Super Stoic Shopkeeper

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

Some characters, most probably unusual ones, are participating in wacky hijinks on their way through the town and decide that they need to go shopping for something, be it mundane, supernatural or just plain crazy. They bust into the store, acting and looking absolutely and completely out of place (and most probably also being totally obnoxious). They get weird looks sent their way, some people sneak out just in case, most customers are stunned with the sheer audacity of the scene.

Cue the Super Stoic Shopkeeper. He/she will pay absolutely no heed to the hijinks, serve the customers in a composed and orderly fashion, maybe suggest a thing or two the characters might also want, ask whether they prefer to pay with cash or a credit card and basically do anything else he/she would do for a regular customer.

This happens because perhaps this is a regular occurrence to the shopkeeper, or they've Seen It All and it'd be really hard to surprise them, or maybe they're an Almighty Janitor or someone had them Reassigned to Antarctica. Or maybe they're a disaffected teen who just can't be bothered to care. For whatever reason, anyone and everyone is just a regular customer in their eyes and has to be treated accordingly.

Subtrope of The Stoic, compare Bunny Ears Lawyer, related to Unusually Uninteresting Sight.

Examples of Super Stoic Shopkeeper include:


  • In the Batman: The Animated Series episode "Beware The Creeper" right after being drastically changed by a vat of chemicals and Joker's laughing gas, the titular Anti-Villain busts into a vintage clothing shop, makes a mess of the place trying to find some clothes to match his new appearance. Clients run and scream. The woman behind the counter says, completely deadpan, "With your skin color, I'd go green." while handing him a pair of underpants. After picking up a few more bits of costume ("How about the boa? Too much?!" "Not on you, baby.") he pays with his credit card.
  • Baccano! gives Isaac and Miria coming into a hat store and acting like absolute children, THEN trying to be intimidating while paying the clerk. He pays little heed and counts out their change.
    • Remember, however, that it was a store where The Mafia buys their hats.
  • Most shopkeepers in The City will be either this, or in therapy.
  • One of these visibly restrains himself when Borat asks what type of gun is best for killing Jews.
  • The gun shop owner in IT reacts perfectly calmly when the Bradley gang (who are topping the nation's most wanted list) just walk into his shop and order thousands of rounds of ammunition. Of course, this being by Stephen King, what happens when they pick up their order is not so pleasant.
  • In Pokémon Heartgold and Soulsilver, the player character spends some time dressed up as a Team Rocket grunt. Every NPC in the city gets new dialogue to reflect this, with most of them expressing either fear or anger. The exceptions are the employees at the local department store, who continue to treat you like a regular customer. One of the other NPCs even lampshades this.
  • Averted in Angel when Darla, after slaughtering most of the occupants of a clothing store, tries to enlist an employee's aid in selecting shoes. Since she does nothing but whimper and try to crawl away, Darla kills her and complains about the service.
  • Leland Gaunt doesn't even flinch when his customers are heavily underdressed. Then again the trope applies to him for his own twisted reasons.