darkSpyro

I can't tell you how many times I've been looking through the Skylanders sections (usually my local TRU), and I see a parent (usually a mother) holding a couple of packages, but looking very non-committal, and staring blankly at the wall of figures. I always ask such people if they need a little advice about the figures. Just yesterday a woman had "the look" and mentioned something about taking the top half of a figure and putting it with another, and I directed her toward the figures with the wheel in the top-left corner, indicating they are Swap Force figures and not regular figures. I even showed her the area in the back of the store with more figures than the big display in the front of the store (the "hidden" area is where most of my good finds are, as a matter of fact).

She said, "I've got two college degrees, but I can't figure out these game figures." She grabbed a couple of Swap Force figures, thanked me, wished me Happy Holidays, and left. Some kid will be happy on Christmas morning opening their swappable figures instead of possible getting regular ones. I love it when that happens.

I can relate to this, I always try to offer advice to these confused parents! Even as its the third game, store employees still have no idea whats going on when asked Skylander questions!

i do the same helped 2 parents yesterday and they were so excited, but i have had a manager come over a tell me it was not my job to asset the customers that is what the employees are there to do. so i kindly said in a nice way that is fine if your employee knows anything about skylanders but the employee had helped them and after they look more confused than when they ask so that is when i helped them. if i had not they were just going to walk off and then there would have been no sale for you. she then said in a rude manner then you need to appy for a job and rudely walked off.

I enjoy helping others with Skylanders. But I suppose that my career is in helping others so it is not a surprise. I really live watching my son taking time to explain and help adults and kids with their Skylanders questions.

I'm all about helping people find what they're looking for. Of course, I used to work in retail and became adept at figuring out if people were looking "lost", but I think I still would help even if I didn't work retail years ago. I know they are looking for some child, and I want that child to get what they want (not that I haven't helped in other situations, as well, but it usually comes up with a parent looking for something a child wants and has no idea). As for your case, artican, who cares? I don't even expect every employee to be an expert on every product they have. This isn't the days of a mom & pop store where you only have a few people (mainly family) who are selling but a limited number of products. There are thousands of products and most of the employees rotate in and out so much. Even when I worked at a smaller toy store, I could only know so much about so many products. I would think, as a manager, that I would be glad if another customer helped out. It sounds like a pride thing, afraid that they will be looked down upon because their employees couldn't help.

Sometimes I feel like doing that, but I'm shy and it would seem kind of creepy for a pre-teen to do that.

all of the old characters reposed in new packages would confuse me too, if i didnt know better.

I've helped out a few, but I am not a good teacher by nature. I am tempting to explain everything and get into too much detail. I'll generally just answer questions without giving them the full picture. Mostly, they just want to know if everything will work with the latest game. Quite often, the kid they're shopping for already has some of the figures and games. In which case I can't really tell them what the kid already has.

I also agree that retail employees shouldn't have to know much about the product they sell. Perhaps at GameStop, since video games is all they do, but general employees shouldn't have to know these kind of details. As far as a manager being upset about customers advising each other in the store, that's just moronic. You aren't going to lose customers that way, but a manager asking customers not to talk to each other is going to drive customers away. Even if you want employees to answer questions, they can listen and validate/correct whatever information is shared.

I've helped out a few people, but my look tends to make the normal soccer mom nervous. Stretched ears, tattoo sleeves, a full beard and a closely shaved head don't exactly scream "I can help with your kids' Christmas presents!"

If people look lost, I try to at least extend the offer to help out. Most people make it quite clear they have nothing to say to you with their eyes, and I don't even try with them.

The irony is that I'm a dad myself and work at a school for kids with disabilities. Word to the wise, kids and parents - Judging books by their covers will lead to a Christmas tree surrounded by lame figures and/or ones you may already own.

just get you a Skylander tat or a shirt lol

Quote: vinzclortho37

I've helped out a few people, but my look tends to make the normal soccer mom nervous. Stretched ears, tattoo sleeves, a full beard and a closely shaved head don't exactly scream "I can help with your kids' Christmas presents!"

First of all, I love the Ghostbusters user name reference.

But I have some serious questions for you unrelated to Skylanders ... why do people stretch their ears? What made you do it? Was it just to be different? Won't you have to live with stretched ears for the rest of your life (they don't shrink back, do they)? I can't imagine being a senior citizen with those things.

