Whats the point of shop hours when shopkeepers arent in shop always?

[RobJ81]

A few times now, a person isnt in their shop during their OPEN hours! Is this a known issue or no? Shopkeepers shouldnt be roaming around when I want to buy something, period.

[Timedye]

I know I've gone in to see Marnie on Wednesday - Sunday and she's been AWOL. She more than any other character seems to wander like mad.

[Mr. Needful]

Marnie is notoriously bad at tending her shopfront. There have been multiple times I've walked in during known store hours and chatted with her in her kitchen instead of being able to buy animals from her. Robin is normally pretty good at keeping shop, though sometimes she's elsewhere in her house or nearby in the clearing. Pierre has a bit of a habit of closing early, Willy and Clint are steadfast in manning their posts, and Harvey is utterly useless because he never has clients.
The shops desperately need a service bell, so that if they're somewhere else in their house during their posted store hours, you can ding it and they'll come walking out. That or be able to discuss business or submit purchase requests away from the shopfront.

[rbad34]

it seems some of you are missing the point. the fact that the shopkeeps aren't always there even if the sign on the front says they should be, is a deliberate implementation by ConcernedApe to portray the town/story as he wants. it isnt gonna change

ie if you want something from Pierre, and Pierre is otherwise disposed, you can always buy from Joja Mart 9am-11pm everyday of the week.

Originally posted by InPinkClover:

...NO store owner is going to leave their door unlocked when they are not there ... OR, they do and expect the people of their town to leave money for whatever they took. We don't have the option to buy when the store owner isn't there, so that doesn't seem very realistic to me. :)

Some farmers in Norway and Sweden just have unmanned vege/fruit stands and fully expect people to just drop whatever they think is fair for whatever they take. If that concept is unrealistic to you, how does having an option to buy things when an owner isnt there make things more realistic lol

[Timedye]

Originally posted by rbad34:

it seems some of you are missing the point.

Intentional or not, it doesn't make for a good gameplay mechanic, particularly given the strict time limit of a day. There are ways to go about letting these characters do story related activities while maintaining their store fronts (part time workers to mind the til as a quick, easy example).

[rbad34]

Its a great mechanic, time management and risk/reward all balled up into one. Making the player remember each villager's schedule drives the story and making the game feel more real in one of the only ways a 2d pastel colored game could.

Except for Joja Mart selling Marnie or Willy's stock and being able to sell goods at Joja Mart for...idk.. 50% actual price, nothing will be implemented to appease the whole lot of you

[Timedye]

I really couldn't care less whether the developer alters these things: that's what mods are for.

[Gentleman]

I personally love this mechanics – it makes the town and its residents feel alive.

And I had no problem learning people’s schedule, so shopping is never a problem for me. Yes, it can be inconvenient sometimes, but I can’t expect Pierre to keep his shop open the whole day just for my convenience. And for the most part, shopkeepers are there at declared hours. Pierre closes a bit sooner than the map claims, but I learned that early and adjust to that.

As for part-time workers solution, remember that the town is *very* small, with only 27 residents! There isn’t enough custom to warrant getting part-time workers: the opening hours are more than enough for anyone who needs something to stop by.

And in Marnie’s case in particular, you are probably the only person in town who buys live animals from her, so her “short” work hours (though I still had no problem buying from her whenever I needed) are completely justified.

[Timedye]

Hell, Shane ought to be running Marnie's til when she skives off, not working at the JoJa Mart. Frankly, I'm surprised there's not a storyline revolving around that within the game.

[rbad34]

Originally posted by Crippled Intern:

Hell, Shane ought to be running Marnie's til when she skives off, not working at the JoJa Mart. Frankly, I'm surprised there's not a storyline revolving around that within the game.

that is one thing concernedape can address in the game right now, even if Joja Mart is closed, Shane still does his normal routine and goes inside. idk if Goku still does his Joja Mart routine as well

[Gentleman]

Originally posted by Crippled Intern:

Hell, Shane ought to be running Marnie's til when she skives off, not working at the JoJa Mart. Frankly, I'm surprised there's not a storyline revolving around that within the game.

As I pointed out, the thing is: Marnie doesn't actually need part-time worker. Presumably she mostly makes a living selling animal products, and she just ships them with Lewis. That's why Shane works in Joja, and only helps Marnie a little with animals. This is also a reason why Sam's part-time job is JojaMart, not Pierre's store or Marnie's ranch.

Though Shane schedule in case if Joja is closed does need to be adressed; and it probably will in update that will make Shane marriage-able (and hopefully, it will also make him quit horrible Joja if you marry him).