In a corporate email sent out to GameStop stores, employees have been directed to keep their doors open despite any local or state directed shutdowns. Picked up originally by Vice, the email stated that GameStop is an “essential retail” store and must keep its doors open through the coronavirus pandemic. Both employees and customers have taken to social media to express their outrage at the company.
GameStop’s Answers to the Pandemic
As many local governments decide to shut down any “non-essential” retailers—those that don’t sell necessities like food and medicine—GameStop has demanded that it, too, gets counted as an essential store. The email sent out to stores gave instructions for workers if police were to show up demanding the store’s closing. These instructions also came with a flyer to hand to authorities, with the email stating:
Due to the products we carry that enable and enhance our customers’ experience in working from home, we believe GameStop is classified as essential retail and therefore is able to remain open during this time. We have received reports of local authorities visiting stores in an attempt to enforce closure despite our classification. Store managers are approved to provide the document linked below to law enforcement as needed.
The flyer simply gives out GameStop’s corporate number as contact for any further inquiries about the company’s decisions.
After already being criticized over not giving store employees acceptable sanitation supplies or procedures to deal with the coronavirus, many people are being very vocal online about their upset with the company. On Twitter, one of the currently trending tags is #boycottgamestop and many other GameStop-related tags. The tag has a constant influx of intense backlash at the company.
Employees and Customers alike are calling for a GameStop boycott.
While this is a big week for GameStop with the release of both Doom: Eternal and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, there is no telling how this massive backlash will affect the company. Many may actually choose to boycott and cancel their orders for these games and get them digitally. Doom: Eternal and Animal Crossing: New Horizons will release tomorrow. Stay tuned to KeenGamer for any further updates.
