Working in gamestop/GAME?

ShadowHearth

Hey lads, monday i had bad news for myself: cutbacks... So this is mine last weak of working in this restourant.

I was chef in there, but to be honest, i am not very interested in it ( was doing it for last 3 years).

I am gamer all my life, i only blablabla about games,cars. And i was allways thinking of working in such industry.

So whats the way of getting job in such places? And what you thing about such work? Maybe there is some people who do work in gamestop or GAME, and give me a few tips.

I know its not big money here. But to be honest i finnaly whant to do some job that i will enjoy. Money would not be the moust important thing. I did it before: money > work you like. And it was crap!

P.s. i am 22 years old aswell lads, wount people think that i am some crazy fella? Is it not too late to start such work? Btw i am not irish, but mine english is prety good, not spelling thought so sorry for all mistakes i made

projectmayhem

This should probably be in Work & Jobs, but anyhow...

I used to work in Xtra-Vision, which is similar work in the sense that you get a discount on games and stuff like that. Sometimes you get to empart some information on people because you bother to read Edge and watch the 1up show etc., but for the most part the job is tedium to the max. If you're in a quiet store then it'd probably be a bit more fun, but I was in one of the busiest in Ireland, and it was 60% people moaning at you.

Either way, getting into it is fairly easy, but they might not be very quick to hire full time staff at the moment.

Jack Sheehan

Yeah, I was thinking of applying next summer in Game, as they all seem to be very nice people. I hated my last job.

ShadowHearth

projectmayhem wrote: »

This should probably be in Work & Jobs, but anyhow...

I used to work in Xtra-Vision, which is similar work in the sense that you get a discount on games and stuff like that. Sometimes you get to empart some information on people because you bother to read Edge and watch the 1up show etc., but for the most part the job is tedium to the max. If you're in a quiet store then it'd probably be a bit more fun, but I was in one of the busiest in Ireland, and it was 60% people moaning at you.

Either way, getting into it is fairly easy, but they might not be very quick to hire full time staff at the moment.

how did you got your one? in fas? some adds?

rainbow kirby

I spent 4 years working for GAME, started in the branch in Tallaght and moved to Dundrum after 3 years. If you're looking for a job at the moment it could be difficult - they'll probably stick with what they have until it's time for them to hire Christmas temps in October.

If you have any specific questions feel free to ask me or PM.

noodler

Do not work in Xtra Vision. Part time is minimum wage. Full time is like a euro better (unless you are a manager then maybe 2.50 better).

It is a job for people who are in college.

ShadowHearth

rainbow kirby wrote: »

I spent 4 years working for GAME, started in the branch in Tallaght and moved to Dundrum after 3 years. If you're looking for a job at the moment it could be difficult - they'll probably stick with what they have until it's time for them to hire Christmas temps in October.

If you have any specific questions feel free to ask me or PM.

cheers m8, well main question, how did you applyed for this work? i newer see in fas or jobs.ie such adverts...

And i will still ask, what kind of wages they paying. And how is it to work in such place?

rainbow kirby

I applied when I saw a job advert in the window of the branch in Tallaght. Just handed in a CV, had an interview 3 days later, started work the day after my interview.

When I left, I was on just under €10 an hour, and this is the first long service point, starting wage would be about €9 an hour (it was €8.29 starting off in 2003). The actual work itself is kinda boring (typical shop stuff, and general customer service), but the guys (and it really is almost all guys, quite frequently I was the only woman in my branch) are pretty sound to work with. Lots of gaming talk.

ShadowHearth

rainbow kirby wrote: »

I applied when I saw a job advert in the window of the branch in Tallaght. Just handed in a CV, had an interview 3 days later, started work the day after my interview.

When I left, I was on just under €10 an hour, and this is the first long service point, starting wage would be about €9 an hour (it was €8.29 starting off in 2003). The actual work itself is kinda boring (typical shop stuff, and general customer service), but the guys (and it really is almost all guys, quite frequently I was the only woman in my branch) are pretty sound to work with. Lots of gaming talk.

hehe pret decent. And loads of gaming talk, atleast wont be that boring . Btw wount i look like weirdo? 22 years old working in there? or its just in mine head?

rainbow kirby

I was 19 when I started and 23 when I left, most employees fit into that age bracket.

Zillah

Wait, you think working in Game will be fun!? I suppose you're imagining a world where intelligent and attractive gamers sit around sipping latte and discuss the latest releases with an erudite air. Not so, I'd imagine. You'll spend your time arguing with fat 14 year olds who are furious that the game they want isn't in stock, old women who want to know the difference between an Xbox 360 and their microwave and the endless crowd of people who want nothing more than to see you operate the till.

