Product: The Sims 4

Platform: PC

Which language are you playing the game in? English

How often does the bug occur? 100%

What is your current game version number? 1.103.250.1020

What expansions, game packs, and stuff packs do you have installed? All EPs except Horse Ranch. Outdoor Retreat, Spa Day, Dine Out, Parenthood, Jungle Adventure, Dream Home Decorator. All SP except Vintage Glamour, Romantic Garden, and Paranormal.

Steps: How can we find the bug ourselves? Go to one of the community lots mentioned in the save file provided as a customer.

What happens when the bug occurs? Employees and customers don't show up and my sims are unable to purchase the items set for purchase by the lot owners. After testing from the retail owners side similar issues occur, customers don't show up and employees don't behave as they should. I also get a script error having MCCC installed. But I've tested for these issues both with and without mods and it persists. 

What do you expect to see? For retail stores to work as they should. 

Have you installed any customization with the game, e.g. Custom Content or Mods? Not now I've removed them.

Did this issue appear after a specific patch or change you made to your system? yes, the latest one it seems. 

I am so sad to say that the retail shops I have spent years building and developing are completely broken after the latest patch/EP, being For Rent. I have a ton of retail shops scattered all throughout my game, but now when I visit them employees don't show up, customers don't show up, and the ability to select items to purchase them is completely broken. 

Here is a link to the save file in question: Sims 4 Save

Magnolia Promenade has a grocery store that is now broken and not working, and willow creek has a farmers market that I've tested that isn't working. The issue persists in a vanilla game as well after removing all my mods. 

Edit By Crinrict: Added Tag to Title, Adjusted Title (still testing which scenarios are not working so title might still be off

I just had to go around all of my retail store owners once again and send them to the stores to reopen them as they'd all stopped working again. Most had to rehire staff even though I hadn't deleted them. I do clear out NPCs since For Rent and Lovestruck are causing too many to generate, but I avoid anyone hired in my stores.

I use them mostly for my new Sims to purchase collectables, decor, jewellery and produce such as nectar and preserves. So now when I'm creating a new household and I want to send them shopping I'm going to have to go around again and send each store owner to their retail lot and open it again manually. Then go back to the shopper's household and send them shopping.

I have one store which was not owned and I had to get someone to buy it as that was no longer functioning either. 

I don't know if it's relevant but it could be worth mentioning incase it can be reproduced, but the wrong potential staff are being suggested too. In the staffing options I'm seeing most of my other Sims that use Register with the Ministry of Labour and are self employed, most are retailers themselves. There's a Barista there too who already has a job. Only 1 or 2 available Sims are on the list. I expect it to be full of unemployed Sims, not business owners or employed Sims. It's really difficult to pick staff this way. It's also showing staff already hired at another retail lot. It may be a separate issue or part of the staffing problem, but maybe relevant. Once the store is opened it's adding other NPC staff along with the Sim I've hired, as it has always done.

I just had to go around all of my retail store owners once again and send them to the stores to reopen them as they'd all stopped working again. Most had to rehire staff even though I hadn't deleted them. I do clear out NPCs since For Rent and Lovestruck are causing too many to generate, but I avoid anyone hired in my stores.

I use them mostly for my new Sims to purchase collectables, decor, jewellery and produce such as nectar and preserves. So now when I'm creating a new household and I want to send them shopping I'm going to have to go around again and send each store owner to their retail lot and open it again manually. Then go back to the shopper's household and send them shopping.

I have one store which was not owned and I had to get someone to buy it as that was no longer functioning either. 

I don't know if it's relevant but it could be worth mentioning incase it can be reproduced, but the wrong potential staff are being suggested too. In the staffing options I'm seeing most of my other Sims that use Register with the Ministry of Labour and are self employed, most are retailers themselves. There's a Barista there too who already has a job. Only 1 or 2 available Sims are on the list. I expect it to be full of unemployed Sims, not business owners or employed Sims. It's really difficult to pick staff this way. It's also showing staff already hired at another retail lot. It may be a separate issue or part of the staffing problem, but maybe relevant. Once the store is opened it's adding other NPC staff along with the Sim I've hired, as it has always done.

Please use this thread going forward: [CD] [GTW] Retail worker/vets don't spawn for business as customer/Can't buy | EA Forums - 5044322 

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@simsplayer818 wrote:

I got this to work by rehiring all my Staff and getting all of my retailers to go to each store and open them again. My stores are working again on Xbox Series X with all content.

Hope this helps!

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Thanks. I'll give this a try. 

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@simsplayer818 wrote:

I got this to work by rehiring all my Staff and getting all of my retailers to go to each store and open them again. My stores are working again on Xbox Series X with all content.

Hope this helps!

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Thanks. I'll give this a try. 

Nope. Still can't play as a customer and purchase from owned retail stores.

Nope. Still can't play as a customer and purchase from owned retail stores.

Still broken.

We have all these things we can make and sell in retail shops - bakery goods, crystal creations, pizza, nectar, etc - but our shops are useless except when we play as the owner. I can't send my non-owner sims to a jewelry shop to buy and an engagement ring. I can't buy a finely aged bottle of nectar for their anniversary dinner. They can't pick up a pizza, because they hate to cook. It's not just the mechanics that have been broken - it's the stories as well. 

I've stopped playing with my shops. Half the fun was being able to shop them as a non-owner. 

Same with Vet Clinics. 

Helmuth Von Gluck hates cooking. When he's tired of eating cheese, he'd like to do more than just stare longingly at the wonderful food on display.

Still broken.

We have all these things we can make and sell in retail shops - bakery goods, crystal creations, pizza, nectar, etc - but our shops are useless except when we play as the owner. I can't send my non-owner sims to a jewelry shop to buy and an engagement ring. I can't buy a finely aged bottle of nectar for their anniversary dinner. They can't pick up a pizza, because they hate to cook. It's not just the mechanics that have been broken - it's the stories as well. 

I've stopped playing with my shops. Half the fun was being able to shop them as a non-owner. 

Same with Vet Clinics. 

Helmuth Von Gluck hates cooking. When he's tired of eating cheese, he'd like to do more than just stare longingly at the wonderful food on display.

I remember @crinrict suggested once to add the employees to a household and save them into your saved households; that way they are not culled; also disable their stories so they don't change jobs; but it doesn't fix the bug of this topic, sadly, but at least will keep your employees the same for that retail/vet clinic

Off-topic: crinrict, I'm quoting your nickname when I talk about your tips and helpful information you share because I wanna give credit to you, but please send me a message if it's not a good idea to ping this way.

@CostaI think I can help with the Vet Clinic, when you go to the vet as a owner, you are the vet, everyone in the household is the vet there is no one sim, that is the vet. On my other save I been using that for my teen sim to be a vet when he is not in school for a while you can treat your dog by just taking the dog to the bed and it will start, though best to do that when the vet is closed though so you don't have customers complaining. If you go to the vet as a child of the vet owner the vets will not show up and the place will auto close, because the owner on lot is invalid.

For the Retail lots, non owned lots auto open. The store will have the last state saved so if the store is closed when you visit, you can't buy anything at the lot. Owners don't have to go to the lot to open it, just use the business pannel in the UI and find your retail lot and click the open button. Also everyone in the household is the business owner, so you can't visit the retail lot as a sim in the same household as a customer. Lots are saved in the same state the owner left it, unless changed remotely by the UI interface.

Edit: I forgot, if you are having trouble getting retail employees make sure you got them hired as owner, and that there are sims in the retail career, since it is a playable career now for young adults and adults.  You at least need one sim in retail career to spawn the retail co workers for your retail shops.