Retailer Finds Comedy in Hardware Through Comic Strip

Since joining the independent hardware industry over a decade ago, Chance Parish has been making note of the funny comments that come out of customers’ mouths. Parish, who is the manager for the Ackerman, Mississippi, location of Nabors Home Center, has turned those humorous remarks into a comic strip.

Parish started with Nabors Home Center with the intention of just working there until he could find another job, but that summer position turned into a full-time career, and he has been with the operation ever since. He says he enjoys being able to help customers.

“Those times when the customer really needs you, and you can explain things and they understand and can go off and do what they need to do, that’s rewarding,” Parish says. 

The comic strip was inspired by a particularly busy time at the store after a hard freeze last year. Parish shares the comic strips on his personal Facebook page so others in the retail world can relate to the ups and downs of the industry. He has also started a website featuring all of his comic strip creations.

“It was a crazy time, and I needed a way to express and decompress, so I sat down and drew, something I enjoy doing and do a lot,” Parish says. “The person I drew ended up looking like me, so I took all those funny things I had heard over the years and put them down, and the comic strip went from there to the world of Hardware Harold.”

Read about another hardware-inspired comic strip, Mr. Oswald here and here.