Waah! I couldn't get back into the LIC-NY store :(

[Rapid T Rabbit]

Just a day after my real birthday, I thought it would be fun again to drop by my nearest CEC store in Long Island City, this time when it wouldn't be crowded.

But I was stopped at the door because I didn't have a kid with me!

Yet last month, I took Nevin with me and we both got in with no problem. Was that because they thought Nevin was a kid?

Not that I went there very often since the place opened ten years ago, but looks like I can't anymore. And this place even has the Chuck E Derby horse ride that I love.

So, is this a standard rule too now? Or is it store-by-store?

Times like this make me really miss my old spot at U-NJ back when everybody was welcome there..... :(

[raebigc]

Man.... I don't know what's going on with that. I went with my friends at a cec near my area, and we got in no problem, so I don't know what the heck is goin on.

[bzier]

Every store uses discretion as to who comes in and who doesn't, from what I've seen. We're supposed to let anybody over the age of 18 in, whether or not they have a child with them, but...since we live in a day and age where there are perverts and pedophiles all over the place, some people automatically think that an adult guy coming to CEC alone is 'weird'...and they almost always jump to conclusions. I had this situation happen last weekend at my store, and I let these guys in the store, because as far as I'm concerned, they're welcome. Sadly, many parents in the store complained to me thinking these guys were perverts and didn't belong, yet all they were doing was playing games, so I told the parents I'd keep my eyes on them, but that they were alloweed to stay. They never did anything wrong, and they never even talked to anybody, but like I said, people jump to conclusions right away nowdays. It's understandable, but it just sucks for us guys who don't have kids but still want to come in and have fun.

[VegaNova]

Even with each store having a policy of how to deal with guests, I don't see how they can not allow someone over 18 to come in. Legally, anyway. And I'm not trying to downplay the reality of pedophiles and such, but it just seems like denying admittance based on something like that runs along questionably legal lines.

Even if somone (childless adult male) makes customers uncomfortable and is bad for business, I don't see how you can stop someone at the door before they've been given the chance to show they really are "bad for business". You'd think to enforce a door policy they'd have to have it posted somewhere, like they would a dress code.

I'm not a lawyer, it just seems questionable to me....