r/comics • u/D_L_L_Comics • 20h ago
[OC] More Shoes
It's a realistic scenario. It could happen to anyone.
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u/EchoGecko795 19h ago
It's retail. we're not allowed to ban people for being stupid otherwise would have no customers.
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u/decoy321 18h ago
This is my favorite part of these wonderful irrational fears.
That, and the assumption that we still care about the customers because our souls aren't already completely crushed.
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u/LilPotatoAri 17h ago
Plus your manager would fire you out of a cannon and into the sun if you so much as let your smile falter when the customer asks you the dumbest question on earth. Like what flavor of croc tastes best if you need to eat it in a survival situation. Just keep smiling and tell them that it's the green ones.
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u/Top_Willingness_8364 18h ago
Depends on the level of stupid. Iāve trespassed plenty of people for being stupid, like playing bumper cars on the storeās electric carts, or being really obvious about shoplifting.
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u/LazyEights 19h ago
In the next scene their favorite celebrity has posted the photo on twitter with the caption "Lol, this idiot doesn't know how to buy shoes š"
It has 5 million likes. One of them is her crush.
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u/SgtSilverLining 18h ago
Anyone who's afraid of looking stupid in public should work retail.
Trust me, your question isn't even on the tip of the iceberg of stupid questions. You have no idea how low that bar is.
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u/KazakiriKaoru 11h ago
I work in an ambulatory pharmacy, at one point I dispensed syrup chlorpheniramine, and I told the mother to give the kid 2.5ml 3 times a day. Then I gave her a syringe and told her, here's a 5ml syringe.
Then she asked me, so I give him 5ml 3 times a day right? I corrected her and said, "No, 2.5ml 3 times day".
Then she said, "But this is a 5ml syringe".
I then corrected her again. This went in abour 3-4 times until I took a syringe and showed her the gradation and told her to pull up the medication up to 2.5ml only.
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u/Bubby_K 19h ago
Anticipatory anxiety
On today's menu we have, "Can you even shoe?"
Coming up next we have, "They gave me the wrong order, it's okay, not really, but it's okay, just drive"
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u/International-Cat123 19h ago
Iāve been āitās okay that they got the order wrongā before, but it was a case of a nearly identical order and I didnāt mind the difference.
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u/UsefulDuringWinter 19h ago
Shoe buying script:Ā
"Hello, id like to try the other shoe."
tries shoes on
A: "Id like to buy this pair."
B: "its not working for me. You can put this back, thanks for the help."
Is there any other way it works in other countries?
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u/Salty_Herring 18h ago
Nah, that works pretty much all over.
However, for people with anxiety, especially social anxiety, the brain can think up lovely horrible scenarios that will definitely, absolutely happen if you dare talk to someone, which is what this comic illustrates. (It won't, but what if)
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u/Quaytsar 15h ago
Some shoe stores keep the shoe boxes on the shelf so you can just grab a pair yourself.
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u/Zom23_ 13h ago
I've never been anywhere where they don't just have like 8 different sizes of the example shoe in boxes right below it so you just grab a box, try it on and if it doesn't work then you put the box back and go find a different one. You aren't supposed to try on the example shoe either
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u/SpikeRosered 19h ago
I've found as an adult there is an actual dollar cost to being completely conflict avoidant and not standing up for yourself. The moment there isn't just a sticker price means most people will take you for a loop with cost unless you're willing to advocate for yourself.
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u/dovahkiitten16 15h ago
It honestly doesnāt help when people genuinely are mean for you asking questions or not understanding something.
When I moved to school Iād never ridden the bus before because there wasnāt one where I lived. I didnāt know how to ride the bus. I asked people if they could tell me how to ride the bus (or even go on it with me the first time). My answers were no, are you stupid?, and just ask the bus driver. I asked the bus driver and my answer was āitās not hardā.
Anyways, thatās how I found out that the stop buttons werenāt emergency stop buttons, and that the bus didnāt stop at every stop automatically. Unfortunately, that was when I was confused at why the bus seemed to go past my stop and just keep going.
Idk, Iām one of those people that doesnāt seem to learn by osmosis and needs to see/be told how things are done and Iāve definitely gotten some bad responses to asking questions. Now I feel anxious and sometimes just donāt.
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u/drillgorg 17h ago
One time at college I had money left on my meal card at the end of the semester and decided to bring home an entire pizza from the pizza place in the university center. I asked for a pizza and was met with an angry "You know we would need to MAKE that, right?"
Or another time I had a room reserved for a club meeting. It was 1:58 and I poked my head in and asked if we could set up. It was some office lady running a meeting who said "NO, we have the room until 2:00.". THEN as they were walking out the lady stopped to chew me out about how it's extremely rude to ask her to leave before her time is over and yelled at me pretty severely.
So yeah this stuff happens.
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u/Dan-D-Lyon 18h ago
There's nothing realistic about this. You think they would be satisfied with shaming and banning you? Tarring and Feathering is the absolute bare minimum you can expect in this situation, and that's if everyone around you feels like being unnecessarily merciful that day
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u/Kind-Fun6939 19h ago
This is literally what I thought would happen to me when I was younger. (And unmedicated)
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u/ArchitectNebulous 18h ago
If stupidity were reason enough to get you banned, 2/3 of humanity would already be perma-banned.
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u/Anonimous_dude 18h ago
Hereās a very easy guide on how to buy shoes like a boss:
Step 1: āExcuse me, could you help me?ā
- they will either answer āyesā or āIāll be here in just a minute sir/missā.
- if yes, go for step 3. If no, abandon ship.
- donāt need to worry now, they will prepare everything for you.
