Great Employees, Not so Great Company - Assistant Store Manager GameStop Employee Review

3.0
Nov 21, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Flexible schedule, can schedule for time off anytime as long as there is someone to cover your shift, great teammates which can feel like family, employees can check out games to try for reviewing (even new ones), and GameStop has a program that assists with college as long as the student fits within the criteria for it. They also extended benefits to part-time employees right before I ended up leaving. Because of the nature and culture of the job (provided by the cons of the job), there is a high turnover rate. Stick around long enough to survive the battle of attrition, and it's a quick shot up from GA to ASM and even SM.

Cons

Corporate feels cold from territory managers to regional managers, store hours allocated to each store depends on how popular the store is and how much of their sales goals they have met compared to others in their territory. This can leave some of the stores undermanned and overwhelmed. One store in our town only had one person on shift at a time usually which meant they were unable to take their lunch break (I worked there a few times to pick up the extra hours). I know that they have since done away with the whole sales goals thing since I left, but that was definitely a major con when I worked there. Our location was in a tiny college town that has two other GameStop locations. We saturated the area and frankly, that meant we could not consistently hit sales goals. Pay is pretty bad, too. I'm not just talking about the GA's or SGA's either. I know it's retail, and most employees are just there to earn extra cash, but the ASM's and SM's for the most part are working for a living. My old manager (salaried) once said he hates thinking about how much he truly makes because when we breaks down the hours he works to how much he is salaried for, he makes less than minimum wage. While store hours are allocated between the GA's, SGA's, and ASM's, the SM's are on basically unlimited hours due to being salaried. My old SM was expected to be on conference calls even while on vacation, to set up midnight release parties, and to be there when the store could no longer allocate enough hours to cover extra duties and shifts. He was always on call and expected to come in, which he did, when it became overwhelming at the store or if someone unexpectedly could not show up. The tech in the store is old from the printers to the computers to even the vacuums. GameStop loves to use refurbished printers and computers that have been passed from store to store. This can leave employees frustrated with constantly breaking down equipment. This can bleed into customer service quality. If only one person is on shift and having to be on the phone with tech support, dealing with troubleshooting, and downed equipment that takes the employee away from providing adequate quality service.

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Pros

flexible hours and student friendly job

Cons

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3.0
May 16, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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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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