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This Artist Created 40 New Comics That People Working In Retail Will Probably Relate To
Interview With Artist
Do any of you have experience working in retail? If yes, you will probably find the comics we've selected for you today quite relatable. If not, you can get a glimpse into the reality of working in the customer service field and gain a better understanding of what people in that line of work deal with on a daily basis.
Many of our regular readers will be familiar with the comic series by Stephen Beals. We've featured numerous strips by him in our previous Bored Panda posts, so be sure to check them out. This time, we'd like to share with you only the most recent works by the artist, who posts new comics daily.
More info: Instagram | stbeals.com | twitter.com | Facebook
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
John Lynch 2 years ago
My mum works in court houses... its way more true than you know.... Only worst situation I heard of was a jail in southern California.... once an hour was not enough and that's not the employees faults at all....
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Jessica N 2 years ago
I always thought mens rooms would be grosser than womens. Nope. It just smells worse. Women throw all their garbage on floor, leave unwrapped sanitary items stuck to garbage cans...sigh. if you wouldn't do it at home, don't do it to a public place! Wrap your used items in tp like they showed in health class- noone wants to see it.
TiNaBoNiNa 2 years ago (edited)
Smeared poo all over the stall and walls.
Load More Replies... TiNaBoNiNa 2 years ago (edited)
Former retail slave here. I was happy if they used bathrooms. I can't tell you how much pee and poo we would find in the dressing rooms. Also, don't wait till you can't hold it anymore people. No one wants to see the pee/poo trail as you hightail it to the restroom.
Rylosalex 2 years ago
Yes!! Why go to the bathroom in the fitting room? There's no toilet paper, what are you gonna wipe yourself with huh?
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JessieJ&LilyLovebug 2 years ago
And it's the people that squat, rather than sit, causing the problems...THEY are the ones who pee all over the toilet, and then don't bother to clean up after themselves.
Diana Wilcox 2 years ago
I lift the toilet seat to avoid causing this problem.
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Candace Reagan 2 years ago
I have to call out my coworkers that leave the restrooms for the next shift to clean. If everyone would get off their high horse and help out it wouldn't be as bad. But I agree people are gross
FrostyStyx 2 years ago
This. When I worked retail, the bathrooms would be so gross even after 30 minutes of being cleaned. 🤢
Fluffy mommy panda 2 years ago
True story people are crazyly disgusting and 100% know they do it on purpose no one puts s**t in the sink on accident.
FranklySpeaking 2 years ago
People are disgusting, especially people who know they don't have to clean up after themselves. You know, like little children.
Robert Trebor 2 years ago
In the 1980s my church moved into a new for us building downtown, the older church having moved out to a huge mortgage on the edge of town. I and an elderly man opened the church building every Sunday, and while I got the coffee on, and heaters or a/c, he checked the restrooms, and invariably the ladies' room was trashed out. Our cleaners worked on Friday afternoons. The previous occupants were supposed to have handed in their keys, and we got about 50 (!), but I suspected there were more. We changed the locks, and the restrooms were sparkling clean on Sunday morning. Some of the other church ladies stopped in to find out why we changed the locks and were told that it wasn't their church building any more. Use the very well maintained public restrooms on the market square.
Bored Panda got in touch with Stephen Beals again. We wanted to find out more about his comic series and the creative process. First, we were wondering about his favorite moment or elements of the comic creation process, from conceptualization to the final product. Beals shared with us: “Maybe it's a boring answer, but I love the whole process! I would even feel sad when I finish if I wasn't always in a hurry to get it online. Designing a new character (who may or may not look like somebody I know) is always fun. If a character is based on a real person, I have to alter the design so that the real person doesn't see it and say, 'Oh my god, you've turned me into a cartoon!' However, some coworkers have discovered me (thanks to Bored Panda), and one person even read all of the previous comics (back to the day that I started working with her) to see what parts of her personality made it into the comic. That was stressful.”
