I Want Your CeX

If you're stuck for something to do during the Christmas break then I highly recommend paying a visit to your local CeX shop.  Or perhaps you could visit your local

sex shop.  But I'm not taking my kids to one of those.  


The purpose of today's trip was to cash in an ancient Nintendo Wii and a shoebox full of Skylanders made redundant 3 months ago by the arrival of an Xbox.  Now that a respectful mourning period has passed, and with the promise that they could keep the proceeds of the games that they bought for it, the children and I packed a Sainsbo's bag for life and headed towards the promise of cash in exchange for a console.

I'm not sure what your workplace is like, but here is one that smells like piles of laundry dried on a bannister, overflowing ash trays and Monster energy drinks.  Alongside consoles, the shelves are heaving with shiny secondhand laptops and tablets, but the staff have to work from shitty Lenovo pcs with several keys missing - and the grime of a thousand finger prints on the ones that remain.  With dozens of lit up screens playing different demos and videos it's a no-go zone for anyone with sensory issues but the racks of alphabetised games behind the counter are a magnet for those with OCD.

And then there are the customers.......  Our visit was brief but whilst we were there the staff handled questions, objections and insults from every walk of life.  From the red-trousered dad who wanted to know "who I can speak to in Head Office about this" to the bell-end who said "This is shit.  I don't want a fucking refund, I want you to fucking exchange my game and no I won't fucking mind my language."  There was also the very nice lady who felt the need to explain precisely where she would, and wouldn't, be using her iPad and the likes of me who turn up with items for which they have to go through a whole cataloguing process in order to pay you 1p (the going rate for a Skylanders Swap Force Big Bang Trigger Happy in case you're wondering).  There was also the customer who was so suspicious of being ripped off that he went on the offensive with "NO - your're NOT going to offer me less for it" as soon as the cashier started to speak. 

Told you - 1p for a Skylander!

Here is a shop that I found challenging to be in, let alone work in but here is a shop where the staff were able to deal with everything that each customer threw at them without punching them in the face or calling them a twat.  They showed patience, restraint and initiative in the face of inane questions, personal insults and policies that are not entirely customer friendly.   

A trip to CeX is a trip out of your comfortable bubble that puts any petty work-related annoyances you may have into perspective.  It's also one of the few trips you can do with the children where you come out quids in.  Now what else can we sell.......?


Soundtrack: I Want Your Sex - George Michael