EB Games and Gamestop. We have them spread around Ottawa, Canada and there's some I don't mind going to and some that I prefer to avoid. The ones I do tend to still have the EB Games sign outside.

My favourite is EB Games Trainyards. They don't have the best selection but they seem to have the nicest, most up-beat staff among the stores. But recently I experienced some great customer service at the one on Innes Road in Orleans. Here's what happened:

I went there a couple weeks ago and picked up the new Wolfenstein game: the New Order. Brought it home and didn't get around to start playing it until just this week. I popped it in ready for an exciting time as I heard great things about it. It wasn't long (less than an hour) before I was thinking "THIS is the game people are saying is so great? It's not bad but so many been-there-done-that moments so early on." It didn't take me too much longer to realize that they didn't put the Wolfenstein: the New Order disc in the case, but the Wolfenstein game from 2009 that met much more mediocre reviews.

Well crap. Although I did find my receipt eventually, I called the store before I found it and explained the situation. I told them, if you have a New Order disc in your store with no case and a case for the 2009 game with no disc, that should confirm what I'm telling you. They quickly checked, and agreed that's what happened. They told me to come in and they'd switch the disc for me. I went in today and did the switch quickly. No need to complain, no need to ask for a manager, no paperwork to fill out, no need to tell 3 people my story to get what I felt was fair, and no hassle whatsoever.

Now that is exactly is what is supposed to happen. So why make mention of it? Because it's amazing when compared to other places that will make you jump through hoops because staff are afraid to take responsibility or because the company has ridiculous policies and protocols in place. EB Games / Gamestop doesn't always have the friendliest business model in practice, but this is an example of how the staff at a store can make the difference to the customer. In the end I didn't even care that the mistake was made in the first place, because it was handled so smoothly. This is an example of things done right.