Exactly why is Marla supposed to have loyalty toward Grumbel’s? Have we been shown any objective reason Delman’s is more evil than Grumbel’s?
As far as I can tell, the only reason working at Grumbel’s is at all preferable to working at Delman’s is Marla herself (her surly behavior toward customers notwithstanding).
Comics I Don't Understand 
Mina was portrayed as more evil than any other manager or assistant manager at Grumbels. And I think you’re supposed to think of Brad as pretty evil as well, largely because he was “unethically” trying to steal off their employees (though it really didn’t seem that unethical to me).
That’s only a few employees, but maybe the idea is that a store that would allow someone as toxic as them (or maybe just Mina) must generally be pretty messed up to allow such things.
Or maybe it doesn’t make sense, I dunno.
The previous comic, it was suggested that he trained Mina to be evil and cutthroat.
I’m sure Marla would not take well to being in a cutthroat environment only to be cut down because she tried to be ethical.
Delman’s has been portrayed as being more cutthroat about their employees than Grumbel’s. There was a strip where a new hire found out how draconian it was at Delman’s.
They TELL us that, kedamono, but then they show Marla constantly being put in no-win situations. Even if Delman’s is worse, I’m not seeing why Marla should feel any “loyalty” to Grumbel’s.
“I’m not seeing why Marla should feel any ‘loyalty’ to Grumbel’s.”
Some people are loyal because they’re inclined to be loyal, not because their loyalty is, or is expected to be, rewarded.
The REAL question is why you keep going back to this strip which seems to infuriate you with regularity.
Because we are EXPECTED to be loyal to our company. Even though it’s actually belongs to someone else. Someone who has no loyalty to us. And there’s something immoral about viewing your job only as a paycheck. Even though the guy who owns the company is only motivated by profits.
She knows that Delman’s only wants her so they can consume her soul and then abandon her. Because, y’know, retail is tough these days.
Marla feels (some) loyalty to Grumbel’s because a) she needs the income now that she has a family, and b) they didn’t pass her over when Stuart got promoted. If they had, I expect she’d have opened her little shop in the mall (remember that?).
Anybody else expecting this story line to end eventually with Delman’s going out of business?
Bill@1:17 AM: I don’t think Marla feels any loyalty to Grumbels. All that needs to be explained in this story arc is why she’s not interested in switching to Delmans, and that can be explained by Delmans being much worse. (In this strip, Brad accuses her of misplaced loyalty to Grumbels, but that’s just Brad criticizing her; there’s no reason to think that’s actually her reason.)
I’ve started following this strip daily recently because it frequently appears in CIDU and Comic Strip of the Day, two of my daily essentials. I’m going to continue following it for a while to see if it grows on me, but so far I’d give it a D+. The only thing interesting about it seems to be that it covers different subject matter.
BBBB, do you happen to see “Reply All” (or “Reply All Lite”)? It also deals in mostly-realistic observational humor centered on adults.
I think she’s loyal to her colleagues, and knows that working at Delman’s is toxic.
Better the devil you know… He also did not indicate what job she might have – there might always be a place for her – but it could be at the lowest rung of employment.
There was an assistant manager Brice who left Grumbels to go to the Delman’s in the mall and Mina the manager there was so awful that he came crawling back to Marla. (Marla was a nice enough person to find out if the store manager position at another Grumbels was still available to Brice even though Brice had waved her aside when he quit Grumbels as she tried to tell him about it. )
Having seen customers in assorted stores and how they act towards the employees, as well as other customers – I understand Marla’s frustration with customers, especially since in the name of humor, she gets some pretty annoying and rude customers.
I’m glad I reread the comments before making my own. I was about
to say the same thing as in Winter Wallaby’s parenthetical @ 9:
https://godaddyandthesquirrelmustbothdie.wordpress.com/2018/02/16/serious-retail-question/comment-page-1/#comment-1519
Is Grumbel’s supposed to be Kmart or Sears, while Delman’s is Walmart, or JCPenneys? Kmart and Sears, currently owned by the same parent company, are cutting back. Walmart is growing. JCP is the only chain that I consider in Sears class that remains (Sears, Wards, and JCP, but maybe Kohl’s is in that group now).
Check out http://retailcomic.com/faq/ for some ideas like that. He says the name was based off of Gimbel’s, but he never worked there.
The wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retail_(comic_strip) also addresses some of those questions, in particular,