Let's admit that it is unfair to stereotype every comic book store employee as having poor social skills. Let us also admit that there may be a kernel of truth in the law of averages. More Fun Comics is located on Oak Street in Carrollton. Though I don't buy a lot of comics, I like to go to a comic book shop maybe once a month. I'm not their target clientele but I appreciate the art form and, if there were more comics I liked, I would be a more regular patron. If I miss an issue I don't lose sleep.
I've been to More Fun a few times. The clerks are more interested in their own conversations or reading material than in assisting customers but I've come to expect that. My wife was with me one time and she was interested in a hardcover book that had obviously been more than gently used even though it was being sold as new. The clerk told her that they used to have two copies but he'd already purchased the one that wasn't manhandled and dog eared. Ha! Ha! She bought it on Amazon for a discount rather than pay full price at smug More Fun.
I was there yesterday and a portion of the racks were empty. A new shipment had arrived. New comics were strewn all over the boxes of back issues. Two clerks were on duty. One was inventorying the new stock. The other was watching a vintage 1980s Eddy Murphy movie on the television. Ha! Ha!
There was a woman about my age in the shop when I arrived. I stepped in and no asked if I needed assistance. As I wandered along the edge of the shop I thought the inventory clerk would say, "If you can't find what you want in the empty shelf space, it might be here." Maybe, when he saw me looking over the back issue boxes that were his workspace he could have said, "If you want to see anything, I'll be happy to move this out of your way." I did want to look for some back issues. The conversation didn't revolve around how customers might find what they want to purchase. Instead it consisted of this: "Eddie Murphy is funny when he says fuck!" Ha! Ha!
After a few minutes of obscenity-laden, tepid, juvenile, DVD humor the lady left without buying anything. I followed soon afterward. The clerks were too busy to notice or bother. They were busy watching their movie and guffawing every time Eddie Murphy said fuck. Great fun for them perhaps but it wasn't much fun for me.
There's a comic shop on Freret Street that I'm going to patronize instead. It's a bit out of my way but it just landed on my regular errand route. When I walked in the door I didn't even have time to scope out the layout when the clerk asked what I was looking for. Not really wanting to look at all the variations of Batman and X-Men on display, I told him and he fetched what I wanted off the shelf. We had a nice conversation about comics in general and the title I bought in particular. He told me that one book I was following was being cancelled, which is usually the way.
There aren't any comic shops on Magazine Street that I've been able to find. Hence my voyages to Freret Street. No worries. New Orleans is flat and bicycle-friendly. Any trip is a pleasure unless, of course, it's a trip to More Fun Comics.
2 comments:
I enjoyed your funny description of More Fun Comics. I'm not suggesting you are some advanced age at all, but you might just be beyond the age group that the employees at this store recognize as, like, people.
P.S. They're on Oak Street, just down the block from the Maple Leaf.
P.P.S. The rudeness of store employees in New Orleans is legendary. I was in shock from it for years. We all develop techniques for dealing with it when we actually have to buy something at a store.
Edit made. You're right, I was thinking about the Maple Leaf down the street but I know better.
Actually, I've found most people very helpful. I tend to go to the same places over and over so I'm a familiar face by now. As a matter of fact, I find them too chatty for my comfort but I'm adapting.
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