While I do have sympathy for store owners, if I was treated the way Boomer_J or some of you others were treated I would not return. It is a common policy for stores to hold product for call-in-customers, but they could have at least been honest with him and told him the shuttle was already promised to another. That being said, find another store, or if you are in my shoes and do not have another choice, pick up your ships online.

What is FFGS? I know of Friendly Gaming Store, or Local Friendly Gaming Store, what is the First F?

I was wondering that too, but remember...the F in FLGS doesn't always stand for 'Friendly'... Just sayin'... ;p

I have an opposite side of the coin scenario.

I waited for Imperial Aces to be released at my FLGS and I went down to pick up a copy. I did not preorder as I preorder online only and went in asking if they had any on the shelves. I had called and they said they had only 2 in stock so I went down right away. They looked around and could only find one copy now, the one the clerk had himself pre-ordered.

He gave it to me, no questions asked.

This FLGS is known in Ottawa for the best pricing on X-wing mini's and I go there as often as I can because of the service I get from them. I bought my CR75 there on Wednesday.

This is me saying thank you, Wizard's Tower, for awesome customer service and support of the X-wing Miniatures game.

Fly casual.

Eh Wizards Tower is ok. But they used to gouge prices very very badly, until a bunch of us called them on it on our local Warmachine forum. I still havent completely forgiven them for that. About 6 years ago when I moved to Ottawa there was very little choice for LGS. I would go to Fandom II downtown. Their service was absolutely attrocious, like the owner was perpetually upset we were bothering him to give him our business. The only thing was his prices we amazing. Just under US MSRP was the regular price, and we had 10% off for our Ottawa Warmachine Club card. Something that was US MSRP of 48 bucks would be 46.99 - 10% + tax. So $47.79. Wizards tower would have the same thing for $55 plus tax, or $62.15. And they were within a 20 minute drive of each other.

Another thing that bothers me about Wizards Tower is they prioritze MTG. To a ridiculous amount. Every second Wednesday is xwing night at Wizards Tower. Last Wednesday we didnt even have a table to play on because there was a sponatanous MTG tournament.

Honestly, the best gaming store in the Ottawa Gatineau area is Boutique les Freres de Battalie. They are super friendly, the store is gorgeous, bright, clean, let my wife use WIFI when we show up after work (so I dont have to drive her home and then drive back). They have a 10% off loyalty card. Their terrain for Warmachine and WH40k is gorgeous. And they are above a high end cheese shop!

Wizards Tower is good too, and I try to buy stuff from them when I go. Usually stuff I dont get at FDB, like the FFG card sleeves.

But as for the OP's story, that happened to me at Fandom II once, and I will never give that guy another cent. His loss, as I work 2 blocks from him, make a lot of money and spend way too much on games.

I haven't been to Freres de Bataille but I will be aiming to go for when they host the regional in July. I hope to meet you there.

MtG is the big thing for Wizards Tower, but i'm hoping that they share the space for those of us who want to X-wing it up on Wednesday evenings. They have the lowest prices for X-wing stuff that I have seen (compared to 2 other local FLGS's, TCBS and TOF)

I heard about Fandom II from other people and, luckily, I have not set foot in it.

...until I start talking to them.

You should never, ever be the one who start a conversation. It's part of the job when you work retail to approach a customer and ask them what you can help them with. They should never have to be the one who speaks first.

Even if they're helping someone else, they should acknowledge you and tell you they'll be with you as soon as they can. Or offer to find someone else to help if they know they'll be busy for more then a minute or two.

Saying please and thank you. Treating them like human beings.

This however is a great way to get even better service. Treat them nicely and they'll remember it, and go even farther then they need to, to make sure you leave happy.

The guy in bzinfinity's story was clearly being a d-bag, he heard the bell ring, and he had to look up to see who walked in. Just to make sure it wasn't his boss if nothing else. Also if he was so focused on his phone he couldn't tell someone was standing there, he was clearly not doing what he was being paid for. More likely he could tell someone was standing there but didn't want to stop what he was doing to you know do his job...

...until I start talking to them.

