If you remember, I had a less than satisfactory experience at a GameStop up here in the northern Virginia area back during the Halo 3 midnight release.

I complained about it here and put in a complaint via GameStop's website. On the last page of that complaint, it ended up redirecting me to a contest of some sort, and I had a feeling that no one ever saw my complaint.

That was true. However, their director of customer service saw my complaint when I went to unsubscribe from the GameStop newsletter, and he took the time to contact me.

He contacted me after I mentioned that no one had responded to my complaint. After taking the time to read my admittedly-detailed exposition on what had happened, he passed on my complaint to the district manager of this area along with whatever contact information I wanted to provide. He gave me a head's up that it they typically give the DM three days to investigate and look into the situation.

The District Manager contacted me a few days later. I asked him a number of questions, and he answered them rather quickly.

I asked: "Is there, perhaps, a consumer "bill of rights" that shows what a consumer can assume will happen for them at a midnight release? Such as "we guarantee you that if you show up by midnight you will get a copy" or "you should show up early and have your receipt checked"?"

He said there isn't one, at least, not in so many words, but he did tell me what a customer should expect from a midnight launch:

We usually start the midnight event after close of the store, usually between 9 and 10, however, people line up at any time they like. Once we start the event we begin bringing people in to the store in the order in which they arrive to the store to actually ring them up for their purchase, handle any trades or returns, and then give them their receipt marked so that we know they have been in o the store. We send them out in line to await midnight when we are allowed to release the product. As you might imagine the process of ringing 100+ customers can be quite time consuming, which is why all customers are encouraged to come early and get in line and get rung up ahead of time. This way midnight runs very smoothly and we can service this many customer efficiently and get you home as early as possible to start playing the game.

If there was confusion, it may have been due to a poor job of explaining what was going on. The crew was doing their first midnight release and were tired and flustered. That's not an excuse - at least, it isn't to me - as I still feel the company should be more careful about things like that. The DM assured me that they're taking steps to help make releases like that smoother, and that my suggestions as to a written policy for customers to know what is going on (especially those who arrive late) will be passed on.

He also pointed out that the store did remain open past 2 AM and that everyone who showed up got their copy. That I can't verify; it's easily true about how late they were open, but with the various lines that were formed and people being told "you will not get your copy tonight" I wonder how many people left. (If you were there, and didn't get a copy, let me know at seanmike@gamersinfo.net ).

He also made sure to tell me the following for staying in contact with GameStop:

Your best avenue for recourse in any situation is to get the District Manager’s name and number and give them a call directly as they will be the field point person you eventually talk to. You can also call the customer service number, which is 1-800-883-8895 or head over to www.tellgamestop.com and leave your feedback. Both of these avenues with collect your information and then get the District Manager involved.

How do I feel about this overall?

Well, I'm very happy that the Director of Customer Service and the District Manager took the time to contact me and talk over repeated e-mails about what happened, as well as to make sure that I did, indeed, get my copy of Halo 3.

I am disappointed that it had to come to that, and that my initial complaint was lost in the system. It is my opinion that if you have a long, detailed complaint form, like GameStop does, it should insure that the complaint is filed before promoting any sort of contest or other event.

The fact that the manager and assistant running the midnight release had never done one before, to me, shows a sign of lack of preparation. I know that many retail stores have a good bit of turnover, but there are also a lot of GameStop stores in the northern VA area - if anything, a bit of follow-up by more experienced managers to the new ones might have helped the situation.

Also, more preparation in terms of letting the managers know what they're getting into would've been helpful. They know how many copies they've sold; it should give an idea that, hey, it's going to be a late night. It can suck to start a shift at 9 PM and know it's going into the wee hours of the morning - I've worked at grocery stores, I know that - but you simply have to be ready for it.

Will I shop there again?

Actually - I don't know.

I've pre-ordered Mass Effect and Call of Duty 4 - but from Amazon.com. (And Army of Two, but that was pushed back to Q1 2008.)

If I have games to sell, maybe. I'm not a huge fan of retail game stores to begin with, to be honest. The constant shilling of strategy guides, in-house magazines, and other promotions gets to me. It can be hit or miss as to whether they have what I want, and their prices are usually not competitive with online sources with the possible exception, sometimes, of their used games.

But was the matter resolved? I think, for the time, I can say yes. I'm very happy with the response I got from GameStop, though I am still subscribed to their newsletter...