History ComicStrip / Retail

* AccidentalMisnaming: One of the {{running gag}}s was that the district manager Jerry could never remember Marla's name, often calling her "Darla." Eventually it was revealed that he [[JerkAss only pretended to not know her name]]. After that he started calling her by her real name. This also happens with Crystal and Stuart, with Stuart calling her "Cheryl." Even when she calls him up and says her name, Stuart has no idea who it is until she says "Cheryl." It is unclear if Stuart is like Jerry with him pretending to not know her name.

* AuthorFilibuster: The "Cooper gets an appendectomy, then gets hit with the bill" arc (August-September 2008) is transparently Feuti's two cents on the issue of healthcare (a hot topic back then, considering that [[UsefulNotes/BarackObama a certain presidential candidate]] was promising to do something about it...).

* BeleagueredAssistant: Poor Marla. Anyone who has to deal with Stuart all day has to be beleaguered.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:The Grumbel's which the entire story took place in closes down, replaced with something else in the mall by a nameless mall worker. This ends up meaning all of the efforts of every character to do their jobs and keep the store open [[AllForNothing were ultimately for nothing]]. Plus, the bigwigs of Grumbels -- the ones who are actually responsible for the store closing -- are all {{Karma Houdini}}s, as it's mentioned that they make out like bandits with bonuses and severance pay. But, Marla's moving on to a position that allows her to work in an office instead of retail and pays double what she was making at Grumbel's, and she's got a new daughter to take care of with her husband. So while Grumbel's itself is out of business, Marla's future looks to be bright.]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:The Grumbel's which the entire story took place in closes down, replaced with something else in the mall by a nameless mall worker. This ends up meaning all of the efforts of every character to do their jobs and keep the store open [[AllForNothing were ultimately for nothing]]. But, Marla's moving on to a position that allows her to work in an office instead of retail and pays double what she was making at Grumbel's, and she's got a new daughter to take care of with her husband. So while Grumbel's itself is out of business, Marla's future looks to be bright.]]

* TheDitz: Courtney, who is meant to parody all the incompetent people behind the register.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Whenever Stuart isn't acting like a PointyHairedBoss, this just makes Marla even more paranoid.
** Marla becomes quite concerned when she hasn't received a call from Stuart in weeks, knowing it's out of character for him to not call Marla to berate her for low sales numbers and/or micromanage the store. She worries that he hasn't called because Grumbel's might be going out of business (and thus, her sales numbers and the store's performance wouldn't matter). Marla's fear only gets worse when he ''does'' call: when she tells Stuart that they probably won't make their sales goal, he brushes it off. This only confirms to Marla that something is seriously wrong.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness:
** Marla becomes quite concerned when she hasn't received a call from the micromanaging Stuart in weeks, knowing it's out of character for him. She worries that he hasn't called because it doesn't matter if he does--namely, because Grumbel's is going out of business. Her fear only gets worse when he ''does'' call: when she tells him they probably won't make their sales goal he brushes it off instead of berating her like usual.
** Years earlier, Marla realizes something's up with Stuart when he trades shifts with her, giving her two days off in a row, without blinking or showing any regret about it (he tends to not give anyone two days off in a row unless absolutely necessary). This spurs her to hire Cooper to spy on Stuart on the day of his interview for the district manager position.

* PunchClockVillain: Quite literally. Stuart is portrayed as a PointyHairedBoss, insisting on following every rule and directive from corporate down to the letter, even if they're self-contrdicting rules, And then, Stuart always ends up getting angry at the employees when these rules inevitably can't all be followed. However, off the clock, Stuart is shown to be at least somewhat more reasonable than when he's on the clock. After Stuart finds out that Marla is pregnant, he personally vouches for her time off on maternity leave, and even gives her a gift to celebrate the birth of her child.

%% This is a zero context example, please do not unhide until further context has been added.* LimitedWardrobe: {{Lampshaded}} hilariously in [[http://www.retailcomics.com/?p=3945 this]] strip.
* LoopholeAbuse: Stuart once ordered Marla to hang up a poster she found condescending in the break room, so she does...by hanging them up behind the vending machine. Stuart didn't specify ''where'' in the break room.

* OnlySaneMan: Marla, but also any worker who isn't in management.

* MeaninglessVillainVictory: Josh initially got away with lying about a job offer to secure a raise, but his days were numbered when Marla found out and told Stuart, who was initially his biggest supporter. With Marla making plans to fire him, and Stuart no longer protecting him, he was forced to quickly find a new job and leave while he was still ahead.
%% This is a zero context example, please do not unhide until furhter context is added. * PunchClockVillain: Quite literally.

* ChainOfHarm: At least two Sunday strips showed Marla and the others dealing with the usual corporate BS...and the Grumbel's CEO completely unaware/uncaring about it.

