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[TRENCHES] Thursday, October 25, 2012 - Oblivious

GethGeth LegionPerseus VeilRegistered User, Moderator, Penny Arcade Staff, Vanilla Staff vanilla
edited October 2012 in The Penny Arcade Hub
Oblivious


Oblivious
http://trenchescomic.com/comic/post/oblivious

But what if they stab me?

Anonymous

I put in my time as a game store employee. I won’t say exactly which store it was, but suffice to say that they sold “games”, thus one might “stop” there. I was young, impressionable, and drawn in with the promise of all the games I could ever play.

Like any retail job, the holidays were hell. I had a woman throw not one, not five, but seven PSP games at me simultaneously. At one point I was so sick that I stood by the door handing out flyers with one hand and taking swigs of Dayquil with the other.

But the worst part? Corporate created a new policy. It was as follows:

When the line at your register gets exceptionally long, make eye contact with the person in the very last place and ask them “Are you having fun yet?”.

Not only was it moronic, embarrassing, and insulting to the customer, but corporate sent out secret shoppers to make sure the policy was enforced. On top of all that, we worked in a less than savory part of town, and I was pretty sure several times that I was just going to be outright shanked on the sales floor.

Gotta love retail.


Geth on

Posts

  • RMS OceanicRMS Oceanic Registered User regular
    "Horrifying" made me smile. The policy in the story is outright confusing. Who thought that was a good idea?

  • NaxNax For Sanguinius! Registered User regular
    edited October 2012
    I've worked for said retail store the entire life of the PSP.... That did not happen on a corporate level, ever.

    Nax on
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  • pirateluigipirateluigi Arr, it be me. Registered User regular
    Nax wrote: »
    I've worked for said retail store the entire life of the PSP.... That did not happen on a corporate level, ever.

    Maybe it was a regional thing? It's sounds like the kind of policy a really dumb store manager would put in place, but an individual store manager wouldn't actually hire secret shoppers.

    But then again, maybe that was just an empty threat on the part of this particularly dumb store manager.

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  • zepherinzepherin Russian warship, go fuck yourself Registered User regular
    Working retail reminds me of something that was said in office space.

    Every day I show up to work is worst than the last, so every day you see me working is the worst day of my life.

  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    I thank my stars every day that the closest I have ever needed to come to working retail was working in a library, which had VERY limited direct contact with the public, and even then nobody actually cared that much if they had a $0.50 fine or their book wasn't in.

    I realize that not everyone has been as lucky as me, and I hugely sympathize with people who have to deal with the general public every day because that's the only job they can get. Sadly, the best I can do is be that quiet guy who patiently waits in line and doesn't yell if everything doesn't go his way for the individual retail services person who happens to be dealing with me at the time.




  • GyralGyral Registered User regular
    So is the endgame of the strip that Cora's actions gets everyone fired?

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  • StormwatcherStormwatcher Blegh BlughRegistered User regular
    Ok, This is the best week Trenches ever had

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  • kingworkskingworks Registered User regular
    There are 3 Gamestops within a couple of miles of each other in my town. I almost never set foot in them as I can't stand the high pressure "sign up for our magazine/how many pre-orders can I get from you?" BS they hit customers with. Prices aren't that good, anyway.

    My retail scars came from working for Books-a-Million while in college. And yeah, holidays were the worst.

  • DiannaoChongDiannaoChong Registered User regular
    I thought this policy actually came up when we still were allowed to have the retail thread? It died off pretty quickly mainly for the issues the story stated.

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  • Fatty McBeardoFatty McBeardo Registered User regular
    Oh wow if Lawstar is going F2P I might reactivate!

    Wait what

  • jzimbertjzimbert Registered User regular
    Yup, holidays in retail. I used to work at the piano store in the mall, and one December, we got two customers. In the same month! So glad I got out of there.

  • worstrobineverworstrobinever Registered User new member
    Can anyone clarify something for me? Mary Cagle has been drawing this comic for over a month now, correct? Why isn't she being credited? The bottom of the strip only lists Jerry, Scott and Mike and the "About the Authors" page makes no mention of her.

  • BobbleBobble Registered User regular
    Can anyone clarify something for me? Mary Cagle has been drawing this comic for over a month now, correct? Why isn't she being credited? The bottom of the strip only lists Jerry, Scott and Mike and the "About the Authors" page makes no mention of her.
    Mary is building her own Trenches story to contribute.

