As some of you already know I work for a games retailer in Leeds. I have done for four years in various capacities and have never had a problem with it, in fact I often love my job. Yesterday however things reached boiling point and I had to get out.
There were two factors that were already winding me up. The first was that I'd had only one day off that week and was starting to get a little tired. The second was that every other customer was making one of two transactions:-
1. Trading Fifa 2005 for Pro Evo 4. It winds me up so much that there are thousands of "gamers" out there who are such sheep. They buy a crap football game, play it for a week and swap it for a game that is only marginally different. I don't like football games but I have nothing against people playing them, what I do hate is that their horizons are so narrow that they willl play nothing but footy games or the occasional golf game. I feel like I'm not even working in a games shop at all. I just sell unimaginative sports simulations. What makes it worse is that when I try to educate people to the glories of (what I would call) real games I get transaction 2.
2. I managed to sell a LOT of copies of OutRun2 a few weeks ago, more so than most shops in my region because I was actually reccomending it to customers and explaining why it was fun to play. Predictably most of the copies that were sold were returned within the next couple of weeks. Customers called it "boring" and claimed not to like it for stupid reasons like not racing against opponents, not racing on a curcuit and most infuriating of all not being able to modify or "tune" the cars. They just didn't get it.
I have never felt so alienated from other gamers than I have this week. It's like we have two different hobbies that are worlds apart but only connected in that we use the same equipment to indulge in them. I was starting to get quite upset with my role and then the following happened:
A family came to trade some GBA games in for the kids. The children were sound and the dad seemed pretty clued up but the mum was an ignorant bile-spitting witch. Before I had even said hello she launched into a tirade on how all games should be banned because they turn youngsters into maladjusted citizens who are unable to relate to anyone else and become reclusive zombies. My blood was boiling, I replied jokingly that only bad games should be banned and she said that they all should because none of them have any value or worth at all, then went on (get this) to point at Yoshi's Island and refer to it as pulp trash.
I snapped, refused to serve her or anyone else ever again. I spent the rest of the day (about 4 hours) working in the stock room, cleaning the kitchen and doing window displays. I eventually calmed down but I'm now convinced that I'm working in the wrong job. I can't take anyone else devaluing the things I love anymore.
Thanks for reading,
Ash
There were two factors that were already winding me up. The first was that I'd had only one day off that week and was starting to get a little tired. The second was that every other customer was making one of two transactions:-
1. Trading Fifa 2005 for Pro Evo 4. It winds me up so much that there are thousands of "gamers" out there who are such sheep. They buy a crap football game, play it for a week and swap it for a game that is only marginally different. I don't like football games but I have nothing against people playing them, what I do hate is that their horizons are so narrow that they willl play nothing but footy games or the occasional golf game. I feel like I'm not even working in a games shop at all. I just sell unimaginative sports simulations. What makes it worse is that when I try to educate people to the glories of (what I would call) real games I get transaction 2.
2. I managed to sell a LOT of copies of OutRun2 a few weeks ago, more so than most shops in my region because I was actually reccomending it to customers and explaining why it was fun to play. Predictably most of the copies that were sold were returned within the next couple of weeks. Customers called it "boring" and claimed not to like it for stupid reasons like not racing against opponents, not racing on a curcuit and most infuriating of all not being able to modify or "tune" the cars. They just didn't get it.
I have never felt so alienated from other gamers than I have this week. It's like we have two different hobbies that are worlds apart but only connected in that we use the same equipment to indulge in them. I was starting to get quite upset with my role and then the following happened:
A family came to trade some GBA games in for the kids. The children were sound and the dad seemed pretty clued up but the mum was an ignorant bile-spitting witch. Before I had even said hello she launched into a tirade on how all games should be banned because they turn youngsters into maladjusted citizens who are unable to relate to anyone else and become reclusive zombies. My blood was boiling, I replied jokingly that only bad games should be banned and she said that they all should because none of them have any value or worth at all, then went on (get this) to point at Yoshi's Island and refer to it as pulp trash.
I snapped, refused to serve her or anyone else ever again. I spent the rest of the day (about 4 hours) working in the stock room, cleaning the kitchen and doing window displays. I eventually calmed down but I'm now convinced that I'm working in the wrong job. I can't take anyone else devaluing the things I love anymore.
Thanks for reading,
Ash
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