Luann by Greg Evans and Karen Evans for May 08, 2020

The TJ smirk is back!

help an employee or help the customers… which to decide?

“Order Up~!!” ✨

Tiff will end up in their spare room, you betcha. ✨

How exactly is working at a restaurant you own going to make you any more money than just owning the restaurant?

Yeah, Listen to TJ. She has Les. Although I am not sure what he will say. Les’d not be able to relate because he is not in academia. Luann would not be happy if you’re thinking of taking her nemesis under your wing. Perhaps Les will call Bernice and give her a head up. Bernice can set up something – like a party anonymous.

Listen to T J, Nancy.

We all speculated it would come to this.

By the way TJ. I’m the barkeep. I don’t wait tables. That’s when the tension started.

Nancy just learned that keeping books is not the same as managing a restaurant.

You can’t fix everything, Nancy. Having other people take on additional duties and hours so Tiff can (inefficiently) “study” (on her own) isn’t going to make things right with the world. You have to pay her for the work she does, not for the time that she spends (daily) being a drama queen and sobbing over it (at work).

If Tiff needs her hours (and pay) cut back, let HER tell you that!

Don’t coddle her like she’s your daughter. Adulting is hard and Tiff needs to learn what it’s like in the real world.

Hang on Smiley. Now would be a GOOD time for YOU to remember that “Mrs DeGroot” is also your BUSINESS PARTNER.

And since WHEN did Smiley get to be such a hardcore boss? I remember when once upon a time, He didn’t exactly cow-tow to his former “boss” Ann Eiffel at Weenie World.

Perhaps the Fuse needs to hire yet another employee. I wonder if Bets needs a job? And maybe, a room at Casa DeGroot?

PS: If you haven’t already, check out the May 06, 2020 issue of the San Diego Union Tribune. Greg Evans (And several other cartoonists) talk about COVID-19 and whether or not they will incorporate it into their comics.

Some fans of Luann will be pleased with Greg’s response. ;)

Can’t wait for the Saturday. Nancy needs to go back to the bar and let TJ run the restaurant. Side note, Mr Al Gray built the bar, got the Liquor License and ask Frank & Nancy to hire Prudence as the bartender. If Nancy can focus on bartendering, the Fuse can be profitable.

TJ in the second panel…. what a hoot! I didn’t realize he was so pragmatic. By comparison, Nancy seems like a little kid. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that – I like them both.)

TJ is one of the best character on this strip.

That witch, Evil Annie, is there hiding in the wings of the stage with her bad magic wand. The bar and cash register section has been whisked away, and that couple and the table have suddenly appeared under the Kafe Kablooie sign where the reigster and bar were just minutes before. Tiff is in tears, Nancy’s bar is gone and her mind has been erased of why she is there, and we will have to see what else Evil Annie will inflict upon the place. Perhaps she will turn Frank, TJ, and Les into toads and the kitchen sink into a pond. My, that Greg can certainly come up with some wild stories! Pip – pip, I’m off.

.

I’m really off…

If she was willing to study she wouldn’t have this problem.

Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were college dropouts, what they wanted is not taught in Universities. What Tiffany needs is not in any College textbooks, Tiffany needs to go Paris and work for Souffle Lingerie. She can learn the business from the cellar to the executive suites.

Nancys heart is melting for tiffany and she wants to help her in any way she can and TJ wants employees to separate their personal lives from their professional lives. Hence why he’s trying to direct nancy to take care of upset customers rather than upset tiffany.

Count me as one who thinks TJ may be a little out-of-line here. Yes, he said he’s Tiffany’s boss, but he seems to act like he’s Nancy’s boss, too.

And someone else also noted, is it the bartender’s responsibility to be the waitress, too?

This is not sitting well.

“Auggh boo Hoo” is a ploy to entrap Nancy, TJ knows Tiffany’s real intentions, and wants Nancy Degroot to walk away and focus the profitability, not be the Mother of the Year.

Tiffany could end up costing the DeGroot family everything they have.

Ah ha, TJ gets to show some authority, pull rank and put Mrs DeGroot onto Tiff’s tables and they look a bit impatient. I suspect Mom is about to have a bad day……

Do your job Nancy. Your boss says so.

Tiffany needs a Boothby.

Doesn’t Nancy’s head look a little weird in the first frame? Reminds me of The Exorcist.

Whoa TJ! Are you implying that you are Nancy’s boss as well??? She’s the business co-owner. I knew having Nancy on-site would yield some interesting results. I await to see what Nancy is going to do for Tiff.

Responsible and accurate answer TJ.

But I think Nancy is about to go rogue…..

I feel so bad for Tiffany.

TJ has become so professional. He’s right, but I don’t like that truth and probably Nancy doesn’t like it too. Nancy can help Tiffany in some way.

I wonder if any of the Hall A Gang, hard partiers all, are flunking courses?

Do they have fun but are disciplined enough to actually STUDY? Or are they ALL like Tara? Someone who can pass tests apparently without studying?

