GameStop Store Managers File Collective-Action Lawsuit [Archive]

fitbabits

08-10-2006, 12:55 PM

GameSpot (http://www.gamespot.com) is reporting that a handful of GameStop store managers have filed a collective-action lawsuit against the company, claiming they were wrongfully declared exempt from overtime regulations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and were required to work "in many occasions, in excess of 50 or 60 hours per week."

You can read the full article here (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6155580.html?part=rss&tag=gs_news&subj=6155580).

It's no secret that the people who make games often put in time above and beyond the 40-hour work week. Publishers like Electronic Arts and Activision have faced employee lawsuits over the matter, and now the people who sell games are going to court over their own overtime issues.

..........

While the FLSA does state that those "employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity" are exempt from its overtime regulations, the store managers contend that they had no such authority.
GunnyMo must be peeing his or her pants right now!

easi

08-10-2006, 01:02 PM

I am envisioning a horde of Franks, polishing their M16s.

Although he works for EB, so it's a kinda tenuous image I guess.

JazGalaxy

08-10-2006, 01:05 PM

I thought "GunnyMo" was a girl...

fitbabits

08-10-2006, 01:08 PM

I thought "GunnyMo" was a girl...
You know, that's possible, but I'm not sure! Watch this...

Sloth

08-10-2006, 01:11 PM

I think many business are guilty of getting overtime out of workers without paying them. Corporate America is allowed to run wild.

NeuroMan42

08-10-2006, 01:12 PM

Welcome to retail... who is really surprised?!?

I worked for Babbages long ago, and this was a normal thing for a manager.

easi

08-10-2006, 01:12 PM

I think many business are guilty of getting overtime out of workers without paying them. Corporate America is allowed to run wild.

Thanks for assuring GrinR's presence in this thread. :mad:

Malovech

08-10-2006, 01:13 PM

I have basically gotten to the point with my career, that I don't ever want to be management. It simply isn't worth it. The money vs stress/time comitment doesn't balance out.

kickmybum

08-10-2006, 01:15 PM

I have basically gotten to the point with my career, that I don't ever want to be management. It simply isn't worth it. The money vs stress/time comitment doesn't balance out.

yeah, I'm happy being the person who gives people smiles at the door of Walmart forever.

DeadPixel

08-10-2006, 01:23 PM

I have basically gotten to the point with my career, that I don't ever want to be management. It simply isn't worth it. The money vs stress/time comitment doesn't balance out.

I'm facing the same direction in my career. I was offered, on several occasions to pursue a management path and every time I gladly turned it down. Besides the fact that I make more money than most managers doing contract work, my real reasons are purely based on what I like to do 8 hours a day. I prefer to stay on the technical side and manage my projects instead of people. I guess this could be interpreted as a biased opinion.

Ultima Thulian

08-10-2006, 01:23 PM

"Sephiroth attacks with Unpaid Overtime!"

Kudos to those who get this.

CaptStu

08-10-2006, 01:24 PM

I have basically gotten to the point with my career, that I don't ever want to be management. It simply isn't worth it. The money vs stress/time comitment doesn't balance out.

Unless you like what you do, then it's a pretty good deal.

Valkyrist

08-10-2006, 01:27 PM

I also used to work for Software Etc/Gamestop, and I can verify that the store managers ALMOST as a rule have to work overtime. It is very seldom that a store has enough keys (any kind of assistant managers that have keys to the store) to allow the manager to work standard hours. They simply are not given enough payroll.

Instead, corporate will force the manager to fill in any gaps, since they are exempt from overtime rules.

A great example would be my friend's store about 30 mins south of mine, where his assistant manager and another key both quit on the same day. That left one key and my friend, the manager. For SIX WEEKS he did not get a day off, until he was finally given two new keys (he promoted his old key to ass.manager). He didn't get a dime for any of that overtime.

The sad part is, that's pretty common in gamestop stores. I understand exactly why these guys are filing a suit, and I completely agree it needs to stop. However, I don't think they have a snowball's chance in hell at winning.

Dag-Sabot

08-10-2006, 01:30 PM

No offence but in my experience, a "gamestop manager" is a contradiction in terms.

GunnyMo

08-10-2006, 01:35 PM

That is fucking awesome! :) Very happy to see someone is taking a stand on this. And for the record *checks pants*...oh yeah! Man parts!

Rifter

08-10-2006, 01:41 PM

It is interesting, I was just a worker, in my last 2 jobs, and I had overtime, and not paid for it. I was in a salaried position. If I worked less than 40 hours in a week (YEA RIGHT!) I got the same pay as if I worked much more. Jeeze, these guys are managers, I would expect them to put in more than a 40 hour work week. Though, I will admit, I was making a bit more than $7 or $8 an hour... or whatever those managers make.

Brady

08-10-2006, 01:42 PM

Not that anybody cares... but I used to work at Lowes and the same thing happened there. A group of managers brought a class action lawsuit against lowes.

Not sure who won the case in the end... though it ended up with the company not letting any of the management work any over time... This also applied to department specialists... In the end it cut nearly 40 manhours from each department in our store and we couldn't hire anybody else untill the summer months. So things were really bad from that point on... I quit.

Fun stuff.

Citizen Philip

08-10-2006, 01:43 PM

That is fucking awesome! :) Very happy to see someone is taking a stand on this. And for the record *checks pants*...oh yeah! Man parts!

I just want to be clear here. Man parts, as in, dismembered, pants big enough for two, male gender, etc.

:confused:

Malovech

08-10-2006, 01:58 PM

Unless you like what you do, then it's a pretty good deal.

I love what I do (I'm a web designer). If I had to manage a team, deal with clients, report to the director, work 60+ hours a week and only get paid $10K more a year I would soon hate it. Besides, most of the time, you are working for a company that in the grand scheme of things isn't worth leading.

I'd have to be working for a charity or RPG/Gaming company to care that much and feel good about myself at the end of the day.

PacoTaco

08-10-2006, 02:00 PM

In a creative position like game development I completely understand not getting compensated for a week that goes over 40 hours because of the nature of the tasks involved... to a certain extent anyway. However, employees at Gamestop should absolutely get compensated for overtime, salaried or not, because that's almost certainly a direct result of the company not hiring enough employees to run the store.

I think a good rule of thumb is that you should get overtime pay if you're working at a job that you could see robots being able to do in your place in the near future.

Roc Ingersol

08-10-2006, 02:02 PM

If store managers don't have hire/fire over their own employees, then they should win. It probably won't happen though. They'll get classified into 'professionals' somehow -- the way accounting staff and software developers do.

