Punching the Clock

An Act Of Mercy

Rob — Tue, 14 May 2013 04:01:00 +0000

You see, what he’s really saying is “I’m a cheap ass, and even though I might only save a buck or two on this already inexpensively priced item, I wish to spend the paltry change that I WOULD have saved shopping elsewhere by driving all over town to find that one magical, mystical price that makes me feel like I’m not a part of a system of consumers who are dead on the inside. You don’t care, do you? It’s not like you OWN Buy Lots, right? You just work here, and get paid to help me. So… help me find this at a lower price and I will not only waste YOUR time by sending you on a chase that will result in no reward to you whatsoever, I will also waste OTHER customers’ valuable time and money by attempting to keep you tied up and unable to help them even though THEY actually wish to patronize your establishment, and NOT just your good nature.”

Or, y’know, maybe he just doesn’t get it. That’s an acceptable excuse, right?

/rant…

-Rob

New Release Tuesday

Rob — Tue, 07 May 2013 04:01:00 +0000

EVERY WEEK. Every week this happens. “Hey, I just saw at the theater and want to buy it on Blu-Ray. Why can’t I find it?” Aaaaaaaaand facepalm. You’d think people who so aggressively consume media would be up on how the system works, right? Sigh.

Anyway, enjoy this week’s peek into the new book we’re working on entitled This Is Why Jeff Drinks. I kid… we’re not really doing that book (unless you want us to!). However, work continues to move forward on Volumes 2 and 3 of Punching the Clock, and we are very excited to wrap up production and show you guys the finished product. There will be a day, soon, when that happens…

…but today is not that day.

-Rob

A Huge THANK YOU From Jeff & Rob…

Rob — Fri, 03 May 2013 02:49:33 +0000

We wanted to take a moment to publicly thank each and every person who supported our recent Kickstarter campaign- your support means the world to us, and we appreciate all of you believing in us enough to pony up so much cash to help us reach our goals! As of this moment, classify all of THESE classy folks as HEROES in our book:

Mike & Kayla, Amanda & Andrew Cunningham, The Litchfield Family, Amy Robbins, Richard Enoch, Jeff Meteer, Jason Plowman, Salina Olmsted, Noah Stearns, Dave Letizio, Ann & David Hosler, Tishri Hosler, Ryan Spalding, Eric J, Corey “Big Deal” Maslowski, Pat Kawula, Curt Neeb, Patti Herron, Ashley Piehl, Liza Torres, Matt Lewis, Amy Lewis, Robert Landry, Jens Walter, Amanda Zimmermann, Joe Kemler, Pam Grubaugh, Lindsey Chan, John Gardiner, Ryan Lee, Matt McGuire, Kevin Bosma, Julie L Spradley, Tyler and Sara Sowles, Andy Budnick, Jeff Dickerson, Greg Scott Bailey, Travis Crawford, Noah Lazear, Chris Meeuwes, Max Luong, Derek & Victoria Hermel, Francis Majszak, Sherief AbouElSeoud, Ken Schweigert, Jay Jacot, Master Guy Allen: the best, Erin & Chris Jones, Wilson Yeo, Courtney Beeman, Shannon McMaster, Dod March, Robert D. Morris, Jenny O’Dowd, Crystalyn Geoffrion, Jason Crase, David Graves, Jeffrey T. Morgan, Brady, Tobias Neal, Arnie Shunneson, Rich Bergin, Nathan Dean, Nick Nelson , Charlotte D., Brian Mazzaferri, Zannalov & Kaynary, Adam Juda, Nick Henney, Wizbang The Mighty, Jacob Shumaker, Stephen Foster, Cassie Huff, Denise, Ryan French, Chris Kaiser, Jamie L. McCoy, Kari, Ray Wegner, Raymond Mullikin, Amanda Hayes, Nick Kawula, Sean M., Mike Robertson, Joe Chesney, Aaron Warnez, Jim McClain, Tony Miello, Ryan L. Schrodt, Aaronious Richmondious, Historian, 11/88 Studios, Jim Burgess, Eric Mullarky, Amanda Velderman, Mike Jackson, Karen Schwind, Henry Chamberlain- www.comicsgrinder.com, Heather Smith, Jennifer Loup, Collin Avery, Andy “Shaggy” Korty, Sina Grace, Brendan Meteer, Michael Akerley, Joshua Berg, Kacy Gould, Ryan Normandeau, Danielle Trapp, John Cancilla, Kevin Donovan

