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August 2005
It's hard to believe that as I write this, the month of July is drawing to a close. NASA just sent a shuttle into space; Lance Armstrong won his seventh consecutive Tour de France and then retired at the ripe old age of 33; Trekkies everywhere bid a fond farewell to James "Scotty" Doohan; and Tim Burton's film version of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" has broken out as a leading contender for the big blockbuster of the summer. July certainly had its fill of news, both good and bad, but it is not my goal to try and displace CNN. Let us, therefore, proceed on to our topic of the month, game stores.
My family had been pleased to notice recently that a new game store had opened up near our home, and on a particular Sunday in July my wife and I made our first visit to said store. What was interesting, though, was that the same day we had also been in one of the mall game stores in town, and the contrast left me thinking about game stores from a customer's perspective. I realize that I am not a business person, and therefore may not have the best insight into the opposing side of my observations. I toss out my thoughts as a customer, though, for whatever value they may be worth. After all, the business person is attempting to attract me to their shop in the hopes that I will exchange some of my money for some of their product, thereby helping keep them in business.
The mall game store certainly has a nice selection of games, and they've even managed to place a couple of small tables where a few of the offerings can be demonstrated and/or tried out. Being situated in a busy shopping center, they get a lot of "impulse" traffic; browsers who were not specifically going to a game store, but decided to visit as they passed by. As such, it would seem that it would behoove the mall game store to have a larger area for gaming and demonstrations. Unfortunately, mall rental rates rarely make this feasible for most businesses. Since the foundation of most such "special interest" businesses is the serious hobbyist, it becomes important then to assure the return of those gamers by virtue of customer service.
For a real life example of this, I will point out what my wife and I experienced at the mall game store that Sunday. My wife was interested in a particular game, and we discussed it a bit with an employee. In response to a statement about another game, the employee made a rather polarized political statement that instantly grated on both my wife and I. It was not a solicited comment; it was not necessary to the conversation, and worse, it was not appreciated. For no reason at all beyond his own political leanings, the employee alienated potential customers.
Now, just to be clear, I do not have any problem with people holding political views that are different from my own. I don't even have problems with discussing and/or debating said views. However, when I visit a business I'm not there to push my political agenda, nor am I there to be subjected to someone else's. I don't even appreciate such statements or displays when I agree with the person's viewpoint. I get enough of such statements elsewhere and, as a customer, when I go looking for fun diversions at a game store or other such place I don't want that attitude of fun spoiled by real life politics. A savvy business person will discourage such statements because they will know that some people will react openly and aggressively to opposing positions. It's not good for business to have a loud political argument in your shop. I can easily walk away without arguing, but I know some folks who seem unable to. The same is true for religious or philosophical views. Stick to topics related to the business and neutral small talk.
The new game shop was a pleasant contrast, however. The large store boasted ample space for gaming sessions and an employee that was friendly and helpful without hovering over us. I'm sure she had her own views on things, but didn't feel any need to interject them into the conversation. While it did not boast quite the selection of games the mall store did, they did have a copy of the new game from Steve Jackson and Phil Foglio open for demo purposes that we could look over.
The store has an internet forum for questions and game session schedules, as well as a large white board in the gaming area with upcoming events. On a recent Thursday night visit with my son, we found the store bustling with gamers preparing for or engaged in various games, and yet the employee on duty that night still sought us out to see if we had any questions or needed any help. It's always nice to know when I visit a business that I'm not invisible to the employees. I don't need a shadow dogging my every step while I'm there, but on the other hand, I shouldn't have to don my Indiana Jones hat and begin a quest for the elusive sales associate.
One game store in town lost my wife's business a few years back when the employees on duty were too busy playing a game to run the cash register. She was ready to make a purchase, but apparently the store didn't need her business. Ever. Business owners, take note: Middle-aged parents have money to spend, and just because we don't look like gamers doesn't mean we're not in the market for a game for ourselves or our kids. We can understand when an employee is busy working and lets us know that they will be with us in a minute; it's another issue altogether when they're too busy playing or chatting to deal with customers. If your employee doesn't demonstrate that my business is important to you, I'll find another store where it is.
Mail order, the internet, and department stores carrying gaming supplies all eat into the business segment of the local gaming store. We have made a point of when we find a good game store we support it for the very reason that we want it to be there when we're looking for something. This should be a business owner's goal; to have a business that people want to have around. A good start on achieving that goal, it seems to me, is having a business that wants to have people around. When a customer walks in the door for the first time, the business has a chance to win or lose a frequent patron. The employees should make sure that they don't needlessly lose one.
By the way, the new Jackson/Foglio game, SPANC (Space Pirate Amazon Ninja Catgirls) looked hilarious. We might just have to pick it up sometime in the near future.
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