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#2
I'm.Just.A.Girl 2 years ago
There are so many times that I have to laugh to keep from crying lol.
Dekker451 2 years ago
I don't doubt that has happened, but I worked 12 years in a drugstore (about half in the front end, half in the pharmacy itself) and I've never had anyone who was complaining about the business hours apologize, blame themselves or otherwise back down in any way. The best I could hope for was for them to just go away. Were our business hours posted on Google Maps? Yes. On our own website? Definitely. On the front goddamn door? Hell yes! And in all three places, the front end and pharmacy hours were also listed separately since they were different from each other with the pharmacy hours being shorter. Did they bother to do their due diligence and check any of these places first? No, of course not. And yes, I know, there must have been people who did, but you don't get bonus points for doing the bare minimum.
Lester the Space Duck 2 years ago
If only they would be like that instead of screaming and demanding to be waited on.
Steve Robert 2 years ago
I don't understand why the 24 hour CVS closes between 12-12:30pm, just when working people can use their lunch break to pick up their prescriptions. I know that the staff needs to eat, but couldn't they come up with a better solution?
Jaya 2 years ago
Agree, they could have different shifts, like 1 person having lunch a bit early and 1 having lunch a bit late, so that there's always someone at the counter. And I also hate that they close at 5PM (where I live) and are closed on the weekend, so if you have a job in a different city, you actually have to take time off work to visit the pharmacy, so annoying.
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FranklySpeaking 2 years ago
Truly sad that there are so many who can't make a decision and allow others to do it for them.
We also wanted to know more about Stephen’s favorite tools or software that he uses for creating his comics, and what makes them essential to his process. The artist explained: “Winsor & Newton watercolor brush is my favorite tool. It can ease a trembling hand. My hands are not too steady after a long day, so it's safe to say that a good brush can hide a trembling hand. Recreating a similar brush in Photoshop or Procreate is essential. I can tell that you'll be amazed at how much your style changes with the tools you use, even if they are digital.”
#5
Asked if he ever faced any criticism or backlash for the content of his comics, Stephen answered: “I went to a very good art school where we had to put our art on the wall. The teacher and each student would critique it. That was the ultimate test for becoming tough with the comments. It's one thing if fans of your work are praising it, but it's a completely different ballgame when peers you respect point out what they do and do not like.”
#6
Joe Standford 2 years ago (edited)
Oh alrighty then, I'll be sure to let the CEO know you guys can't do basic customer service
#7
Sergy Yeltsen 2 years ago
Why on earth do you need someone to "welcome" people into your store? They should be apologising for the price gouging going on instead.
Susan Reid Smith 2 years ago
I respectfully disagree. If you see information that stores' profits increase, look and see if that is raw numbers or if the percentage of their profits increase. Prices are likely going up for the stores too.
Load More Replies...The artist continued: “Online, it's a bit of a free for all. There have been a few comics that have caused thousands of comments, and some of them (of course) can be quite nasty. I just remind myself that if I've made something that has caused thousands of comments, I can easily ignore the nasty ones because I've obviously hit a nerve. I should add that nasty comments typically don't add anything. If I don't like something, telling the creator that I don't like it only affects myself. If I had some sort of actual critique and wish to point out what works and what doesn't, it usually isn't nasty. Hateful comments continue to baffle me. I've had to block a few people on different platforms because they go out of their way to repeatedly tell me how much they do not like me. It's like blocking a debt collector.”
#8
#9
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
Dodged a bullet full of clueless managers right there. Amazing sense of timing that one has.
U.R. Kidding 2 years ago
Kinda like someone planned it out in advance, eh?
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Lastly, we were curious if there is any dream project or collaboration that Beals hopes to undertake in the future. We found out that: “Yes. Graphic novels or books! The Humor section at most bookstores is sadly lacking comics. I think one-off collections with a theme are sorely needed. New Yorker cartoonists are kind of by themselves in the Humor section these days, and I think we need more funny books with funny drawings.”