* GreaterScopeVillain: The corporate higher-ups at Grumbel's -- aside from the CEO, who made one or two appearances showcasing the ChainOfHarm, these unseen assholes were the ones responsible for much of the misery Marla and the others have to go through; naturally, they end the strip [[KarmaHoudini with no consequences and huge paydays as Grumbel's finally collapses]].

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* PoisonousFriend: Cooper is something of a mild version of this for Marla. He consistently keeps an ear out for any plotting by upper management which could have a detrimental effect on her career. He hasn't actually ''poisoned'' anyone over it, but hell will freeze over before he lets anything happen to her job.

* [[SpiritualSuccessor Spiritual Precursor]]: The British TV series, ''Series/AreYouBeingServed'', is in many ways the 1970s British precursor to this strip and the contrast of retail styles from the 1970s and now is quite striking. This similarity has been acknowledged by one or two {{Shout Out}}s to ''Are You Being Served?'', like Stuart spending his vacation at a "Power Management Retreat" run by a [[http://retailcomics.com/comic/april-27-2009/ Mr. Rumbold]].

* PyrrhicVillainy: Josh initially got away with lying about a job offer to secure a raise, but his days were numbered when Marla found out and told Stuart, who was initially his biggest supporter. With Marla making plans to fire him, and Stuart no longer protecting him, he was forced to quickly find a new job and leave while he was still ahead.

* TakeThat: One storyline is a potshot at the book [[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1869.Nickel_and_Dimed Nickel and Dimed]], a book about the lives of the working poor which was criticized for the middle class writer’s CondescendingCompassion and having access to resources her subjects didn’t have. Marla is approached by a woman who wants a job at Grimbel’s, intending to write about it. Marla doesn’t like the idea and unsuccessfully tries to convince her to not do it. It ends with Marla sending her to Delman’s.

* ItsRainingSalesmen: Deconstructed, since it tells things from the salespeople's perspective. Several strips have been based around customers who complain about "pushy" salespeople, but then expect the assistants to psychically know when they ''do'' need help without being told.

* PoliticalCorrectnessGoneMad:

** One strip also has Marla translating old New England slang for another employee.

* CassandraTruth: Josh becomes this in the storyline where he overhears Val and Marla discussing Val's plans to go to Disney World with Cooper. Because their relationship is against Grumbel's policy, he goes over Marla's head to report them all to Stuart, but Amber catches wind of it and alerts Cooper in time. Cooper then pulls off a clever stunt to make it look like Josh is CryingWolf (see TokenShipping, below).
* CatapultNightmare: Happened to Cooper a few times (pretty much a RunningGag, really). Including one instance where he dreamt that Stuart wished everyone a Happy Easter, [[FoeYay while naked inside a giant plastic Easter egg]]. Eeew...

* PerfectlyCromulentWord: In this[[http://retailcomics.com/comic/june-13-2013/ a strip]] Cooper says that work has been "Benambling", and mocks Josh, for not knowing what it means. He responds that he simply didn't hear him and actually knows what it is. Then Cooper talks with Val and confirms it's just a made-up word while we see Josh in the background already using it in conversation with Marla.

* OvercomplicatedMenuOrder: In [[http://retailcomics.com/comic/may-19-2013/ this strip]] Cooper ask Marla if she wants anything from the food court. She says she wants a Caesar Chicken Pocket, then proceeds to talk about several substitutions over the order and even to get her an specific soda from a neighboring restaurant. He just answers if she can just choose a number from the menu.

** It should be noted that all of this is to the ''detriment'' of Thanksgiving, which may as well not exist to Grumbel's management. (Stuart once even said the concept of Thanksgiving was ''obsolete'' and these days Thanksgiving only served to kick off Christmas season.) One year, when a customer asked if Grumbel's had ''anything'' for Thanksgiving, Val's only answer was 'a six hour shift'. Another year they finally let ''one'' Thanksgiving decoration be sold in their stores...and that was ''only'' because the turkey was wearing a Santa suit.

* SmallRoleBigImpact: Lara Silver only appears in two story arcs (and one of those appearances is only by phone) but her presence leads to the two biggest changes in ''Retail'''s storyline: the promotion of Marla to store manager, and the beginning of the end of Grumbel's with the first wave of store closures.

* BlackAndGrayMorality: Grumbel's is not a fun place to work with all their dumb rules and worse higher-ups, and yet from we have seen, it is a better place to be. Delman's is run by Mina in a cut-throat manner, which apparently is not a problem for corporate. Abersnobby and Finch is also said to have rules even more ridiculous than Grumbel's.

* DelegationRelay: "Did they want '''a''' manager, or '''the''' manager?"