/sigh

Roc Ingersol

08-10-2006, 02:07 PM

I think a good rule of thumb is that you should get overtime pay if you're working at a job that you could see robots being able to do in your place in the near future.
What a great idea, then in 10 years, there'll be no overtime and we can all work 80 hour work weeks or starve in the street!

I think a good rule of thumb is that you should get overtime unless you get a significant portion of your compensation from a profit-sharing arrangement.

ZephidsEmbrace

08-10-2006, 02:13 PM

I think many business are guilty of getting overtime out of workers without paying them. Corporate America is allowed to run wild.

Yes, there must be tons of businesses doing this...shit, you're right! From now on, the government should follow all corporations closer and protect the people on a more personal level! Create more bureaucracy, spend hundreds of millions more dollars, it doesn't matter, it's to protect the people!

Bullshit. The lawsuit is a prime example of why that's a waste of money. If people don't speak up, they themselves are letting "Corporate America run wild." If you don't like how you're being treated in your job, either quit or take legal action.

I'm not defending the businesses that do this shit, it's pretty damn heartless, but with GrinR's absence, I couldn't just act like your comment made much sense.

CrashCart

08-10-2006, 03:10 PM

"Sephiroth attacks with Unpaid Overtime!"

Kudos to those who get this.Good ol' Robot Chicken. That was a pretty good short and it's in contention for my favorite, though I really liked Real World Metropolis. Who wouldn't love to see Superman melt Aquaman's face off?

GunnyMo

08-10-2006, 03:18 PM

On May 29, 2003, former Store Manager Carlos Moreira ("Moreira") filed a
class action lawsuit against the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiary
Gamestop, Inc. (collectively "GameStop") in Los Angeles County Superior Court
alleging that GameStop's salaried retail managers were misclassified as exempt
and should have been paid overtime. Moreira was seeking to represent a class of
current and former salaried retail managers who were employed by GameStop in
California at any time between May 29, 1999 and September 30, 2004. Moreira
alleged claims for violation of California Labor Code sections 203, 226 and 1194
and California Business and Professions Code section 17200. Moreira was seeking
recovery of unpaid overtime, interest, penalties, attorneys' fees and costs.
During court-ordered mediation in March 2004, the parties reached a settlement
which defined the class of current and former salaried retail managers and will
result in a cost to the Company of approximately $2.75 million. A provision for
this proposed settlement was recorded in the 13 weeks ended May 1, 2004. On
January 28, 2005, the court granted approval of the settlement and all
settlement payments have been made.

On October 20, 2004, former Store Manager John P. Kurtz ("Kurtz") filed a
collective action lawsuit against the Company in U.S. District Court, Western
District of Louisiana, Lafayette/Opelousas Division, alleging that GameStop's
salaried retail managers were misclassified as exempt and should have been paid
overtime, in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Kurtz is seeking to
represent all current and former salaried retail managers who were employed by
GameStop for the three years before October 20, 2004. Kurtz is seeking recovery
of unpaid overtime, interest, penalties, attorneys' fees and costs. On
January 12, 2005, GameStop filed an answer to the complaint and a motion to
transfer the action to the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division.
GameStop is awaiting the court's decision on the motion. Management intends to
vigorously defend this action and does not believe there is sufficient
information to estimate the amount of the possible loss, if any, resulting from
the lawsuit.

So it looks like there is fairly positive results in this area. I know managers in CA cannot work more than 40 hours a week without paid overtime. It's interesting that GS knows they are violating federal labor laws and are only complying in states where employees haven't caught on yet.

rein

08-10-2006, 03:22 PM

No offence but in my experience, a "gamestop manager" is a contradiction in terms.

You sir are an idiot.

GrinR

08-10-2006, 03:30 PM

Thanks for assuring GrinR's presence in this thread. :mad:

What is with your obsession with me? It's creepy.

Sazime

08-10-2006, 03:33 PM

Thanks for assuring GrinR's presence in this thread. :mad:
No, it wasn't assured. After that, it was.

GrinR

08-10-2006, 04:05 PM

No, it wasn't assured. After that, it was.
:rolleyes:

.

Dag-Sabot

08-10-2006, 04:32 PM

You sir are an idiot.

Heh, yeah just make sure you let me know when my Gears of War preorder arrives, ok?

:D
(Damn, i knew i should have used "oxymoron" instead).

grevon

08-10-2006, 05:03 PM

Gunnymo, are you a manager? Where at?

rein

08-10-2006, 05:09 PM

-Damn, i knew i should have used "oxymoron" instead.

You're so full of wit. I manage an EB and I work my ass off. I know many managers at Gamestop and EB's (same company now anyway) who do the same. It is one thing to hate the company, but don't attack these guys personally. Most of the ones I have met try to make shopping at their store a better experience regardless of the BS laid on them from above.

If you were trying to imply there is no management at store level, once again, wrong. Granted, store management is just like any other retail chain, lower management and we have guidlines to follow, but if I am not managing the store, I would like to know what the definition is of what I am doing.

As far as the preorder thing. Screw you all. I like preorders. I did it before I worked for the company and will do it when I leave. Both the company and store allocations of games are based on preorders. It is a simple way to ensure that you are going to the get the game you want on release day with very little hassle. I just don't understand the hatred of it. But yea, if you preorderd it, it will be there. ;)

jspeak32

08-10-2006, 05:36 PM

I just don't understand the hatred of it. But yea, if you preorderd it, it will be there. ;)

Unless it was an Xbox360 :)

I don't think people hate the idea of pre-ordering directly. If someone is against it, it's probably because they get annoyed at getting asked if they want to pre-order every single thing they ask about in the store. Sometimes I ask about when a game is released out of curiosity. If I plan on getting the game, sometimes I don't plan on getting it the day it comes out anyway, which means I don't want to ensure that there is a copy available on day one. Alot of cases I've come to realize that pre-ordering isn't needed. When Gamestop stopped pre-ordering DS Lites, and I didn't pre-order in time, they had me worried that I was going to miss out...but sure enough I walked in the store on launch day and they had enough for me to get one. So maybe some people feel "cheated" when they pre-order something, and then their friends pick up the same product without having a pre-order...or, if not feeling "cheated", then maybe "tricked" or "duped".

rein

08-10-2006, 06:16 PM

Unless it was an Xbox360 :)

I don't think people hate the idea of pre-ordering directly. If someone is against it, it's probably because they get annoyed at getting asked if they want to pre-order every single thing they ask about in the store. Sometimes I ask about when a game is released out of curiosity. If I plan on getting the game, sometimes I don't plan on getting it the day it comes out anyway, which means I don't want to ensure that there is a copy available on day one. Alot of cases I've come to realize that pre-ordering isn't needed. When Gamestop stopped pre-ordering DS Lites, and I didn't pre-order in time, they had me worried that I was going to miss out...but sure enough I walked in the store on launch day and they had enough for me to get one. So maybe some people feel "cheated" when they pre-order something, and then their friends pick up the same product without having a pre-order...or, if not feeling "cheated", then maybe "tricked" or "duped".