Good call, Himewad.

I have similar experiences at stores all the time.
Parents and other adults with semi-confused looks of consternation on their faces, browsing the Skylanders while I happen to be there, too ....
They usually turn to the sales clerk/staff first, which they should.
Then, when they're done talking to the staff, they're usually more confused than when they started.
I'll gently offer to assist, and sometimes people politely say, "no", but most of the time, the person is enormously grateful.

The large majority of shoppers (especially this time of year) are intimidated by the sheer volume and variety of Skylanders figures that are available in the stores. Most of the time, the adults are looking for confirmation on "does this one work with my kid's [insert gaming console of choice here]?" A few adventurous or curious individuals ask me sometimes, "which one is the best?" ... which is really a difficult question to answer. I try to get the person (if they're willing) to offer one or two of their child's personality characteristics. Kids who like funny/goofy stuff might find Thumpback or Hot Head a good choice. Others who like swords and weapons might prefer Ignitor and Stealth Elf. Etc., etc.

I personally think this is a pseudo-responsibility for us that are really "in the know" about Skylanders. Almost all of these shoppers just want to see their child happy, and avoid having to make returns or exchanges. We can help on that front, and I'm glad to see that many here do help out.

Quote: Himewad

Quote: vinzclortho37

I've helped out a few people, but my look tends to make the normal soccer mom nervous. Stretched ears, tattoo sleeves, a full beard and a closely shaved head don't exactly scream "I can help with your kids' Christmas presents!"

First of all, I love the Ghostbusters user name reference.

But I have some serious questions for you unrelated to Skylanders ... why do people stretch their ears? What made you do it? Was it just to be different? Won't you have to live with stretched ears for the rest of your life (they don't shrink back, do they)? I can't imagine being a senior citizen with those things.

Thanks - no one EVER gets the reference.

As for the ears, thanks for being respectful in asking. Some just automatically write it off as gross and don't bother to ask who/what/when/why/how.

Well, I'm a bit of a special case. I did it WAAAAYYY back in 2001 when I was working as a tattoo artist/piercer. It is pretty much the standard issue uniform for people in that business back then, and, for whatever reason, has caught on to the mainstream now. Aside from my job back then, the main reason I did it (and continue to keep them as they are) is the variety of jewelry (plugs) it allows for. I have a set made to look like Pokeballs, a set of clear resin ones that are made to look like 4-star Dragon Balls, a set with the symbol from the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter), a Gostbusters set, a set with Goku and Vegeta from Dragonball Z (one on each plug in profile) and a new Skylanders pair is being shipped to me now. Here is what they look like:

Plug #1:
Plug #2:

The way I stretched mine - slowly and a step at a time - they will eventually grow back up if I were to take them out for an extended period of time. I actually did that in 2004 or 2005, just to see what would happen. They grew up almost perfectly, and I restretched them after a few months. The way a lot of people do it now is too quick - they skip steps to get the bigger holes faster - and those people's ears will never close up properly. There are even cosmetic surgeons offering to repair badly stretched holes into flawless earlobes now! Also, the kids doing it today go WAY TOO BIG with them. Mine are a tasteful 7/16 inch stretch; check it out (with the 4-star Dragonball plugs):



Any bigger is just gross to me - and it seems like most of the young people I see with them these days have gone way beyond tasteful into grotesque territory.

As for being a senior citizen with stretched ears, that may or may not be me one day. I may decide to let them heal up at some point - who knows? Honestly, the tattoo sleeve and various others will probably be a little weirder at 70 than some head holes would be. It's ok, though - both my wife and I will just end up being tattooed grandparents.

Hope that cleared up your questions!

Quote: artican

i do the same helped 2 parents yesterday and they were so excited, but i have had a manager come over a tell me it was not my job to asset the customers that is what the employees are there to do. so i kindly said in a nice way that is fine if your employee knows anything about skylanders but the employee had helped them and after they look more confused than when they ask so that is when i helped them. if i had not they were just going to walk off and then there would have been no sale for you. she then said in a rude manner then you need to appy for a job and rudely walked off.

