Small Tesco PS3 game vent and question

Honeydog

Today's email

Dear Honeydog

Thank you for your response and I apologise for the delay in my reply.

I’m very sorry to hear that the Resident Evil 6 PS3 game that you purchased recently was already de-wrapped from our Alferton store. I understand how disappointing this must’ve been for you.

Therefore, I’ve discussed this with a member of my Business Support Team who has confirmed that this practise is not correct and the games should be left shrink-wrapped if delivered to the store that way.

With that said, I’d like to assure you that your complaint is being investigated as an urgent matter with Paul, our Store Manager. I’m confident that our internal investigation will prevent this matter from happening again.

For that reason, I’d suggest that you order the Hitman game from our Entertainment website for free home delivered on the release day. This will ensure that the game arrives in the original shrink-wrap. The link for the PS3 Hitman games is:

http://www.tesco.com/direct/search-results/results.page?catId=4294967294+4294874467&searchquery=hitman&SrchId=4294967294&_requestid=2234841

Finally, I’m really sorry that this has happened but thank you for bringing this matter to my attention and if you have any further queries, please don’t hesitate to email me back.

Kind regards

K McG
Tesco Customer Service

Now I'm even more confused. I write asking how I can buy a shrink wrapped copy in store on launch day and she's telling me to buy online! Even though they shouldn't have unwrapped the game in the first place!

I've emailed back. I'll post the reply when/if I get it.

pulliptears

Isn't it a lot of effort for a game you are going to open anyway? All those emails etc. Is it worth it?

DCFC79

Nice to see you got a reply OP.

Honeydog

Is it worth it? - Yes. Will I buy from Tesco if they can't offer me a sealed copy? No.

The reply isn't very good though DC. The 4th paragraph doesn't follow on from the 3rd. We will investigate it and it won't happen again...... for this reason order online!! Eh? If it won't happen again I won't need to order online.

I think she was copying and pasting and got a bit muddled.

Honeydog

You could also think about it this way. You buy a game for your young relative. It is sealed. By accident two people buy the child the same game. If it is sealed you can return it because it is obvious that the game hasn't been played.

If the game is not sealed - can you still get a refund on a duplicated purchase? If the answer is yes what is to stop people getting a game playing it for a weekend and returning it on the Monday? Or after Christmas? Great for Tesco as their next customer pays full price for what is essentially a second hand game.

Anyway at the moment it is looking like Tesco will not be the place I purchase Hitman Absolution.

Honeydog

Another reply today:

Dear Honeydog

Thank you for your response and I apologise for the delay in my reply.

I’m very sorry that my previous response didn’t make much sense and I trust that you will accept my apologies for this happening.

I would like to assure you that my suggestion for you ordering the game online was just meant as an alternative. This is because, although we’re investigating this with the Store Manager, I can’t and don’t want to guarantee that you wouldn’t have any problems on the Hitman release day.

Once again, I’m really sorry that we’ve let you down but thank you for bringing this matter to my attention and if you have any further queries, please don’t hesitate to email me back.

Kind regards

K McG
Tesco Customer Service

So she replies the next day and apologises for the delay... what delay?

The Hitman release day is 3 weeks away! Why is it going to take so long? She's admitted it isn't company policy to sell games which have been opened.

Not impressed. Loads of waffly flannely apologies and no action!

StrongWork

Honeydog wrote: »

So she replies the next day and apologises for the delay... what delay?

The Hitman release day is 3 weeks away! Why is it going to take so long? She's admitted it isn't company policy to sell games which have been opened.

Not impressed. Loads of waffly flannely apologies and no action!

Probably as she's read the initial complaint about games not being sealed and thought !!!!!! and is trying to think of ways to palm you off.

Honeydog

Yes maybe but my email wasn't a complaint. It is becoming one because I'm being fobbed off by the customer service agent. I just wanted to know if I could buy a wrapped copy. But Tesco don't seem to know. Bunch of muppets. I asked her if any other Tesco stores sold shrinkwrapped games but she's disregarded that question. I've asked her if I'm likely to be informed of the manager's investigation results. Although he's a pretty poor manager if he hasn't noticed that the games are being sold loose - surely a decision like that was probably taken by him in the first place.

will.i.amnt

Honeydog,ignore all these loonies taking the mick.

I know exactly what you mean. If I buy a game new,it needs to be NEW. The minute that shrinkwrap is breached, it becomes second hand.

The process actually has a term - "masterbagging" (oo-er)! Indeed, Tesco aren't the only ones to do it. GAME, gamestation, HMV are all guilty of the same. Indeed, when I were a young un, Dixons lost my custom for the very same.

There's plenty of similar tales on the net (mostly game/hmv sending out this stuff from online orders). In fact, I've known a few GAME employees to openly admit taking games home overnight and bringing them back in the next day. And worse - because you can't distinguish new from used, they actually sell 2nd hand as new if the dlc hasn't been activated and the disc/manual are pristine.

bluenoseam

will.i.amnt wrote: »

Honeydog,ignore all these loonies taking the mick.

I know exactly what you mean. If I buy a game new,it needs to be NEW. The minute that shrinkwrap is breached, it becomes second hand.

The process actually has a term - "masterbagging" (oo-er)! Indeed, Tesco aren't the only ones to do it. GAME, gamestation, HMV are all guilty of the same. Indeed, when I were a young un, Dixons lost my custom for the very same.

There's plenty of similar tales on the net (mostly game/hmv sending out this stuff from online orders). In fact, I've known a few GAME employees to openly admit taking games home overnight and bringing them back in the next day. And worse - because you can't distinguish new from used, they actually sell 2nd hand as new if the dlc hasn't been activated and the disc/manual are pristine.

Most of that last paragraph is actually gross misconduct in Game (as it was in Gamestation & HMV) - Gamestation used to have a staff perk where you could take pre-owned goods home, but not brand new. Also selling second hand goods as new would be fraudulent, thus also gross misconduct, not to say it never happens, but the majority of time the process is structured so accidents rarely happen.

"masterbagging" would not be needed were it not, as I have pointed out, for thieving scumbags, it's a necessary evil - I know when I worked for all three afforementioned companies when pre-orders were taken they'd be sealed, but that's just how our shops sailed. (I know my local indie follows the same procedure) But you cannot control if you happen to get a staff member who doesn't know this is the case & masterbags pre-orders too - happens every year around this time, wonderful things christmas temps!

It's not that we're "naysaying" but I do think it's going a bit OTT to complain so much about something that really, doesn't mean anything. I'm as big a gamer as they get, but honestly I couldn't care less so long as the game is brand new & in full working order if it was shrink wrapped - in the course of many years in games retail I've taken enough of that off the cases for it to have lost it's appeal some time ago!