There are plenty of times allocations do not cover walk-in traffic on release day. Bap had a bitchfest yesterday here on the boards because he couldn't get a copy of Dead Rising. It does happen.

I don't try to scare people into preordering in my store. Fact is, I don't usually know how many copies of a game I am going to get. The way I do it is a simple question, right now it is, would you like to preorder Madden or FFXII while you are here? We will be having a midnight launch for both of those the night before release. Nothing after, if they say yes, I explain to them the deposit amount and that it is refundable. If they say no, I tell them, ok. That is it. Simple, to the point, and I hope not that annoying.

I don't understand the feeling of being duped if there are extra copies. It's not like you didn't get the game and your friend did. Like I said above, I preordered long before I worked for the company. It is a simple process and I never had to think about the game again. My copy was secure. If I changed my mind, next time I was in the store, I would throw the $5 bucks on whatever it was I was picking up that day. Very simple process and my $5 was never in jeopardy. You can even go in and get that $5 deposit back in cash if you want.

Systems are another beast all together. The company is working on trying to ease that pain. Obviously, they can't get more systems so they are going to try and not over presell on them. That is why you can't preoder a PS3 right now. They are waiting to get allocation numbers, and break them down by store so that each store will know exactly how many they are getting. While it will suck that there will be so few available, at least there will not be "waiting" list and that kind of stuff.

I have no problem if people don't want to preorder, it is their choice. I think you would be surprised how many people do like the service. Like I said in a thread a few days ago, the majority of our customers are not hardcore gamers, they are moms, kids, and casual gamers. If we do not tell them about the preorder service, they usually do not know about it.

I do want to add something else since we are talking about gamestore employees and preorders. When the DS Lite launched there was a shortage and we did have a few customers come in looking for them after all of the preorders were sold. I gave up my preodered one for a little girl that came in that day, and I had an employee give his preodered system up to another customer that day. We could have been ass's and throw out the "well you didn't preorder it" line, but we didn't. Know why? Because, like "most" of the people I have met working at EB/GS, they actually do like customers and try to do good things for them. We are not all assholes that try to make people lives misserable when they walk into our stores. The DS Lite wasn't the first preorder I have given up for a customer, and I am sure it is not the last.

fitbabits

08-10-2006, 06:20 PM

There are plenty of times allocations do not cover walk-in traffic on release day. Bap had a bitchfest yesterday here on the boards because he couldn't get a copy of Dead Rising. It does happen.
He did? Damn, I missed that! Never mind, I'll take care of it right now.

GunnyMo

08-10-2006, 06:31 PM

rein

08-10-2006, 06:41 PM

Rein, I don't envy you. :) Reading your post is like reading my own eight months ago. It's a lonely world defending GS/EB on these forums. In my recent diatribes against GS/EB I've never advocated hating the employees in the field. Everyone needs to make a living and I especially know exactly what it is like making that living for GS. My advice: you'll get more stress trying to fight for GS in these forums than working a Madden launch for GS.

Grevon, look in the Totally Off Topic forum for a thread called Retail Apologies. You'll get all the gory details there. (and I can never seem to link to a thread in EA without my login info showing up so that's why no link. And yes, I tried logging out first.)

I will be on the front lines when the day comes and GS starts closing stores left and right. They've grown so big, so fast and so inefficiently that they will begin to put themselves out of business. The employee turnover rate since the merger is astronomical.

That is exactly it, I'm not defending GS/EB. I am defending the employees I see that take all of the crap daily from both ends. I have watched some amazing guys/girls work for me the last 4+ years and it sucks that they get such a bad rap because they actually like working around video games and people.

Sure, I defended preorders too. But I really do believe that it is the best way to go if you want a game on release day. It is painless, simple and not the big conspiracy that people make it out to be.

random johnald?

08-10-2006, 06:49 PM

I have never had a problem with my pre-orders, so I like the system. And usually, on release day, I'm out of the house somewhere anyways, so I can just stop by and be sure my copy is there.

And if I decide I don't want a game, like Rein said, I just use that five dollars towards something else, often a pre-order for something else. Its a nice way of knowing that if I want something, I can get it, and if not, then it doesn't negatively affect anyone anyways.

GunnyMo

08-10-2006, 07:05 PM

Sure, I defended preorders too. But I really do believe that it is the best way to go if you want a game on release day. It is painless, simple and not the big conspiracy that people make it out to be.

I don't think most object to reservations. They object to the constant sales badgering that goes on within GS. I'm not pointing fingers at you or your people as I am just as guilty of it. What is the first thing you are to do as soon as someone walks in the door. "HI! DID YOU BRING ANY TRADE INS TODAY?!" Not even two steps in the door and the customer is assaulted. Many people like to shop first and ask questions if they have them. People object to being hard sold so fast that they can't even remember what they came in for. Again, I've done it myself many, many times. It doesn't matter how nice or honest employees are. The fact is that the corporate pressure coming down from above is immense. We used to take pride in selling someone another Game Informer subscription six months before their current one expired. Or hard selling someone to split up their $16.81 in change into three reservations for games they didn't even know existed until they came in that night and will, most likely, never come back to pick up. The funny thing is you would be very hard pressed to find any customer of mine (other than the ones who came in for a fight) who would complain about said tactics. Why? Because as snake oil salesmen, GS employees are trained daily in the finer art of making the customer think they wanted all that stuff in the first place. A Retail Jedi Mind Trick, if you will.

It's now moved to the phone greeting. One of my best employees, who is still with GS (one day a week for the discount at Barnes and Noble) told me the new greeting:

Thanks for calling GameStop your Madden Football 2007 headquarters. We are the home of the Power Trade so be sure to bring them in when you visit. This is Huy. How may I help you?

What in the fuck is a Power Trade? Does it work your abs when you trade it?