I would have told that manager off if I were you. You're allowed to engage other customers as you so wish as long as you don't harass them (be an overeager Skylander fan and talk their ear off). I've overheard TRU employees babble to their customers about both Skylanders and Disney Infinity figures trying to offer biased and sometimes incorrect info about figures. It would be great if a TRU employee came up to you and started a conversation off with "Hey, I've never really played the game and don't want to offer you incorrect advice, but this is what I do know" rather than have a big head and just go off making recommendations. As a fan, I suggest to offer a little advice to a confused parent, but rather than talk their ear off spouting off all your Skylanders knowledge, ask open-ended questions and respond to any questions they have in a mature manner. Open-ended questions are the key to any effective conversation.

One time I was at Target when I saw a lady come into the electronics aisle and ask an employee if 3DS games work on the DS. The clueless employee sadly didn't know, so the lady walked away before I could help. Later I see her and her young son walking out to their car with the 3DS game. I overhear the kid saying something like 'I can't wait to play this on my DS!' Boy is he gonna be disappointed. The point is, don't always trust employees.

Quote: TrapShadowFan

One time I was at Target when I saw a lady come into the electronics aisle and ask an employee if 3DS games work on the DS. The clueless employee sadly didn't know, so the lady walked away before I could help. Later I see her and her young son walking out to their car with the 3DS game. I overhear the kid saying something like 'I can't wait to play this on my DS!' Boy is he gonna be disappointed. The point is, don't always trust employees.

Not sure why you didn't speak up since you saw them again. That's the whole point.

And from what you mentioned here, it wasn't trusting the employee that caused the problem. It was the employee not knowing the answer. Granted, they SHOULD have known the answer if they work in the video game section, but that's another point altogether.

Quote: vinzclortho37

Quote: Himewad

Quote: vinzclortho37

I've helped out a few people, but my look tends to make the normal soccer mom nervous. Stretched ears, tattoo sleeves, a full beard and a closely shaved head don't exactly scream "I can help with your kids' Christmas presents!"

First of all, I love the Ghostbusters user name reference.

But I have some serious questions for you unrelated to Skylanders ... why do people stretch their ears? What made you do it? Was it just to be different? Won't you have to live with stretched ears for the rest of your life (they don't shrink back, do they)? I can't imagine being a senior citizen with those things.

Thanks - no one EVER gets the reference.

As for the ears, thanks for being respectful in asking. Some just automatically write it off as gross and don't bother to ask who/what/when/why/how.

It's interesting that they will go back if done properly. In general, those stretched ears really creep me out and make me think, "what a phsycho" ... but I agree that yours are much more reasonable than most I see these days. To each their own, I guess. I'll be keeping my lobes fully in tact.

Quote: artican

i do the same helped 2 parents yesterday and they were so excited, but i have had a manager come over a tell me it was not my job to asset the customers that is what the employees are there to do. so i kindly said in a nice way that is fine if your employee knows anything about skylanders but the employee had helped them and after they look more confused than when they ask so that is when i helped them. if i had not they were just going to walk off and then there would have been no sale for you. she then said in a rude manner then you need to appy for a job and rudely walked off.

I had similar once before thou I would have told them id gladly apply if they payed me $15 an hr. As for helping ppl ive done it a few times. I usually start off with "your kids into skylanders too" and let them reply they go from there. Ive helped explain that ssa figures are the same as giants and swap force just they are different poses and the newer sets get a special attack/move (i left out paths as i think id lose them). Ive saved some parents money there. I wish i ahd ppl helping me when i started cause i thought ssa was "the old game" and didnt work with giants. I learned quickly on here back in jan that that wasnt the case.


Quote: shelly9871

I enjoy helping others with Skylanders. But I suppose that my career is in helping others so it is not a surprise. I really live watching my son taking time to explain and help adults and kids with their Skylanders questions.

I enjoy this greatly, even so when my 7 yr old has a debate with another kid on when figures such as stink bomb will come out and what figures are better and they have.


Quote: vinzclortho37

Quote: Himewad

Quote: vinzclortho37

I've helped out a few people, but my look tends to make the normal soccer mom nervous. Stretched ears, tattoo sleeves, a full beard and a closely shaved head don't exactly scream "I can help with your kids' Christmas presents!"

First of all, I love the Ghostbusters user name reference.

