[Musings of a Game Store Owner] It's All About Relationships

When you own a business, it is important to know what things you are going to do. If you are good at numbers, handling the books might be your job. If you are more physical, moving heavy things might be your job.

At my store, TheDude is in charge of operations. That is a short word that means : everything that happens within running the store. Ordering, stocking, supplies,  helping customers, answering phones, reading trade magazines, talking to reps, pricing items, and lots more I am certainly forgetting here are all included on his list of "stuff to do at the office". He knows a lot more about the ins and outs of the business and all that happens inside it than I do, but that's his job.

Yeah, he IS a geek. And he loves his job. 

My job is to deal with people and relationships. While TheDude is damn near superhuman in his ability to remember customer names (and often their spouses names as well), my specialty is very different, but still important.



My job is in building relationships and touching people in deep and compelling ways. I grow our customers into a community. While that sounds nice and fluffy. what it really means is that I show compassion and affection for our  customers in their darkest (or best) times.

I help organize fundraisers - for those fighting cancer, horrible accidents, or death. I support our friends when they are recovering from broken hearts. I find ways to encourage friends who have moved away so that they know they are still a part of our community.

I celebrate when our customers find companionship with partners- girlfriends or boyfriends, engagement or marriage. I am overjoyed to hear about babies. I love growing our community- spreading our passion for games and community whenever such things happen through presents, hugs and general joy.

When one of ours moves, I step up to help. I've done everything  from literally packing boxes to organizing crews of people to help to catering meals for those unloading.

I recently delivered pasta salad, sandwiches,
chips, cookies and drinks to some friends we helped move. 

The store truly is an extension of our home, and it's my job to be a good hostess. I work hard to make everyone feel welcome and loved; like they are family. I do an awful lot of "mothering"; but I love including people into my family and wouldn't have it any other way.

When we face problems, I'm the one that looks at thing from a customer's point of view. When we succeed, I'm the one that shares it with our incredible community.

I include our customers so they truly feel like family, and in exchange for loving some very unusual people, I get incredible rewards. from undying loyalty to volunteers for projects both large and small, our gaming community shows their appreciation in words and action.

It took some time for me to discover and recognize my talent. I'm glad I finally touched on it, and I look forward to the next occasion.