I'm sure a lot of us would like to think that video games should qualify as "essential" products during these troubling times, but we all know that can't be the case, don't we? Apparently not, as American game retailer GameStop has confirmed it intends to keep its stores open, even in areas where self-isolation, quarantines, and lockdowns have been put in place due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak.
According to an internal memo obtained by Kotaku, GameStop has defended its decision to keep stores open as it believes its business is classified as "essential retail". Believes being the operative word there. Local authorities across the US are already ordering all non-essential businesses to close up for a while.
Supermarkets, gas stations, and pharmacies are all considered essential, just so you have some idea of the company GameStop is currently insisting it keeps. Although to be honest, if GameStop wants to start stocking toilet paper and medicine, I have no issue with them staying open.
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I doubt that will be the case though. In the company memo, GameStop said that it thinks it's an essential business because the products it stocks (video games) "enable and enhance [its] customers' experience in working from home". The memo also instructs staff on what to do if authorities show up and attempt to force stores to close - managers are to hand officers a flyer with the contact details for GameStop's corporate office.
In a separate statement over on Twitter, which you can read below, GameStop also promised it would be "instituting multiple social distancing practices" in its stores. These measures include allowing 10 people in at a time, reducing opening hours, and offering a policy that allows customers to pick up items without entering the store. They also plan to postpone midnight launches, suspend trade-ins until March 29th, and will disable all in-store demo stations.
Will these tactics work? It's unclear, but GameStop's decision has already come under near-unanimous fire from those that have pointed out they should absolutely not qualify as "essential retail," and that the company is selfishly putting employees at risk in the name of profit.
Despite these measures, recent reports from Polygon have found that many of GameStop's employees don't feel like the company is doing enough to support them during this uncertain period. A number of them admitted that they don't have the staff to properly sanitize stores, nor do they have the necessary amount of cleaning supplies.
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"I had a region call and a district call today. Both showed very little care for the employees," One manager told the site. "The focus is on sales." With the amount of backlash to this decision, will GameStop do a U-turn and close? Can it afford to? We'll have to wait and see.
Featured Image Credit: GameStopTopics: gamestop