But I have some serious questions for you unrelated to Skylanders ... why do people stretch their ears? What made you do it? Was it just to be different? Won't you have to live with stretched ears for the rest of your life (they don't shrink back, do they)? I can't imagine being a senior citizen with those things.

Thanks - no one EVER gets the reference.

As for the ears, thanks for being respectful in asking. Some just automatically write it off as gross and don't bother to ask who/what/when/why/how.

Well, I'm a bit of a special case. I did it WAAAAYYY back in 2001 when I was working as a tattoo artist/piercer. It is pretty much the standard issue uniform for people in that business back then, and, for whatever reason, has caught on to the mainstream now. Aside from my job back then, the main reason I did it (and continue to keep them as they are) is the variety of jewelry (plugs) it allows for. I have a set made to look like Pokeballs, a set of clear resin ones that are made to look like 4-star Dragon Balls, a set with the symbol from the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter), a Gostbusters set, a set with Goku and Vegeta from Dragonball Z (one on each plug in profile) and a new Skylanders pair is being shipped to me now. Here is what they look like:

Plug #1:
Plug #2:

The way I stretched mine - slowly and a step at a time - they will eventually grow back up if I were to take them out for an extended period of time. I actually did that in 2004 or 2005, just to see what would happen. They grew up almost perfectly, and I restretched them after a few months. The way a lot of people do it now is too quick - they skip steps to get the bigger holes faster - and those people's ears will never close up properly. There are even cosmetic surgeons offering to repair badly stretched holes into flawless earlobes now! Also, the kids doing it today go WAY TOO BIG with them. Mine are a tasteful 7/16 inch stretch; check it out (with the 4-star Dragonball plugs):



Any bigger is just gross to me - and it seems like most of the young people I see with them these days have gone way beyond tasteful into grotesque territory.

As for being a senior citizen with stretched ears, that may or may not be me one day. I may decide to let them heal up at some point - who knows? Honestly, the tattoo sleeve and various others will probably be a little weirder at 70 than some head holes would be. It's ok, though - both my wife and I will just end up being tattooed grandparents.

Hope that cleared up your questions!

Ghostbusters and DBZ two of my fav shows growing up in the 80's/90's. I still wise they would have made ghostbusters 3 and maybe another cartoon much like tmnt has come back.

I almost always help parents, and the occasional kid from time to time.

I must be mean or maybe just shy, but when I see these confused people in the store and overhear them talking, vainly trying to understand what's going on or what they should buy, I can't stop laughing. A part of me really wants to help clue them in, but another part just giggles mercilessly. It's even funnier when a store employee steps in who doesn't know anything about upcoming sales or releases that've been posted for days.

Today I watched a family staring at the Infinity figures, discussing which one to buy. I can't speak Spanish but I didn't need to. They were utterly clueless. I know very little about Infinity but the family was blocking my access to the Skylanders!

See, I would rather not step in and appear like a "know-it-all." I'm working on that particular character flaw - so unless someone stops me to ask for help in the store, I keep to myself.

These are some fantastic stories. I always feel so weird looking at Skylanders... mainly because I am typically the only one. I hardly ever see anyone glazing over the numerous choices.

I literally always help people. Waaaaaay back in Giants, an employee told a kid and his Grandma that they ABSOLUTELY needed the starter pack to play, even though the kid already had SSA. The worst thing was, the employee was the Skylander expert in the store...

Just at toysrsu and target today and thought of this thread. At target i attempted to explain that skylanders dont work with disney Infinity. Then attempted to explain that glitch doesnt work outside the builder toy box mode. The guy looked confused and ended up still leaving with a mix of both games and the infinity starter...
So ya xmas moving they will ahve skylanders to not play with as he didnt own skylanders lol.


As for toysrus, i explained to one lady with the help of her son that not all of them swap. He wanted fire krakan and she wanted him to get the adventure packs cause they swap cause they say swap force on the package. I showed her the wheel thingy on the top and said they connect with magnets and they are all in a package this size, seemed to make her get it better. Also some lady was made cause online the game was 49.99 and in store was 74.99. I told her they should match the online price just to pull it up on their phone, she was happy about that as her 3 boys went thru the skyladners looking. they all looked around 7 so maybe their first skylander game, idk.