Highstreet shops are still highstreet shops, regardless of what it is they sell.

I'd imagine

thelordofcheese

Ohh don't forget the 13 year old boys trying to buy 18 rated games.

Actually that's the fun part. I love it when they do that.

projectmayhem

ShadowHearth wrote: »

how did you got your one? in fas? some adds?

They were advertising positions so I went in for an interview. They usually do quarterly open days so check posters in your local store for that.

noodler wrote: »

Do not work in Xtra Vision. Part time is minimum wage. Full time is like a euro better (unless you are a manager then maybe 2.50 better).

It is a job for people who are in college.

That's essentially the same situation as Game has... except Game will give you a bit of money if you're loyal...

Zillah wrote: »

I'd imagine

Very vivid and correct imagination there

Basically you have kids who think they know more then you, parents who think you're on commission to shiester them out of cash, and scumbags who think they've been hard done by with their cheap second hand disks not working.

Cravez

Zillah wrote: »

Wait, you think working in Game will be fun!? I suppose you're imagining a world where intelligent and attractive gamers sit around sipping latte and discuss the latest releases with an erudite air. Not so, I'd imagine. You'll spend your time arguing with fat 14 year olds who are furious that the game they want isn't in stock, old women who want to know the difference between an Xbox 360 and their microwave and the endless crowd of people who want nothing more than to see you operate the till.

Haha your actually right, i worked in game for 2 years (henry street branch then ILAC when it moved for a bit) and i wouldn't lie that you won't come across these types of people but you will. but its not all bad, if you have a good manager and good co-workers the banter can be great. I had great fun when i first started working

It really depends on which branch you go to now and apparently since each branch now is geared towards specific market types of people (for example, ILAC center branch is now more geared towards 'family' type customers, so the games in there will have a majority of lets say Nintendo Wii, DS etc and less of the PC,XBOX,PS etc). Thus i guess the type of public you will be dealing with can vary.

As Kirby said, they will most likely be hiring only christmas temps when it runs up to christmas but i would also hand in CV's now actually to any of the branches for part-time or full-time work. I dropped in my CV before i started college in September and got an interview 2 days later (and then got the job), so i was sorted for a job while in college.

I wouldn't worry about you thinking your to old to work in there, we had many peeps much older than me who were in their mid/late 20's so you'll be fine

Cravez

projectmayhem wrote: »

Basically you have kids who think they know more then you, parents who think you're on commission to shiester them out of cash, and scumbags who think they've been hard done by with their cheap second hand disks not working.

Not one word of a lie

ShadowHearth

Michael Cravez wrote: »

Haha your actually right, i worked in game for 2 years (henry street branch then ILAC when it moved for a bit) and i wouldn't lie that you won't come across these types of people but you will. but its not all bad, if you have a good manager and good co-workers the banter can be great. I had great fun when i first started working

It really depends on which branch you go to now and apparently since each branch now is geared towards specific market types of people (for example, ILAC center branch is now more geared towards 'family' type customers, so the games in there will have a majority of lets say Nintendo Wii, DS etc and less of the PC,XBOX,PS etc). Thus i guess the type of public you will be dealing with can vary.

As Kirby said, they will most likely be hiring only christmas temps when it runs up to christmas but i would also hand in CV's now actually to any of the branches for part-time or full-time work. I dropped in my CV before i started college in September and got an interview 2 days later (and then got the job), so i was sorted for a job while in college.

I wouldn't worry about you thinking your to old to work in there, we had many peeps much older than me who were in their mid/late 20's so you'll be fine

heh cheers m8, i i wll do that, i will drop CV in local gamestop, and maybe in cork city and surrounding towns. I have no problem driving.

Like alot of said: there are alot of of Bas****. But every place has them. you cant even imagine how many stupid poeple i get while shefing, and how thick and non-thinking poeple are. If you whant a few examples, plz do, ask.

Now i really dont look at this work from pink glasses prospective. Its a job. And it has its downs and ups. So i am ready for everything. And i actually really like explaining thick people about real proper cars and game consoles/games. I can spend hours explaining some ather chef whats is blu-ray.

sweetie

projectmayhem wrote: »

and scumbags who think they've been hard done by with their cheap second hand disks not working.

Lovely sentiment, surely a game should work for you if you buy it second hand, scumbag or not?

CCCP^

Invitation to Treat.

