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monster on a stick posted:Pizza Hut used to do a lunch buffet. There are still a few around, mostly Red Roofs (not the giant Wingstreet-branded boxes, those almost never have buffet). Back in the day when I did that poo poo, we had to have the dining room packed solid for at least an hour and a half just to break even on buffet. You can still make money on dine-in, but Pizza Hut realized a long time ago that the real money was in delivery and carryout and has slowly been putting the axe to dine in staples like the buffet and salad bar. Hell, the last time I stopped in one I discovered that the specials were now delco-only and we were expected to pay full menu price for dine-in.
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Aug 2, 2017 20:39
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FilthyImp posted:crap like Taco Pizza I will loving fight you. I'm pretty much done with pizza these days, but I still dig on Taco Pizza. But I would never have put that out on the buffet. Two minutes and it would all be wilted and crappy. e. Growing up, that was our payday treat, a couple thin crust Taco pizzas and a Bigfoot pepperoni and ham. Compared to the casserole hell that our regular dinner was, those nights were magical. rndmnmbr has a new favorite as of 23:26 on Aug 2, 2017 |
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Aug 2, 2017 23:23
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I wish I could buy a decent washer. Not high-efficiency, not ecologically minded, no little jingles letting me know it's done. Built like a loving tank with parts cheap, readily available and easy to replace. gently caress the environment, gently caress my water bill, and gently caress everything. Throw all my goddamned clothes in with all the washing horrors I can muster ground in, and an hour later it goes *BZZZZT* and my clothes are washed to hell and apologizing to me for having the temerity to get dirty.
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Oct 25, 2017 22:55
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A Pinball Wizard posted:I've never wanted to punch someone so hard over something so trivial You should learn the meaning of the word "hyperbole". That being said, no, I don't want to destroy the earth to have clean clothes. What I really want - and which a lot of people have suggested, thanks guys! - is industrial appliances. It seems to me to be the only category left where disposable consumerism hasn't eaten away at quality. I'm sure I could buy a very nice washer at Best Buy or Home Depot, and it would last me a decade, maybe two if I'm lucky, but I want a washer I can leave to my grandchildren in my will. And with a good maintenance manual and enough spare parts, it might actually be reasonable with an industrial model. Plus, considering that I have about a load and a half every weekend, a large capacity would turn that into one load and that seems like a really nice option.
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Oct 26, 2017 07:48
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I worked night shift for a decade. Getting out of work, my choices for eating out were A) breakfast, B) breakfast, or C) more loving breakfast. So gently caress your all-day breakfast, if you can get breakfast at 5 pm then I should be able to get pizza or chinese takeout or tacos at 7 am. e. I did get pretty good at making my own pizza, tacos, and chinese takeout though, so there is that. rndmnmbr has a new favorite as of 23:43 on Nov 29, 2017 |
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Nov 29, 2017 23:32
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Actually, you can kinda put together what's going on at Cracked. A little over a year and a half ago, the old owners of the site sold it out of the blue to E.W. Scripps Co (like maybe it wasn't making any money). A little over a year after that, the site founder, Jack O'Brien quits to go make comedy for HowStuffWorks (almost like a year after buying the site, the new owner says "You're not making enough money to be worth the $40 millon we paid for you" and after chewing on it for two more months no one can figure out how to turn a massive profit on the site and O'Brien pulled an escape cord before the axe fell). Then six months of blatant advertising as the new chief editor David Wong runs the site (mad scrambling to make some money so they don't all get the axe). Then, six months to the dot later, half the staff gets fired. And I'm sure it was the expensive half. (The axe falls.) So yeah, it looks a lot like a company was sold what they thought was a cash cow, except it turned out to be a money sink instead and now they're threatening to turn that cash cow into steaks if it doesn't make itself worth the buying price in a hurry.
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Dec 6, 2017 08:38
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Neon Noodle posted:Actual dire straits, their CEO is a lowpoly furniture delivery guy Look at this yo-yo, that's the way you do it.