Or could it be that someone is “feeding” them answers to the tests? Hmmmmm?

I’ve been wondering if recent plotlines would result in Tiff moving out of the dorm and renting the room at Luann’s house.

By the way – who is the woman Frank is having dinner with in the last panel?

Good for TJ!

3rd. panel might be Nancy’s observation about the comic strip itself.

Tiffany has burned all her bridges behind her. She cried “Wolf!” one too many times and now no one really believes her or even cares.

Nancy is so dumb. She actually thinks that by taking her shifts Tiffany would study? She is really bad at studying. She doesn’t like studying at all. And would she still get her pay? I hope not. Not all people are cut out for college.

This is Friday. Monday starts a new arc…as usual.

My strip comment, written way too early in the morning because I have been streaming binging, does not appear. I won’t rant, I probably forgot to hit the comment tab. My thought was that it seems odd that TJ, the floor manager, can be Nancy’s boss, as she is an owner, but Mordy pointed out that they are co-owners, but still. I still think that Nancy will help Tiffany, TJ will relent (he has not fired her yet, with her daily “wailing”), and by the way, it is good to see that TJ can be quite responsible. That does not surprise me at all, both he and his BFF, Brad, have their own personality quirks, but have grown, Brad scoring the Babe, Toni, and a first responder job, and TJ being a successful manager for a public establishment. We get to see both sides of them, the private sides and their work side. But getting back to the arc, somehow Nancy will intercede, and the results should eventually be different than she has had up to now. I mean Trish and Kip, versus Nancy DeGroot.

This is just saying that Nancy doesn’t know Tiff like the rest do and TJ is being patient with Nancy

Wow – real words of wisdom from TJ. (and the lady at the table in the background – her lips are so big she looks like a sock monkey)

Nancy needs to see a shrink

Thank you Greg and Karen for keeping Luannuniverse Covid Free!!! I deeply appreciate this little escape every day and not having to think about it for a few moments while I read “Luann”. The virus is with us every moment 24/7 and, for me, reading “Luann” gives me a little break and puts a smile on my face. It’s my favorite strip and the first one I read every morning. Love you guys and stay safe and healthy!

Just an observation. Is the strip so bereft of plot lines that it has to carry two Tiffany arcs. 1) New room/roommate/Hall-A denizens, and 2) failing grades with possible expulsion.

And remember, Big Daddy isn’t feeding the class foundation any more, so expulsion could be in the offing.

Don’t make others suffer too. I can’t even fix ME — and that’s with starting close to perfection!!

Well, maybe if she’d actually studied instead of going to that party, she’d be doing better.

I guess this is why so many small business fail, when management won’t differentiate between a friend and a coworker.

When this story arc started, Tiffany was wailing something about “So unfair!!”

When did Nancy take bartending classes?? Ive seen no previous strips mentioning her and bartending school?

YELP Review by Mrs. S.

My husband and I went to The Fuse for our anniversary, because our friends raved about the food. We arrived, and were seated promptly and the young waitress took our orders. BUT, for some reason, she abruptly disappeared, and shortly afterwards, we heard the most horrific caterwauling coming from the kitchen. We waited patiently for 30 minutes, but she did not return. Finally, after 45 minutes, she came to our table with our food, still sniffling and still clearly upset about something. The food was cold. It had quite obviously been sitting on the counter for a long time, while our waitress was off somewhere with her own personal problems.

One star. Never coming back again.

Is it just me or did they “darken” TJ’s skin? It sounds crazy but I remember what they did back and forth with Gunther’s girfriend Betts in this regard.

Skin color is constantly shifting. Luann’s skin changes with the various scenery settings. The quality of the colors varies between print media and computer monitors.

Now I see why Luann is irresponsible and without ambition, or to paraphrase, Dr. Phil, “Its always the parents’ fault”.

t looks like TJ is taking the order for this couple (instead of Tiffany). If someone doesn’t get Tiff on the right track, then classes may not be all that she is failing at.

When did Nancy turn into smother-mother Irma? C’mon Nancy, Tiff is NOT five years old! She didn’t fall down and skin her knee! Tiff is having her (according to TJ) daily drama/tantrum, and Nancy wants to rush over with hugs and hand holding and maybe cookies, and “fix” all of Tiff’s problems? Just how does she propose to do that? Hire someone to do all Tiff’s homework and take the tests for her?

I’m sorry, but I can’t help but think that Nancy would be taking a firmer stance with Luann her own daughter. She wouldn’t be standing there with her hands clasped to her chest like a Victorian heroine who is witnessing a Great Tragedy. No, she’d tell Luann: ‘Look! You have a job to do. I have a job to do. We’ll sort this out later, but right now put it on hold, and keep the personal drama out of the workplace. Either that, or go home. Without pay.’

TJ needs to step up and do his job as the manager. That means meeting with Tiffany and give her a first written warning. Document her unacceptable performance and determine a plan to improve her performance. If she insists on creating scenes that drive customers away, he needs to fire her.

