Great for High School kids, not adults. - Store Manager GameStop Employee Review

2.0
Mar 8, 2009
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You are selling video games, enough said. The atmosphere in the store itself is very laid-back and you are not required to do much in the sense of dress code or appearance.

Cons

Staffing - You are not given enough hours to schedule part time employees, so you are left to perform all managerial duties (Marketing / Payroll / Interviewing / Inventory / Sotcking / Receiving Shipments / Ordering Products) while you are the only employee in the store. This can become very frustrating, especially in a high-traffic store because you never feel like you are able to catch up. On several nights a week, you will find yourself in the difficult position of running out of hours for staff, having to send them home, and then closing the store for the last couple of hours of the night by yourself. This will give you several 50-60 work weeks to ponder your career choice. Turnover- Turnover, at all levels, is beyond ridiculous. I had no less than five different District Managers during my three years as a Store Manager. Each one of these were, seemingly, more clueless than the next. I understand that you need to recognizeand reward seniority, but not if the most senior people are incompetent. Inventory - Quite simply, the most baffling procedure at any company that I have ever worked for. I am sure that things have changed since my time, but we had to manually enter in SKUs that were called out by other employees. This led to several inventory nightmares. Lack of flexibility. My store was shut down for remodeling and moved to another location in the mall. This, of course, was to be done in one night, after hours wihtout fail. Three days later, we were to perform a full inaventory. Awesome. Subs / Res - Corporate's goals for Reservations and Subscriptions is so unrealistic, it is almost funny. I was there at the begining of the Subscription craze. Seemingly, corporate would take the previous week's numbers, double them, and then expect you to hit them. Budgeting - The year after the PS2 release, I received our weekly budget and noticed that it was at least five times higher than it should be. They (Corporate) decided that they would take what we made the previous year during the week of the PS2 release, and raise it for the following year. FYI...The PS3 was not being released that week and I was grossly under budget.

Explore other reviews about GameStop

5.0
Feb 2, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Games are awsoem for real

Cons

Low pay but it’s okay

3.0
May 16, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You get real management experience fast. You can honestly say you handled: Inventory control Cash handling Customer conflict Sales goals Scheduling pressure Loss prevention Store operations Merchandising Trade-ins Tech/product support Opening and closing Problem-solving without backup That is valuable on a resume. You also learn independence. If you can run a store alone, you can handle pressure, prioritize, and make decisions without someone holding your hand. It can also be good if you like games, collectibles, tech, consoles, and talking to customers who care about that world. And if the store has decent traffic, you can build strong customer relationships. Regulars matter.

Cons

Being “store manager” but also being the only person there is often exploitation dressed up as responsibility. You may be expected to do the work of: Manager Sales associate Inventory clerk Security Customer service desk Tech advisor Cleaner Cashier Loss prevention Complaint handler All at once. The biggest cons: You are accountable for problems you may not have enough staff, payroll, or authority to fix. Upper management may push metrics, warranties, memberships, preorders, and sales goals without giving enough labor or support. You may get blamed for shrink, low numbers, customer complaints, late tasks, missed calls, or messy inventory even when the real issue is understaffing. Breaks can become fake breaks. If you are alone, you may not actually be able to step away. Safety can be an issue, especially with cash, consoles, theft, angry customers, or closing alone. The title can sound stronger than the pay. GameStop management responsibility has historically outweighed compensation in many stores. Burnout risk is high. You are constantly “on,” and there may be no one to absorb pressure with you.

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