So, a phrase that has been floating around the store for a while is "store loyalty", and oddly enough, it is a real concept. While it is possible to get some things on the inter-webs for cheaper, or you can play at other stores because so and so is there, I am going to explain to you (hopefully) why loyalty to a local game store is essential in all of our hobbies.
So in no specific order, here is a list of why you should have loyalty to a store (not specifically our store, but let me catch you elsewhere and see what happens...just kidding. But seriously, see what happens):
1) Atmosphere. Local game store sell a product to a very specific community. This means that not everybody is going to come into our store, so we want the few gamers that we cater to present so that the few stragglers who have yet to grace our presence come in and say, "Wow, this is a great hang out for people like me!" This atmosphere is the only thing that separates us from MMO players, so we need to have this to keep people coming. There are some of you out there who think, "Well, hardly anybody that plays my games hangs out at the store these days." Well guess what, if you think that way, and Johnny Example thinks that way, and Katie Sore Ass thinks that way, eventually nobody hangs out because everybody thinks nobody is going to hang out. All it takes is a few people to start and it catches on. Also, if nobody from your clique is there, branch out and try something new. You might be amazed at what games are out there.
2) Financial Support. This one may seem obvious, but it goes deeper than most of you realise. Yes, Wayne and Chad do enjoy making money, but they don't take home 100% of the profit. For table top gamers, this is very important to you since nice terrain just doesn't appear. There are no magic gnomes making it and paying for it (they are making Nikes in Malaysia). It is purchased with the profit made. The more profit the store makes, the more money it has to buy better terrain, buy better tables, etc. Yes, you can get 20% off a model on ebay, but after shipping and other things you're only saving a dollar or two, and the profit some stranger gets doesn't help your tables look better or your games more fun. For card gamers, this is important because if the store sinks, you have to find somewhere else to play, buy your cards, and you get less sanctioned games to help raise your rankings. While it may not seem like that big of a deal if you miss it, it adds up. If you don't play cause so-and-so won't be there, somebody else may not come because you are not going to show up, and so on and so on. Also, the more people that show up to these events, the larger the prizes. And on that topic, the final thing with this topic is prize support. We like giving free shit out. However, that isn't possible if we don't make profit. Doing door prizes, free raffles, extra prizes for best painted, best sportsman, best loser, etc, all take money. Bottom line, the more money we make, the more we can put back into making your gaming experience more enjoyable.
3) Friendship. The store is divided into cliques by obvious groups. Magic players, Warhammer 40k players, Warhammer Fantasy players, Warmachine / Hordes players, and you get the idea. While there are people who dabble in multiple cliques, the store is still divided. This doesn't have to be though. The more time we spend around each other, the more we get to know each other, and the more friends you can make. No homo. But seriously, a game store like Hard Knox is really centered around making friends that share your interests and playing games you enjoy. If game stores like ours weren't around, you would have three friends and you would be forced to play whatever games they want to play. You would rarely try new games, and you wouldn't get to do new and exciting things. This gives you the opportunity to connect to like minded people and have fun, which is really what life is all about.
4) To break up the seriousness of this issue, I will discuss the final and most important part of a game store. Unicorns. You know, the mythical attractive female gamer. The ones written about, spoken of in shadows, seen in possibly photo shopped pictures. They actually DO exist, and a place like this is like a bear trap for them. We exist so that we can lull their sense of security enough to bring them out of their safe havens and into our realm. That way we can befriend them and do one of two things: go out with them, thus winning the ultimate girlfriend lottery (1% chance) or be there awesome gay-friend and watch them hook up with other people (99% chance). By the way, the margin of error in those numbers is about 3%, so yeah...
To sum it up, I know I went on a rant of some kind, but we are seeing a decline in Hard Knox being a hang out spot and this bothers me greatly. The store is my safe place, my home away from home, and it's where I consider all of my friends to be. Yes, we can be rude and crude at times, and we can also seem distant from new people, but in all honesty, I know I would go to great lengths to help any of you out. If everybody would start by coming to just one more event than they normally do, or hanging out one night they normally don't, I think we will start to see a real difference in the store.
If you have any gripes, bitches, or complaints, feel free to air them out here. Store loyalty is a bigger issue than most of you out there believe, so let us know what we can do to help make this place YOUR store.
-Mace
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