Saintless

I’ve been meaning to write this blog for a while now, and now seems to be the perfect time. I adore the Play N Trade in Sugar House. Really, truly adore them. I’ve been a customer for at least a couple of years.

Now, Play N Trade itself is a national chain. But, each of them are independent franchises.

I have always had good experiences at their store. Almost anytime my 9 and (almost) 11 year old sons get extra money, they can’t wait to head to Play N Trade to spend it. They can trade in games they don’t want anymore, because the store sells both new and used video games. One of my biggest reasons for using this business is that when my boys go into the store, they are treated with respect. The employees aren’t dismissive of them, and they are happy to answer all of the kids’ questions. They let them try almost any game before they buy it, which has helped the boys to make good decisions on what games to buy.

Last fall, we moved across town, so the Sugar House store isn’t around the corner from me, anymore. Preston, my 9 year old, wanted to buy Nintendogs for his DS. Since there was a national chain nearby, we went there. I immediately saw the difference between the national chain, and my Sugar House PNT. When we were finally greeted, the employees talked to me. I let them know my son had some questions.

Now, Preston sometimes is hard to hear. He’s got an appliance in his mouth for his teeth, and until his recent adult teeth came in, in the front, he had been missing one front tooth since he was a toddler. He kind of mumbles sometimes, especially when he’s feeling intimidated.

So, Preston begins to ask about the game he wanted. The employee gave him a short answer and then, as Preston began to ask another question, the guy turned around and walked away. Preston went browsing, because he wasn’t entirely sure what he wanted to spend his money on. He came back a few minutes later, hoping to play the game, to see if he wanted it for sure. We waited patiently while another customer was helped, and then the employees again walked away. I called them over, and Preston asked to try the game. He was told they don’t do that there.

There were actually 2 employees, but because I wasn’t the customer, and my son was, I guess the second employee had better things to do.

This sort of thing continued, and we were in the store for about 20 minutes. I finally pointed out to Preston how rude they were being to him, and told him that I didn’t want to spend money at a store like that. I reminded him of how the PNT employees treat him, and asked if he would wait a day, so we could go there, instead. Being a kid with money burning a hole in his pocket, Preston decided to buy Nintendogs anyway.

A couple of weeks later, after Preston’s birthday, he again had some money to spend, and some games to trade in. So, we headed off to Sugar House to Play N Trade. The owner, Patrick Murphy, was in, and recognized us. He asked how the games we had bought for Preston’s birthday turned out, and we chatted. One of the employees greeted both Preston and Drake, and patiently let them try what seemed like a bazillion different games. Sometimes one of the boys would ask the employee about a game, and the employee would tell them that they didn’t think he’d have much fun with that game, and suggest a different one instead.

Thinking back over my experiences, I recall one time that I was considering letting Drake (my older son) get a Play Station Portable (PSP). The guy advised me that, while there were kid games available, that most of the games were aimed at adults for that system, and that he’d be better off buying the Nintendo DS, even though that was less expensive. Another time, I was considering a game that the boys had been asking about, and mentioned it to an employee. I was told there’s no way I should let them have that game, because it was had graphic violence and was gory.

I love the personal service and great advice that I get at this store, and have let the boys know why I value PNT. We don’t buy anything video game related anywhere else now, if there’s a choice. Being a local company, they sometimes can’t get products that are hard to find, like when the Wii was the it Christmas gift. But, they usually tell me when I’m going to need to go somewhere else, and where the best place to find that product is.

So, if you are in the market to buy or sell anything video game related, do consider checking out this great store. And don’t forget the Tournaments!

Play N Trade
1126 East 2100 South
Sugar House, Utah, 84106
801.433.2552
Hours: Mon-Sat 10am-9pm, Sun 12pm-6pm

Tags: video games

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 21st, 2009 at 10:32 am and is filed under Local First. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.