You should never, ever be the one who start a conversation. It's part of the job when you work retail to approach a customer and ask them what you can help them with. They should never have to be the one who speaks first.

Even if they're helping someone else, they should acknowledge you and tell you they'll be with you as soon as they can. Or offer to find someone else to help if they know they'll be busy for more then a minute or two.

Honestly I find that kind of "jumping down the customer's throat the moment they walk in" a lot more rude than waiting until I show signs of needing help. It implies that A) You want me out of there as soon as possible and my presence is a burden you need to remove, B) I'm too stupid to even attempt to look around first, C) You think I'm a thief and going to walk out with a Baneblade under my coat if you don't watch me like a hawk.

All of which makes me uncomfortable and causes the basic human decency I give to all but the rudest individuals more forced instead of natural. Heck I know people that will immediately turn around and leave stores if they are harassed by employees before thirty seconds is up.

Being rude or unfriendly is of course completely inappropriate in these settings, but treating customers like two year olds that need their hands held but don't know it is condescending at best.

First, sorry if this has already been stated, but if you want to light this store up then name the store and you'll be doing the community a favor. People will avoid the store, forcing the store owner to rethink his approach to service.

On a more positive note, I was (and continue) to be super pleased with GameKastle Santa Clara & Fremont in the Bay Area. I strolled in on Monday expecting to just get some practice in for Regionals, and then boom, they're like hey Chris, you've got a Transport prepaid, right? I'm like, yeah. They were like, here it is they just came in. Those people rock from top to bottom at GameKastle! Completely stoked.

It is usually good form to at least greet your customers. A simple hi to you as you walk through the door goes a long way.

At the very least you acknowledge the presence of the customer.

Then body language (pleading eyes and such ) will make clear if the customer wants help or is merely looking around first.

Saying please and thank you. Treating them like human beings.

This however is a great way to get even better service. Treat them nicely and they'll remember it, and go even farther then they need to, to make sure you leave happy.

Happy workers are productive workers. If they enjoy serving you the service will be better that's true. I've experienced it.

Honestly I find that kind of "jumping down the customer's throat the moment they walk in" a lot more rude than waiting until I show signs of needing help. It implies that A) You want me out of there as soon as possible and my presence is a burden you need to remove, B) I'm too stupid to even attempt to look around first, C) You think I'm a thief and going to walk out with a Baneblade under my coat if you don't watch me like a hawk.

All of which makes me uncomfortable and causes the basic human decency I give to all but the rudest individuals more forced instead of natural. Heck I know people that will immediately turn around and leave stores if they are harassed by employees before thirty seconds is up.

Being rude or unfriendly is of course completely inappropriate in these settings, but treating customers like two year olds that need their hands held but don't know it is condescending at best.

This is how it is here in Britain. Staff have to balance good customer service AND giving people their space and allowing them to browse. Hence the "AgentShadow speaks first" scenario.

EDIT: they do acknowledge customers. But customers tend to just grunt and go about their browsing, just to make that clear.

Only game stores don't seem to go even that far.

Never had this sort of problem with my FLGS. I always get a "Hi, let me know if you need anything." or a "Good morning/afternoon/evening, are you looking for anything in particular?" when I walk in the door, unless they are in the middle of ringing someone up, and even then I get a friendly nod. I think it helps that seemingly everyone who works there is basicly a part-timer converting their paycheck to product. No burnouts, and everybody loves at least one game, so they understand.

What is FFGS? I know of Friendly Gaming Store, or Local Friendly Gaming Store, what is the First F?

FFGS = Fantasy flight game supplier

Question: Did they offer to unbox their shipping crates or did you ask them to?

They offered. I in no way badgered them about it .

What is FFGS? I know of Friendly Gaming Store, or Local Friendly Gaming Store, what is the First F?

FFGS = Fantasy flight game supplier

Who is your FFGS? Honestly, you'll be doing them and Fantasy Flight a favor by identifying them. Silence is the enemy of change, my friend.

