Predictable RAGE

by Matt | Jun 18, 2009 | Aggravation

It would seem to be redundant to say that GameStop sucks, but it does. They are, without a doubt, the single worst online retailer I’ve ever had the displeasure of dealing with. In terms of actual brick and mortar stores, I still have a special place of disdain for BestBuy, but GameStop is a close second. Let me tell you a little story of ineptitude, poor excuses and lost faith in humanity.

GameStop was having a sale. A big sale. They had copies of Rock Band 2 on sale for $95. That is a ridiculous (more than 50% off) sale price. I jumped all over it the second I read it. As I placed my order, the website said “in stock” and “free shipping”. I clicked “buy”. That was last Wednesday.

On Thursday I got a call from GS “Order Verification” asking me to verify that my order was in fact real. Of course it was real, so I said yes, they thanked me and said my game should ship out the next day. That would have been Friday.

On Monday, it still hadn’t shipped and it’s status on the website had changed to “pending”. I was a bit concerned so I called their Online Orders Department. I talked to this nice lady who had no idea what I was talking about. She said it didn’t say in the computer why my order was pending and that she’d call me back.

An hour or two later she did. She said she had checked with her manager, and he had explained that they had sold out early but that I would get the first ones on their next shipment. A shipment that was arriving on June 30th. She even upgraded my shipping to “Overnight” because of the inconvenience.

I figured that was ok, I could wait a couple extra days for it, it was still a good deal. I also figured it was legit because she had “talked to a manager”.

Today is Thursday, 3 days later. I open my email to find a note from GameStop saying that my order has been canceled and that they’ve discontinued that item and I won’t be getting it. Ever.

I was understandably confused. Just three days ago I had confirmed, for the second time, that even though it was sold out initially (which was bullshit to start with) they would in fact be getting more. So, I called them again. I talked to another nice lady would said that it indeed had been cancelled and that there was nothing she could do about it. They offered me a $10 coupon to go away.

I explained to her all that had gone on previously, that the order had been confirmed TWICE and asked what had changed. She blamed it on inventory problems and that they weren’t going to get any more. I called her on it and said that I had been told that they were in fact getting more. She said she didn’t know anything about that.

I asked for the manager. His name was John.

I then had to explain the entire saga all over again to John. He listened and at the end said “Gee, I’m sorry, but we’re just not getting anymore, it was a really good sale and it just sold really well”. I couldn’t take it anymore. I proceed to tell John that not only had I placed the order while it was “in stock” but that it had been confirmed not once, but twice that eventually I would get one and that I’d really like GameStop to make this right. They have to honor their own sales.

Again, he blamed inventory. I launched into how in this day in age, surely they have a computerized inventory system and couldn’t they have figured this out ahead of time. Then he blamed the website for letting people order even though they were sold out. I suggested that they fix their dumbass website and that they still needed to honor a price they had sold something at. Then he blamed the SKU# saying that it was a special SKU just for the sale and that the SKU had been canceled and they couldn’t sell anything under that SKU again. I told him I didn’t give a crap what SKU it was under, why couldn’t he just sell me a normal copy of the game for a discount.

He laughed. He audibly laughed.

“No, no, I couldn’t do that” he chuckled, “you ordered a used one, I couldn’t sell you a new one, they’re not the same”. That’s where I lost it. I said, in a not-so-nice tone that their fucking website had gone out of it’s way to explain that they BOXES were slightly damaged but the contents of said boxes were in fact brand new.  This is what the website STILL says as of this moment:

“During our annual spring cleaning, one of our associates came across a forgotten chamber in the warehouse. He found a cache of leftover Rock Band and Guitar Hero games. These are all new games, but the ravages of time and being entombed in the depths of our warehouse have left some of the boxes in less-than-mint condition. So, although the outsides may be a little worn – just like some of your favorite musicians – the games and products themselves are still in perfect shape.”

I went round and round with John, saying that they needed to make this right, that it was pretty blatantly false advertising, especially if they were considering them “used” in the computer. All I asked for was Rock Band 2, at the price they had quoted. I didn’t want anything for free, I didn’t want anything extra. I just wanted the game. I asked if he could call a store in my area and see if they had a copy, even a used copy and that maybe we could work it out that way, that I’d even pay the difference. He said they had no control over, or way to monitor, any of the EB/GS stores.

In the end, he offered me a $20 coupon for my trouble. I told him that was fucking ridiculous and that maybe if he gave me 5 of those coupons, then that would make it alright. He laughed again. I told him to fuck off.

So, what’s the moral of the story kids? NEVER EVER SHOP AT FUCKING GAMESTOP. It’s my fault really. They had two strikes in my book but the deal was so good that I gave them another shot. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, I will fucking end your existance.

Everyone have a nice day. Except GameStop, who can go fuck themselves.

UPDATE:
Wow, this pretty much sums up the entire GameStop shopping experience right here. Even if I had wanted to, with my pathetic $20 coupon, buy a copy of RockBan at full price, I’d still get the shaft. You see GameStop, when you reduced the price of something by $20, then ADD a $19.99 handling fee, you’re pretty much declaring that you’re just raping the customers and you don’t give a damn. Pathetic. Truly pathetic.

Gamestop Sucks