Now that I am out of GS I can see, with perfect 20/20 clarity, what an ass I was for the past four years. It's also why I will never spend another dollar at a GS/EB.

random johnald?

08-10-2006, 07:12 PM

I have no problem with them pointing out games I could reserve, as I am sometimes interested. If I'm not, then it takes two seconds to say "No, thanks" and continue with my purchase. There are signs about trade-ins all over, but I've never been asked if I have any. Face it, there are GS employees who care more about the customers and their needs than making extra sales.

Also: nobody has ever asked me if I want to use my change from buying something to pre-order something, and I would probably punch anyone who tried to use such a bitch tactic on me.

rein

08-10-2006, 07:16 PM

Thanks for calling GameStop your Madden Football 2007 headquarters. We are the home of the Power Trade so be sure to bring them in when you visit. This is Huy. How may I help you?

LOL! I have never heard that one. It must be a district or regional thing. Power Trade sounds like a Lotto to me. I don't think the customer would have a clue what they are being asked for.

grevon

08-10-2006, 09:29 PM

Definitely a district/regional thing. Standard greeting is "thank you for calling <store>, where you can buy and sell used games. This is <name>, how may I help you?" As for the Power Trade, it's a new thing they're doing with select games (currently only Madden 2007) where you get an extra 20% on your trades when you put it towards said select game, as opposed to the normal 10% you get.

Benny

08-11-2006, 12:53 AM

Also: nobody has ever asked me if I want to use my change from buying something to pre-order something, and I would probably punch anyone who tried to use such a bitch tactic on me.

Why would you punch me in the face for giving you information that you might find useful? That seems a bit insane. I ask you what games you like and suggest one that you'd probably enjoy and I get a punch in the face? WTF? It's not a bitch tactic, it's called qualifying and pitching, two of the four parts to a sale. Any good salesperson will greet you with a smile (Greet), ask you question about the games you play and your interests (Qualify), suggest products that fall into the perameters that you like (Pitch) and then ask you to purchase or order the product (Close). Look it up in any sales book in any book store. Watch the movie Glenn Gary, Glenn Ross. Listen to Herb Cohen talk about it. If your Gamestop/EB employee is doing all these things, you should feel LUCKY to have such a professional waiting on you when you come into the store. Also, if you punched me in the face, I'd fucking kill you. :mad:

Thank you from your local GS/EB Manager!

Lord Dongkey

08-11-2006, 05:47 AM

Oh boy. Here we go.

So my personal story with GameStop, and why I feel qualified to jump on the anti-GS/EB bandwagon... I ran a store (As MIT and as SM) for about 9 months, drove their promotional vehicle across the country and around a certain market for 3 months, and attempted to help them get a new company off the ground and learned how absolutely grade-A fucking stupid these people are (can we say - pre-order DVD's?). I worked with my RD, met everyone up to the VP, oh wait, and the CEO of the company. I embarrassed my RD in front of the CEO (who has an impressive power-mullet, by the way... or at least he did) by correcting him for calling me by the wrong NAME for FOUR MONTHS. I was in his fucking *base store* and he was calling me the wrong name. For four months. /sigh

Anyway, I had my time with the company. Ran a store on the east coast, ran a store out in the west, etc. Met the highest sales/reservation managers in the company (can we say 1200+ reserves for HALO 2 from a california manager - oh wait, the one that worked for 50+ hours a week but didn't clock in for anything over 40 since it was illegal to work and not get paid overtime, and the DM condoned that tactic). I know their model inside and out, I toured the warehouse twice (big ungodly redundant conveyor belt system on that one) and in general, was prepped to "do great things" with the company.

And let me tell you why I hate them. Passionately.

90 days to glory.

Ninety Days to Glory.

Now, you may be wondering - what the hell is that? I'm here to tell you. Late spring early summer of '05, management was pushing down the idea of forcing sales metrics on their employees. Instead of just the 10% reserve 6% subscription numbers that they regularly expect out of each and every employee on the register, it wasn't a soft expectation anymore. There was to be a review after one month (assumed at 30 days) at which point, they looked at your res and sub numbers. You didn't have 10% reserves and 6% subs? Write-up #1. 30 more days go by. Wait, you didn't get it again? Write-up #2. Oh wait, 30 more days goes by, you're reviewed again, you had 8% res and 5.5% sub?

You are fucking fired.

Here's the thing - I'm not kidding. I'm not exaggerating. I'm not joking. I'm not lying, I'm not trying to paint them in a bad light, I'm just telling you what I was told by people above me. I passed the word down to my employees. 40% of them quit that weekend.

Ninety days to glory. Some unknown employee in my store erased the dry-erase on the board and modified it to:

Ninety days to FIRED.

Keep in mind, you're talking about a store that regularly had no customers for hours and where hourly associates may ring up 10 customers in a night. GameStop and EB are extremely low volume retailers (a decent sized clothing store can do $25k+ in a single day, and a gamestop is regular volume at $12k in a WEEK), and they make assloads of money on their used business and the margin there. $8 for a trade-in doesn't seem that bad, and when GS/EB resells it for $25... um.... good GOD.

Go to ebay people.

But anyway, they're grinding these poor gamer kids into dust, and paying them minimum wage to do it.

Have we covered that?

They hire almost everyone at minimum wage for their region. The logic is that if you get someone in there that doesn't sell hard enough or get good enough numbers, you have a stack of resumes because you're a video game store and you can just "fire the bottom 10% and hire better people for the same amount." They consume people's love of the medium and play on that, saying "you get free checkouts" and "you can work with something you love" as their response to why they pay such dismal bullshit. Oh, and "we promote from within", and they send out these little emails telling of all the hourly associates who have been promoted to greatness as store managers and district managers and all that...

My wife, as an assistant manager for a clothing retailer, is making more money than I did as a STORE MANAGER for gamestop. Think about that one. In fact, she's almost making as much money, as an *assistant manager*, as I did running the first 8000 square foot flagship store of the new company started by GameStop and Barnes and Noble. I saw the CEO of that company, worked with their executive management more or less daily, saw the CEO of GameStop regularly, saw the CEO's of several other big box retailers in my store (blockbuster, movie trading company, etc)...

And I got paid $32k a year. I worked 109 hours one week.

Let me just say this clearly:

Dear GameStop, EB, and MovieStop:

Fuck you.

It's corporate that's the problem. The employees are people that are being preyed upon, that are getting taken advantage of, that are getting fucking HARD by "the man", and their 90 days to glory bullshit and everything in between.