Know it. Love it. Use it. :rolleyes:

rainbow kirby

sweetie wrote: »

Lovely sentiment, surely a game should work for you if you buy it second hand, scumbag or not?

"Ohnoz, my €3 copy of Fifa 2006 has a tiny scratch which in no way impedes the game function, the sky is falling!"

13 year olds trying to buy 18 rated games was hilarious though, I used to be a total bitch for ID'ing people for 18 rated games just because it was funny. I used to like telling parents who were buying certain games for kids under 10 about the exact content too, and then see little Jimmy get screamed at.

I'm a bitch.

noodler

Hey, in Xtra Vision you have the scum of the earth swearing they didn't rent DVDs out and bring them back late and swear you are lieing about fines to get some pocket money. Then when you show them the print out they say you could have done that (which I couldn't have).

Then when they are the only place open in a village post 7 or 8 o clock on a weekend night (or other nights) you get scumbags coming in in groups of 5 or 6 stealing confectionary (which I swear to god is much more annoying than it sounds-you don't just brush it off like you ould imagine).


Phew. Tis quiet some nights tho.

pwd

I've gotten the impression that a decent portion of employees in game/gamestop stores have little interest or knowledge in games and are pretty bored by working there. It's a shame because if they were more selective in that regard they'd attract some real enthusiasts to work there and really improve the shops.
Xtra-vision staff on the other hand usually like to talk about movies.

noodler

I don't want to sound rude, but when I was there I was also in college everyday. I didn't get that much time to watch DVDs nor did I want to se every piece of crap that had been released in a given month.

So when people ask (and were talking 20 people a shift) I used to be honest and they'd be disappinted giving it the whole 'its your job isn't it. No actually my job involves, hoovering, polishing, serving people, trying to keep balances down on accounts, merchandising and dealing with scumbag alerts. The 8e an hour they were paying me didn't oblige me to watch every film in the place in my own precious sparetime.

Anyway, eventually found it easier to lie and randomly say it was good or bad. People were none the wiser.

thelordofcheese

ShadowHearth wrote: »

Like alot of said: there are alot of of Bas****. But every place has them. you cant even imagine how many stupid poeple i get while shefing, and how thick and non-thinking poeple are. If you whant a few examples, plz do, ask.

Ohh, the irony.

beerbaron

English obviously isnt the OPs first language.

Give him a break :rolleyes:

ShadowHearth

beerbaron wrote: »

English obviously isnt the OPs first language.

Give him a break :rolleyes:

Thanks, i live in ireland for 3 years. And i am lithuanian, i can speak english prety good. But mine spelling is terrible. So all english teachers plz back off!

Now on topic. Once i went to GAME in Cork city. And i asked one fella working there about warhammer soulstorm: can i play it without main game. To mine surprise he explained everything about the game, whats new in it, what do i expect and how does it work all together. And how good it is if you are warhammer fan. And this was first time in my life when salesman is game shops helped me with info on game. I was very impresed, even whanted to ask to talk to manager and say a good few words about him.

DanOB

Michael Cravez wrote: »

It really depends on which branch you go to now and apparently since each branch now is geared towards specific market types of people (for example, ILAC center branch is now more geared towards 'family' type customers, so the games in there will have a majority of lets say Nintendo Wii, DS etc and less of the PC,XBOX,PS etc). Thus i guess the type of public you will be dealing with can vary.

just on that point, is there anywhere which has a focus on pc games? in every store i go into i see less and less pc games for sale

DanOB

rainbow kirby wrote: »

"Ohnoz, my €3 copy of Fifa 2006 has a tiny scratch which in no way impedes the game function, the sky is falling!"

13 year olds trying to buy 18 rated games was hilarious though, I used to be a total bitch for ID'ing people for 18 rated games just because it was funny. I used to like telling parents who were buying certain games for kids under 10 about the exact content too, and then see little Jimmy get screamed at.

I'm a bitch.

i like you

thelordofcheese

DanOB wrote: »

just on that point, is there anywhere which has a focus on pc games? in every store i go into i see less and less pc games for sale

nowhere as far as i know, most game shops i've been in have a very limited PC section.

Pc gaming is dying, donntcha know.

Cravez

ShadowHearth wrote: »

Now on topic. Once i went to GAME in Cork city. And i asked one fella working there about warhammer soulstorm: can i play it without main game. To mine surprise he explained everything about the game, whats new in it, what do i expect and how does it work all together. And how good it is if you are warhammer fan. And this was first time in my life when salesman is game shops helped me with info on game. I was very impresed, even whanted to ask to talk to manager and say a good few words about him.

