If you’ve ever wondered why we don’t post more pleasant stories about GameStop, it’s because we don’t get many positive stories about the video game retailer. So when one reader wrote in to share the tale of a GameStop that went the extra mile to solve a $500 issue, our ears perked up.

Consumerist reader David recently had his wallet stolen. He went through the usual hassle of calling the police, alerting the credit card companies and getting replacement cards, but he wasn’t sure what to do about his GameStop Edge card that had around $500 in credit on it.

“I’d gotten to know the guys at my local GameStop as they are exceptions to the rule,” writes David. “Always honest, happy and not pushy in the least.”

Hoping this quality of service would be extended to his stolen card issue, David called the store and spoke to S., the GameStop manager:

“I mentioned that my wallet was stolen and he immediately knew the implications. He asked if I had the number of the card written down (which, naturally, I didn’t), or a receipt where any of the credit was used (again, in a bankers box packed away).

“S. told me that once credit has been used, the transaction is wiped at the local level. Our only hope for recovering the credit was to find an exact date for a transaction that was completely traceable. I had done some smart trades to get a launch-day 3DS, so I figured that was something we could go on. S. asked me for the serial number of the system, which I could give him. He told me to hang tight and he’d call back if anything could be done.

“Well, sure enough, about an hour later, S. called me back and told me that he had been in touch with Head Office, and they had located the credit file! Not only had the credit not been used, but they were going to cancel the card on file, issue a new one directly at head office and courier it to the store for me. About three hours after that, S. called one more time to invite me to come in to pick up the card.”

The GameStop manager could have easily just said “Sorry, there’s nothing I can do for you,” and the company would have been able to hold on to $500. Instead, he worked with David to resolve the issue in a way that not only got the customer his credit back, but moved him to write us to share his story.

We probably don’t say it often enough that most people are good and decent human beings, regardless of where they work. Unfortunately, even the best people are often stuck working within systems that don’t encourage — or openly discourage — the kind of creative thinking employed by the GameStop manager in this case.

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