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Feb 16, 2018 23:40
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The bigger reason Gibson is close to bankruptcy is because they bought the consumer electronic division of Phillips, intending to become a "music lifestyle" company, and whoops, Phillips was getting rid of that division because it was losing money hand over fist because no one wanted those defunct brands. Now the debt is coming due and the Phillips acquisition never made a cent and the core business never made enough to cover that debt. Moody's taking a look at that debt, realizing that Gibson never could pay it off, and demoting their credit to junk is just icing on the cake. http://cdm.link/2018/02/gibson-troubles-suggest-time-new-management/ rndmnmbr has a new favorite as of 19:57 on Feb 28, 2018 |
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Feb 28, 2018 19:53
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Inescapable Duck posted:If you want to spend a ton of money on a super heavy duty vacuum you might as well just hire a cleaning service. It sounds like they missed their true calling: sell to the cleaning service. It worked for Oreck, Dyson, Shark, etc. - consumer models came long after professional models dominated the commercial landscape.
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Mar 12, 2018 05:29
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I think there's still room for brick-and-mortar toys. Give it a strong online presence, fewer but larger storefronts serving as showcases, and reduce prices to try and compete with Walmart. That was the biggest thing I heard from my social circle, their parents never took them to TRU and/or they never took their kids because it couldn't compete on price with any other retailer, including the little family-owned stores that couldn't take advantage of economies of scale. (That, and taking kids to TRU was always a pain in the rear end, you could never get the kids out of the store without whining fits or buying way more than you intended. You could never just get in and get back out, there was too much to capture the kids attentions and make them want the whole store.) e. I don't know if any online retailers do this, but a huge advantage would be, around Christmas, deliver toys pre-wrapped with guaranteed delivery times during school hours. Most mothers in my social circle also state that the biggest pain in the rear end about Christmas, other than being able to afford it, is keeping the presents a secret when you had to have the kids with you when shopping and when you had them at home while wrapping. rndmnmbr has a new favorite as of 09:17 on Mar 22, 2018 |
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Mar 22, 2018 09:11
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Sir Lemming posted:stuff that working adults mostly don't enjoy buying. I think this right here may encapsulate the whole problem with TRU. Toys are expensive, and faddish, and break easily, and your kids will only play with them for a while before they get bored. When you had money, okay, sure, but no one has any money anymore because the middle-class is dying. Here's mommy's cellphone and a $2 app, we have to pay for food, clothing, and shelter first and there's not much left for toys.
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Mar 23, 2018 00:12
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skull mask mcgee posted:My favorite craigslist message I’ve received is still “what’s the lowest you’ll go?” So beautifully stupid. My response would be to immediately double the price. Double it again every time they tried to haggle you.
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Apr 4, 2018 09:18
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Pick posted:That entire cadre of store-- Burlington Coat Factory, HomeGoods, TJ Maxx, Marshall's, Gordman's, Hoopastank Potato Farm, and whatever, is sort of mysterious to me. Like I'd actually really like to know the business model. Is it ever cast-offs from more respectable stores or is it really just their crap straight to them? Do they have legitimately good prices on anything and make it up with "marked down" badly perfumed soap and, baskets? They always have an isle of baskets. who is buying all these baskets, cats?? Most of them seem to survive on cheap plus-sized clothes, plus cheap designer knockoff crap and cheap gift crap at Christmastime. Basically for broke fatties and lazy present buyers.
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Jun 14, 2018 05:17
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oh dope posted:There's actually a NEW Burlington Coat Factory in my neighborhood (occupying the part of the strip mall that was once a Sports Authority, rip) but i haven't visited it yet, so I can't comment on how it's doing. It looks like a tornado ripped through it last night. Not that I've been at that store, or even know where it or you either live, but it seems to be the default state of a Burlington Coat Factory. e. god, why can I picture this so perfectly: Upper management walks in, says "This store looks like poo poo, clean it up and organize this store NOW", then three days later an email comes in, "Who authorized you to exceed your 10% labor budget, cut labor hours NOW" and so on and so forth. Because I know that not staffing enough for the work expected is bread and butter for every cheap place. rndmnmbr has a new favorite as of 09:52 on Jun 15, 2018 |
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Jun 15, 2018 09:41
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Elon Musk was somewhat compared to a real-life Tony Stark, and he played that up because he likes the idea of being a superhero. But in reality he's just another dudebro technocratic oligarch like so many others we're about ready to gather up and collectively burn at the stake. I am 100% convinced that Elon Musk's dream and goal of colonizing Mars is so that he and his buddies can finally do as they please beyond the reach of international law, while Earth and all it's filthy unwashed masses can burn behind them.
