Fine, don't acknowledge me... you'll be closed soon enough.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Hey now, proud U of M (Dearborn) graduate here.

As a Badger, I am required by the U.S. Constitution to give you grief.

Just be happy I'm not from Ohio State.

[dendawg]

Just be happy I'm not from Ohio State.

Or, to a lesser extent, Michigan State.

(Not an alum, but my ex's family were diehard Spartans fans.)

[PhiSigGirl1988]

I support MSU when they're not playing us. Ohio State, on the other hand....

Never.

[Mr Hero]

As a Badger, I am required by the U.S. Constitution to give you grief.

Just be happy I'm not from Ohio State.

We don't need no stinkin' badgers!

[fireheart]

And since none of the University of <American Location> arguing is relevant to me ....

My Local Comic/Game Store used to have the awful You Don't Belong vibe. *shudder*

One of the game store chains down here has that exact vibe. There are three in my state: GAME, Gametraders and EB Games. Gametraders ALWAYS project the vibe of "Come on in, we're great, we don't care if you're a noob or a gaming veteran". EB Games tend to be a bit more sterile, but are usually happy to help if you're unsure about something. Whereas I've walked into GAME and I've found the experience to be VERY awkward. The staff members tend to yap away at the counter between themselves, even if there are customers in the store. They also sell very few secondhand games if that, and they're usually priced the same as the new games.

[Dreamstalker]

My Local Comic/Game Store used to have the awful You Don't Belong vibe. *shudder*

The place I used to work for did and still does have that. Ironic because the owner's original plan with the larger space was to make it more inviting for casual shoppers. The exact opposite happened; I was the most pleasant employee he had.

His solution for the theft problem? Install cameras...I could tell in an instant which ones were dummies, and there's never anyone in the office to watch the screens.

[rose_metal_nz]

And since none of the University of <American Location> arguing is relevant to me ....

One of the game store chains down here has that exact vibe. There are three in my state: GAME, Gametraders and EB Games. Gametraders ALWAYS project the vibe of "Come on in, we're great, we don't care if you're a noob or a gaming veteran". EB Games tend to be a bit more sterile, but are usually happy to help if you're unsure about something. Whereas I've walked into GAME and I've found the experience to be VERY awkward. The staff members tend to yap away at the counter between themselves, even if there are customers in the store. They also sell very few secondhand games if that, and they're usually priced the same as the new games.

I have the same thing here; main shops are EB Games & Vagabonds - EB is, almost without fail, awesome at any branch. You can see they're often pleasantly surprised to be able to "talk the talk" with a girl - but they've never been snobby. Now I lurve Vagabonds, and they have the Warhammer novels etc that I love; but I've never gotten into figurines (too expensive & I'm a crappy painter lol) Every. Time. Without. Fail. I walk in their doors - at any location - I get this whole "outsider" vibe. Um, hello? I shouldn't have to yell out IM A GAMER TOO!!
If you want my money, and repeat patronage, then hey, maybe adjust your mindset. Gah.

[fireheart]

I have the same thing here; main shops are EB Games & Vagabonds - EB is, almost without fail, awesome at any branch.

I haven't had a problem with them yet. Usually their only gripe is pricing, but usually if I can't find a game at Gametraders (or they can't order it), I'll go and get it at EB. Gametraders also has the bonus of being a geek's fantasy hideout: they run trading card tournaments at their stores (for most people it's Yu-Gi-Oh, although some stores do Pokemon tournaments and I suspect Magic will be introduced in the near future), they sell stuff other than games including anime, cosplay props/costumes, trading cards ,replica swords, LARP swords, t-shirts, little game-themed knick-knacks and so on. About the only thing they don't sell is pocky .
Games are still their most important thing though.

EB have also usually been the only place I can pick up event pokemon via the Wi-Fi.

[TheCheerfulTreeRat]

Warhammer novels etc

I knew NOTHING about Warhammer until I watched an episode of Ace of Cakes the other day, where they made a Squig cake for (I think) a convention. They organisors were so chuffed they made an online squig herder character out of the Cake Shop boss - armoured, macho looking and with a 6' spatula...

[mikoyan29]

As a Badger, I am required by the U.S. Constitution to give you grief.

Just be happy I'm not from Ohio State.

It's funny. This year my mom and I went to Fredericksburg and I was wearing my Michigan t-shirt and hat. The ranger gives me a little grief and says that he's from Wisconsin. Then he said, "Well at least we both hate Ohio State".