  • AurichAurich ArizonaRegistered User regular
    Can anyone clarify something for me? Mary Cagle has been drawing this comic for over a month now, correct? Why isn't she being credited? The bottom of the strip only lists Jerry, Scott and Mike and the "About the Authors" page makes no mention of her.
    Because it's something they've (Cagle and Kurtz) said they're working out right now. Or maybe it's been worked out and she doesn't care if she's not credited. We're not to make a fuss about it anymore.

    This is a real good'un. Like almost all Trenches punchlines fall flat for me, but this is genuinely funny. Bravo!

    And I know I hate it when people read those stories about horrifying industry practices and get all "Nope. There is no way. It's crap." but as someone who's spent his entire working life in retail I call straight-up bullshit on this one. "Are you having fun yet?" doesn't even need to be misinterpeted; it's default position is "You are clearly not having fun."

  • Khade97Khade97 PE10, UKRegistered User regular
    edited October 2012
    Can anyone clarify something for me? Mary Cagle has been drawing this comic for over a month now, correct? Why isn't she being credited? The bottom of the strip only lists Jerry, Scott and Mike and the "About the Authors" page makes no mention of her.

    I think that is a "banned" topic of discussion, or at least Tube always shuts the conversation down. In all fairness, who gets credited it between the four of them and what agreements they have in place.

    Edit: From a few threads back (for your reference);
    Suffice to say that it's a topic under discussion by the people who need to be discussing it, and I am absolutely being compensated for my time. But I appreciate the concern : )
    Tube wrote: »
    It's her prerogative to deal with her own career. She's already clearly stated she doesn't want a fight to break out over it and we are now drawing a line under the discussion. You're welcome to your opinion, but it's absolutely none of your business.

    Khade97 on
  • worstrobineverworstrobinever Registered User new member
    edited October 2012
    K. Didn't realize it was verboten. Will keep my ear to the ground as things develop.

    worstrobinever on
  • Commander ZoomCommander Zoom Registered User regular
    Because, as we know from the stories that appear under the strips, artists and contract workers are always fairly compensated and treated by the employers, and never exploited with promises of "exposure" or future work in the industry.

  • DarkewolfeDarkewolfe Registered User regular
    Because, as we know from the stories that appear under the strips, artists and contract workers are always fairly compensated and treated by the employers, and never exploited with promises of "exposure" or future work in the industry.

    Are you suggesting that the comic itself might be an enhanced part of the experience? A meta example or even an ARG in which we discover that the systemic abuse by people in positions of power over newcomers to an industry trying to make names for themselves spills over into the comic world as well? In which we discover that the artist for this comic is like the QA guys, never getting enough credit for what they do and being used by the next guy up for profit?

    That would be a most excellent ARG and would massively increase my opinion of the rather bland Trenches.

    What is this I don't even.
  • wormspeakerwormspeaker Objectively Terrible Registered User regular
    Can anyone clarify something for me? Mary Cagle has been drawing this comic for over a month now, correct? Why isn't she being credited? The bottom of the strip only lists Jerry, Scott and Mike and the "About the Authors" page makes no mention of her.

    The "bottom of the strip" is the copyright section. She does not own the copyright therefore she will not be listed there. (Probably never will, unless she wants to trade in some of her income for a portion of the copyright ownership, which is unlikely to be offered.) Also, to my knowledge she has not yet written for the comic (Jerry, Mike, and Scott have apparently written far enough into the future that they won't be out of material for a long while.) and therefore is not an author. So she does not belong on the author's page either.

    This situation is not unusual. The vast majority of your favorite comic books and graphic novels (and certainly most if not all of any Manga you like) have been drawn at least in part, and sometimes in whole, by someone other than the person who is listed on the cover. Many of these artists are never credited anywhere in print. That's the SOP for the industry, which is to say that it is not like the movies or television where anyone who picks up something off the ground must be credited as a grip and anyone who writes a single word on a script must be credited as a writer.

    There is no requirement (legal, moral, ethical, or commercial) that the artist be credited, unless it's part of her contract. Just as there is no requirement that the person who does my tattoos put their name on the work either. I paid for him to draw on my skin, not for him to put his name there.

    If Mary had wanted to be credited officially on the strip, I am sure she could have worked that into her contract. As it stands she apparently didn't care, so she's not listed. And if she didn't care, the rest of us shouldn't either.

  • fortyforty Registered User regular
    This could turn it around for Lawstar!

  • TubeTube Registered User admin
    Since Mary's credit is no one's business but her own, we're not going to be discussing it further in this thread.

