Friendly Shopkeeper

Now that's a smile you can trust!

"(Yay, a customer!) Hiya! Let me know if ya need help with anything!"

— Cheerful Manga Store Girl, Yandere Simulator

These shopkeepers know the value of good service and go the distance in providing it. On top of knowing their market inside and out, their products are always reasonably priced. Despite having all the tools to scam someone for a quick profit, they would much rather help them make an informed purchase so they'll be inclined to come back again.

Expect these shopkeepers to be recurring characters who accommodate most if not all of the protagonists' essential shopping. They often make a great source of exposition, given how they're bound to be familiar with the area around their store and pick up juicy tidbits of information from their other customers. In some cases, they may even journey alongside the heroes as an Intrepid Merchant. These traits also make them a staple of video games as well as the Fantasy genre.

Compare The Bartender, the Asian Store-Owner, and the Super-Stoic Shopkeeper. The natural inverse of a Honest John's Dealership, Buy or Get Lost and Apathetic Clerk, where the shopkeeper tries to scam the buyer, is hostile to them if they're not buying anything or just outrights hates their job. An Honest Corporate Executive is when this person is in charge of a large corporation.

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Examples:

Films — Animation

• In Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Stan Lee cameos as a costume shop owner who tells a skeptical Miles that his costume will fit "eventually" when Miles asks if he can refund it if it doesn't fit. Then the screen pans over to a sign that says, "NO Refunds or Returns. EVER."

Films — Live-Action

• In John Wick: Chapter 2, the Sommelier and the house tailor at the Italian branch of The Continental are delighted to see and serve John. Both perform their duties with gusto, cheerfully recommending their best wares to him while taking into account his personal preferences. John even takes the time to match the Sommelier's preference for Deadly Euphemisms, which has the latter grinning.

Literature

• There are several friendly shopkeepers in Adrian Mole:
  • In Secret Diary and Growing Pains, there is Mr Cherry the newsagent, for whom Adrian does a paper round.
  • In Wilderness Years, Adrian's meets his love interest Bianca as she works in a newsagent's shop.
  • In Cappuccino Years, "the bloke in the BP garage" is friendly to Adrian, and is noted for being one of the very few beneficiaries in the will of a reclusive elderly man, Archie Tait.
  • In Weapons of Mass Destruction, Adrian works in a bookshop, owned by a friendly shopkeeper.
• Richard of The Case Files of Jeweler Richard owns Jewelry Etranger, his "castle" where he helps his customers find a place without bigotry where they can appreciate the beauty of gemstones after giving up his jewelry scamming ways. He will never sell something to someone who seems uncertain about their purchase or goes into it for the wrong reasons.
• Creature of Havoc: The Horrifying Hero can find its way to a village store where the shopkeeper promptly tries to hide. If you show him some money, he's bewildered to realize the monster is a paying customer, but helpfully recommends a selection of useful items.
• In The Faraway Paladin, Tonio is a travelling merchant who journeys along with Robina. Despite many run-ins with ill fortune, including losing his wife to illness and his entire trading company to a storm, he remains as kind and easy-going as ever. He's happy to help Will buy and sell things for expeditions at a fair price as thanks for Will saving him from an ape attack. Will also considers him an ideal role model in what it means to be an adult.
• In KonoSuba, Wiz is a good-natured Lich who operates a cursed item shop and is friends with Kazuma and company. The only reason she doesn't join them on their adventures is because Aqua's holy powers are dangerous to her. While she is kind, she is unfortunately rather incompetent, selling dangerous or just impractical cursed items.
• In Parallel World Pharmacy, Falma opens his pharmacy and offers free, clean drinking water to anyone who enters his shop. In addition to making his medicines affordable and effective, he also offers free emergency checkups for the ill and creates new products in response to consumer demand.
• In Rebuild World, Shizuka is the manager of Cartridge Freak, a hunter's supply store. While she could easily scam a naïve slum kid like Akira to make a quick buck, she instead goes over all of his options in detail to make sure he's making an informed purchase because of her innate kindness and her belief that good service will give her a loyal clientele. Because of this, Akira becomes a regular customer of hers and spends most of his money there even as he goes up in rank. Her kindness makes her one of the most important people in his life, to the point that he instantly shoots a gangster who tries to threaten her to blackmail him, risking a gang war in the process.
• In The Rising of the Shield Hero, Elhart is a blacksmith and shopkeeper in Melromarc's Castle Town. Unlike the other townsfolk who believe Malty's False Rape Accusation against Naofumi, Elhart believes in his innocence and is the only one willing to supply Naofumi at first. He sells him above-average quality gear, acts as a source of information, and generally treats him well despite Naofumi's Hero with Bad Publicity reputation.
• In Sword Art Online, Agil is a friend of Kirito's who runs a store. While his goods tend to be on the expensive side, he uses his earnings to help lower-level players survive the Death Game and support a local church. He also defends the beta testers when they're used as The Scapegoat and gives Kirito a place to stay.