I just helped a lady and the employee at TRUS today. They had questions like "will the SSA adventure pack work in Giants", "is there anything different besides looks for the legendaries", "I'm getting Giants not Swap today and I already have alot of SSA's, who should I get", "will these work in Swap Force". They were appreciative. If I ever see a parent looking through them, I just volunteer the fact that my son and I are Skylander addicts and let them decide whether they want info from me or not. Plus, the employee at TRUS hooked me up and held one of each of wave 3 behind the counter when I called in this morning.....they never do that! Picked them up at lunch and hooked him up with his customers questions - so he and I are cool now, hope he stays working there for awhile!

Awesome thread.....by following this forum and watching videos I have picked up on a lot about the game quickly.

Was in TRU a couple weeks back......a mom was in the Skylanders section with a couple boys who were wanting Skylanders. She had the glaze look and so asked if I could help at all.....helped explain how to know which characters work with which game. She left stating she now felt like she knew what she needed to get her boys (Swap Force). It was fun!

Then about a week later....similar deal where I helped a couple glazed ladies understand the character/game issue and how to read the info on the boxes for help.

Now that I think about it, it must be extremely difficult for someone to jump into Skylanders or to buy as gifts. I guess when you're on the inside and know so much about Skylanders, you don't realize how tough it would be from the outside looking in. There is A LOT that goes into the collection of certain Skylanders. You even have to be knowledgeable to some extent just to buy characters to play the game. #perplexed

Quote:

Awesome thread.....by following this forum and watching videos I have picked up on a lot about the game quickly.

I am with you here crocko. This forum has helped me out a lot with Skylander knowledge.

I was at TRU getting the scoop on Wave 3, and a woman asks a TRU employee "Do you have Spy Rise?" ... the employee couldn't answer, so I sprang into action and gave them the bad news that it won't be available until after Christmas...but I did tell her if she wanted to spring for extra money, she could get it from another web site. She shrugged as if to say "not in a million years" and the employee said "you need a badge"...the woman agreed and thanked me.

A couple of folks were looking my way...it seems a ton of people were looking for the new swappers.

Same here. I was talking with a mother about Freeze Blade, and I broke the news to her that he won't be out for a month or two. She shrugged, so I handed her Legendary Night Shift and Fire Kraken. She was quite happy.

I've helped countless times with parents and grandparents, especially at the last two game launches with the people waiting in line. I even handed out the $10 off coupons that I knew I wasn't going to use. I educate when I can or just point out whats new, least I can do to help I guess.

ShaneG.

yep and at midnight tonight i will probably be doing it again i like helping others at least the ones that listen.

Solid, GhostRoaster, Matteo, and Plaag!

I agree that one of the toughest things to tell under-educated (about Skylanders) parents is that "the one" their child has his/her sights set on ... is not yet released.

I had a situation a month or so ago (actually at the Toys R Us up your way, GhostRoaster) where a mom (maybe a young grandma?) and a young man (her son or nephew?) were shopping for Skylanders. The lady knew what she wanted (she even had a photo on her phone) ... a fire-element Skylander: specifically, either Fryno or Hot Dog. When I told her (as gently as I could) that neither new character had yet been released, she looked doubtfully at me, with a drop of resentment or scorn ... as if I was in charge of when new characters are released and that I was therefore denying her what she wanted ... LoL.

I tried to offer consolation by telling her that I had seen two (Giants series) Hot Dogs on the shelves at the Pineville Toys R Us just the day before. She replied, "I ain't driving to Pineville!" (it's about a 30 minute drive).

In my mind I was thinking, "lady, you're getting into the wrong collection/hobby if you're not willing to drive 30 minutes to get the items you want." But, I refrained from saying that, and wished her luck in her search.
It's awesome to be helpful at the stores, as I alluded to above in a previous post. But, some people just can't be pleased, no matter what. Oh well.

@BahamutBreaker had same thing happen to me was in line at swap force release date while standing in line one lady was talking about the figures her son was wanting andshe drove over a hour to stand in line at this tru because they were the closet to her for the midnight release. so i ask her which one shewas looking for and she replied well my son gave me this list so i looked at the list and on there were none that were being released yet. I had to step back for a moment and think how i was going to approach this, i deceide to just rip the bandage of quickly. I said maam you will be ableto get the starter pack off that list but those figures are not going to be released tonight andmaybe 3-10 months on some of those, i waited....... then she was like wtf i drove here for something that are not going to even be here, what kind of company does this I guess i want shop at TRU anymore, i tried to explain it is not TRU that releases them it is the game maker. That they release figures in what is called waves. She just got out of line and left. I felt bad but better than waiting another hour to be disappointed when we had been there a hour already.