Special Thanks to:

-Traverse City’s Top Comics
-Cherry Capital Con www.cherrycapitalcon.com

-Cincy Comicon http://www.cincycomicon.com/Welcome.html

-The ENTIRE CREW at www.twoforonecomics.com

-Falling Down Stairs Productions http://www.youtube.com/user/FallingDownStairsP

-Digital Nerdage http://www.digitalnerdage.com/
-The Geek Triumvirate http://geektriumvirate.com/
-THE MANOR Comic Strip http://welcometothemanor.com/tag/comic-books/
-Bleeding Cool http://www.bleedingcool.com/
-The Outhousers http://www.theouthousers.com/
-Nick Boisson at http://www.comicsbulletin.com/

A Tight Fit

Rob — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 04:01:00 +0000

It never fails. Sell the biggest item in the store- load it into the smallest vehicle imaginable. When people buy stuff, they never once give thought as to whether or not it will fit in their car… and then it’s always the same with every one of them: “There’s LOTS of room- it’ll fit, no problem!”

I once had a guy take a big TV home by laying his front seat down, and then load the TV into the back through the front passenger door. Of course, he had to have the window down in front in order for the corner of the box to fit with the door shut.

Round peg. Square hole. Sigh. Enjoy this week’s comic.

-Rob

Totally A Drill

Rob — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 04:01:00 +0000

Want to see the type of carnage, confusion and mass chaos usually associated with blood in shark-infested waters? Tell the GM of any big box retailer that the district staff is coming for a visit. There will be chaos. There will be rushing. There will be cleaning. My God, the CLEANING.

Dust bunnies- the size of a human child- await your arrival in the dark, unexplored places on the salesfloor… and it is now YOUR responsibility to find and neutralize the threat! God forbid they actually see what really happens in the store on a daily basis- but that would resemble the reality of things just a little too much. Most of what happens in retail is a show; a thin veil hiding the dirty and unspeakable truth of what really takes place(or what doesn’t)… but I digress.

Most of the time, it’s a false alarm… and nobody shows up to reward your efforts with the ignorance of not knowing what the store really looked like 24 hours prior.

And it’s infuriating.

This, friends, is one of the many reasons that I am a broken shell of a man.

-Rob

The Emperor Is Coming

Rob — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 04:01:00 +0000

Oooooh… BUSTED playing video games on the job. Wait… whazzat? The District Manager is coming for a visit? Uh-oh… time for Jeff to get on his “A” game!

Speaking of games, specifically LOSING THE GAME, panel two should hit pretty close to home for some of you. You know who you are.

-Rob

Over 9000

Rob — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 04:01:00 +0000

A big part of corporate retail is signing customers up for in-store credit cards. In the bigger scheme of things, it really doesn’t matter whether or not they get approved… just signed up. Most people who end up applying for these cards have no business having a credit card, and that is usually evidenced by the immediate “mail response” that the processing center posts to the account once the application is finished.

“Mail Response” is a fancy way of saying “You’re denied, but we don’t want you to take it out on the poor schmuck behind the counter. Please wait 2-4 weeks for a denial letter that you may weep over in the privacy of your own home.”

Every now and then, however, someone applies and has the most spotless credit record EVER… and gets approved for an absurd amount of money… and employees all around the store are shocked that people like that exist.

Speaking of an absurd amount of money, our Kickstarter campaign has ENDED!!! THANK YOU to all those who pledged, shared, “liked” and checked it out- we ended up raising $5,660 to print the next two volumes of Punching the Clock! If you missed out on the Kickstarter, worry not- as soon as the books have hit the printer, we will have them available for sale in our merch store, along with some other cool new stuff! I will keep you all posted as to when that happens!

