Rant: Electronics Boutique
This is the first in a series of rant articles I will be starting. What is a rant? To me a rant article is a way of expressing my dissatisfaction towards places, events, or people who have angered me at some point or another. My debut rant takes off with a scolding delivered towards Electronics Boutique (EB for short).
You may or may not be familiar with EB World, a gaming retail outfit which spans across America. You may also visit ebworld.com as further proof that this company exists. Well, I happen to have problems with EB: big problems which you’ll know more about in the next paragraph after I complete this sentence.
The most noticeable feature about EB is the exceedingly small size of their stores. It is not known why they choose to make their stores so small, but in the three locations that I am aware of in my area, all of them have this claustrophobic feeling to them, sort of like being a poor sardine in a sardine can. I really hate having to rub asses in the aisles with some soccer mom who’s been playing too much Crash Bandicoot (believe me, its actually happened), or some wiener kid who thinks he’s God’s gift to videogames (you know who you are). And this is on a good day.
During Christmas you can barely move in there, and what ends up happening is this racecar track setup. You go in and being to circle the store in a slow walking fashion amidst the hundreds of poor souls walking in the same slow fashion. Heaven forbid you should take a pit stop…be wary of the soccer mom! If you are able to find something you want as you zoom by (good luck) and something that is affordably priced (good luck), you are a luck man and can continue onto the counter to meet the friendly idiot salesman (we’ll have more on him later). If not, you have to go back in and continually re-circle until you either “lose the race” and have to forfeit by joyously exiting the store, or you literally “run out of gas” in the store and probably should exit to save yourself. It’s a process that had been annoying me for some time, but the gas part is always rather entertaining, especially in large crowds.
Due to the small-minded nature of EB they remain confused and disorganized. There are often 3 to 4 salesmen behind the same small counter, talking to the same consumer all at once or talking to themselves while ignoring the consumer. Such topics of conversation may include their EverQuest rank or how much porn they’ve downloaded the past week. When they go to get the game from the counter, they often have to venture “into the back”, often returning hours later with the requested game. By that time the consumer has probably stopped caring about the game and is more concerned with how to get the hell out of there, especially since the soccer mom is right behind him breathing down his neck.
This disorganization extends to their software setup as well, where sharp corners threaten your being and small game shelves along the walls prevent you from properly browsing games. Often games are crammed in the bottom shelves in rows, which makes getting them out a Herculean effort; effort which should be spent walking to another gaming store to buy your game there.
Perhaps what is most noticeably lacking about EB, besides the floor space, is the intelligence level of the people working there. I’m sure they are nice people outside of where they work, but behind the counter they are dangerously ignorant. It’s even worse for a Gamecube fan because you have to content with all the crap they throw at you about how PS2 and Xbox are superior systems. I’m not saying they are bad systems, but I dare you to walk into EB and ask a retail guy which system they recommend you to buy. I unfortunately did, and I got this huge spiel on why the XBox and the PS2 are better choices. When I timidly asked about Gamecube, it was dismissed it with some stupid general fact, like “Gamecube is only for little kids.” EB and other gaming chains and rental chains should try to create public opinion rather than reflect it; they have the God-like power to influence people’s buying decisions.
It seems to me that the core reason why Nintendo may be generally regarded as “uncool” is because of salesmen such as those which I have encountered at EB. I believe it is their job to tell you the flipside of the coin and offer a better perspective on your buying decisions. In short, they are letting their personal biases influence your gaming decision. I wasn’t taken in by their lame-ass explanations as to why PS2 and Xbox are better choices, but Crash Bandicoot mom and Weiner kid could be easily fooled into buying the wrong console for themselves. I’ve seen that happen a few times and it isn’t a pretty sight.
Pricing is another issue about EB which oddly shouldn’t be since they’re saving all their money on square footage. Frankly, much of their software is simply too expensive, compared to the ten or so dollars that I save when shopping elsewhere. The same can be said about many of their computer products, such as the keyboards and PC software. With the money I saved from shopping elsewhere I could buy some website hosting and write an article about why I hate EB’s pricing.
Overall, I think that EB seriously needs to consider how they portray themselves towards the general gaming market. There are many more attractive alternatives to EB when it comes to buying games, such as Wal Mart and Toys R Us, where pricing is reasonable and you have room to breathe the fresh air and think clearly.
Thank you for reading! This was my first attempt at a rant, but I think it turned into more of an editorial. Regardless, I’d appreciate any comments you may have. Drop me a line at webmaster@gamequbed.com, or as always post in the forums. Join me next week when I have another go at this rant thing.