On Wed, 21 Feb 2001 16:19:35 -0500 [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> Holy sweet high Hannah on a pogo stick. This has to be, hands down,
> one of
> the oddest, most bizarre comparisons that I have ever heard in my
> life. You
> want game stores to look and feel like *the DISNEY store*?!
Don't twist my words. I was using the Disney store of an example of a
customer-oriented environment.
> As one
> who, in
> a moment of sheer fiscal panic, once tried to get a job at the
> Disney store,
> lemme tell you something: behind that sweet demeanor is an iron
> gauntlet
> filled with buckshot. They tell you what to where, when to wear it
> and how
> big to frickin' smile when they're beating you with it. Disney is
> about
> IMAGE, IMAGE, IMAGE.
BINGO. Why do you think one of the most successful corporate entities is
so adamant about attitude and IMAGE? Because if you want to keep your
customers you have to put them first and exceed your competition in each
and every way you can.
The Disney machine stays up late at night
> thinking of
> new and Machiavellian ways to improve it's IMAGE.
Yes. They spend a lot of money trying to learn how to attract as many
people as possible. The fact that their stores are so different from
comic stores may be a good thing in your eyes, but to me it indicates
customer service attitudes that the gaming industry might want to look
into if they want a broader customer base.
[wow - this is a
> rant] If
> I have ever met a class of people who really don't give a crap what
> their
> image is, it's fanboys (and grrlz). You know what? I LIKE that
> about them.
I understand that. I do, too. But when you are a young person brought
up to avoid people who look "rough" you will see their sloppy dress as
indicative of a lack of self-respect or as a sign that they do not care
about the norms of society. If you identify yourself as "normal" as in
"channel 8 news normal" then you (likely) will not like the gamer image
and you will have to go through some major spiritual growth to see
through your past perceptions and learn that there is more to a person
than how they dress.
I am glad that you are enlightened, but I am referring to those potential
customers who are not.
> The day we take gaming store to the level of the Harley Davidson
> Cafe and
> sell our souls for the almighty Sorority Sister dollar,
Why? I thought looks weren't important. Does this philosophy not work
both ways?
we may as
> well just
> all chuck our severed heads into the belly of the corporate beast,
> because
> one of the last vestiges of tried-and-true individualism in this
> country
> will be deceased.
Again you are clinging to a stereotype about corporations. I stereotyped
a great deal in my past, but I grew up and learned to look deeper into
people and places and entities.
>
> Granted, I'm not saying that there isn't room for improvement, but
> you're
> making it sound like game stores are biker bars.
I was sharing the perspective of a frightened young female. To me (in my
past), anyone who looked unkempt or worse might as well have been Satan.
Now you can judge me for being stupid and horrible or you can learn from
my willingness to share my (past) thoughts with you. But I assure you.
I assure you, that many people think like I did. It is a shame, but it
is true. _If_ you want to sell to them then you had better pay
attention. Otherwise, just ignore this thread and let it drop.
Having worked for
> a small
> and battered comic book store (now deceased, even though it *was*
> brightly
> lit), one of the main impediments to that luscious decor that you're
> looking
> for is CASH.
How do you expect to attract the kind of people who make the kind of cash
that keeps places like Barnes and Noble and Disney World open if you
don't alter your marketing tactics? I understand that you enjoy the safe
haven of individuality that you think gaming stores give you. I also
understand that you _like_ the demeanor of most gaming stores, but a lot
of people don't. I feel comfortable in speaking for the people who don't
because I _used_ to be one of them. That is _all_ I'm trying to
communicate here.
> Am I noticing a trend here? "Why can't this small, independently
> owned and
> operated small businessman give me the same shopping experience as
> Barnes &
> Noble, one of the largest book retailers on the planet?" What?
> What?
> Hello?
Not at all. I'm saying "This is where I like to shop and other people
like to shop at these places too. Maybe if gaming stores looked more like
these places they would have a broader customer base." I didn't say it
was an easy goal to accomplish, nor did I say that it was a desirable
goal if one wants to _maintain_ the current customer base. I'm simply
suggesting that looks matter to some people.
> Right doesn't even figure into it. These are your well-cherished
> beliefs,
> and I'd be hard pressed to find a shopping experience that would
> accomodate
> them without a wrinkle here and there.
I want to go places that make me comfortable. I want to plan to spend
my money in places that I know won't disappoint me. They are out there.
I am not hard to please. I have never returned food at a restaurant or
complained to a store manager because something wasn't perfect. I see
where you are going with this. I never asked for perfection, I simply
suggested that the image of most comic stores and gamers might be a
deterrent to most non-gamers.
> The web, in all it's glory, is your salvation.
www.whitehouse.com
>
> Of course, you'll miss out on all of the little quirks of game life,
> like...
I applaud your dedication to gamers, but you are preaching to the choir.
Gamers _are_ my salvation. I just signed on to thousands of dollars in
legal fees so I could dedicate my life to bringing roleplaying to a wider
audience. You have misunderstood me. I understand that my words are
hurtful, but they are _my_ truth. This _could_ be the bridge that
expands the gaming industry. If we could truly understand how to market
to a larger portion of the population I think d20 will be just as big as
Disney. Not the same, but just as big. As a fan of roleplaying, that
would be a great and wonderful thing in my mind.
Maggie
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