A seemingly increasing number of GameStop employees are fed up with their working environment and quitting their jobs for being understaffed and overworked. One of the latest cases comes by way of Kotaku, which can confirm in a new report that four staff members of the GameStop located at the Gateway Mall in Lincoln, Nebraska, recently walked out, forcing that location to close down over the weekend. A letter posted at the store alleges that the district manager had no respect for them as employees “or as human beings” and goes on to list three alternatives for retail game purchases, urging readers to spend their money somewhere “that respects its employees.” This is the second time this year that a GameStop in the area saw its entire staff resign in protest, according to Kotaku.
“For my health I had to leave,” Frank Maurer, the store’s recently promoted manager, told Kotaku in a phone interview. The stress and anxiety were so bad he had trouble sleeping and wasn’t even enjoying games anymore. He said he only started working there in late 2021, and while at first it was fun, it quickly turned into a nightmare between the lack of resources and management’s strict quotas. To put up with it Maurer said he was paid $17 an hour, just $2 over the entry level rate at the nearby Target, while those under him made only $9, Nebraska’s minimum wage.
He also claimed he was never properly trained by the company on any of the new responsibilities he was given as manager, nor given the resources and time to train others at the store. At one point he said he had to work over two weeks straight with no days off just to keep the store functioning.
Source: Kotaku
Discussion (14 replies)
Join Discussion →Wait, people shop there?? ?
I knew a lot of people that worked for Gamestop back at the height of their popularity. It wasn't a great place to work by all accounts even then. However, I know what its like to work for a company in decline and I can't imagine conditions have improved over the last few years.
Sounds like that district manager needs to be fired post haste. They probably just can't find someone willing to do that job for the shit pay they offer.
I came here to say this.
I don't remember even seeing a Game Stop in over a decade.
Probably helps that I never go to malls (indoor or strip)
Ballsy move. But yeah I cannot remember the last time I was in a Gamestop (and it might have been to buy ancient retro Sega crap). Or even a mall, really.
That's where they are, and I think the closest small town has one in a strip mall.
I step in on occasion when I think I can get out without being molested by 'staff'.
It's really hard to understand where their operating revenue would come from. There's also plenty of r/antiwork potential there too!
I think a large portion of it is grandparents shopping for gifts, who don't feel comfortable (or think it is cheesy) to buy Steam/Xbox/Roblox/Fortnite/Whatever gift certificates.
A good amount of their revenue used to come from kids trading in their old stuff for pennies on the dollar and then buying stuff while they were there, but with more and more modern consoles going media free, I'm guessing that is not as big of a part of their business model anymore.
While I'm sure management sucks, it always does at these stores, I'm also sure that the employees are lazy, entitled children who think they deserve $25 an hour to stand around eating edibles and jerking each other off.
I worked for EBGames under GameStop ownership during the mid 2000s (so I was there for Xbox 360's launch, PS3's launch, and Wii's launch). EB really went to the sh1tter after GameStop bought them.
Do malls still exist? I mean yeah I see strip malls around (my local Micro Center is in a strip mall), but indoor malls?
There are a few hold outs. Town East Mall in Mesquite Texas is actually thriving oddly enough. It's always busy.
Malls are still big business in the north east.
I can honestly say the last time I was in a GameStop was to buy WoW Burning Crusade expansion.
I always like Electronics Boutique and Babbages more than GameStop.
Same. Also Software Etc.
Around here a handful still do.
The average malls are all gone, but the top tier premium ones still seem to be doing well around here.
You know, the very large ones, or the ones that target themselves at some sort of luxury shopping experience.
I still hate them just as much, but I'm not your average person.
The small, or budget style malls are mostly history. They've already been torn down and the lots redeveloped in most places around here.
Those were the stores to go to back in the day.