Hah! The Phone Girl Must Play Alliance.

I find it funny how every five days I happen to get the ‘I should type something today’ itch, or if it just works out that way.  I noticed it happened with my second and third posts, so I guess I’ll stick to at least that.

Wanna know what I bought yesterday?  It’s right here.  ::shakes box, contents go clunkity-clunk::  Any guesses?  WAR baby!  Oy, what a delightful time that was too.  My birthday was recently, and I have stock-piled Best Buy gift cards from xmas, so that means I’m gonna buy it from Best Buy.  In theory.

My girlfriend’s car has been acting up, apparently the starter doesn’t wanna do what it was named for.  Every time she turns the ignition, if it doesn’t start up, we hear a dull clang under the hood.  I’d describe it best as throwing a corpse head first into a metal girder.  Such a pleasant sound.  Some twenty times later it may start the car.  In order to avoid wasting time and gas, we decide to call Best Buy, just in case, to make sure they have some pre-order boxes left.

A quick “411″ and we are put on hold as someone looks.  Apparently ‘looks’ means to be transferred now, and someone from the electronic section (which really narrows it down in Best Buy) says they’ll check it out for us and we are on hold again.  Total of six minutes on hold during this call, mind you.  Then *click* and someone picks up, a girl laughing saying “Sorry we are all out” and then the phone call was over.   I guess they laugh at you when they have bad news for you now, new policy.

Hmm.  Maybe GameStop.  I generally go there as they are almost right next door where I live and the people working there have been there for at least a few years.  Nothing against Best Buy, but when I have a quick in-and-out “I need a WoW time card” boom they get it, I pay, transaction accomplished.  I’m well on my way back to the PC and more importantly back to the game.   So I go to check online if GameStop gets a special bonus item with the pre-order.  But then it hits me that I have ‘free money’ in gift cards so I *need* to get it via Best Buy or my cards will expire before I use them.  Which lead me to want to get the game online. 

Only Best Buy has *no* pre-order information on it’s site.  Directly from http://www.warhammeronline.com/preorder/ as well, ironically enough.  The only hint of a pre-order is when you go to add it to cart it says “Pre-order” and it will ship the 18th or so.  Which makes me feel that this is for the *game* and not to get the pre-order box.  I want the bonus items!  If I’m gonna get the game either way and pay the same price it might as well be with bonus items.  “Rittenbach’s Portable Camp,” I’m looking at you.

Now, just for comparison, GameStop also has a link from the pre-order page, yet they specifically state you WILL be getting bonus pre-order items, which makes me worry even more that I’ll be gypped if I order online with Best Buy.  We call the ironicly named customer service only to have someone we think said her name was Linda tell us she believes we won’t get anything other than the game itself if we buy it online from Best Buy, which means we gotta go in person.  We thank Linda for her time and hang up.

Me and my girlfriend discuss, and decide as to not waste gas on a ‘pointless’ trip should Best Buy not have the pre-order box as the bubbly female worker on the other end of the phone said, we’ll go and eat at a Chinese Buffet.  10 bucks for all you can eat.  Pass the Crab Rangoon my friend or get the hell out of my way, I’m having some of THAT, thank-you.

So we go, hearing the fleshy skull-on-metal sound a good number of times, the car resurrects itself, and we’re off.  Minor detour to avoid construction, of course, and we arrive!  Silent nod to the Doorman, and we work our way to the PC game ‘isle’…only to find a good thirty pre-order boxes.

As I look up as from this isle I can see about five employees at the computer section itself, some twenty feet away.  Only one girl is ‘manning’ that section, pun intended.  All the guys are ‘working’ near her and letting the customers walk about as she’s laughing and soaking up all the attention from them.  After observing their behavior I quickly brush it off, as I got the prize I was looking for.  But I did have enough time to have a few thoughts run through my head.

“Lying, incompetent WHORE.”

We walk to the check out, pay for the pre-order, the cashier says I just have to bring the box and receipt when the game comes out and the 10.75 I paid will be taken off the price of the game.  I knew I’d get the amount reduced but I appreciate him going out of his way to ensure I get the game when it ships.  At least this guy is earning his pay.

Put the cards back into my pocket, I raise the box and receipt at the Doorman and we’re free to enjoy our General Tao’s Chicken.  That guy must have had a lot of chicken’s, as every time I’ve been to the Buffet they always have more of the stuff.
 

-Enric