We always had staff designated to look after and be in charge of certain sections of the shop. Since i was mainly a PC gamer, i looked after the PC section and since i knew most about PC games all enquiries about PC games would have went towards me . I was always checking up about most of the games or even played a fair bit of them anyway so i knew what they were about etc. It would have been fairly hard to have someone who knew EVERYTHING about every game and console.

DanOB wrote:

just on that point, is there anywhere which has a focus on pc games? in every store i go into i see less and less pc games for sale

Hmm, well Henry Street/ILAC center did have the best PC section as far as im aware (i made damn well sure of that!), but i haven't been in there in ages so i don't know what its like now. I think last time they actually reduced the size of the section. Dawson street is the same. Pretty much any shop iv been in now doesn't have a decent PC section in it. Your probably better off looking up and reviewing games online and then buying them online tbh.

Zillah

ShadowHearth wrote: »

Thanks, i live in ireland for 3 years. And i am lithuanian, i can speak english prety good. But mine spelling is terrible. So all english teachers plz back off!

I bet his English is a damn site better than most of our Lithuanian.

sir snackbox

CCCP^ wrote: »

Invitation to Treaty.

Know it. Love it. Use it. :rolleyes:

that saves your skin so much ha ha ... im workin in GAME atm and i dont know how many times ive quoted that ha.. works a treat


and cant remeber who said it... zillah i think... but a highstreet store is a highstreet store... yeh there is a bit of gaming banter but a good 75% of it is all customer service and dustin shelves and fixin the shop floor!

Zillah

I understand the reference to the law of contract, but I don't get the relevance. You have a sign in the window saying a game is fifty quid, someone comes to buy it and you tell them haha I'm going to charge you 60, the sign is just an invitation to treat? What am I missing?

noodler

When I was in XV, if something was advetised in a medium then we had to do it. Not if something was stickered wrong.

No f****** way, I mean think about the amount of people who would change sticker prices for that specific purpose?

The only ads in the main window were XV sanctioned and were never wrong.

Attol

Getting a job in one of those shops is usually about timing. Just have to be there when they need staff. They get loads of CVs in every week. Having previous experience in retail is handy too.

EDIT: Don't worry about the age thing. I'm 21 and going back to Game. Been working in game shops since I was 16 but I've always been one of the youngest.

CCCP^

rainbow kirby wrote: »

I'm a bitch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rGOGqAiv7Q

ShadowHearth

Michael Cravez wrote: »

We always had staff designated to look after and be in charge of certain sections of the shop. Since i was mainly a PC gamer, i looked after the PC section and since i knew most about PC games all enquiries about PC games would have went towards me . I was always checking up about most of the games or even played a fair bit of them anyway so i knew what they were about etc. It would have been fairly hard to have someone who knew EVERYTHING about every game and console.



Hmm, well Henry Street/ILAC center did have the best PC section as far as im aware (i made damn well sure of that!), but i haven't been in there in ages so i don't know what its like now. I think last time they actually reduced the size of the section. Dawson street is the same. Pretty much any shop iv been in now doesn't have a decent PC section in it. Your probably better off looking up and reviewing games online and then buying them online tbh.

People in ireland are to laizy i guess, for pc gaming. They dont whant to learn about pcs, And when they find out, that they need a Rigg that costs about 1.5k eu to be able to play games atleast with decent graphics, they just go to xblender or ps3.

And its alot more easyer to use consloes, like i said before, and video game nerd: " just pop this fu*ker in!"

one more thing that makes pc games not attractive. You cant trade them in! Thats why alot of people stick with ps3/xblender i guess.

FreeOSCAR

Whats an Xblender?

thelordofcheese

FreeOSCAR wrote: »

Whats an Xblender?

An Xbox that eats children.

FreeOSCAR

thelordofcheese wrote: »

An Xbox that eats children.

Quite the contraption. It musnt have a high success rate because there are still loads of screaming children when I'm on XBL.

CCCP^

thelordofcheese wrote: »

An Xbox that eats children.

I know what the kids will be getting this Christmas.

jhegarty

thelordofcheese wrote: »

nowhere as far as i know, most game shops i've been in have a very limited PC section.

Pc gaming is dying, donntcha know.

So the Megadrive finally won ? :P

ShadowHearth wrote: »

Thanks, i live in ireland for 3 years. And i am lithuanian, i can speak english prety good. But mine spelling is terrible. So all english teachers plz back off!