I hope GS/EB gets burned to a fucking crisp on this issue.

/angry ex-manager signing off.

p.s. - let's see if I can't get Shadowmage to respond on here - he was my ASM and 3rd key between a gamestop and moviestop location... it's been over a year so I'm pretty sure it's safe to post on a messageboard about it. ;)

Valkyrist

08-11-2006, 06:22 AM

Holy shit, I just realized I prolly know GunnyMo in real life >.>
Which store you at gunny? I was at the Dayton Mall store, and one of my best friends is the manager at Springboro.

GunnyMo

08-11-2006, 07:01 AM

lol ummm I have no name! :)

I ran 1759 (Ridge) and before that I was at 784 (Funco in Florence).

Shifter

08-11-2006, 07:45 AM

Wow it's actually fascinating to read all of these posts detailing what it's like working for GS/EB. Thanks for the insights. I've got to say that as a customer I actually like the company and think they do a great job retailing games.

However I do think that "forcing" people to pre-order or risk not getting their games is breaking the deal that retailers make with their customers. The reason I'm paying you a 20-30% GROSS (not net so don't even start) margin is so that YOU can take the risk to stock the games I might want. Why the @#$ would I pay you that margin UP FRONT when I'm guaranteeing you a sale? In any other business that type of zero risk is called consignment inventory and generally retailers make very skinny margin on it. Whenever I get threatened that I will have to pre-order something to get it I'll generally wait a few days and pick it up at Best Buy for a few dollars less. As consumers we shouldn't be putting up with this kind of bullshit. Every other business on the planet has to actually study their markets, take risks, take on stock, pre-plan and actually sell their inventory -- why should EB/GS be any different just because gamers are generally so friggen desperate for the next new fix that they can't wait a day.... (by the way I'm one of these too).

I'm going to make myself a target here but here goes. While I do feel for people who put in a lot of unpaid overtime, the level of whining here is unbelievable. I'm a manager in my business (not my own business but a large company). I've worked in a number of large corporations, and do you know who puts in the most hours and has the most stress? Usually it's the #@$@ CEO. And yes he gets paid well but do you know how he got there? Usually by putting in shitloads of unpaid overtime and working his ass off. Half the comments on these forums make it sound like everyone is owed a six-figure salary just for sitting on their asses... You become a manager because you're working toward something greater and your ambition doesn't allow you to work a mindless job for 8 hours a day. And they have the nerve to actually measure your performance? Oh Noes!!! It's called sales, and every salesperson on the planet has a quota as well as sales goals to reach. EB/GS management's job is not to provide gamers with a fun and relaxing work environment, but to make sure they have employees who will bust their asses to bring in the dough. It's a business.

I've worked as a dishwasher and a short order cook in steaming hot kitchens for 10 hours, and in the oil fields of northern Canada cleaning up friggen oil spills all day standing in crude oil up to my waist shovelling piles around and lugging bags of dirt for 12 hours. I know what hard work is, and selling video games all day as a clerk in an air conditioned mall is not it. Managers also know that 40 hours a week is something that wage employees are usually guaranteed, not salaried employees. With responsibility and the promise of something better come more work hours -- it just a fact of life and not some grand friggen master plan being forced on them by the #@$#@ man... You want to know who the man is? It's not the CEO. Buy some stock in the company and guess what? Now you're the man.

/end rant

CrashCart

08-11-2006, 08:12 AM

I can respect the people who defend themselves and their employees for not being the jackasses that some people associate with these stores. It's rough working in a service-centric industry where you deal with customers who don't appreciate that you're trying to do your job and follow procedure, etc. But I think the problem with the gaming chains is that the are enough--maybe not the majority, but enough--employees/managers that are not hassle-free, friendly workers out for your best interest that it turns the consumer off to the places in general.

For instance, I am loath to go into the local Gamestop because of how much of a pain in the ass it is to get in and get out when I know what I want. I don't mind people asking me once if I'm interested in preordering, if there's something they can help me with/make a suggestion, etc. I've been known to preorder a game that I needed on release day and sometimes I'm just in to get an idea of what might interest me so a suggestion or two would be appreciated. But these guys? They're out for blood. I recently decided to reinstall Diablo 2, but I couldn't find my CD key, just the disc. I checked online and, apparently, the only store in the area with any copies was this Gamestop. I went in, grabbed it and went to checkout. The clerk tried to push every upcoming title under the sun at me while my card was processing.

Look, I'll listen to a spiel once because I know you have to rattle it off to me, but if I say I don't play Madden, I'm not interested. That doesn't mean continue to tell me how awesome Madden '07 will be and how I need to preorder it. Trying to suggestive sell me things? Fine, too, but know your facts and drop it when I say no. It's all part of your procedures, but don't tell me how awesome the new World of Warcraft expansion that "they just came out with" is and how I should consider picking it up. Dumbass. I should've agreed to see what he would've produced when I asked to buy it.

My point is that there are enough people out there who have made the rest of you guys look bad. These are the employees who are more focused on following corporate procedure to the letter, while trying to make that extra sale to the point of driving the customer off. It's like they're on commission only or something and don't care about customer retention. I will gladly shop and preorder at a store where the staff are friendly, knowledgeable and don't follow me around spouting nonsense to try to get me to buy something I don't want (I think that kid quit or got fired.. Damn he was annoying), but it just seems so hard to find a place like that anymore.

I worked in a supermarket deli all through college and I have a much greater appreciation for both sides of the specretum because of it. I feel obligated to treat the employees whose job is to serve you, the customer, with more respect. I was there once, and there's nothing worse than a rude, asshole customer that you did not provoke that treats you like shit. But on the other side of things, there's not reason for an employee to disrespect or be generally annoying to the customer they're supposed to be helping. Everyone has bad days, customer or employee, but try to remember that the person on the other side of the counter is a human being. That goes for both sides.

/rant off

Lord Dongkey

08-11-2006, 09:17 AM

I'm a manager in my business (not my own business but a large company). I've worked in a number of large corporations, and do you know who puts in the most hours and has the most stress? Usually it's the #@$@ CEO. And yes he gets paid well but do you know how he got there? Usually by putting in shitloads of unpaid overtime and working his ass off. Half the comments on these forums make it sound like everyone is owed a six-figure salary just for sitting on their asses... You become a manager because you're working toward something greater and your ambition doesn't allow you to work a mindless job for 8 hours a day ... With responsibility and the promise of something better come more work hours -- it just a fact of life and not some grand friggen master plan being forced on them by the #@$#@ man... You want to know who the man is? It's not the CEO. Buy some stock in the company and guess what? Now you're the man.

