my business there for new releases, for the most part. From now one, someone else will get the business. Poor customer service with NO EXCUSE is unacceptable.

C

The Ultimate Trade Swindle, and it was completely LEGAL. :)

It's been quite a year for deals, with EB Games putting off a regular daily deal. In many ways, they are taking advantage of it to lessen stock on games that they have a lot of, either by over purchasing or what not. Anyway, these deals are incredible, with most titles selling for a meager $4.89, essentially cheaper than your average rental.

So anyway, I've purchased most of these games. There have been some amazing titles, like Blur, Split Second, and Metroid: Other M. Likewise, there has been some absolute shit, like Blood Drive, Quantum Theory, and MorphX. My collection was spilling out off of my shelf!

I actually had the plan to buy all the $5 games, have a yard sale in the spring, and sell them all for $8 to $10, make a few dollars. It's a sound plan, really. BUT... I decide to do a little games belt run (see previous posts on this) tonight, and my first stop was Blockbuster. Oh my... I saw Quantum Theory and Blood Drive selling USED for a sickly $54.99! You know what THAT means! Higher than usual trade values because they had no idea that these games were worth less than your average egg! Anyway, I run home, and out of interest, grab ALL my daily deal titles save for Split Second and Blur (amazingly fun racers) plus a couple of titles I had finished up with. I ran to the closest Blockbuster and start trading.

Here is a chart of titles that I traded:
Blood Drive - X360, purchased at $4.89, traded at $30.
Quantum Theory - X360, purchased at $4.89, traded at $30.
MorphX - X360, purchased at $4.89, traded at $30.
Metroid Other M - Wii, purchased at $9.89, traded at $30.
Sin and Punishment - Wii, purchased at $4.89, traded at $30.
Iron Man - X360, purchased at $4.89, traded at $30.
Wolverine - X360, purchased for $4.89, traded for $15.
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit, Two Worlds 2, Kinect Joy Ride: Previously owned titles, all traded for titles I spent $15 total (love trade 3 at EB) and each nets 25 to 30 dollars.

I won't get into my purchase, but needless to say: It was big, and I only spent a grand total of $85 for nearly $300 worth of goods. OH MY GOD. Buy low,trade HIGH! Look around. These things are amazing and can save you HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS!

OH MY GOD!

:D

C

Greg Wyshynski on the Gillies Hit

I LOVE this.

"One last thing on the Islanders: Their fans feel like there's a pile on from media, the League and opposing fans to the point of suffocation. Some feel Gillies is being singled out because of the sweater he wears.

The Islanders aren't treated well now. They're considered a laughingstock by some, a circus by others. But know this: They're the next Chicago Blackhawks. There's a mountain of buoyant nostalgia under this team and it's going to erupt like Vesuvius when this team is back in playoff contention. Count on it."

Comments from Greg "Hard to spell last name" Wyshynski.

Link

Go Greg Wyshynski!

C

Trevor Gillies Hit on Cal Clutterbuck... is this the real problem?

Now, I know I am going to sound like a deluded fan of the Islanders, but is the Trevor Gillies hit the real problem?

So far this year, the Islanders have lost well over 400 man games to injuries. The year before, much the same. Cheap hits to players like Blake Comeau, Frans Neilsen and John Tavares have contributed to this heavily.  So, the Islanders go out and get protection for these guys in Zenon Konopka, Matt Martin, and Trevor Gillies. The do what they are supposed to do, take care of the skilled players and take it on the chin when it comes to things like this.

If the calls were actually made for all the hits towards the Islanders, or if they were avoided all together, do you think that Garth Snow would have gone out and gotten players like these? (in fairness to Matt Martin, he was in the Islanders system to begin with, a 5th round pick from a couple years back).

I'm not saying what Trevor Gillies did was right. I'm just saying that if the Islanders had done nothing, they'd likely be playing half their ECHL team right now instead of what little they are able to put on the ice now.

What I'm saying is Trevor Gillies is is a product of the culture bred in the NHL these days, not a product of Trevor Gillies.


C

PS: Look at the replay. Clutterbuck saw it coming, you see he is looking directly at Gillies before he gets his. Gillies hands DID go up, which is wrong, but this wasn't a hit from behind.

Can the Leafs ACTUALLY make the playoffs????

I thought it quite laughable that the typically deluded Leaf Nation was clammering about a playoff shot, but after last night, the Leafs are suddenly only 4 points and 2 teams out of a spot. On top of that, they are smoking white hot right now riding the tails of their Goalie Diamond in the Rough, James Reimer.

What the hell.

If they are this hot going into the playoffs, look out! There's a strong chance we'll see a major upset. With the Leafs, it really WOULD be a major upset.

C

The Bully Doesn't Always Win, and... PORN! :D

Forgive the word porn in the title, it's just a little google experiment to see if it affects the hits on this post.

Now, onto yesterday. In my Facebook status, I posted this:

"...is in space. Something big and wonderful happened today, but for some reason I'm spaced instead of ecstatic. Weird."

As some of you now know, I was in court yesterday for a case where I was rear ended by a young fellow who apparently was a real bully. He had no license, no insurance, and a general bad attitude. (this "attitude and bully thing is according to someone who went to school with him and refused to speak against him out of fear). 

Anyway, he was young then, he may have likely have changed now. IT'S BEEN NEARLY 5 YEARS!!! But when you show up to something like this dressed as a gangster and everyone else is in shirts and ties, it makes you wonder. Anyway, I won't say names (I am actually unsure of his name at this point) so his identity is safe. Also, this is all hear-say, so it may very not well be true. For the sake of this blog title, it works.


After 4 years, 5 months and 27 days (give or take a day), I am finally able to close this chapter on my life as my lawsuit was settled. I won't get into the gory details or any dollar figures, but it is something that has hung over my head for all this time, and now it's over, and I am very pleased. Yesterday, I was a little overwhelmed by it all and was in a fog throughout most of it. 


Might I speak to the beauty of the Supreme Court Building downtown. It's classical architecture is just as nice as the outside "castle-like" appearance.


This is a story that says that sometimes, just SOMETIMES the little guy wins. It's not very often, but when it does, it is sweet.


Good day all. :)


C