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Aug 22, 2018 22:52
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Nissin Cup Nudist posted:Is ACE Hardware still around? You never see an Ace Hardware big-box store because Ace is a retailer cooperative. All Ace stores are independents or small chains under their own branding. That's why they're so awesome, they're legit local businesses and still have on staff the old guys who know just about everything and like answering questions.
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Aug 23, 2018 10:28
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FilthyImp posted:That might be one of those "Parents said it's ok, so liquor 'em up" things. In Texas, TABC loves to interpret this law as mean as they can, mostly so they can levy a massive fine to the establishment serving the drinks. Did you bring a birth certificate to prove it's your child? No? Minor in consumption. Are they in arms reach at all times they're intoxicated, including when they had to use the restroom? No? Minor in consumption. TABC is a collection of dickheads, but what else do you get when it's funded entirely out of fines?
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Aug 24, 2018 00:40
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Clitch posted:There's a seller/server certification that basically anyone selling booze in Texas has to take because it insulates the establishment from those fines. If a waitress/bartender/cashier at the gas station serves someone underage, they're the one losing their job and paying a fine. The TABC makes a lot more money shaking down retailers and distributors for minor infractions of laws that haven't been reformed since the 30s. Got a seller/server cert of my own. Also have first-hand knowledge that no, the cert will not stop TABC from yanking a store's license until the owner pays a completely arbitrary fine - this is the "shaking down retailers and distributors for minor infractions of laws" in question. The seller/server cert just ensures TABC gets to shake down the seller/server too. TABC is a corrupt institution ran by corrupt thugs with badges hiding blatant bribe-taking behind the thinnest veneer of "fines" they can get away with. Maybe the store loses it's license, or maybe it pays a "fine" in cash right now. Maybe the server gets hit with felony charges and jail time, or maybe they pay a "fine" in cash right now. Maybe it's just been the TABC agents I've dealt with, but it's only taken three or four of them to spoil the whole bunch. gently caress TABC.
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Aug 24, 2018 12:25
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JacquelineDempsey posted:Not a slip but a quip, my friend. Yeah, I can't be the only one with a nickname, usually vulgar, for almost every chain I know. Home Despot, Burger Queef, Taco Hell, Pizza Slut, Ball-mart, the list goes on. My personal best was turning KFC into Kan't loving Cook.
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Nov 6, 2018 00:55
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KFC got that name because the one nearest me at the time liked to sell theirs still pink in the middle. I mean, I'd give chicken sashimi a chance, but there's a difference between sashimi from one restaurant in Japan with rigorous quality control, and whatever the hell a bunch of high-schoolers in a fast food restaurant felt like doing that day.
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Nov 6, 2018 01:09
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JacquelineDempsey posted:I dated a guy in college who... I'll be charitable and just say wasn't the brightest or reliable bulb in the box. He worked at a mom'n'pop video store (back when those existed), and had this elaborate embezzlement system he called "time traveling". I feel you and I could share many stories of small-company employee shenanigans. Like the guy I knew who kept a bar code of something cheap taped to his wrist, and would scan that instead of the can/bottle when his alcoholic regulars got their next single, and pocket the difference.
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Nov 19, 2018 08:07
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Yawgmoth posted:My roommate used to work for Goodwill and this is not a "supposedly", it's a fact. Goodwill is a trash company run entirely by terrible people. If there's a corner they can cut, they will cut it hard. I'm actually a little amazed they don't just run completely out of dumpsters to cut down on things like heating and lighting costs. I had a friend get on a "be the difference you want to see" kick, and volunteered at a Goodwill. That lasted about thirty minutes before he was asked to leave and not come back, because according to the manager the volunteer stuff was strictly for people on probation doing mandatory community service.
