More shocking secrets of game store workers - Part One

Aug 21 2007

Games Radar: Why did you want to work at a videogame store in the first place? Was it what you expected?

Employee #1: Gaming, really, and becoming a regular in a game shop, and then deciding that’s what I wanted to do. You assume – as people still assume these days – that you just stand around playing games all day. But in reality it’s like any other retail job, you have to look after stock and keep customers happy. Gaming in the store is the last priority, really.

Employee #6: I'd established a friendship with the local shop staff and they were always very nice people, so it made me want to become part of the team.

Employee #5: I was looking for any part-time work. I'd say it was mostly how I expected it to be, there was maybe a bit more to do than I had envisioned.

Employee #3: Games are my passion and I thought it would be a perfect opportunity. It is fun for a while but soon gets monotonous and boring, and I never realised the retail world was quite as bitchy as it seems...

Employee #7: It fell upon me really. One day, I popped in to buy a game and the owner asked me if I wanted a job. I’d just walked out of my previous job as an animator a couple of days before, so it came at the right time. I stupidly assumed that it would be a fun job. To be fair though, it was fun for about three years; it’s only over the last two and a half years that it’s all gone to shit.