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,,1810478,00.html

http://www.socialistworker.org/2004-1/497/497_05_CEOPay.shtml

http://www.epinet.org/books/swa2004/news/swafacts_ceopay.pdf

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/apr2006/ceos-a12.shtml

I firmly disagree with your position. The question of whether a CEO works harder than an hourly cannot be answered just by # of hours put in or intensity of stress, since stress for CEO's ideally should come from internal motivation and a drive to succeed, where GameStop and EB's micro-managing top-down management approach forces stress down from above.

CEO's, corporate America, the all-mighty dollar, those things are "The Man". To say a person who makes over $32,000 a day while they shave off cent by cent from the people who actually sweat and work and earn their dollar earns it by "working his ass off" is a fallacy.

GameStop and EB are also notorious for promising things to their managers and never producing. Working towards a better future is great, sure, and a motivator for many people to work extra, and overtime, etc, but at GameStop, the actual likelihood of you succeeding and getting anywhere with things is very slim, especially above the SM level. Shit, I've been working IT for barely a year and I make the same amount as a starting DM, and store managers usually have to survive 5 years at least of running a place and pushing overtime just to get a whiff of a shot at a DM position. Keep in mind the mandatory 6-day work weeks come christmas season in GS and EB, where the store manager is required to work 54 hours a week with 30 minute lunches each day, so a 51 hour work week for what, 8 weeks out of the year?

GameStop and EB deserve every single thing that's coming to them. People should also *NEVER WORK AS A SALARIED EMPLOYEE*. Salary is "the man's" way of fucking you over, period, end of story. There is no benefit whatsoever to an employee to be salaried, and GS/EB have just capitalized on that standard assumption.

If you're salaried, Corporations think they own you. And if you're a complete pawn with no decision making power (a.k.a. gamestop/eb managers), corporations consider you a replaceable cog in the machine. Which you are.

Half the comments on this forum aren't asking to be able to sit around on their ass and get something for nothing, they're asking for the right to not fucking work for free.

Dag-Sabot

08-11-2006, 09:51 AM

the CEO (who has an impressive power-mullet, by the way...

a) Why am I not surprised?

b) This thread should be manadatory reading for any of you out there considering dropping out of high school.

Valkyrist

08-11-2006, 09:56 AM

lol don't worry, I don't want to be ID'd either. Neat that I'd bump into you here of all places. I was in store 1996, back when it was still a Software Etc. I'm sure I met you once or twice doing store-store transferes.

Anyhow, ya I really hope these guys win their lawsuit, but I don't see it happening. Or if it did, corporate would find other ways to make back the money. No more bonuses, no manager's conference, maybe one or two less temp help at christmas...all kinds of ways to screw the individual stores over. Reguardless, it's bullshit how hard they work their store managers (in sheer number of hours/week) and not pay them a cent of overtime.

jspeak32

08-11-2006, 10:46 AM

Why would you punch me in the face for giving you information that you might find useful? That seems a bit insane. I ask you what games you like and suggest one that you'd probably enjoy and I get a punch in the face? WTF? It's not a bitch tactic, it's called qualifying and pitching, two of the four parts to a sale. Any good salesperson will greet you with a smile (Greet), ask you question about the games you play and your interests (Qualify), suggest products that fall into the perameters that you like (Pitch) and then ask you to purchase or order the product (Close). Look it up in any sales book in any book store. Watch the movie Glenn Gary, Glenn Ross. Listen to Herb Cohen talk about it. If your Gamestop/EB employee is doing all these things, you should feel LUCKY to have such a professional waiting on you when you come into the store. Also, if you punched me in the face, I'd fucking kill you. :mad:

Thank you from your local GS/EB Manager!

One thing I think is a bad deal about GS is the way they track GameBucks. I had $87 GameBucks I received from trading in my used games. I came back in later to buy a $40 game. This is a week later mind you. The guy claimed he had trouble scanning the barcode on the GameBucks receipt, because they fade over time. Now I only had this receipt for a week, and it stayed in my wallet the entire time, and it didn't look faded at all to me. Well, anyways, he recommended I put the remaining balance on a pre-order, that way they have a record of my credit on hand. So this means that they didnt have a record of my gamebucks? He said no. That to me is a bad thing. To encourage and promote selling used games, and to give the customer a receipt with their GameBucks on it, and IT being the only record of said store credit. So they're leaving the responsibility of keeping the store credit safe on the customer. Well fair enough. Afterall, if it were real money, it would be the same way. Fair enough, except for the fact that the paper and ink the receipt is made out of is unreliable. I was basically told that eventually the receipt will fade, making it unable to scan, resulting in my store credit being neutralized. NOT GOOD. Real cash doesn't fade. Perhaps its some kind of corporate strategy. Perhaps they did some statisical research to find out the likelihood of the chance of a customer losing the only record, combined with the chance of the receipt fading before it gets used again, and found out they could earn alot of profit from these factors alone. If GS is going to leave the customer with responsibility of keeping up with the only record of their own store cash, then provide the customer with a printed record that doesn't start fading in less than a week. That's of course what the salesman said, it looked fine to me...perhaps this was his way of pulling one over me and getting me to pre-order something just to keep my money "safe"? I felt that way...of course I went ahead and did it just in case, but i couldn't help but feeling "duped". It felt like a trick. So this is my rant. Not sure what to make of the scenerio, but whatever the truth may be from all this, in some way or another it is a problem with GS.

Shifter

08-11-2006, 01:11 PM

[QUOTE=Lord Dongkey]

I firmly disagree with your position. The question of whether a CEO works harder than an hourly cannot be answered just by # of hours put in or intensity of stress, since stress for CEO's ideally should come from internal motivation and a drive to succeed, where GameStop and EB's micro-managing top-down management approach forces stress down from above.

GameStop and EB are also notorious for promising things to their managers and never producing. Working towards a better future is great, sure, and a motivator for many people to work extra, and overtime, etc, but at GameStop, the actual likelihood of you succeeding and getting anywhere with things is very slim, especially above the SM level. Shit, I've been working IT for barely a year and I make the same amount as a starting DM, and store managers usually have to survive 5 years at least of running a place and pushing overtime just to get a whiff of a shot at a DM position. Keep in mind the mandatory 6-day work weeks come christmas season in GS and EB, where the store manager is required to work 54 hours a week with 30 minute lunches each day, so a 51 hour work week for what, 8 weeks out of the year?