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Nov 27, 2018 20:32
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ToxicSlurpee posted:Unfortunately all that matters is this quarter's profits. In the short term dicking over your employees as hard as you can makes sense but it's a real problem in the long term. You know, when the MBA that said "find an excuse to fire everybody, replace them all with minimum wage part timers" has long since collected his bonus and left. This is the final extractive phase of late-stage capitalism. It's no longer about long-term sustainability, it's about upper management and shareholders extracting maximum money out of businesses they intend to discard. The long-term goal is to be the guys on top living in fortified palaces when the financial system fails alongside the wrecked environment.
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Nov 27, 2018 21:05
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Everyone is wondering where Tumblr users will migrate to en masse and re-establish their community and I'm sitting here going "lol, that's not how this poo poo works, people." I've lived through it time and again, watching a website and it's community die. When communities like this die, they're gone. A few will wash up on the shores of other sites, a handful will stay in contact with each other, but Tumblr was a time as well as a place, and that time is over, it's zeitgeist now dissipating. In time someone will found another site that becomes a thriving community, and a lot (but not all) Tumblr users will reappear there, and the cycle will continue. But it's over, best just to remember what it was and dream of better days. e. This will happen to these dead gay forums too, eventually. rndmnmbr has a new favorite as of 22:40 on Dec 5, 2018 |
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Dec 5, 2018 22:37
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umalt posted:That guy who sued Pepsi wasn't expecting to get a Fighter Jet; he noticed that the cost of the Pepsi that was required to get the code was much lower than the actual cost of the fighter jet. And also noticed that there wasn't any kind of fine print saying that the jet wasn't an actual prize. IIRC the US government had a plan in case he won - he'd get a Harrier, all right, but they would gut it first. No engines, avionics, weapons, etc. Just basically a Harrier-shaped shell, additional purchases necessary, some assembly required.
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Dec 13, 2018 10:13
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Queen Combat posted:Diet Dr. Pepper is better than regular Dr. Pepper. Lies. Atrocious, horrible lies.
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Dec 14, 2018 10:33
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There are 7-11s in Lubbock, but that's an hour and a half drive for the most boring convenience stores ever. But everything in the Texas panhandle is local chains, pretty much nothing national. Allsup's, Stripes, Toot 'n Totum, Pak-a-Sak, Chisum, etc. Occasionally a Cefco. (Toot 'n Totum is the dumbest loving name for a convenience store.)
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Jan 13, 2019 21:45
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Atticus_1354 posted:Do Buccees reach that far up the state? They are the superior gas station chain. They do not, and that is a sad state of affairs. The whole concept of supermassive convenience stores is limited to truck stops, and even those seem small and anemic out here. Grand Prize Winner posted:Speaking of denim, where can you get good denim these days? Carhartt and Duluth Trading Co. are the go-to jeans source for the blue-collar laborers I know. Pricey, but worth it. The cheap guys just buy a bunch of $10 jeans from Walmart, and if you gently caress them up, who cares, they're $10. rndmnmbr has a new favorite as of 03:11 on Jan 14, 2019 |
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Jan 14, 2019 03:07
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Krispy Wafer posted:Black & Decker bought the brand. I dunno, I'd buy Black & Decker Stanley Group hand tools before bottom-dollar Harbor Freight tools. But then there's very little in the middle ground between Horror Fright chinesium and $$$ professional tools these days. B&DSG bought everything in that market, so if you're looking for decent tools that don't break the bank there's not much else to choose from.
