Me: “Thank you for calling [Video Game Store], where you can trade in your old games and save. This is [My Name] . How may I help you?”

Phone Customer: “Hi. I was wondering that if I buy a Grand Theft Auto V, and my Xbox doesn’t have a hard drive, will I have to buy a hard drive? I can’t really afford to spend that much money right now.”

Me: “Well, sir, I can save you a bit by telling you another option. You can get a flash drive to store the GTA V install; they are much cheaper than buying an internal hard drive.”

Phone Customer: “So like a SanDisk or something like that?”

Me: “You bet. We’ve even got them in stock right now!”

Phone Customer: “Okay, thanks! I’m just calling from the supermarket across the street. I’ll just get them here. Bye!” *click*

(A customer has brought in an old game system and games to trade. Her games are all really old and common games in unplayable conditions She puts the system on the counter in an old shoe box with its own tangled cords.)

Me: “Let me sure everything we need is here so I can see if we can take it and test it out.”

(I reach into the box to grab the system, but once I lift it out of the box spiders crawl out of it and scurry up my arm.)

Me: “Sorry, we won’t able to accept the system, but we might be able to take the controllers.”

(I coyly replace the system in the box, only to find that there’s only more spiders on the controllers, which are now on the counter, and were to be squashed by employees throughout the day.)

Me: “You get a few dollars for the controllers and games if you’d like to do it.”

Customer: *appalled* “We can get much more at yard sale.”

Me: “Go for it.”

(She leaves, and I shudder thinking of the poor souls who will have the misfortune of purchasing a spider infested game system, with broken games, at a yard sale.)

(I am looking at buying a particularly rare game that has gone on sale on a well-known gaming store’s website. I call up the closest store to inquire about it. Being in my early teens, I am a bit nervous to call.)

Me: “Hi? I was wondering if you had, uhm… [Game] in store? A copy, I mean? I was just looking at the, uh, website sale and—”

Employee #1: “That game’s real popular. Yeah, we’ve only got one copy in the store. Would you like us to hold it?”

Me: “O-Oh. Yes, please! My name is [My Name] and I’ll be there in about half an hou—”

(They hung up in a rush, but it didn’t bother me at the time. My mother and I arrive 25 minutes later, correct change in hand. We’re the only customers in the store.)

Me: “Hello! I called a little under a half an hour ago to reserve the last copy of [Game] here. I’m [My Name], ready to pay and pick it up!”

Employee #2: “[Game]? We gave that to [Employee #1] since he wanted it.”

Me: “Wait, what? But I reserved that copy over th—”

Employee #2: *rolling his eyes* “He also left work about 20 minutes ago. Was there anything else you wanted?”

(Visibly distraught as I’d never dealt with a rude cashier before, my mother decides to interject. Her tone is calm, and she tries to be as polite as possible throughout.)

Mum: “May I ask you something? What’s your policy on reservations?”

Employee #2: *matter-of-factly* “The customer can ask to reserve a game we have for a day, and nobody else can purchase that copy. If the customer doesn’t come in on the day they specified, the game is no longer reserved under their name and may be sold to anyone.”

Mum: “Okay, and how long has it been since my daughter called to reserve [Game]?”

Employee #2: *annoyed* “20 minutes.”

Mum: “Then would you care to explain, regardless that my daughter called in and specifically reserved, under her name, that game which you only have a single copy of, and the fact that we came in on the same day she reserved, why you decided to change the rules and sell it to an employee without even notifying us?”

(The employee shrugs. Feeling dejected, I ask her if we can leave, to which the employee breaks out into a smug grin. She shakes her head and turns to the employee again.)

Mum: “[Employee #2], may I have an actual answer to my question? I think we deserve a reason after driving all the way from home for this.”

Employee #2: “No. The game’s gone and that’s that. You’re on your own now, lady!”

(We went home. My mother called the head office of the company after dinner and explained the situation to the exact detail. The response was ‘don’t worry ma’am, we’ll deal with it.’ Though I’ve never found another copy since, I sure hope having that game was worth breaking both the rules and a sale, because I never saw Employee #2 in the store again. A new employee said they’d both been fired for several similar customer complaints against them, and even stealing stock!)

(I work as a cashier at a well known game store. A husband, wife, and child come up to the register and I ring up the game they want. Note that we only display cases and not the games.)

Me: “Your total is [total].”

(The man pays, while the wife opens up the empty game case she has been holding.)

Wife: “Where is the game?”

Me: “Excuse me, ma’am?”

Wife: “My husband just paid for the game and the game is not in here.”

(She holds open the display case pointing inside.)

Me: “Ma’am, those cases are for display only. I put the game in the bag with the receipt.”

Wife: “NO! He paid for this game and it is not in here. I want this game.”

Me: *I show her the sealed game from the bag* “See, ma’am, the game is right here and sealed.”

Wife: “You shouldn’t have these things here if you don’t put games in them right when we pay.”

(The family then leaves. I turn to my assistant manager.)

Me: “Did she really think we magically send the game into an empty case?”

Assist. Manager: “Yep, and we will be getting a call about it later, too. Watch.”

(Sure enough, right before closing the wife called the store to complain about the game not showing up in the case she was holding.)

(I go to a video game store with my brother to pick up a guidebook for a new game. We look about the same age, and are often mistaken as a couple. I go to the cash register to ask about the book, while my brother looks in a different section.)

Me: “Hey, do you have the [Game] guidebook in stock?”

Cashier: “Yeah. Does your boyfriend want one?”

Me: “Uh, no, I do. That’s my brother.”

Cashier: “You’re still buying it for your boyfriend probably. They’re [price].”

(I know how much the book costs, which is lower than the price the cashier gave me.)

Me: “That’s not the price. It should be around [correct amount].”

Cashier: “Sorry, girly. That’s the price. Take it or leave it.”

(I go back over to my brother, and ask him to get it for me. I can hear them from where I’m standing.)

Brother: “Yeah, one [Game] guidebook.”

Cashier: “All right, it’s gonna be [correct price]. I knew she was just gonna get it for her boyfriend.”

(At this point, I’m fuming. I storm over to the cash register.)

Me: “Look, boy. I’ve been playing [Game] longer than HE has. He is NOT my boyfriend. He is my brother. I’m a f***** lesbian, and my girlfriend already has one. I want your manager out here NOW.”

Cashier: “I AM the manager.”

Me: “I want your boss’s number.”

(He reluctantly gave me the district manager’s number. I called and explained to him what happened. The next time I went in, there was a new store manager.)