Game Cape Gate, an exercise in masochism

We visited the Cape Gate branch on 24 and 29 June 2018 and were twice confronted with the general sense of ennui that permeates the very air surrounding the dead-eyed souls who mill around the shelves, muttering unhelpful answers, shrugging off queries and being the epitome of a retail employee.

It is beyond me how there cannot be a single trolley in shop at approximately 4:30pm on a Friday afternoon (29 June). Not one. Not a single trolley. On a pay day weekend, mind you. The million-dollar response from the staff? They’re all in use in the store. By the roughly 50 shoppers. Someone skipped maths 101. Was there an offer to find a trolley? No. Because that would require initiative.

Thus, we tracked through this Gehenna; carrying appliances while we were passed over by the glazed gazes wearing company branded shirts.

The preceding Sunday (24 June) we popped in to buy a bike for our daughter and had to return as we hit a snag with the self-assembly. We were advised by the customer service (and I use that phrase flippantly) person that they could not help as it was store policy to not assist with assembly; this after we saw a bicycle being assembled about half an hour earlier. Being the gluttons for punishment that we so clearly are, hope remained and we looked for someone who wasn’t just sitting around to collect their wages. On the positive side, enter Mason Cordon who was the only person willing to help, advise and do a fantastic job of it. Mason made an enormous difference to a very frustrating situation. He was so eager to help and very friendly which is a rarity in the level of hell which is reserved for experiences at your Cape Gate store. He assisted with a smile, wit and a level of expertise clearly displaying a wonderful product knowledge. He advised where we had gone wrong, showed us how we could adjust the bicycle when the time came and went out of his way to make our awful experience a positive one. Mason made our six-year-old daughter’s day by assembling a bicycle she’d been saving up for. He did it, even though his fellow employees bemoaned his helping us and stood around, loudly complaining that they were not to assemble bicycles. Perhaps Game’s managers should spend more time encouraging this kind of initiative and enthusiasm in their employees or take a few lessons from Mason who is a credit to your brand.