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Jan 17, 2019 17:42
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To be fair, the problem with Amazon delivery is 100% caused by shipping companies. UPS and FedEx were designed around the concept of inter-business shipping, with business-to-home being something of an afterthought - deliveries to homes need to happen 5pm - 10pm, when people are there, not 9am - 5pm like happens now. And Amazon has caused a huge spike in the number of deliveries, but both companies are still intent on running with '90s levels of staffing, leading to burnout and lovely service. Really, you should deliver by USPS as much as possible. They'll hold packages for you, will only deliver to mailboxes, and it's a federal crime to gently caress with those. Although if the post office gets overwhelmed and needs more staffing, it literally does take an act of Congress to make that happen.
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Jan 20, 2019 10:18
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Shrapnig posted:Good news, Amazon does the majority of their shipping through USPS, an entity whose infrastructure is infinitely shittier than that of FedEx and UPS. UPS and FedEx will also hold packages for you, this isn’t some new frontier in the shipping industry. Ok, so you hate the post office, we get it. But they've been doing this kind of shipping for 200 years, there are post offices everywhere not just where UPS/FedEx thinks is profitable, and they're a valuable public institution deserving of your support.
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Jan 22, 2019 10:42
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Gynocentric Regime posted:Ok so this is crazy but check it, what if we bundle all the channels, then the popular ones can subsidize the niche ones and it’ll be overall cheaper than buying a la carte. Trust the networks to implement the details while missing the point. The point being, we wanted a la carte so we could stop paying for garbage we didn't want and save money on TV. So of course what people do want gets balkanized to gently caress and you wind up paying more.
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Jan 23, 2019 03:37
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I'm being sold 3 mbps DSL. I'm getting 1.5, 1.8 if I'm lucky. When questioned about this, Windstream just tells me I live too far from the DSLAM. There are no competitors. e. Correction: there is one competitor. It's 2x the price, 768k/128k fixed base wireless. But that's for people who really live in the boonies, not just a mile outside of town. Or I could tether my phone, and get decent speed, until I slam hard into into the 10gb cap of my "unlimited" plan and get to enjoy 2g speeds for the rest of the month. rndmnmbr has a new favorite as of 20:53 on Jan 30, 2019 |
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Jan 30, 2019 20:47
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I'll just avoid the pretense of drinking unsweetened soda because it's healthy or something.
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Mar 11, 2019 23:53
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Groda posted:
I can only just remember when every soda came in 16oz. bottles with polystyrene wrappers. Also when 2 liters came with a black plastic base glued to the bottom. Maybe 1988 or so.
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Apr 1, 2019 00:42
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Ghost Leviathan posted:Baseball sounds like it has many of the same problems as cricket minus millions of fanatical followers in Asia and the Caribbean. At least baseball ends in one day, mostly.
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May 31, 2019 08:05
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXEfgFCkv4k
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Jun 6, 2019 05:47
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Yeah, the only way for a niche retailer of any kind to survive is to offer something online sales can't, and about the only thing is customer experience. If you walked into any given Gamestop and would get a salesperson with an encyclopedic knowledge of gaming who made good suggestions, you might slow the bleeding. But the ultimate killer is price. The final out-the-door dollar amount is 99% of determining where people spend their money. Gamestop has too many fixed costs their merchandise has to pay for to ever be competitive on price with digital sales.
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Jun 9, 2019 06:45
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Sexual Aluminum posted:I’d be interested in learning more about why GW was in a tailspin, what the whole corporate cult thing is and how it was fixed. The basics of it were GW had a policy of ignoring their customers, raising prices at a whim, and releasing crap games in favor of spending their effort on models. Then the old CEO was ousted and a new one took the helm, and suddenly they had a twitter and a facebook page, actively sought out feedback, found ways to lower prices for new players, released actually playtested games, and other such measures to bring in new players instead of catering exclusively to the worst neckbeards in their fanbase.
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Jun 15, 2019 06:15
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ryonguy posted:It was in a spiral, I think we talked about it in this thread a few years back. All of a sudden they're functional and running smoothly again somehow. They got a new CEO who wasn't looking to pad his golden parachute. Also fixed their inventory system so people could actually tell what was in stock, and started price-matching Amazon for showrooming customers to capture the sale.
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Aug 7, 2019 18:14
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