Update: Corporate recently sent a letter to management to keep the stores open even if the authorities attempt to shut them down. Gamestop has however decided to abide by California Governor Gavin Newsome’s request for a statewide stay at home lockdown. The retail chain has decided to shut down many locations in California we have confirmed by residents. “We are closing our stores in California,” the company said in a letter to its management, cited by Kotaku.
This follows after California Gov. Gavin Newsom issuing a statewide order to stay at home. The note from GameStop announcing the California closures says it will remain “as we obtain more information from the California Governor’s Office.” The original story follows.
We believe right now more than ever video games can help us as a society. Gaming keeps us off the street, helps us cope with stress and of course reliefs us of utter Bodrum during these lockdown periods. However, in this day and age of gaming even a console possesses the power to get all your games digitally, so is Gamestop really “essential retail”?
Gamestop has instructed its employees to keep stores open in most areas despite local authorities asking “Non-essential” retail locations to shut down. They issued a statement to their audience on Twitter yesterday listing all the changes made to make the environment safer.
We are working diligently during this unprecedented time to provide our customers & associates with the safest environment possible. Please see below for details on new changes we are enacting & click here for our full statement: https://t.co/qP9jDQUmjs pic.twitter.com/d99kxviz7Q
— GameStop (@GameStop) March 19, 2020
Some specific actions taken include:
- Instituting multiple social distancing practices in our stores, up to 10 people in the store, including store associates.
- The following CDC recommended guidelines to adopt in-store line management practices that create a 6-foot parameter between customers in checkout lines.
- Reducing our store hours of operation to 12 – 8 p.m., which will be in place until Sunday, March 29th.
- Rolling out delivery @ door service to allow customers to pick up their purchases at the front door of our U.S. store locations.
- Suspending temporarily our video game and consumer electronics trade-in practices until further notice.
- Postponing all gaming events and midnight launch activities until further notice.
- Disabling temporarily all interactive gaming stations in our stores.
- Encouraging customers to leverage our online eCommerce capabilities and direct deliveries to their homes from our warehouses or stores.
- We are providing all our stores with the necessary supply of disinfectant materials and hand sanitizer to frequently clean high-touch surfaces to kill germs and ensure our stores are a safe environment for both our customers and store associates.
- All associates have been instructed to stay home if they are sick and are experiencing any flu-like symptoms related to COVID-19, no matter how mild, and until they have been cleared by a medical professional to return to work.
- We want to remind all customers to consult the CDC for COVID-19 symptom information and request that you follow recommended self-quarantine guidelines if you are experiencing any flu-like symptoms, no matter how mild. You can visit GameStop.com or the GameStop mobile app to make your video game purchases from the comfort of your home.
In the United States, Coronavirus pandemic gets worse every day and the worst is still yet to come. DO you think it’s essential for Gamestop to stay open during this crisis?
