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Who's Watching the Store?: Difference between revisions
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(Import from TV Tropes TVT:Main.WhosWatchingTheStore 2012-07-01, editor history TVTH:Main.WhosWatchingTheStore, CC-BY-SA 3.0 Unported license) |
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Often it is necessary to get the characters out of their normal environment so it does not seem boring. [[Tropes Are Tools|This is not a problem]], but if the show has not set up a suitable number of background employees whom the audience can believe are capable of operating the business when the principal character employees are out, it can stretch the viewer's [[Willing Suspension of Disbelief]].
Often merely [[Handwaved]] or ignored. Sometimes [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] [[Who Is Driving?|for a little humor]]. Often comes to mind during [[Fridge Logic]]. Supposedly being able to abandon a workplace in part or entirely is some sort of higher level of [[Ultimate Job Security]]. If a worker is seen around but ''never'' doing their job, then see [[The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything]].
{{examples
== Film ==
* ''[[Coming to America]]'': McDowells hires two people in one day, obviously needing the employees. Then, during the rest of the movie, most of the known employees of the restaurant are shown to be away from work.
* Parodied in ''[[Airplane!]]'' when Ted Striker leaves his cab at the airport just as a new fare gets in. Ted says he'll be right back and starts the meter running, but he instead gets on a plane. At the end of the movie, hours later, the man is still in the cab with the meter still running.
* ''[[Clerks]]'': Dante and Randall close their respective stores to play hockey on the roof and go to a funeral, among other things. However, they're fully aware of this
== Live Action TV ==
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* Whenever the bartenders on ''[[Cheers]]'' went somewhere during business hours they often had to point out who was watching the bar.
* The 1980's show ''[[Alice]]'' had the entire cast leaving Mel's Diner a few times during business hours with no explanation given.
* ''[[Star Trek: Deep Space Nine]]'' sometimes has a problem with this. They send the entire main cast on away missions occasionally, and it seems like that's everyone of any authority on the station.
** Other [[Star Trek]] installments have also appeared to do this. It wasn't a problem on the original series because they left Scotty and some competent secondary characters behind. On ''NextGen'', it was Captain Picard left
* On the Britcom ''[[Are You Being Served
** Grace Bros actually '''does close''' during lunch.
*** But do they also close during those morning coffee breaks?
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** ''[[Power Rangers Jungle Fury]]'' had the Rangers work in a pizzeria. They didn't have a problem with the boss as he was [[The Mentor]], but there seemed to be ''no'' background employees; he seemed to run the place by himself before hiring the Rangers and one other girl in the pilot, and once he became a Ranger himself it apparently fell on the girl to keep things running while the Rangers saved the world.
*** This trope eventually came back to bite them in the behind, however, {{spoiler|as it became impossible to keep the girl from finding out their secret after leaving her to handle the pizzeria alone so many times.}}
* The creators of ''[[
* On ''[[Wings (TV series)|Wings]]'', Joe and Brian are the only two pilots for Sandpiper Air, but half the time they're either just hanging around the airport or flying the plane for their own personal use without any passengers. It's no wonder that Joe could only ever afford one plane.
== Web Comics ==
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== Western Animation ==
* On ''[[
** In one episode Spongebob and Squidward deliver a pizza for Mr. Krabs, presumably leaving Mr. Krabs to run the entire store himself.
** In the episode where Spongebob gets a splinter, he and Squidward spend a huge amount of time in the kitchen, begging the question of who is manning the front register.
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* In one episode of ''[[Curious George]]'', George picks up takeout from a new family-owned Asian market/take out place across the street. The ''entire family'' that runs the market help him carry the food home and then are invited to stay for dinner by the man in the yellow hat - they accept.
* [[The Simpsons]] uses this one with the Kwik-e-Mart numerous times. It's almost always answered as well. Either it's Apu's brother, or his infant nephew (he had a gun) or James Woods or... The one time Apu hasn't thought about it, Snake [[Exaggerated Trope|steals the store]].
{{quote|
Snake: "''I'm taking this thing to Mexico!''" }}
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