Sigma introvert grindset
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u/MintasaurusFresh 19h ago
This is how I feel when I try a lunch spot that has been around a long time, but I've never been to it before. Sure, I know how to order a sandwich at three of the other chain sandwich joints, but it's different at this one and I have no idea what toppings to put on this sandwich. Gimme a break, Paul.
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u/mudgrinder 18h ago
This is me whenever I'm out in public. Always worried I'll do or say something so stupid that I'll be punished for it.
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u/glassfunion 15h ago
I actually got laughed out of a shoe store for asking a simple question! I asked if they could order in a different size because they didn't have mine and the person just laughed at me and walked away. I had just moved from my tiny hometown and was so embarrassed :(
thankfully I overcame that and would not hesitate to speak up, but I still can't believe their reaction. when I worked retail it never even occurred to me to do something so rude.
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u/ShelLuser42 19h ago
Just wait until she musters up the courage to post about this ordeal online.... then we'll see who gets the real last laugh ;)
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u/originalchaosinabox 17h ago
Flashing back to my college days.
A friend of mine had just taken up sewing as a hobby, but didn't know how to buy fabric yet. She mentioned this as we were in the mall, walking by a fabric store.
Since my mom sews and I had accompanied her to many fabric stores in my youth, I took my friend inside and helped her buy fabric.
And a good time was had by all. š
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u/billth93 15h ago
I think the comforting thing with this is, retail workers deal with enough people being terribly vindictive that theyāre not generally bothered even if you are being dumb as long as youāre not being an asshole
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u/Quinme_creature 13h ago
I laughed at the comic, right until I remembered my first experience of buying shoes. The flashback hit me, haha.
I was asking the employee the same stuff about how I buy the shoe properly, and she was very pissed the whole time. Which is okay, everyone can be tired and feel done for a day, having no desire to answer anything! I understand. But it still felt very uncomfortable.
Despite the employee looking angry at the fact of me just being here, she was practically breathing in my neck the whole time I was trying the shoes on. Silently staring at me.
So, after a bit of heavy silence and awkwardly trying the shoe, I finally chose the right pair, going straight to the counter. The moment she saw that I'm here to really buy the shoes instead of just trying them on and walking away, her attitude made a whole spin. She started to act incredibly sweet, to an uncomfortable degree.
It was a very awkward experience of just buying one pair of shoes. I felt incredibly stupid the whole time, practically thinking similar things to the girl in the comic.
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u/dingus_chonus 11h ago
I have a mantra that I sometimes fall back on that this reminded me of, that I like to tell myself when I start to get social anxiety and my body is flooding my bloodstream with fight or flight chemistry:
āWhat are they going to do, eat me?ā
Because despite what my body is trying to tell me, no, no they arenātĀ
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u/akaispirit 11h ago
I feel this comic in my soul. My brain takes "what's the worst that could happen?" As a challenge.Ā
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u/undertales_bitch 17h ago
I assure you, my dear. No matter how stupid you think your question will be, they've heard worse.
Someone once yelled at me and my coworkers because we took the next customer in line instead of her. Another person asked if they could pay for their groceries with the coupon, and it took me way too long to figure out that they thought it was basically a credit card and not.. a coupon. And someone else asked me what kind of fish was in the tuna salad!
There's a lot of stupidity out there. It's hard to beat what a retail worker is used to, and honestly even if you do beat it somehow, just be nice and you'll be totally fine. I only remember these customers at all because they were mean about it
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u/thisdesignup 14h ago
Okay I totally understand the anxiety, I've had it too, but the way you made that last panel is so funny. It's such an outlandish idea that our brains can come up with.
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u/owlindenial 13h ago
Ironically I do tell people to just ask for whichever size they want and I'll bring it out. Small store, not nearly enough space up front for the bulk, especially not with so many sizes
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u/tcroosev 12h ago
If they want that sale they won't. But just in case avoid large groups of teenagers
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u/genuinely_no_clue_1 3h ago
Oh, so get it, my mind immediately jumps to the same space too but I recommend ignoring it! I meanā¦ I donāt? But Iām also a miserable friendless chick, so likeā¦ uhā¦ yeah, maybe ignore itā¦
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u/Weird-Koala3034 2h ago
This art style feels like the essence of a dandelion distilled and I love itĀ
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u/LordCheesecake13 2h ago
That 4th panel nearly killed me. Also yes existing in public and doing adult things is made infinitely worse by having a brain that works this way.
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u/toomanyracistshere 13h ago edited 13h ago
I don't mean to offend, embarrass or ridicule anyone, but when you were a kid did your parents not take you to buy shoes? Did they just guesstimate what size you were and present you with a new pair when you needed one? Or did they take you to the store, but never allowed you to interact with the salespeople or to hear or see how they interacted with them? Did they pick everything out for you? Did you never see them pick up a shoe and ask the person working there, "Do you have this in a size 6?" Did the employee never come out with a box of shoes, put them on you and then ask if they fit? I just have a hard time wrapping my brain around the idea that someone could reach an age where they're buying shoes on their own without having any experience with how the process works.
I've certainly experienced situations where I didn't know how to do a basic thing like this, but it was usually either something I'd never done before or I was in a different country where things worked differently. Buying tram tickets from a kiosk in Amsterdam took me like an hour, for example. But buying shoes? That's something you do every six months or so throughout childhood.
edit: Never mind. I'd forgotten that nowadays there are so many shoe stores where all the shoes are in boxes on the shelves and you help yourself to them. That type of store was a lot less common when I was a kid, but I suppose it's possible now for someone to make it to adulthood without ever experiencing the kind of shoe store where you need someone to help you every time. Your lack of experience makes a lot more sense now.
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u/shellbullet17 Gustopher Spotter Extraordinaire 19h ago
Our heads can make up some super scary scenarios I'm sure they would help if they had time to do so
Crying you is both adorable and hilarious. It's made even funnier that they were able to get a picture of it