Cliquish Stores, an Explorers Rant

Time to drag out the old Soap Box...

Good day, my geekish brethren.

First, let me apologize. This is not one of my standard types of posts. This isn’t telling you where you can find a Green Lantern Ring or where you can get a bottle of Zip Kicker in an emergency. This is something that has been grating on me more and more as I look into new shops, re-read my notes from visits, and think back on experiences.

I know that not everyplace I visit is going to be worthy of my recommendation, for what little that might be worth. However, I am going to put them out there, give you the facts, perhaps a slight warning about my experience, and let you choose your own path. Everybody has a bad day, and I could have caught that store or that clerk on one of those bad days. While first impressions ARE important, having worked retail for quite a few years myself, I do take many of these factors into account when I walk into one of these places of business.

However, there still is a problem that I thought had been taken care of five to ten years ago, yet is still out there today. It is not as prevalent as it once was, but when you do run into it, it leaves the taste of 2-week old undercooked bacon in your mouth, and you just never want to go in there again.

Geekish cliques in geekish stores.

I understand that, often, these stores are staffed with younger people whom for many, it’s their first job.  Your Friendly Local Comic Shop or Gaming Store doesn’t have the budget to pay much more than minimum wage, and many times this is the perfect part time or first job for many people. Plus, and this is a personal thing, I don’t see a small brick and mortar hobby shop putting a new sales associate through a sales/customer service training program. You show them how to run the register, where the models are, where the glue is, where the paint is, and hope they can figure it out from there.

So you’ve got this new associate earning just enough money to throw it right back into the store because they’re working around what they love, and that’s why they’re working there, right? And all their friends now that their bud is now behind the counter at their favorite shop, so what are they going to do? That’s right, hang out with their friend.

This used to be a huge problem, especially in hobby and gaming stores. The people that would hang around all day, not spending a dime, but encouraging their friends to play a “quick game of Magic” or get into a discussion about who is hotter, Xena or Gabrielle, instead of smiling, helping people and making them feel welcome in what was, and still kind of is, a very niche environment. Some would take it a step or two further, making a parent feel like an idiot as they came in trying to get their kid the newest D&D supplement they want, but not understanding the difference between it and GURPs. Or sneering at the kid who’s just getting introduced to gaming through Pokemon, because he’s buying a kids game. That attitude lead to the demise of a lot of stores in the late 90′s and on into 2000.

It saddens me to still see it in stores today.

Now please, don’t get me wrong! A VAST majority of the stores I’ve been visiting in my travels have been friendly. Very friendly. Surprisingly friendly. A lot of them realize that they can no longer be like that, and now when you walk in, you aren’t hit by that “PLEASE BUY SOMETHING! ANYTHING!” sense of desperation from the shopkeep, or the sneer of contempt when you pick up something from Marvel or DC instead of a hip Indie comic on the rack from the stereotypical Comic Book Shop Guy behind the counter. No, these shops are well lit, well stocked, and the shopkeeps, while they might not be completely well groomed, are at least clean and friendly. However, so far I have ran into one or two shops that still think that the old school is the best school.

One shop in particular, although I won’t call them out, really has struck me in a bad way. This shop is in my neighborhood, literally. With all the work my friends and I do in the garage, you would think this would be our favorite place to frequent, because it’s so convenient. However, we would rather visit a shop 10, 15, 20 miles away because of the way we’ve been treated in there.  I have checked this store out on three different occasions, and every time, they have ignored me. The young staff members, the older staff members, it doesn’t matter. They would rather stand behind their glass counters, holding court with their friends and their c0-workers, instead of helping their customers. I actually stood for about three minutes wanting to ask a question and was instead ignored by two of the older staff members that were too busy talking about bootlegging James Bond flicks and their PS3′s hooked up to their home entertainment systems. One of them even looked me square in the eye, then went back to talking, just brushing me off. This sort of attitude is very counter-productive, and sadly, while I do try to be very upbeat and positive on here, does come through when I’m writing the review for the shop.

Shopkeeps, please. I know you’re not Target. I know your shop isn’t a corporate environment with a full manual on how you want every associate to act, how you want them to sell, how you want them to dress. That’s part of what we LOVE about you! It’s so very anti-establishment! However, there is one thing you NEED to teach your associates, and remember yourselves if you want to survive. One simple rule, one simple credo.

Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.

That’s right, the golden rule. Every ounce of sales training and customer service training I’ve ever done has boiled down to this simple phrase. Who cares how much you know about Dungeons and Dragons if you talk down to the customer? Don’t you want to be treated with respect? Don’t you want to have someone be understanding when you ask why Daredevil is in the DC Universe, except he’s real pale and skinny and not wearing a mask? (Come on, you have to admit that he and Deadman look similar!)

Please, just help make my visit enjoyable. If my visit is enjoyable, then I will tell people how enjoyable it was. In turn, those people will come in for an enjoyable understanding experience, and then they’ll talk about how enjoyable it was. This will enable me to not be negative on here, it will enable you to keep your dream business alive and perhaps even flourishing, and we’ll all have a Brightest Day instead of a Blackest Night.

Thank you, Shopkeeps.

Regards,
The Geek Explorer.