EB Games was much better before GS took 'em over. EB NEVER had any of those policies.
I used to know the guy that ran the local EB - He would personally drive to the EB warehouse to pick up reserved copies of games for the customers, and sold them to us a day before they came to market...Now it's usually 2 days after the game comes out, and only if you reserve the game.
Back from the dead, I'm afraid.