#10
Tree P 2 years ago
No, the store gets the money. The seller gets a pittance.
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Lauren Capp 2 years ago
16 years of retai under my belt and even after 4 years of leaving retail, the past keeps me from getting into the holidays.
#11
Matthew Walton 2 years ago
What's really fun is when they want to buy an appliance through self-checkout.
Hollie Marie 2 years ago
I just need to scan the barcode Customer proceeds to show me the security tag No that's not it it's the one on the box the smaller one
Arthur Waite 2 years ago
I was considering using my computer to print up a dozen or so stickers that would say: "Self-Checkout 20% Discount", then putting them in various places in my local Big-Box store. Then watch the riot break out. Just considering.
Steve Robert 2 years ago (edited)
I refuse to scan my own groceries until I get a 10% discount for doing so. I'm paying good money at the store to provide cashier's, and I'm not working for free. Besides, I screw up so much they're going to arrest me because I scanned something wrong, and now I'm accused of shoplifting. Don't laugh, this has definitely happened to innocent shoppers!
#12
Sans Serif (Sans) 2 years ago
Never hire anyone who actually wants the job -- initial display of poor judgement!
U.R. Kidding 2 years ago
Real interview. Internal candidate looking for a promotion, was fair-to-good. Last question? "Why do you want this job?" Went off on a rant how he hated his job, his manager, his co-workers and was going crazy. Promotion would have been more pressure, essentially a harder version of the same job, and for the same management team. Just a change of supervisor. Nope.
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Catharina Geerts 2 years ago
It happened to me several times that I couldn't get a job that I wanted, but I did get one that I didn't want at all
#13
#14
H.J. carlson 2 years ago
Yes, that's how to keep yourself sane doing retail 😅
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#15
dremetrius 2 years ago
Meanwhile THAT co-worker 24 hours previous: I'b debber bissed a day's wurg id by life!
Steve Robert 2 years ago
Shouldn't something you catch at work be a worker comp situation? You wouldn't have gotten sick if the manager didn't let sick people work. Sounds reasonable to me.
Giles McArdell 2 years ago
Teachers should get hazard pay for having to deal with all those little spreaders.
#16
#17
Lemme get the lemons 2 years ago
Think outside the bush,anything too outside the box is weird, you don't have to be crazy to work here. That's for upper management
Load More Replies... TiNaBoNiNa 2 years ago
You have to be at least slightly sociopathic to make it to the top of the company.
#18
#20
Pancake_Pansexual_Panda 2 years ago
Sometimes the workers would say: "Thank you for shopping with us." and I'm like: "You too!" And then I realize
#21
U.R. Kidding 2 years ago
Day 1: You put them in the fruit basket for them to ripen. Day 2: hard as a brick still. Day 3: covered with mold.
Load More Replies... Steve Robert 2 years ago
I'm sorry but Chilian fruit tastes different from California fruits. And not in a good way.
#22
#23
#24
Severus S 2 years ago
They make us, mostly im looking at how you answer them and hopefully dont say anything too daft. The 5 year question is to find people that want to progress or if people just want a steady job, strength and weakness is mostly me finding out if you f up will you admit it or lie about it.
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Adam Zad 2 years ago
Siri kept calling me Shirley and I was getting really annoyed, then I realized I left my phone in Airplane! mode.
Steve Robert 2 years ago
What is Airplane? It's like a bus that flies, but that's not important now.
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#26
Bill Swallow 2 years ago
Blame the way Bored Panda sorts its lists based on user voting totals.
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#27
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)
Or it might go very well, if customers respond well to them. They sound really friendly, though a little empty headed.
Load More Replies... TiNaBoNiNa 2 years ago
Every place I've worked for won't let family members work in the same department. If it's a small place, they can't work in the same store.
#28
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#33
Tree P 2 years ago
When I worked in retail, the previous store would call and warn the next store of the visit.
#34
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