QUOTE]

Like I said earlier I really do appreciate these firsthand accounts. I'm in no position to judge what it's like working for GS/EB. However, in many companies it's pretty standard to start at the bottom, work several years harder than anyone else, then get a promotion to manager, then after 3 more years of proving yourself, go on to manage a territory and so on. If the company is full of idiots, your chances of promotion are better. If not, you may never make it no matter how hard you try. Bottom line though to make it anywhere decent you're looking at 10 years. Like I said earlier -- it's business.

If you honestly don't believe that CEOs face stress from above, try listening in on a shareholders' conference call from a company's quarterly or annual report. They get peppered with questions from financial analysts and have to face their boards of directors to explain the results of the company. If they haven't beaten their competitors or have underperformed in some way, they run the risk of being fired which pretty much ends their career. A middle manager gets fired, he looks for another job; a CEO gets fired he's in a world of hurt. Upper company management is under constant stress from somebody -- there's always someone above them too. I'm not defending corporate America's worst practices or anything like that (illegal behavior should lead to jail, no matter who you are), but in my experience the stress loads increases dramatcially as you rise up the corporate ladder, not the other way around.

Have a nice weekend.

p.s. Why don't my quotes ever work?

Mystery Writer X

08-11-2006, 01:40 PM

I'm a GS manager and whereas we're required to work 40+ hours a week, every week, that's not even the worst part. The worst part is that you're given the hours to you need to do things like take vacation or sick time. For every 8 hours of vacation that you're gone, you only get 5 hours put back into your store. With sick time, you get no hours. They make you work weekends, and then tell you that you can have an extra day off within the next month, but they don't give you hours to do these things. You get a good deal of time off with personal days, vacation days, and such, but they make it so you can't take them.

What it comes down to is that you do a lot of work and get very little compensation, despite what you're promised. As a manager you do have a responsiblity, and you should go into the job knowing it's going to be a lot of work, but there is no joy in being taken advantage of.

X

GunnyMo

08-11-2006, 01:56 PM

Mystery Writer X

08-11-2006, 08:04 PM

GunnyMo...I bow before you.

X

jspeak32

08-11-2006, 09:53 PM

Shifter, to even try to compare the work load and lifestyle of a CEO to a GS store manager is ludicrous. CEO's make six to seven figure incomes, have private jets, limos, mansions, etc., etc. They have just about every employee in the company there to do their bidding. They are at the top of the food chain. A GS SM is lucky to make enough to pay for his '86 Honda Civic, the over priced 2 bedroom apartment for his family of four and feed his dog.

Ok, so I exaggerated a little on the GS Manager part but the truth of it is there. The perks and advantages of being a CEO far outweigh those of any store manager. Please don't say a CEOs life is any harder than a working schmoe making $26K a year (which, btw, is the "recommended" starting salary for GS managers. $26k.)

And, Lord Donkey, you have the win of this forum. You said what I am thinking.

To add to Mystery's point about hours: SMs in my area were recently obligated to attend a district meeting on a Tuesday. It was a 9-5 meeting. They were given THREE HOURS extra payroll for it. Three hours to cover an eight hour shift. It essentially meant the SM was working on his off day for this meeting. A manager goes on vacation for a week: his store gets 25 hours to cover his 44 hour shift he usually works.

It makes me want to take Dick Fontaine (GS CEO) by his fucking pony tail, swing him around until the hair pulls out and then shove that mass of hair down his fucking throat. Goddamn, I think I hate GS more than I despise organzied religion. :D

Eck! Retail just flat out sucks...I worked retail at bby for almost 8 years...now I'm just working as a Coop in an IT department at a local plant while I finish my last 2 semesters before I graduate, but the pay is better, and the stress is far less...and the day goes by faster because I'm actually keeping my mind occupied with problems that require me to actually think...I'm far happier...oh and I no longer deal with the general public! Horray! I look back and wonder why I worked retail for so long, when there are way better jobs out there...and I look and wonder why anyone would want to put up with the stuff they do...I'd shovel ditches for a living before I'd go back to retail...I'd get paid more, plus not as stressful...and there is just something about manual labor that makes you feel good at the end of the day...
So anyway...I just wish I could tell everyone I meet that working retail is simply not worth it...
...Although if it wasn't for my horrible experience with retail, I probably wouldn't appreciate and be grateful for the job that I do have now.

grevon

08-11-2006, 10:41 PM

jspeak32

08-12-2006, 08:35 AM

JSpeak, about the Gamebucks. It's not ink, it's thermal paper, which has a tendency to fade over time. Just put it under a heat source (like a hair dryer) and it'll bring the numbers back out. We do it in our store all the time for faded credit slips.

Well that's good...but it does prove I was duped into pre-ordering! Perfect example as to why some people are against it...sometimes there's a lack of honestly involved.

GunnyMo

08-12-2006, 10:28 AM

Well that's good...but it does prove I was duped into pre-ordering! Perfect example as to why some people are against it...sometimes there's a lack of honestly involved.

Um, I would be careful with that. If you do it wrong, and it doesn't take much to do so, you'll turn the paper black and then it will be completely useless.

jspeak32

08-12-2006, 11:35 AM

Um, I would be careful with that. If you do it wrong, and it doesn't take much to do so, you'll turn the paper black and then it will be completely useless.

Yet another problem! I've heard about them turning black if left on dashboards in a vehicle in the sun, for example. Does everyone see the problem with giving a customer a receipt with store credit on it, that could either fade or turn black? And not having any kind of record on hand? It wouldn't be a big deal for a company as large as GS to setup an account/database for their customers who had store credit...
I had traded in a ton of stuff, I had over $210 in gamebucks. I've already spent it all over the summer, but I don't know how upset i'd be if the receipt was unreadable by the time I wanted to use it.

1. customer sells used games/systems/etc.
2. customer gets store credit
3. GS resells used games/systems/etc. = profit
4. customer's receipt becomes useless = GS gets what little money they gave the customer = GS gets free games/systems/etc.
5. customer = screwed

GunnyMo

08-12-2006, 11:46 AM

Let's also not forget the millions of dollars in reservation credits that are left at stores. GS makes no effort to notify customers of their money. This has class action lawsuit written all over it.

jspeak32

08-12-2006, 11:56 AM

Let's also not forget the millions of dollars in reservation credits that are left at stores. GS makes no effort to notify customers of their money. This has class action lawsuit written all over it.