Aye, artican. Unfortunately, for the casual or new Skylanders fan/consumer, Activision's methods of advertising and distribution are extremely misleading and often highly annoying.

Activision posts ALL of the new Skylanders (in a series) to their official website before a new game release. They also show/list a large amount of new characters on the backside of the Starter Pack packaging. Unless one is a fan that visits forums like this one, or a veteran of past Skylanders games, one really doesn't know that only some of the characters are available in stores at any given time.

Just one more reason why Activision should be less secretive about release dates. I know the "mystery" is semi-appealing to some of the avid fans and collectors here ... but for the average everyday consumer, it's a huge pain, and in some cases, a deterrent.

I have had in the last month been told by staff at my local toys r us and eb games that I need to apply for a job their because no one knows what's going on with skylanders releases and just yesterday the other day the guy that works full time in the games section of target asked me what's the difference between the giants starter pack and the swap force starter pack, so by the looks of it we maybe the only hope for frustrated and confused parents in buying skylanders

^ I second that

My first Skylanders purchase was 2012 Black Friday, I grabbed the Giants starter pack, then grabbed an SSA Cynder. A Grandma told me "You don't need her, she's in the starter pack", needless to say I was a little embarrassed, but very grateful! I also tell both parents and kids about Darkspyro.net if they seem a little overwhelmed by it all, or don't know where/how to get information on Skylanders. One lady saved it on her phone, so I like to think she's one of us......one of us......one of us.... now.

This is another EXCELLENT resource to provide to parents and others who need help "getting started" or getting past the "glazed over" look. It's not a "quick read", but it's definitely appropriate for anyone who has any of the basic newbie questions about starting a Skylanders collection:

http://skylanderscharacterlist.com/#basics

I used to work at Best Buy in the computers section, Sadly in both stores I worked in not a single person had much of a clue about skylanders so anytime the "S" word came up at work my fellow employees would tell people to find the Asian in the computer section and ask there. Even now that I don't work for them I still will go into target or toys r us and help the people gawking at the wall of figures while I look through it myself.

I too love to help out when I can. When we are in a store and my wife is in the Skylanders section and sees glassy eyes... she will volunteer my knowledge, usually when I am in another area of the store (i.e. TMNT, Ninjago) with our son. When I get to the Skylanders section, they have questions shooting out from their hip pocket. The manager from TRU allows me to give out my knowledge of Skylanders with no problem like some have stated above. On occasions he will ask me if I have heard of anything new, and I will let him know what I have read on this site, I told him about what Lesty said (the 29th for Swappers), this is when he told me about the 22nd (Core Swap at TRU) before it was posted on this site.

I had the fun of helping out a confused mom while I was waiting for the new cores to be released at midnight tonight. It was fun to get to explain the game, plus you always get that warm-and-fuzzy feeling of helping someone out

This glazed look was me last Christmas when we started with Giants. DS had played it on the display at Brst Buy and loved it. I got Giants on a cyber sale, then started looking at the figures with holiday shopping and had no idea what to do. A few internet searches lead me to a couple blogs but not this site. We made it, I bought a lot of SSA characters where if I had understood the soul gem stuff I would have prefered the "orange bottoms" as DS says.
Anyway now DS and I are old pros and we've helped a few people at the stores, but mostly we've met other fans.


And to the topic of body modification, I had my ears stretched to 8 gauges and a few body piercings and tattoos done back in the 2000-2002. My whimpy stretch shrank back fine. Back then I was told going beyond 0 gauge wouldn't shrink back. I look like a normal soccer mom now, but still have a soft spot for the tastefully done modifications.

I helped out some grandparents while I was getting my wave 3 corelanders. It started with me hearing them scuffle with an employee about swappers and making him open every wave 2 box that was sitting on the sales floor. At first I thought the guy was looking for green goo variants so I watched a little while. Then I walked over and asked if they were looking for new swappers and they said 'yeah'. I explained the only new ones tonight are the corelanders.

