Your Dream Store

[AnaKhouri]

Among my co-workers and myself, a favorite game to play is 'Dream Store' where we describe the type of store we would run if we had the money.

The husband and I would open an sf/fantasy bookstore called "The Withered Wretch". We would be the only bookstore in the world with a bouncer.

Next to The Withered Wretch we would also operate a bakery called "The Pie Hole". When it was time to close we would announce, "Time to shut the pie hole!"

On the other side of The Withered Wretch my co-worker Mark would operate a coffee shop called "The Ugly Mug". All the mugs provided would be unbearably tacky and ugly, but the coffee would be good.

So our customers (the ones who got past the bouncer) would be able to get coffee, pie and a geeky book all in one place.

Sounds perfect to me! Does anyone else play the same game?

[dalmatas]

My coworkers would never play along, so they got to hear me rail on about my perfect store. It would be called "Take It or Leave It" and would sell only the most absolutely useful products, and only one variety of each.

Bath soap? Right here, 12 ounce bottle, unscented. Ya say you have to have Beauty Brand Exotic Mango and Butterfly Wing Formula in the Silky Squeeze Shower Hanger bottle? Tough. We carry Dove unscented in one size bottle. Take it or leave it.

The other employees in the aisle would nod appreciatively, especially if we were all clustered in the Health and Beauty trying to relay the whole department.

[JoitheArtist]

The husband and I would open an sf/fantasy bookstore called "The Withered Wretch". We would be the only bookstore in the world with a bouncer.

So our customers (the ones who got past the bouncer) would be able to get coffee, pie and a geeky book all in one place.

Sounds perfect to me! Does anyone else play the same game?

All I know is, I want to come to your store!! I assume the bouncer thing would work something like this: http://www.unshelved.com/archive.aspx?strip=20040824

[powerboy]

My perfect store would not be a store, but a restaurant. I am currently reading up on everything that I would need. It would be more of a buffet style.

[crazylegs]

Mine would be a photography equipment store, and my staff would be *trained*, even the saturday staff.

We would help you in your purchase and then let you know (upon your request) how to improve your pictures.

To make things easier (for customers and staff) different staff will be trained on different makes (so one person for Nikon, one for Canon, one for Olympus etc) but all staff will be able to give a basic overview.

[CaroPhoenix]

My dream shop would be a gaming store. But not just any gaming store, mind you. We'd have an alcohol license, no minors after a certain time, and go-go dancers in cages at various points of the store. (I was going to have them dancing on tables, but the Magic players migh have a heart attack if the dancers' high heeled shoes mangled their Magic cards).

Or I'd open a coffee shop right night to our gaming store. Not sure yet.

[Pezzle]

My dream shop would be a gaming store. But not just any gaming store, mind you. We'd have an alcohol license, no minors after a certain time, and go-go dancers in cages at various points of the store. (I was going to have them dancing on tables, but the Magic players migh have a heart attack if the dancers' high heeled shoes mangled their Magic cards).

Or I'd open a coffee shop right night to our gaming store. Not sure yet.

Realize that I'd be equally as heart attack prone if they stiletto'd one of my painted Hordes converted figures. I spend hours of my precious useless time on those!

My perfect game store would be one with fewer GDW OOP games from like 1960 that only people in Italy want to buy. God I hate ebaying this crap.

[pssorens]

The gaming store idea rocks, I'd like to open a membership only gamers club, Conference rooms with white boards and big tables and comfortable chairs for the RP Ger's. a large open room for war gaming with lockers and shelves. a killer home theater system for movie and anime nights. pretty much I'd like to find a way to profit on my addiction and get the amenities we had in our college gaming club back.

[powerboy]

A gaming store is a great idea. I might do that instead

[CaroPhoenix]

A CS.com gaming store??? That would definitely be awesome! And we'd make sure our employees were all gaming geeks of various genres too, right? Hmmmm ... What would we call our store?

[Dreamstalker]

My perfect game store would be one with fewer GDW OOP games from like 1960 that only people in Italy want to buy. God I hate ebaying this crap.

I hear ya (newsflash to bosses everywhere: OOP does not neccessarily mean people will be beating down the door to buy it)...I do not miss the weekly battles over Customs/postage costs (no we cannot mark this as a gift and it will cost more than 5.00 to send).

My perfect store would be, what else, a game store. Once you became a regular trusted customer you could have input into what the store should sell (DDM singles, specialty dice, etc). If your suggestion does well after 30 days and continues to do well you get a standing discount.

There would be a coffee/drink bar near the back. There would be an option to "create your own drink" with the understanding that if it is too complicated/bizarre we reserve the right to say no way, pick something else.

Gaming tables would have moderately deep cup-wells so drinks aren't easily knocked over. Also no bare-wood tabletops (my previous store had bare-wood terrain tables,of course everyone put drinks on them, three guesses what happened at least once a week).

Online sales would be handled separately from the rest of the store commerce, with a standalone inventory system and stockroom. Said inventory system would be able to interface with the store system only for purposes of "how many of X do we really have".

Part of the antitheft system would be accurate replica of [SF/movie weapon of choice] mounted above the door. Just functional enough (lights, maybe sounds) to scare anyone thinking about shoplifting.

[NimrodJess]

I want to open an Irish-esque pub named Wifey McBeaties.

[NimrodJess]

My dream shop would be a gaming store. But not just any gaming store, mind you. We'd have an alcohol license, no minors after a certain time, and go-go dancers in cages at various points of the store. (I was going to have them dancing on tables, but the Magic players migh have a heart attack if the dancers' high heeled shoes mangled their Magic cards).

Or I'd open a coffee shop right night to our gaming store. Not sure yet.

I think I love you. I would totally come and shop/work/hang out.

[Geek King]

An arcade, done the way I want it done, with all the great games I can lay hands on, and No Damn Ticket Games*. I would set up scoreboards to track high scores by the month, and by all-time highs. An arcade worker would have to validate the score, then you would be immortalized until someone overcame it. Tourneys would be held for all games--not just the fighters. Once a year, there would be an Arcade Decathalon where ten games would be choosen mostly at random, and participants would compete across all diciplines of gaming to find the true champion for that year. It would be a 21+ establishment, because booze would be available**.

*Certain "ticket" games might be allowed (like skeeball), but would be modified to payout in tokens that could be used in any of the games.

**Because nothing is funnier than seeing drunk people play racing games.

[Dreamstalker]

**Because nothing is funnier than seeing drunk people play racing games.

Yeah there is: seeing me play a racing game sober. There's a reason I'm not getting my license--safer for any involved if I don't