I didn't even think about that. So here we have a perfect scenerio that explains why some people out there become so angry with the GS salesman who badger them about pre-ordering.

Everytime you go in the store, you hear, "Do you want to pre-order?" "Do you want to pre-order?" "Do you want to pre-order?"
Eventually in a customers mind, instead they hear, "Do you want us to screw you over?" "Do you want us to screw you over?" "Do you want us to screw you over?"

It reminds me of going to a local fair/carnival, and walking past the game stands and having to hear the guy screaming, "Step right up, everyone's a winner! $5 = 10 darts, every 4th balloon popped gives you 5 more darts for $5! No one leaves without a prize!"

...now that I think about it, I get mad in the same way in both cases.

Johan

08-12-2006, 12:35 PM

Perhaps its some kind of corporate strategy. Perhaps they did some statisical research to find out the likelihood of the chance of a customer losing the only record, combined with the chance of the receipt fading before it gets used again, and found out they could earn alot of profit from these factors alone.

QFT...companies love this kind of thing; receipts that are lost or the ink fades, pre-loaded cash cards which have fees after a certain period if not redeemed, reservation credits left unused...these strategies are free money, because statistically many people will wait too long to redeem the receipt/card/credit, and effectively lose it.

Corporate bs.

mister_slim

08-12-2006, 02:18 PM

Would you like to insure your game for $2?

jspeak32

08-12-2006, 03:02 PM

Would you like to insure your game for $2?

Sounds great! But wait, is my insurance on the game safe? Can I insure my insurance for $5?

GunnyMo

08-12-2006, 03:51 PM

Would you like to insure your game for $2?

You go to hell! You go to hell and you die!

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y38/GunnyMo/Garrison_South_Park.jpg

Ultima Thulian

08-15-2006, 07:01 AM

The only problem I've had with EB/GS workers/managers is their need to forcefeed me strategy guides. My friend was getting a copy Kingdom Hearts II and the two workers asked him if he wanted a guide. Fair enough. It's their job, the higher-ups tell 'em to do that. He says no (like any logical person). They tell him the original (which he and I found easy to beat) was near impossible without a strategy guide, and the sequel was even harder (which it wasn't). My friend, says he's fine. They still continue, by telling him first hand experiences of the mountain of difficulty that was KHII. They said they couldn't even get past the third world (which, unless he's retarded, he could easily beat). My just walks over to me while I'm looking for a game, more or less to hide, while they punch in his stuff.

It's an extreme example, but true. Other than that, my experience with them has been good (one suggested I buy Persona 2. Good call. It's rare and pretty decent) The best thing is that they at least have a passing interest in games, unlike dept. store workers. It doesn't matter if I say the name of the game or not, they can never find it and always look at me like I'm crazy (fucking Wal-Mart...). I just basically put my finger to the glass, pointing to the game without saying a word until they open it up and ring it up.

Earthbound_Fan

08-23-2006, 12:03 AM

Wow, I just found this forum and had to register for this topic. First of all... Lord Dongkey.. you are my hero. I currently am a GS/EB manager and everything you have said is 100% true. I will not state which GS/EB I work at nor will I use any of my real info, especially since emails have been sent from corporate basically "threatening" our job for saying anything negative about the company. Free speach doesn't exist in buisness I guess.
I completely understand how a lot of people on here cannot stand going into a gamestop because we are worse than used car salesmen. Let me assure you though it didn't always used to be this way. I've worked for the company over 4 years and ever since this merger things have been extremely ridiculous.
Example...
At my store, I have 87 hours to use for hourly associates. Take out 40 for my ASM and 30 for my 3rd key and that gives me 17 hours. Sure... thats great for one part time helper... but i forgot to tell you that I am required to have 5 part time associates. 5/17 is how many hours per associate at MINIMUM wage who get NO comissions on sales?
For all of you wondering why I haven't quit? I plan on it... I am working on college right now and plan on leaving ASAP.
About the store credit fading thing... the manager of that particular store is either an idiot or new. They can call corporate and get your credit found for up to 5 years in a single 5 minute phone call. Its not lost forever. I'm not defending GS at all I just want you to know that your store credit still exists. Btw, their thermal paper is now a thing of the past.
GS does make lots of marginal profit off of used games, but they make 100% profit from all the reserves they make us force on you guys when you guys forget to pick up your game or money. It true.. they make NO effort to contact you about this money.

It always makes me laugh when someone says... "You work at a Video Game store... how hard can your job be?" This statement is one of the reasons why gamestop employees get paid shit and corporate gets away with it. Everyone that sees gamestop from the outside seems to want to work there. I literally get around 2,000 applications a year.

Lastly, I promise you that 90% of us GS/EB employees out there do NOT enjoy badgering you about reserves trades and such. If there was a way we could not do it without losing our jobs, we would. We happen to be gamers too and understand that we must sound like pompous asses a lot of the time. We even get "Secret Shops" quarterly that require us to remind EVERY customer about trade-ins. If I do not say " Did you bring your trades with you?"... which obviously any dumbass can see if someone has brought trades or not... I immediately FAIL the secret shop and get a corrective. What kind of shit is that?!
I've even gone as far as trying to write a suggestive email to corporate about how reserves could be done without the badgering. I wrote it very politely and kindly. I was told by my DM that if I wrote something like that again, I could lose my job. WTF?! Corporate wants suggestions... but only to weed out those who want change. So instead of taking out your anger on the minimum waged part time employee at my store... do us all a favor and ask for the corporate number to complain about the constant badgering, its the only way it will ever change.

But lets look at the bright side...
Even though I don't get overtime pay,
I work 44 - 55 hours every week,
have to be micromanaged,
don't get hours to cover my vacation and have to work doubles,
meet my reservation goals only to have them say "well... if they can make 6% they can make 10%",
badger people constantly about shit they don't care about and insurance for it,
have to babysit peoples children for free while they play demo systems and f*ck up my store,
have no coverage for my sick days,
have to take the wrap for not having enough 360's for all reserves even though I only did the job I was told to do by my boss like anyone else would do which were guaranteed by microsoft and gamestop,
take any trade from people even if I KNEW they were stolen or I get written up,
have to help other stores with their inventory without extra hours to cover when i'm not there,
get blamed for theft in my store because i followed the marketing setup and they wanted live product at the door but couldn't change it,
have to answer 700 calls from kids that studder like porky pig for 5 minutes to say "Do you have pokemon?",
and have no chance at promotion....
At least I don't have to wear a funny hat like hot dog on a stick... or be a CEO... thank god for that.