The 'rents, the gf, and I spent the past couple of days in Vancouver, which is a stunningly beautiful city. Vancouver made Seattle look like a cheap imitator. The public market on Granville Island seemed more varied and interesting than Pike Place Market. The view from Cloud Nine, a revolving restaurant on the 42nd floor of a hotel, was far grander than that from the Space Needle. Gastown seemed more authentic than Pioneer Square. If I were Seattle, I'd have a jealousy complex. It's like Vancouver is Madonna to Seattle's Britney.
Speaking of Gastown, I stumbled across a game store there called The Games People which, to my never-owned-a-game-store eye, gets everything wrong. It's the kind of shop that simultaneously excites and repels me. It's positively dreary to a casual shopper. Upon walking in the first things you notice are a) the store's very dim lighting, b) the stale, dusty smell normally reserved for antique malls full of forgotten Victorian ephemera, and c) the chaotic jumble of the items on the shelves. The store isn't comfortable or inviting. It doesn't tantalize shoppers with attractive displays of handsome boxes, enticing them to enter and explore. The Games People is a dark, dusty cave that seems a relic from a bygone era.
Which is exactly what excited me when I walked in the door. The casual Gastown tourist wouldn't dare cross that murky threshold, but I was hoping to step back in time. I approached each shelf like an explorer in an ancient tomb, gingerly pushing aside the effluvia of the ages in the hope of unearthing treasure. The 70's-era family games near the entrance suggested the store had been there for a long time. Who knew what unsold inventory still lurked in a back corner?
But here's the crazy part. The vast majority of shelves-- the ones with all the really interesting stuff-- are behind glass counters that keep the customer at a distance. I had to crane my neck from a few feet away to read the densely-packed spines of bygone boxes. If I wanted to look at anything in detail, I had to ask a clerk to fetch it for me. That might be fine for the Library of Congress, but it's a lousy way to browse. Had I been able to get my hands on the games myself, I'd have reveled in examining every relic in stock. When a title caught my attention, I'd have grabbed the box, looked it over carefully, and either replaced it or tucked it under my arm for purchase. Kept at arm's length, however, I hardly looked at anything in detail. I saw a copy of Eon's Runes, but didn't bother asking the clerk to see it because I didn't really want to buy it-- but I might have if I'd been able to pick it up myself and the price was right. The hunt for treasure changed from fun to work. I left the store annoyed and disgusted. The Games People is a store that seems to be doing nothing right. Many shelves had games displayed frontwise, blocking a dozen more games. It was impossible to peer behind them to see what hid beneath. What kind of way is that to run a store? How has this place stayed in business?
We took the seabus across Burrard Inlet and happened to come across the other Games People location, tucked away on the second floor of a market/mall. This one was smaller, brighter, and every bit as cluttered and difficult to browse. As with the other store, all the interesting goodies were crammed together on shelves behind the counter, out of reach. Apparently everything I think I know about running a game store is wrong, because these guys are keeping not one, but two locations open despite their horrible feng shui.
Posted by Peter at August 25, 2006 09:51 AMAgreed on all counts although I wouldn't go so far as to say that I was disgusted. One of the tricks to shopping there is to get over my (your?) reluctance to ask for help. In this case, asking the clerk to let you look at something. Eventually I did so and had them hand me item after item after item. I would have thought that they'd be annoyed after 30 or 40 games but they seemed happy enough to be actually doing something.
Posted by: Greg Aleknevicus on August 25, 2006 07:10 PMI worked in that gastown store for about 5 months or so in around 1993. I'm delighted to see that not only has it survived but according to your account it's exactly the same!
Back then I think they had around 5 stores, the gastown one, one down the road in a mall, one across the water, one in granville island and one in another small mall.
They used to make customers ask for stuff behind the counter in an attempt to get them involved in a conversation aka sales patter. It was always a pretty hopeless task given the speciality of what they offer but hey - they've been around a long time and have survived so something works!
You'd be amazed at what that store holds tho'. Not only on it's ground floor sales room but also in it's other 4 floors which weren't open to the public (at least not when I worked there). All of them FULL of stock and completely disorganised. They used to send me up with a list of stock to bring back down and i'd attempt to find it. It used to take me hours just to find about 4 items and then complain that i'd been too long and "why havn't you figured it out up there?"!. It was like looking to needles in haystacks.
There is something special about that store in gastown tho'. At least, it still holds fond memories for me. If not some customers like you!
I worked for the Games People for about three years between 2001 and 2004 at both their Gastown and Lonsdale Quay stores.
I was told they finally went out of business in November. As much as there were aspects of that place that I hated, (yes even I agree it wasn't the best design, but the owner was a bit paranoid) I had fond memories of working there.
Upstairs in the warehouse was like buried treasure. Who knew what gaming relics laid hidden in that building? Unfortunately, now I'll never know because it's all gone.
Posted by: Mike Tong on January 2, 2007 05:18 AMI worked for the company for over a decade, my friends and family thought me crazy. The concept was good but the owner lacked the relevant vision required to compete in todays marketplace. In the end the company burned through hundreds of great employees by undervaluing their work and ignoring their advice. They over-charged and under-marketed their merchandise and over-worked and un-derpaid their staff.
The final failure of this company was due the inability of the owner to take any risks whatsoever (the stock secured behind the shelves being just one example of this paranoia manifesting itself). Though the owner blamed the failure of the business on the lack of a sucsessor, the truth was the owner never really allowed anyone else to attempt anything new (I advised him to get on the internet in 1994, but was told it was just a fad).
Sad, really, there was some amazing stuff in that building that just ended up as landfill.
What happened to the store? I used to work there, too, back in about 1992 (first at the downstairs one one Granville Island, then at Lonsdale Quay). I went by a few weeks ago and noticed it was all papered over.
Posted by: Chuk on November 27, 2007 01:29 PMHey Chuk, I remember you.
Dale got old and ran out of steam I guess.
Stuck in his ways and having estranged all his supporters he simply sold out to the liquidator and faded away. Never even told any of his former employees or gave them a chance to get any bargains. Sad, but he never paid anyone properly so he never got good help, he was stuck in his ways so when he had good advice he wouldn't listen to it. In the end he had no successor as he alienated all who tried to help. They ended with a huge unadvertised sale and cleared the store out in a month or so.
Hey CyberSpaceKing, Chuk and Mike Tong
Thanks for telling us about the fate of this store. It's sad that it's gone but I'm pretty surprised that it lasted as long as it did with the way it was run!
Dale was a character eh?! Didn't he have a son that work there too. A guy with a pony tail that I can't remember the name of. Did he not fancy taking it on?
I used to work in pretty much all the stores. I was on a working trip to Canada from Britain. I spent a fine xmas with a guy named Chris in the first floor of the granville island store.
We had a blast drinking tia maria all day (whilst we were working) and then going out for some great labatts. Great memories. Chris used to work so hard for Dale it was unbelievable. He made that guy some money.
If anyone knows Chris pls pass him my email - I'd love to shoot the breeze. mdeyes@hotmail.com
Cheers
Mike
Posted by: Mike D on February 1, 2008 02:50 PMI think this is pretty funny.
The Static Zombie has become a message board for old Games People employees.
Thanks Static Zombie for hosting this forum and thanks for your insightful comments regarding the Games People.
Hey Mike, Hey Chuck, Hey Mike good to see you guys still have some fond memories perhaps mixed emotions but at least we all had fun.