The restaurant business can be very competitive. Many restaurants and bars fail. Didn’t TJ already have one restaurant that was failing until it “inadvertently” blew up? If the Fuse is lucky John Tapper may make an appearance.

Just thought I would chime in on the list of toons that are incorporating COVID-19 and its effects of society into their work:Jeff Stahler by Jeff Stahler (political cartoonist)Last Kiss by John Lustig has thrown in a couple here and there in his daily stripBarney and Clyde by Weingarten, Weingarten and Clark have been putting it in off and onDaddy’s Home by Tony Rubino and Gary Markstein have been heavily on it with their strip.Thatsababy by Paul Trap is also very heavy on it in his strip.Candorville by Darrin Bell has been very heavy on it also.

Come companies have staff psychologists or one to go to.

@Dog: I agree with Eladee. It is a relief to have one ‘toon to visit where COVID-19 isn’t the main story line. There are plenty of ‘toons that are incorporating it into their offerings, and it doesn’t really represent an ‘opportunity’. You can’t make humor out of something like this. Besides, the news stories are full of details…

TJ and Brad are older than Luann, Bernice, Tiffany, Gunther, etc. and they are successful. The drama of Luann, Bernice, Gunther and Tiffany is what attracts readers. TJ and Brad are appurtenances to the drama.

I know some people have taken issue at what appears to be TJ pulling the boss card on Nancy. I don’t think it’s quite as bad as it appears. Looks to me like Kafe Kablooie and the bar/stage/event room at The Fuse are separate entities. TJ is clearly in charge of K2, and, as an investor in The Fuse, would not be an employee/underling of the DeGroots, not would they be his underlings. They would be equals, managing different sections (relatively independently) under the roof of the warehouse.

TJ is the one who hires and fires employees at K2. His responsibility includes ordering the appropriate type/amounts of food for the restaurant and personnel issues with K2. Al Gray/The DeGroots seem to have responsibility for managing everything else. Since TJ hired Tiff, without any input from the DeGroots, he is definitely her boss. Nancy, now working the bar, is a co-worker, in the way that a person from Accounting is a co-worker of someone in Inventory, with both reporting to separate bosses in a large company. Tiff does not directly report to Nancy, hence the co-worker status.

There also seems to be some flexibility in roles, where Pru works for the DeGroots and might end up working part-time in K2, and it is possible that TJ might have covered the bar when Pru was on-break or on lunch. Their relationship is symbiotic, with all understanding that the failure of one component could easily bring down the whole.

TJ is too unctuous for words. I’ve give him the boot if I were you, Nancy, You in fact own the joint (along with hubby Frank)! (Mr. Gray is just a manager for them.)

Nancy don’t offer Tif a room without consulting Luann. The reaction could be disastrous

@Dog: I was one of the kids growing up in Pittsburgh who served as a guinea pig for Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine. I was only 7, but I remember the pre-vaccine time, when no one knew how polio was transmitted. Parents feared to let their kids outside, wouldn’t let them use the YMCA swimming pool, or go anywhere near a kid who had had it, and now lived in a wheelchair. My cousin had a ‘mild’ version and walked with a limp for years. I can remember how angry some of my relatives were when my parents let us anywhere near my late cousin Neil. Long story short : the comic books dealt with this issue by including the logo of the foundation fighting polio on the covers of their mags. There was no way to ‘explore character development’ of people in iron lungs (many of whom were going to die), or ‘explore character development’ of parents losing their kids. There were also some comic characters who directly asked their readers to contribute to the March of Dimes. But the only time I can remember a comic character involved with polio itself was an editorial cartoon where a small boy using crutches walked past some kids wrestling, and asked ‘Why didn’t my parents get me the polio vaccine?’ A major disease is not the same thing as a major war (regardless of whether political leaders say it is). It is a major tragedy, and avoiding a tragedy in a ‘toon isn’t ‘looking through Rose colored glasses’. It’s recognizing that inclusion of major tragedy in a ‘toon takes the skills of a novelist and much more space than is available in a 3 or 4 frame ’toon. And avoiding a major tragedy also provides a great service to readers who are dealing with that tragedy in their ’real lives’, and need a break…

And on a different topic: RIP to Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy, reported to have passed on at age 75, from COVID-19…

Actually, T.J., Nancy is also YOUR boss because she owns the business. That means that if there’s something going on with Tiffany, she DOES have a right to know about it and to do something about if if she can!

So T.J. maturing into an effective restaurant manager is a bad thing? His maturation warrants the epithet “Smiley?” How exactly is T.J. being hard core?

He has a an apparently psychotic waitress on staff who oscillates between an enthusiastic, please the customers personality and a self-absorbed child who utterly ignores the customers.

Tiffany needs to learn that the expression: “The show must go on” applies to pretty much everything in life, not just theater. If you are on the clock, it is time to leave your issues behind and get to work.

As far as T.J.’s “partner” goes, T.J. seems to be the one handling the situation like an adult and trying to get his “partner” focused on the actual reason why they are there: taking care of customers!