The poor grandma had a 2 page list and was looking for everything on it! She had a Dunebug that was it in her cart. So I took the list and went over it all, my friend and I were walking back and forth across the Skylanders display and filled her cart for her, lol. As I was going through the list, I pointed out which ones aren't out yet.

While the TRU associate was standing there, I explained the 'swappers at Target the 29th'. The TRU associate did not know if they would have anything coming the 29th, didn't know they had the one week exclusive on the corelanders and thanked me for the knowledge, lol. Grandma was upset and didn't understand why they would wait until after Christmas. I told her that after 3 years of collecting, I've seen all sorts of strange decisions from Acti. But I also told her they probably want the kids to come in and spend their gift cards on them.

I helped some people last year when I went to get Legendary Stealth Elf. They had already bought Chill and were complaining the one they bought didn't work in the game, I asked if they had purchased Giants, they of course said no. I directed them to the starter pack (better value) and they looked at me like I was crazy. I said the characters with an X on the SSA name couldn't be played on the old game. Still didn't understand that they needed the new game. I then asked if they had ANY characters from the first game (said no) and I directed them to SSA figures. Another lady who was much nicer just needed to know how to tell what elements were which (which is very hard to decipher if you don't know everything) showed her one of each element and she thanked me. I also helped a dad who was on the phone with someone the kids wanted "someone cool" so I pointed out Legendary Bouncer, Prism Break, and a few others he said thank you too! Before I did this helping I asked the employee standing there bewildered by all the confusion if she wanted help and all she did was nod and walk away...

Employees can just be very rude at times. I was just looking at the Wave 3 boxes last night, and a guy yelled at me and told me to get away from them. I was just looking at the label.

Quote: Matteomax

Employees can just be very rude at times. I was just looking at the Wave 3 boxes last night, and a guy yelled at me and told me to get away from them. I was just looking at the label.

Yeah, it's a mixed bag with Toys R Us employees. You get some that go out of their way to be helpful. And you've got some that go out of their way to be dicks.

Quote: BahamutBreaker

Quote: Matteomax

Employees can just be very rude at times. I was just looking at the Wave 3 boxes last night, and a guy yelled at me and told me to get away from them. I was just looking at the label.

Yeah, it's a mixed bag with Toys R Us employees. You get some that go out of their way to be helpful. And you've got some that go out of their way to be dicks.

I think this applies to most anyone in retail, especially this time of the year. I know my TRU has at least one kid that literally looks like he just graduated high school that seems to enjoy thinking he has some sort of "power" by being able to deny people things because of the street dates on these toys.

Quote: KuroKaze

I used to work at Best Buy in the computers section, Sadly in both stores I worked in not a single person had much of a clue about skylanders so anytime the "S" word came up at work my fellow employees would tell people to find the Asian in the computer section and ask there.

I'm in a similar boat. Anytime someone has questions about Skylanders or Nintendo stuff, I get a call and have to leave my safe office for the crazy sales floor. Don't they know there's a reason I took an office job?

Today I actually helped a couple of parents figure things out while I was picking through Wave 3.

It was a husband, wife, and their daughter. The mom is holding up a Swap Force confused by all the figures and asking her daughter which one is her favorite, the whole time the daughter is either distracted by the Disney Infinity demo portal or holding up a large stuffed Tree Rex saying she likes him. The mom then wondered aloud how many there were, at whcih point I chimed with 80 give or take. She asked if I knew anything about them and I explained that SSA was the first, Giants was the 2nd, and Swap Force the 3rd, even holding up a starter of each to show her. The parents then asked about character compatability between games and I told them of how all worked forward yet not all worked backwards. After that, they seemed rather satisified, deciding on Swap Force as it would work with every character currently out.

I pointed out where wave 3 guys were for those coming in for them at toysrus as i was loading up my 4 sets with my wife. Then helped some woman who knew nothing about the game other then her kid wanted it and then i handed her dune bug and said he just came out tonight so he'd be a good choice and she went with that. Explained to some woman at the other end in video games (my store has a front display and a display in electronics) about the diff between legendary and regulars, she went with legendary night shift. All while I was checking out the boxes left open on the floor of wave 3 for any unknown variant along with wave 2 boxes an employee was stocking on the shelves.