  • HenroidHenroid Mexican kicked from Immigration Thread Centrism is Racism :3Registered User regular
    Comic: I can't wait to see the silly shit they come up with regarding free-to-play. It's something that's been on my mind a lot lately.

    Story: The shit employers want you to do when you're working any level of customer service is retarded and I really hate it. I almost always write it off and never bother, because I don't need lines to throw out to seem friendly and inviting. I can do that on my own. Employers come up with that sorta shit because they know not every employee is capable of being a friendly personality. Rather than train it though, they make some stupid goddamn mandate that makes us seem like puppets and I resent the hell out of it.

  • NeuroskepticNeuroskeptic Registered User regular
    Can we stop talking about Mary's credit? It's come up in like 3 threads now and every time the mods are all, stop this, but no, people don't.

    Re: the strip, ohhh... Lawstar is SWTOR.

  • astronautcowboy3astronautcowboy3 Registered User regular
    I swear that I've read this story before, with the exact same beginning and a completely different ending. Perhaps is "game" store that you "stop" at bit is just a commonly used phrase by former employees looking to slyly discuss the company.

    I'm actually ready for this strip to reboot. The Lawstar storyline still has potential, but I think it's time for people to move on. They aren't really testers anymore. This game is much more about them playing their game on their own time now more than anything.

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  • JohnnyricoMCJohnnyricoMC Registered User regular
    edited October 2012
    Again no thread for the newest comic. This saddens me, for it has Toots sitting on a rocket hat with tons of hats on his little fluffy head!

    JohnnyricoMC on
  • collinccollinc Registered User regular
    edited October 2012
    Again no thread for the newest comic. This saddens me, for it has Toots sitting on a rocket hat with tons of hats on his little fluffy head!

    A hat shaped rocket none the less.

    Yeah very disappointing. Also, is it just me or does this comic seem hugely out of place? Almost like we've dropped the entire story line we've been following?

    collinc on
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  • GaslightGaslight Registered User regular
    collinc wrote: »
    Again no thread for the newest comic. This saddens me, for it has Toots sitting on a rocket hat with tons of hats on his little fluffy head!

    A hat shaped rocket none the less.

    Yeah very disappointing. Also, is it just me or does this comic seem hugely out of place? Almost like we've dropped the entire story line we've been following?

    If you mean today's comic, I think they've just fast-forwarded a couple days/weeks to after the F2P transition Lima Bean Boss talks about in the "Oblivious" comic." Or maybe the testers are working on the F2P content hats. Either way, I don't see how it's hard to follow.

  • JohnnyricoMCJohnnyricoMC Registered User regular
    edited October 2012
    It's an obvious wink to TF2 (a game I liked a lot better before Valve went crazy with first new weapons, then hats and now F2P + crafting + pay for gets items I might add).

    JohnnyricoMC on
  • collinccollinc Registered User regular
    Gaslight wrote: »
    collinc wrote: »
    Again no thread for the newest comic. This saddens me, for it has Toots sitting on a rocket hat with tons of hats on his little fluffy head!

    A hat shaped rocket none the less.

    Yeah very disappointing. Also, is it just me or does this comic seem hugely out of place? Almost like we've dropped the entire story line we've been following?

    If you mean today's comic, I think they've just fast-forwarded a couple days/weeks to after the F2P transition Lima Bean Boss talks about in the "Oblivious" comic." Or maybe the testers are working on the F2P content hats. Either way, I don't see how it's hard to follow.

    Well did they drop the whole mole and player revolt story line? Cora speaking for the players and all that?

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  • GaslightGaslight Registered User regular
    edited October 2012
    collinc wrote: »
    Gaslight wrote: »
    collinc wrote: »
    Again no thread for the newest comic. This saddens me, for it has Toots sitting on a rocket hat with tons of hats on his little fluffy head!

    A hat shaped rocket none the less.

    Yeah very disappointing. Also, is it just me or does this comic seem hugely out of place? Almost like we've dropped the entire story line we've been following?

    If you mean today's comic, I think they've just fast-forwarded a couple days/weeks to after the F2P transition Lima Bean Boss talks about in the "Oblivious" comic." Or maybe the testers are working on the F2P content hats. Either way, I don't see how it's hard to follow.

    Well did they drop the whole mole and player revolt story line? Cora speaking for the players and all that?

    Hmm. I think the player revolt/walkout is what prompted the switch to F2P - Lima Bean Boss refers to the "horrifying level of player attrition." I will agree the shift from the comic with Q discovering "Unoccupy Lawstar" to the meeting in LBB's office was a little abrupt.

    Gaslight on
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