On a final note for this week, Jeff and I were interviewed by Nick over at Comics Bulletin- about webcomics, print vs. digital, Star Wars and more! Want to get inside our heads and see how the wheels turn? Go check it out!

Didn’t understand this week’s nerdy reference? Need me to ruin the joke and explain it to you? Look here. There are a ton of different versions of the meme that was created from it.

Explaining jokes makes them less funny. Laugh, Damn you!!!

-Rob

A Wizard’s Arrival

Rob — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 04:01:00 +0000

It’s morning. The alarm is blaring in your ear. You wipe the crust away from your eyes, rested and ready to meet the day… until you spy the time. Somehow, you’ve managed to sleep through at least 30 minutes of your alarm, and now you have to pull every shortcut out of the book to make it in on time… only to be greeted by someone at the door counting the minutes as you enter.

They’ll never appreciate the amazing feat you’ve just pulled off in order to make it there even REMOTELY on time… but you know. Oh yes, YOU know.

And hey, while we’re talking about being late- don’t miss out on all the cool rewards and new books that we’re offering through our Kickstarter campaign! Pledge as much or as little as you like, and choose from a treasure trove of awesome goodies as a reward for your support! The Kickstarter ENDS THIS SUNDAY, APRIL 7. Don’t miss out!!! Help us bring the next two print volumes of Punching the Clock to life- including the story following Ryan’s adventures on the night shift- and a brand-new, 28-page, full-length “what if” story about what happens when the zombie apocalypse comes to Buy Lots!

There’s only FIVE days left, so don’t delay!

Braaaaiiiiiiiinnnnnsssss…

-Rob

Make A Stand

Rob — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 04:01:00 +0000

Another week without Ryan, another customer Jeff faces alone.

This week, Jeff “Hulks out” after this entitled doucher decides to get all pissy because he’s a couple of years outside of return policy. Don’t let the fact that we’re making fun of it fool you- this type of bullshit happens all the time.

The first place people go to raise hell when their stuff breaks is the store where they bought it from… regardless of how much time may have passed since the original purchase. The thing is, people just want someone to yell at… and unfortunately, they take it out on the people least responsible for the issue. 16 years in retail, and I still can’t wrap my head around people who believe that the phrase “standing behind your product” actually means anything to the people at the store… as if they have a workshop in the backroom that makes all the products that they stock on the shelves.

But that’s just crazy talk.

In Kickstarter news, we’ve officially hit our first stretch goal of $4000, and are well on the way of hitting the $4500 mark. If you haven’t backed it yet, be sure to do so and choose from some awesome rewards, including pre-ordering our next two books! Less than two weeks to go!

Also, in case you haven’t seen it, Bleeding Cool ran a piece that I wrote about the journey of making Punching the Clock a reality. Check it out if you’ve got a sec!

Hulk Smash Puny Product Return!

-Rob

I Meme You No Harm

Rob — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 04:01:00 +0000

Today, we meet Milton. No, he’s not new to Buy Lots, he’s just forgettable. Have you ever worked with someone that one day pops up out of the blue and you just can’t place them, even though they’ve been working in the same building for years? Yeah. He’s THAT guy. Nerdy in his own right, he just isn’t up to the task of matching Jeff in that department…

I like that we spoofed the “Batman slaps Robin” meme. It makes me happy, dammit; just pretend like you like it.

Keeping it short for this week… lots of work piled up on the desk to take care of… like finishing up the next two volumes of Punching the Clock, since the Kickstarter was 100% FUNDED IN LESS THAN 6 DAYS!!! That is absolutely AMAZING, and you guys ROCK! There are still 19 days left in the campaign, so please pledge if you haven’t yet- there are still tons of cool rewards to collect, and we are now working toward STRETCH GOALS! The more money we make, the more we can do with the book! Also, you can pre-order the two new books via the KS as well! Follow the link in the right sidebar…

Also, GHERU over at THE OUTHOUSERS posted a pretty kickass review of our comic, so please head on over here to check that out as well!

My Parents Are Deeeeaaaaaaaaaddddd!

-Rob