Your English is very good for someone only here 3 years, but you should have a native speaker review your CV just to make sure everything is perfect.

For jobs like this CVs go in the bin very quickly.

projectmayhem

noodler wrote: »

Anyway, eventually found it easier to lie and randomly say it was good or bad. People were none the wiser.

I usually gave the general sentiment of the film... as in "so & so saw it and said it was this/that/other" rather then directly referencing myself, but I always prefaced stuff with "each to their own" because somehow I actually had people try to get a refund because they were recommended films and didn't like them.

sweetie wrote: »

Lovely sentiment, surely a game should work for you if you buy it second hand, scumbag or not?

You really have to work in one of these stores to get the bittersweet taste of hatred. Most of the time these games came back in a worse state then they left, and that's why they didn't work. Often people will buy 2nd hand games to replace wrecked discs they have at home, bring back the wrecked disk and demand a refund... Luckily my store had so many traded games it was easy to annoy these customers by giving them the same game back out.

I know I come across really badly and put a bad reputation on employees of these types of stores, but all I ever asked when working there is for people to treat me as I tread people in other stores when I go to buy things, or maybe even bring defective products back (rarely happens, if ever). Most of the time you either get scumbags with some mad sense that they've got more rights then god ever intended any being to have so they go shouting about the place like there's no tomorrow, or you get incredibly snotty people who look down on you and your part-time beer-funding job.

My best two weeks were the two weeks of my notice when I got to be snotty and mouthy back

noodler

projectmayhem wrote: »

I actually had people try to get a refund because they were recommended films and didn't like them.

Another reason not to put yourself out there by recommending a film. I remember this one knacker saying he was coming back for a refund if the GAA game was crap. I told him that you don't get refunds if you don't like the game (no matter how bad it was). I was a great employee, fast, efficient and great with nearly all customers.

Its just the****s that you remember.

People ask to look at a preowned game to check its condition and then try, right on front of my eyes, to somehow 'clean' the scrathes by rubbing their sleeves on them completely the wrong way (i.e. not in the inwards to outwards manner) and then decide they won't take it.

You don't wanna be part of the ensuing argument.

projectmayhem

noodler wrote: »

I remember this one knacker saying he was coming back for a refund if the GAA game was crap. I told him that you don't get refunds if you don't like the game (no matter how bad it was).

Ironic that it was a store that rented titles out, too.

CCCP^

If you have any love for the medium of Videogames, then I recommend you don't work in a store that sells them. Don't be under any illusion, you won't be playing games all day. You won't be talking to enthuastic customers about your favourite games. You will most likely end up with a bunch of people who have become jaded from this style and don't care or are so far up their own arse that god couldn't reach them.

Still it beats laying bricks all day.

noodler

The money is crap too.

ShadowHearth

CCCP^ wrote: »

If you have any love for the medium of Videogames, then I recommend you don't work in a store that sells them. Don't be under any illusion, you won't be playing games all day. You won't be talking to enthuastic customers about your favourite games. You will most likely end up with a bunch of people who have become jaded from this style and don't care or are so far up their own arse that god couldn't reach them.

Still it beats laying bricks all day.

well true, i dont expect playing games all day , its a job, nothing more. Thought would be nice surrounded with poeple who likes games, and have a chat once awhile about them.

But i see alot of poeple against it

CCCP^

It would just suck if you with into this thing with some beliefs which would be eroded once the reality set in. It's not bad if your a 18-22 and it's indoors - always a plus

Now, to infect someone else with my pessimistic views! *Flies away*

ShadowHearth

CCCP^ wrote: »

It would just suck if you with into this thing with some beliefs which would be eroded once the reality set in. It's not bad if your a 18-22 and it's indoors - always a plus

Now, to infect someone else with my pessimistic views! *Flies away*

well true... Thing is i finished on thursday, and on friday i got a job in ather hotel... I kind of did not expected that, i was hoping to have a weak off or something .

But i still thing about it, like i said i do know thats a job, i dont expect just fun. Thought when i will be working in game industry, wount i just get bored with it too fast, and it will just push me away from gaming?

sir snackbox

Zillah wrote: »

I understand the reference to the law of contract, but I don't get the relevance. You have a sign in the window saying a game is fifty quid, someone comes to buy it and you tell them haha I'm going to charge you 60, the sign is just an invitation to treat? What am I missing?

oh when its on display in the window then it should be that price... like if its advertised (i.e. displayed in the public domain and not jus on the shop floor) then your entitled to get it at the price u saw