If you ever needed proof that you’re better off waiting to buy something in the morning than standing in line at a midnight release event the night before, here it is: a guy melting down at the launch of Grand Theft Auto V in a GameStop this week after an interaction with a manager went south.
The initial difficulty, which occurs before the video begins, was rather mundane, but we all know impatient gamers can get a bit testy: according to the YouTube description, “this guy tried to use his business card as proof of ID to pick up his pre-order of GTA V rather than use a valid photo ID…” Things got heated when the manager insisted the customer show identification in keeping with pre-order policy.
“Thank you for your business,” she says sarcastically as the transaction finally goes through. “You won’t get it again,” the man replies. They snipe back and forth for a minute, and at last it seems as though the dude will roll up his complimentary GTA V poster and be on his way—until the manager makes one last fatal mistake, saying everyone else waiting to purchase their copy, “I have his business card with his email, y’all want to thank him for holding up the line for you?”
The disgruntled man was in earshot and returned to accuse the manager of giving out his private information as well as encouraging others to harass him—and he sort of has a point. From there it’s the usual threats about official complaints to supervisors, and the other nerds in line surely aren’t helping with their suggestions that he “go steal something in a game” or otherwise exorcise his rage in a virtual setting (the go-to therapy for balding dudes in cargo shorts).
He may have had the last laugh, however, as GameStop reacted swiftly to investigate the incident, and while they’ve released no official statement on the matter, rumors have swirled that the manager has already been sacked. One particularly bitter YouTube commenter wrote:
I work for GS in the LA area. I am happy to report to all of you that this bitch has been fired as of today. She was a c**t to work for, and trust me when I say that we are all happy that she is gone. Also, she has done worse than just this. Just last year she was under investigation for fudging the numbers in her books because money and games were coming up missing. She talked her way out of it and pegged it on an innocent girl who just killed herself this past May.
All in all, not a very good night for the fans, employees, or the GameStop brand. Rockstar North and Take-Two Interactive, meanwhile, had to have been celebrating.
Photo via CurtisLepore/YouTube