Live-Action TV

• Sesame Street: Harold Hooper, the owner of the corner soda fountain/convenience store, was unfailingly kind and friendly to all patrons of his store. Case in point: In a riff on the Gift of the Magi Plot, Ernie and Bert both sell their prize possessions to him in order to buy Christmas gifts for the other. After Ernie and Bert realize what had happened, Mr. Hooper returns the prize possessions to them as his Christmas gift to them.
  • Following Mr. Hooper's passing (in light of actor Will Lee's own death), subsequent Hooper's Store owners have also embodied this trope, with the current one, Alan, being possibly the friendliest of the lot.

Music

• Mr. Fender from "Weird Al" Yankovic's "Good Old Days" is described as such, smiling as he walks down the aisles, greeting patrons with "Howdy", and giving the singer advice. At least until the singer burns down his place and bashes his head in.

Theatre

• West Side Story: Doc, the owner of the local drugstore/soda parlor where Tony works, is the only person who conducts himself in a completely and totally rational way throughout the story.

Video Games

• Animal Crossing:
  • Tom Nook is the main source of goods and furniture in town in nearly every game in the series until Tommy and Timmy take over. Nook has something of a reputation of being a sleazy businessman, but he's actually extremely generous, offering interest-free loans to get you your first house and allowing you to work off part of it instead of paying up front. He's also eager to upgrade and provide new features and services to you as you continue to frequent his store.
  • The Able Sisters are the recurring clothing specialists throughout all the games. Mabel in particular is happy to serve any customer, cheerfully greeting you on your way in and allowing you to try on any garment you want for free. She even offers access to the store's sowing machine to make designs of your own. All of this is contrasted by her comparatively shy and withdrawn older sister, Sable.
  • Pelly, who works the day shift in the Post Office or the Town Hall depending on the game, is patient with the customers and is more than eager to do her job. A clear contrast to her sister Phyllis, who works the night shift, insults the clients under her breath and complains when she is asked to do her job.
• Beacon of Hope has Sally the hairdryer, although as the game is still in early development her wares are unknown.
• Chantelise: Aira, who provides a home for her rescuers, along with feeding them. We don't see her interact with customers outside of her rescuers, however.
• Dragon Age:
  • Played with in Dragon Age: Origins. After the Warden and friends save their lives, dwarven merchant Bodahn Feddic and his son Sandal become the party's shopkeepers-in-residence, following them around the country and setting up shop in their camp. They are extremely amiable and Bodahn repeatedly expresses gratitude, insisting that the Warden gets a discount for saving them. However, if the player pays attention, Bodahn actually has some of the highest prices on goods in the game! So much for the discount. They do, however, provide enchanting services at no charge.
  • They return in Dragon Age II, where they play the trope much straighter; Bodahn is only available as a merchant for the first act, however, and becomes Hawke's live-in manservant afterward. Sandal continues to offer enchanting services throughout the entire game.
• Zig-Zagged in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Averted as far as gameplay is concerned, as all item sales are based on the player's speechcraft skill level, any perks taken in it, and the item's total value. Played straight as far as NPC personalities go. Almost all of the most prominent examples are in Whiterun Hold, where between Riverwood and Whiterun itself, there's only one person who could even be considered not a friendly shopkeeper (Belethor). Of particular note are Ulfberth War-Bear and Adrianne Avennici of Warmaiden's, as well as Alvor and Sigrid in Riverwood, two husband-and-wife smithing teams who teach you how to smith (if asked), allow the use of their smithing stations to craft goods, and Alvor and Sigrid even let you take a few things to help you out if you warn Riverwood about Alduin's dragon attack at Helgen.
• Fake Happy End: The Moai statue monster on the first floor is polite, albeit eccentric, to the party, though they also have a one-track mind and won't answer any questions about the tower.
