Comic Shop Etiquette War Journal: Just Don't Be Creepy for F's Sake

Ideally you wouldn't have to keep an eye on such a thing, but it can sneak up in your store from time to time. Giving advice to customers seems kind of pointless since if anyone is doing anything creepy they are most likely not the kind of person to take any advice. So in general, this is more for retailers.

RETAILERS:

-Sometimes you end up with an employee that just doesn't realize that coming onto women (especially in our setting) isn't a great thing to do. First of all, many female customers don't go comic shopping just so they can deal with advances. Second, you're in a comic shop. C'mon. Try to help out the general image here.

I've worked with one gentleman who continuously made advances all the time, and would drop whatever he did just to help a female customer out. One time, we had to evacuate the building because of a gas leak. I went to the upper apartments to get everyone out. While we were all waiting on the streets for the City workers to deal with the problem, one of the female tenants came to talk to me and thank me for going to get them. Fellow coworker literally inserted himself between the woman and myself and actually said something along the lines of, "I'm the one who told him to clear the building." That was the level we were dealing with.

Another co-worker made it a habit to yell out to women passing buy to come in and buy comics. Not being a manager at the time, I still always had to reign him in and have 'the talk'. Pretty sure I was 10 years his junior at the time.

None of this is acceptable by any stretch, and after dealing with numerous people like this it becomes obvious that they don't actually comprehend this on a lot of levels. So you either have to reign them in hard or get them out of the store period.

-Having an adult section pretty much makes you a magnet for creepiness. This is where you have to decide if the potential profit is worth the risk, but after working in a store that used to have an adult section for over 5 years I would say it really isn't. I would tell you some stories to prove the point, but really. You don't want to hear them. Really.

-You do want your store to have a base line of cleanliness. Just try to avoid claustrophobic tight spaces, unnecessary darkness, and dangerous to maneuver designs.

CUSTOMERS:

As I said, this isn't something that non-retailers will be too interested in. This is pretty much a list of red flags retailers need to watch out for, and if you're a customer who does this subconsciously well then......stop please.

-Lingering around, obviously not buying anything. Sometimes harmless, but really needs to be watched.

-Breathing hard at inappropriate times. Had this one guy going around acting normal for a bit, was up front just trying to chat my ear off, and when a father and child stepped up to the counter he started to breath real hard. It goes without saying his ass was kicked out at lightening speed.

-Walking in with your hands covered in blood. Yeah.

-Dragging your girlfriend in when she looks like she did the last supply of your crack.

-Customer smells like rotten bologna.

-Customer comes in with open alcohol. Illegal, and happened twice just last week.

-Conspiracy nuts coming in to show you how the government is trying to screw us all over.

-Creepy little guys coming in to ask if they can paint you in the nude (not to me, but to an old boss).

-Guy comes in and gives female employee Beef Jerkey because he has a crush on her.

-Do not talk about the comic characters as if they are real

-For God's sake, try to not always sound like a fanboy with no sense of proper social interaction. I've had new non-comicy customers walk in and then someone goes in the most horrible little nerd rant that's usually insulting to A) Women, B), Parents, or C) HUMANS IN GENERAL.

I'm probably leaving a crap ton out, but you get the idea.