I think I made someone unhappy tonight.

[Sandiercy]

I manage a game store (board games, card games, rpgs) in a mall.

SC: young guy
Me: awesome game store manager

SC: I see you have game night tonight (we do) and bought this the other day. Can I learn it here?
Me: *thinking we havent sold one of his game in about a month* Where did you buy it?
SC: *Other Rival store* yesterday.
Me: If you want to play it, go to the store you bought it from
SC: *CBF* I cant go back there, I got banned.
Me: Sorry but we only teach people games that we ourselves sell to them.
SC: I'm never shopping here again. *Stomps out*.
Me:

Do people bring food that they got somewhere else into a restaurant and eat it there? (actually I am pretty sure they do) Do people bring alcohol into a bar from somewhere else? Why do they think that they can bring something that they purchased somewhere else and use our space and knowledge without paying? Makes me very annoyed.

[bainsidhe]

Not to mention, explaining how another business banned you doesn't exactly make one want to leap at the chance of donating time and effort to a non-customer.

[Mr Hero]

Similarly, a few years back, I had a guy want to check in to one of my rooms. While going through the process, he was telling me that he got banned from the cheap motel behind us. While I didn't refuse service, I was a lot less flexible about rates and cash deposits. That problem sorted itself out as he never got the room.

[Argabarga]

I think it was The Gord who pointed out that you can't exactly refuse to never shop in his store again when you've never shopped there to start with. Oh well.

[EricKei]

Door's to your left...

I can verify the "bringing outside food in to a restaurant" thing >_< They're basically mooching and taking up space that can be used for real customers at that point. Some place do encourage this, however. (*ahem* SunDollars). If yer gonna sit and read/internet for a few hours or bring yer own food, buy a coffee or something ^_^

Heck, my Dad and a friend of two of his would meet up at places like (overpriced, Texas-based, old-school French-style coffeehouse) and do just that -- They'd each get a coffee, and maybe an dessert if they were planning to stay and shoot the shit for more than an hour or so. If I was tagging along, I'd munch on the free crusty bread and get some baked potato soup to dip it in. I thought of it as paying rent for the table.

[wolfie]

Door's to your left...

Perhaps that's the true origin of "The customer is always right" - they're to the right of the exit.

As for outside food, when I go to some fast food places (pizza or teryaki, usually) that sell overpriced soda by the bottle, I frequently bring a cheaper soda (dollar store, home, or cooler from my truck if I'm on my way home), but I buy my food on-site.

[VincentStrife]

I'm guessing your mall shop is a lot different than most of the board/card/rpg shops I frequent. Most of them allow you to play any game you like, whether you got it there or not (or for example, I didn't buy all my magic cards at my local shop, but I still play FNM there, and we have Board Game Night, and only 5% of the games people play were puschased at the shop.)

Then again, having people at the type of shops I go to means money because they all have snacks amd gaming accessories so...

I still think the sc's behavior was out of line, but I can see where confusion might be so far as learning a game.

I have to say though, most game shops seem to be more open-minded about 'strange' people, so if he was booted from that other shop, he must've really been a jackass.

[Sandiercy]

For MTG, we couldn't care less. We run a board game store that sells board games cheaper than any other place in town (we have compared the prices). We do not sell drinks/snacks because we are next to a 24 hr mcdonalds, across the street from a 24 hr Tim Hortons, and around the corner from a 24 hr 7/11.

This guy wanted us to teach him a game that he bought somewhere else and does not spend any money in our store. Sorry but we are not in the business to give away our time.

[protege]

I have to say though, most game shops seem to be more open-minded about 'strange' people, so if he was booted from that other shop, he must've really been a jackass.

Same with hobby shops. They tend to tolerate 'strange' folks (and yes, I *resemble* that remark ), and only boot people if they start pissing off the customers. For years, the shop near me had several slot-cat tracks in their basement. As long as you paid your "lane fees" (the shop would charge a few dollars per lane per hour) you could hang out as long as you wanted. Nor did the shop care if you brought in cars that you didn't buy there...or ask the "pit crew" to help with repairs. They were happy to do it, as long as you didn't act like an ass.

In fact, I only recall hearing one person (outside of smelly John, the steam locomotive nut) being tossed. That guy, was drunk off his ass, and was being obnoxious.

[VincentStrife]

To be fair, at the other shops I have been too, we all spent money there in some fashion, so it's a dick move of the guy to spend no money but want focused attention. My guess is, you're better off without his business altogether if he's already kicked out of another shop. Sorry he seemed to think you worked free. What a jerk.

[mandersdawn]

Do people bring food that they got somewhere else into a restaurant and eat it there? (actually I am pretty sure they do)

Yep. I used to work at a Subway inside of a Wal-Mart and I can verify that they do. I only saw them actually eating it inside a few times, but I cleaned up a LOT of McDonald's/WM deli trash when I cleaned the dining room. I didn't mind the WalMart employees doing it so much (although they had a break room...) but it did always drive me crazy.

Do people bring alcohol into a bar from somewhere else?

Errrm.... My aunt and her friend used to always leave beer in the vehicle since most bars charge so much for their drinks (after a cover charge). If there was no cover she would usually buy a drink but they still usually went out for a beer or two when they wanted one. Does that count as being sucky?