This page documents those aspects of customer service that we understand YOU find most important. So, as one key factor in your decision about where to buy your games, we tell you how we do on these service qualities you find important.

What Service Standards are Important?

When you buy games from any source, you want to know what is available (and what's not). You want to know the current price. You want to know when your games will be shipped to you, and when they'll arrive at your doorstep. And you want just what you order to show up, nothing more or less, without damage.

 

Problems happens despite the best intent. So, when they do, you want a quick answer that addresses the problem you see, and you want to be satisfied with an equitable resolution.

 

We at Fine Games understand what you value. So, we run our business professionally, not as an intermittent hobby. And we monitor our performance continually so as to provide the best service to you possible. So, read further to learn the specific standards we seek to maintain.

No BS

First and foremost, we insist on doing business without any degree of bullshit. We tell you what we know and believe, both in our catalogs & in our direct communications. We don't lie, fib, whitewash or equivocate. If we don't have something, we tell you. You can rely on what we tell you, and on the information contained in our web site.

 

In return, we expect that you'll honor to commitment to buy what you say you will buy, that you'll send payment promptly, that your bank honors your payment, and use our time wisely when you ask for advice or product research.

Full Product Selection and Stock Availability

We know you value your freedom of choice: freedom to choose from as wide a selection of games as possible. Freedom to select from games both new & used, in- and out-of-print. So, Fine Games maintains an inventory of nearly 2,500 unique items and well over 10,000 actual items on hand. Add to that another 2,000 items we don't stock but can special order for you. That's about 4,500 strategy gaming items to choose from.

 

We know you want accurate information. So, we maintain our catalogs each day. All changes are posted as our online catalogs are updated, something that we do 2-3 times each week. Thus, you can rely on our online catalogs to accurately represent our inventory for 99⁺% of all items listed.

 

You can also rely on the description of our games. Each game is described concisely. If its a winner or a real dog, we say so in clear terms. Further, you get accurate, specific information on the physical condition of each game -- something that's hard to trust with most internet dealers.

 

Lastly, you want to know that if we confirm availability, you will receive the game with your order. We call this our "fill rate," and it is runs a consistent 99.5% or more. However, when those rare exceptions occur, we let you know what's happening & present you with your options in the situation.

Responsiveness to Emailed and Phone Inquiries

You want answers -- answers to your questions about availability, about special orders, about how to order. We respect that and respond to all incoming communications within just a few hours each weekday. Fine Games responds fast to your inquiries. In some cases, we'll exchange several emails thru the course of a day leading to the completion of an order. So you don't have to wait or wonder; you know.

Explicit Pricing Information

You want specifics. Prices for each item and for services such as shipping. Each of our catalogs provides this for you. Specific prices for the items we stock or monitor for special order purposes. They also summarize how domestic shipping is calculated. Elsewhere on our web site, you'll find full details on how to calculate shipping for our domestic and international customers, including our full International Shipping Rate Chart. In fact, nearly all our business practices are outlined in our web site.

FAST Shipping Turn-Around with Flexible Shipping Options

Once you've ordered, you want your games ASAP. Fine Games supports that by shipping your order at the earliest possible moment (when both all ordered items and your payment are on hand). Thus, the average order waits only 1.4 days before being shipped (and this includes weekends, when we do not ship). In fact, we ship your order the same day it is placed 58% of the time (when it arrives by 3pm PST).

Prompt, Responsive Problem Resolution

You want problems to be resolved quickly and properly when they happen, without hassle. Fine Games understands this, and we do our best to make it happen.

 

Despite our best intentions, we do make mistakes. Sometimes we ship the wrong game or forget to ship an item. Sometimes an item is flawed in a way that we didn't notice during its inspection.

 

Regardless, once we learn of a problem, we do what we need to resolve it. Quickly. And if we made the mistake, we assume the financial impact. So, if we ship you the wrong game, we pay for your return shipping costs. If we forget to ship you something, we send you a replacement without additional cost to you. We promise to resolve whatever problem occurs in the most equitable way possible.

 

Fine Games tracks the "Costs of Poor Quality" as an itemized expense line on our Income Statement. That's how committed we are to continually improving the service we provide to you. (It was $52 in 1999, down substantially from 1998.)

We Inspect EVERY Used Game that Passes Thru Our Doors

Each and every used game we sell is inspected so that you can make an intelligent buying decision given your unique tastes and standards. We take pride in the detail we provide about each item's flaws as we know you appreciate knowing, rather than guessing, a game's condition before you buy it.

 

And you won't find nonsensical descriptors like "near mint" from Fine Games.

 

(Note that we do not routinely inspect or open New games, those that we buy from distributors or publishers rather than from individual game players. New games are assumed to be complete and without flaw, and we will assist you in contacting the appropriate manufacturer to secure replacement parts where this is necessary.)

Continuous Improvement in the Value & Services Fine Games Offers

You want your favored suppliers to remain competitive rather than just rest on their laurels. Fine Games accepts this challenge, and labors to improve both our internal processes and the web tools you use to access our information. For example, 2 years ago we made our inventory accessible in real time so that we can provide certain availability info. In August of 2000, we completely revised our web site to make it easier to navigate & find what you need; this was our third major update.

 

We plan to further enhance our web site by the inclusion of various form-based tools to allow you to order, update your contact info, and even search for games of your choice. The investment in time and $ to do so is substantial so we are proceeding carefully though we realize we are somewhat behind the times in providing interactive tools on our web site.