I tried googling for locations of other Gaming Goat shops - is yours the first that isn’t located in Illinois or Minnesota?
There are a handful in Texas and one in Vegas also.
Ugh, Pandemonium was so bad. I tried doing a few FNM events there, and it was just torturous. Horrible crowd, disinterested staff, and the odor was. . . less than ideal. It genuinely astonished me how bad the nerdy store culture was in a city the size of Boston. There were a couple more I tried out a couple of times that may have gone out of business since then, a little closer to BU. Not much better.
Stuff like this frustrates me so much. Wish I could port the Raleigh Tabletop RPGs style of gaming inclusiveness and enthusiasm nationwide. It’s genuinely been an eye-opening experience gaming with this group.
Eagan. I’ve had a similar experience at the Fantasy Flight Games Center (albeit with a lot more tables of people).
I didn’t know you were Minnesotan! I can’t do Eagan but if you can make it to the Goat on Grand, I could probably arrange to swing by with something. But yeah - I haven’t been in their gaming space yet, but my experience with The Source was that people tended to already be in groups, or I would already be making the trek. I don’t get enough boardgaming in.
Compleat Strategist, near BU. They went out of business recently. They weren’t much better but the owner was nice.
This has been my experience with the one big gaming shop in my area. The owner looks up at you from his PC behind the counter and seems to ponder whether you’re worth talking to or not. Even when he does chat, it’s not very friendly. He’s been in business for many years and seems to stay busy so he must be doing something right.
Having said that, I am super excited for you @Vesper and wish you the best! It’s something I’ve been toying (ugh) with too over the years but am currently unable to take the plunge but plan to in a couple years when my last kid is off to college!
Keep us posted.
oh, btw, when we had a game store we also did a lot of business from having a LAN setup and a Nintendo 64 (yes, it was that long ago). I bet if you had a couple machines with VR rigs set up you could rent time on those pretty profitably. Though it may be that we benefitted from being in a strip mall where kids would come hang out after school.
Sounds just like my own experience with the local FLGS (minus the “F” apparently) when I dropped in to check out an advertised event. The proprietor was talking to someone and ignored me until I interrupted and asked about the event. Got directed to the basement where 5 guys were explaining to the one girl how to play some boardgame, and another pair were chatting on the side. All completely ignored me, so I left after a few minutes.
I think if you want to attract new blood to your store, it would help to make newcomers feel welcome by both the staff and regulars.
Yeah even though GG really pushes for customer service and all that, it’s still a franchise and up to individual owners to actually implement and make it a priority. Sorry you had a bad experience there @SlyFrog. That is exactly what I want to avoid at all costs at my store.
Interesting. All the game stores I have been to in Portland (Guardian, Cloud Cap, and the prosaically named Portland Game Store) have been the opposite of unfriendly and unorganized.
Absolutely. Goes for any retail shop, frankly. Be extraordinary!
I remember a big write-up about a local ski shop about 25 years ago that got national attention because they totally blew the doors off the competition, not necessarily in price or inventory, but because the staff was amazing. They were Immediately friendly and social and helpful without being overbearing or pushy. I recall thinking “that’s how I will run my shop”.
I love the gaming here in Seattle compared to what it was in Boston. We have Meeples here in West Seattle, having Warmachine/Hordes, Warhammer, Magic, X-Wing, D&D and other game nights regularly. Have three sections to host different events, one is the cafe with basic panini sandwiches and beer as well. We drop mucho money there during Christmas as well for our nieces and nephews. The staff is great, informative and willing to help. They also have a large library of games to checkout and play there as well.
Yo, a fellow West Seattleite! Yeah, I really love Meeples, they’re always helpful. I’ve recently been on the lookout for “gateway” games my two young kids would like and they’re always helpful. I buy stuff there even though I can get it cheaper on Amazon, just because I want them to succeed.
Yeah, the game stores in the St. Louis area I’ve been to have been friendly. Sometimes I need to make the first overture, but once I do I get all the friendly conversation I can handle.
In a different vein I went to a boardgame meetup group and got there a bit late, so people were already playing. No one said a word to me. I wasn’t planning on playing that evening, just eyeballing it, but the vibe was a bit off-putting and cliquish.
Do any of these places do a “beginner’s night” or some such? Even just once per month, have the owner or otherwise-helpful vet spend a few hours teaching the basics of a selected board game and/or RPG. The whole concept of this type of place always appealed to me but I knew bumpkuss about Magic, or Warhammer, or D&D (outside of CRPGs), and I never knew anyone else interested in playing - - I could barely even get my family to try non-Monopoly board games.
I’ve wandered into a few places in the (admittedly-long-ago) past but immediately was hit with a vibe that I didn’t belong. A couple of times I was asked “what are you interested in”, but when I said “I don’t really know, but I like CRPGs, what would you recommend ?” I saw immediately that my answer was wrong.
I want to be clear as well - I’m definitely not suggesting anyone was hostile or offputting. Just that they seemed completely disinterested in me.
And to a degree, that’s okay. It’s not as though someone owes me entry to their game or group or something like that. Though you would like to have opportunities for everyone on an open game day.
At worst, the word someone else used seems to apply - it felt a bit cliquish. At the same time, part of me understands that if you have a group of friends you play with, it’s sometimes easy to just stick with that and not want to worry about bringing in the new guy.
I thought Hubris Comics was in Boston?
Good luck! I will stop by the next time I’m in Denver and check it out.
Good luck @Vesper! Sounds like you’ve got a solid business plan and the desire to make customer service the #1 priority, which is a recipe for success.
I would echo an idea from upthread : Hosting a “Newb Night” every month where you bust out a copy or two of a game and offer to teach it to anyone who attends. This is a great way for regulars and boardgame newbies alike to not only get exposed to new games, but to each other, which in turn creates a synergy that can result in more and larger gaming groups in your area, which makes for more repeat business for you. Maybe even talk to the Subway and the pizza place and see if they would be interested in “catering” the event (basically dropping off some free or discounted food) and handing out coupons, which in turn drives future business to their stores as well.