• Final Fantasy:
  • Final Fantasy X has O'aka XXIII, who starts out as a bit down on his luck and needing a loan from the player in order to get running. The player can choose not to donate to him, but if they do donate enough, they get a discount later on. He's always happy to see the party and later in the game, you can get a discount simply by asking for it. Later, his brother Wantz takes over the business, carrying on the legacy of helping the party. Both characters return in Final Fantasy X-2 and this time, O'aka is in debt to the Al Bhed. The player can choose to either save him by harboring him on their airship, or turn him into the Al Bhed. However, saving him and paying off his debt earns an achievement/Trophy, as well as unlocks an easy money trick. Later, if the player continues on his quest-line, he and Wantz open up a new shop that sells some powerful accessories.
  • In Final Fantasy XIII-2, Chocolina is the energetic and everpresent merchant appearing across time and space to sell her wares to the heroes. While she always insists on collecting a fee, her services in buying, selling, and synthesizing items prove invaluable, and she has somehow set up shop in every era of history simultaneously. It's later revealed that Chocolina is in fact Sazh's chocobo chick, who got lost in time and prayed to the goddess Etro for a form that would allow her to help Sazh and his friends.
  • In Final Fantasy XIV, Elde is the owner and manager of a small leather goods store in Ishgard. Unlike her fellow merchants, she does not discriminate on the basis of social status and strives to provide quality and affordable goods to all. She's always courteous to her patrons and quick to reconsider her actions when it's pointed out that ordering a thousand circles of leather from the Twelveswood would devastate the local wildlife.
  • Final Fantasy Tactics Advance has the eccentric hermetic Ezel Berbier. While his services cost a pretty penny, all of his antilaws work as advertised, nullifying the binding laws laid down by the judges. He's also friendly and supportive of Marche and co., pitching in during the final battle by handing Judgemaster Cid an antilaw to nullify Llednar's Nigh-Invulnerability.
• King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human had a friendly shopkeeper in the town of Llewdur that sells Gwydion several of the ingredients he needs to cast a range of magic spells.
• League of Legends, the shopkeepers for the Howling Abyss, Gregor and Lyte, are nothing but friendly and polite to the Champions. They offer their wares with glee, commend them for making a good choice, and wave them off with enthusiasm when they leave, regardless of whether or not they bought anything. The only people they don't seem to like are each other and Watchers (and yordles) in Gregor's case.
• While many shopkeepers in the The Legend of Zelda franchise can be friendly, the Treasure Chest Shop Gal from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask deserves special mention, as she'll compliment Link to him and all his mask transformations and be very flirtatious for a couple of them, she'll even give discounts depending on the form.
• Mass Effect 2: Ratch, a krogan merchant on Tuchanka, is much friendlier to Shepard than most of the other krogan in the Urdnot camp (typically, the only friendlier ones are the krogan shaman if Shepard demonstrates enough Blood Knight tendencies, and Urdnot Wrex if he's still alive). Shepard will comment on this to Ratch, who explains that he's been around enough that he knows that aliens tend to have a lot more credits to spend than other krogan do, so he doesn't have the luxury of discriminating against them. He genuinely warms up to Shepard if they complete his side quest: killing some of the invasive pyjacks with an artillery cannon before the obnoxious little space monkeys can raid Clan Urdnot's food supply.
• Persona 5: Munehisa Iwai runs the airsoft store Untouchable, selling mock weapons and armor to Joker for use in the Metaverse. Although gruff and no-nonsense on the surface, Iwai is far from unreasonable and open to compromise. After you reach Rank 2, he will occasionally make idle comments about things like the model guns he sells or the weather during menu navigation. By the end of their confidant, he considers Joker "Kaoru's bro", and offers him discounts as well as access to some of the strongest equipment in the game even with the Velvet Room's itemization taken into account.
• Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale: Recette is a perpetually cheerful storeowner who always wants to help her customers, but her precise product pricing is produced by the player.
• Resident Evil Village: Duke is a Creepy Good ally who assists Ethan through his quest to rescue his daughter, providing valuable supplies like ammunitions and rations. He's unendingly pleasant in their interactions and is even willing to defy the game's antagonists to help Ethan.
• Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross:
  • The merchant who runs the Material Shop is a sweet and honest girl who sells essential ingredients for making heroes stronger. She claps and dances in place when she sees the player approaching, and openly states that she refuses to buy or sell stolen goods because it would violate her sense of honor.
  • Essette is the proprietor of the Pop-Up Shop, a traveling shop that sells rare weapons and gifts. She is always cheerful and friendly, advertising the contents of her shop and thanking players for their purchases.
• The Melnorme in Star Control will themselves admit they are greedy, but they are always fair and honest in their dealings, making sure you get your money's worth and never once try to scam you (in fact, they will actually discuss how dirty dealing is antithetical to their philosophy). Plus, even if you have nothing to offer them, if you run out of fuel in the void of space they will always come around and refill your tank for free.
• Cashmere from Them's Fightin' Herds is always eager to greet whoever enters Cap N' Cash's. Though it's more likely because she's more interested in the salt player's have to trade, she's still polite even if they're low on salt or leave without buying anything. The only time Cashmere really get annoyed (towards a customer) is if they try to buy a cosmetic when they can't afford it.
• Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines: Your Friend in the Black Market Mercurio is one of only two people in the game confirmed to be trustworthy. If you don't double-cross him, he's a friendly source of information and useful equipment throughout the game, even if you decide to turn against his own boss.
• Warframe:
  • Darvo Bek is one of these in contrast to his Corrupt Corporate Executive father, Froid Bek. He's always friendly and grateful to the Tenno for saving his life, offers them free items as part of their login bonuses, and is happy to sell discounted weapons to the Tenno as part of his Darvo Deal. Unfortunately, Power Creep means that many of his deals are overpriced relative to the amount of effort needed to simply grind them up, but that's not entirely his fault.
  • After ranking up your standing with the syndicates, the syndicate leaders will all greet you as a dear friend while offering full access to their wares for you. This is especially noticeable in Cetus and Fortuna, where the initially aloof storeowners begin greeting you as an old friend or even family once you've proven your value to them.

Web Animation

• RWBY: The elderly man simply known as the "Shopkeep" is an affable and hardworking citizen who seems to own/operate several businesses in Remnant, always providing fast and reliable services for heroes in the area, with the only time he becomes cross being when customers lack the funds to pay for his goods or services. In RWBY: Amity Arena, he can be deployed as the "Old Man Shopkeep", generating additional Aura for the player to use in combat.

Western Animation

• In Mr. Benn, he would visit a "special costume shop" run by a magic shopkeeper. Each time he'd try on a new costume, but instead of walking out of the fitting room, he'd exit through another door that would take him to a location befitting his new costume and then embark on an adventure. After overcoming whatever challenge he would face in these fantasy lands, the shopkeeper would appear to return him to the real world with a small token to remember the adventure by. Mr Benn is never shown paying anything to have all these adventures.
• The Raccoons: Mr. Willow, first introduced in "The Chips Are Down!", is the owner of Willow's General Store and he's usually polite and friendly to all his customers.

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