I am new to this gaming culture and the FFGS that I use is very helpful. But just when I was getting into X-Wing I stopped into this other game store and interrupted a couple guys playing WarHammer or something like that asking if they had any Y- Wing expansions. I was treated like I was Jar-Jar asking if he could sit in on a Jedi council meeting. "How Woud"

If *my* employee would assume the customer is happy to wait while texting I'd sack him.

I would:

1. Post a negative review online on Yelp or something that pops up every time the store name is googled. Don't be incredibly mean, just say something like, "Shop owner displays poor customer service when dealing with preorders and new stock. The owner personally embarrassed you when asking about in store stock. The store is usually okay, but I am better off ordering online or at other stores for new releases if they treat customers with such disrespect." Give them a 2 out of 5 star rating, because the store isbset up nicely, or something.

2. Inform shop owner that he treated you poorly and embarrassed you. Then inform him you posted a negative review online on Yelp.

3. Let the owner know you may still purchase things from them, or attend events, but you will recommend that people order online if they want new stuff.

4. Hope he treats you better next time you are in. If not, post another review online explaining how the shop owner now personally treats you badly when you go to the events there.

To men this gets the message to a larger audience, and doesn't include anything beyond exactly what they did, so can't be accused of lying! Also, from my experience local shop owners HATE bad online reviews, and they may even go as far as accusing you of lying on Yelp, etc. If you inform the owner about your review, he may be more likely to act civil, and the review will stay up there. If he apologizes, and is genuinely nice to you every time he sees you, you could also comment on your review that the owner personally apologized for mistreating you. Etc etc.

Maybe TOO thorough, but if you are gonna do something, gotta make sure it could affect more customers than you, and you are respectful about it, so he doesn't just talk badly about you behind your back.

If someone is txting and you stand there quietly they are going to assume that you are happy to wait.

Most people would call someone like that unemployed.

If I own a store, I would pay people to help my customers. Not to sit there texting. While I wouldn't have an issue with them doing so if no one is around. But if they ignore someone wanting to give me their money, I'd stop giving them mine.

The yelp thing is powerful. My wife and I have had bad service before, let the people know on yelp and the manager has contacted us to make it up to us on multiple occasions. The person that was rude, was the manager though, right? If that's the case, I would let them know the sour taste they left in your mouth and why, see if he comes around and rectifies it, and if he doesn't then don't give him your business anymore. It's tough when they host tournaments and stuff, is say still do those just don't buy stuff from there. That sucks though, sorry man.

You think you guys have it bad: At the last x-wing tournament I played in at the LGS, the shop owner pulled out a pistol on me! Okay, so he was just showing me his latest acquisition and it remained in the box. But that doesn't make as good of a story. It was a black powder Colt Walker reproduction.

My FLGS is awesome. They do get fairly busy sometimes, yet always make time for customers. I run their Edge of the Empire session in which 4 of the 6 store workers (three of them being the owners) play in.

Every time I walk in Alex always says hi and asks me how I am doing. I really consider the guys at my FLGS friends and they treat me accordingly, never have they asked me to leave when I just pop in for a natter. I always make sure to not stop anyone from buying anything, I step aside, let business take president and continue my conversation with Alex, Jamie or Ruth when the transaction is over.

I always make a purchase when I am in there, even if it is just a drink or snack. I know I can get things for cheaper online, but to be quite frank...I never used to do much but work during the week, since I found the place in January I now go most days before or after work.

If anyone is in the Norwich, England area, Athena games is perhaps the best place to go.

Unfortunately, story's like this happen all the time at Game Stores. I travel all over the United States visiting games stores along the way. I've been inside well over 200+ stores and and would only consider 20 to be good stores. Most are fine for people who are familur to the board game hobby but seriously lack in attracting new customers. The 20 stores I consider good are clean, the staff greets you, the staff is in uniform and the inventory looks like a retail store not a hobbiests collection.

You should never blindly support your FLGS if it does things wrong. Some of us are lucky enough to have a choice as we have more then one game store near us. If the community speaks with their wallet things will change or the store will close. If the community is large enough another store will open in its place. For the times between one store closing and a new one to come. Start a game group to meet at the library.

I just wanted to say that Fantasy Flights customer service is fantastic!!!!