The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1882-08-03
A Picture oftha Model Dry Goods Clerk.

Tor the benefit Of the dry goods rler
anu ais many customers:
HOW TO WAIT on A CUSTOMER.
The above phrase, when analyzcd j
very suggestive. Why should tic wor.
wait" be used in this connection ins,ea,
of any word implying Service? ?" vii
ton says, speaking of christian .!nty:
They also serve who only stand and wait
1t may seem almost irrevercnt to an
ply the words III this connecti0n. htt,
those who stand behind counters doubt
less lind 1t sometimes tue hardest kin,
oi service to stand and watt and car
appreciate tho significance of makint
me word wait" with the proposition
following, the technical term for attend
ing TO customers. If there is any cas
OF people who learn practically how tc
cohJugate the verb 'to watt in all il.
moods and lenses it is our salesman ant
saleswomen those who wait, wait, wai
from morn till night, day after day, week
aiter week, while tho fnstidious compare
UNITS and shades and fabrics, the cautious
ind fnult, the impatient fret and scold
the close chatter and cheaper, while The
sossips relate their family affairs or dis.
cuss the latest scandal with their friends,
| Eh;; tho !li"rs, "!!a an!v coaic &c Kill
time and exhibit their toilets, dawdlc
over trides or pile the counters with
| goods they have no intention of buying.
| we have watched snch proceedings and
! thought life must be burden TO such
! long suffering individuals, and that by
saturday night they would be ready to
take up the wall Of Tennyson's "Marin.
| na,"-
u am nwcary awcary,
would that were dead"
But there IL another side TO the pic
ture. If clerks have grievances. 30.
must nssuredly, have customers. There
are clerks and clerks. For example,
there is the conceited specimen, usually
masculine, who knows everything. He
knows oil about the fashions and all
about the goods. lie knows what YOU
want great deal better than you do
yourself. lie knows entirely too much,
ana Is simply exasperating, even more 80
than the wooden clerk, who knows moth
Ing at oil, moves like en- automnton.
Ihen there is very cfliIsiye clcrk-so
smiling and bland-so anxious to please,
washing his hands with invisible soap,
~ lie asks with insinuating tone, what
shall | show you to day." He praises
his wares, and artfully seeks to ilattor
when his customer is green and wheCdle
her into purchasing whether she will or
no. Wine color? No, we are Just out
OF that, but peacock blue is all tho STYLE
Eow would be 80 becoming to you %
There is tho lnnguid, list!ess, indifferent
clerk-the coxcomb, who il so busy twirl-
ing his Inustache and watching pretty
g'rls across the way that you can hardly
get his attention tho supercillious clerk,
who fawns on ladies richly dressed, but
Dareiy condcscends to notice humble in
dlVlduals, and is quite contemptuous
when you purchase three. egh,s Of n
yard, which you happen to want instead
OF quantity you have no use for. There
ID the halftipsy clerk VIC recently en-.
countered in leading dry goods house,
win very red face, and breath disgust
ilngly redolcnt of whiskey and onions.
lhen there nre clerks that deliberately
tell lies. We have wondered, az they
gibly rehcarse their stock supply of
iaisehoods about auction sales and great
reductions. and how no more goods of
that particular style could be had for
love or money, whether they supposed
the!r customers were green enough to
believe them. Another doubt is whether
the salesman il personally responsible, or
whether it is the teaching and policy of
the hrm 10 mlsrcpresent and deceive. In
either case we would remind them of the
old maxim:
HONESTY IS TIE best POLICY.
When you have been once deceived
and cheated, you steer clear of that place
forever after, and one sale will not COM
pcnsate for the loss of n regular customer.
Such instances arc frequent, and an
honest dealer often loses much by a
tricky salesman who thinks himsolf
remarkably sharp. Clerks are sometimes
absolutely rude. These are rare but we
have seen them even in st. Louis, who
whistlcd while waiting, INDUCED in flip.
pant asides with their comrades, and lily
concealed their impaticncc as it grew
near lunch time. We are glad to say
these are all exceptional cases. For one
who is disagreeable or inefficient there
Is large proportion who are civil and
obliging.
But how TO wait on a customer, and
how to secure employees who understand
the art, are important questions t. deal
ers, for the style OF salesman employed
in any establishment is quite as impor.
tant factor in its success as the style of
goods displayed. Shoppers who have
been disgusted or annoyed, or illy-treatcd
in any way, will take care to prevent a
repetition Of such experience, and will
avoid that counter or that store az care
fully rs if smallpox flag were unfured
there; while, OH the other hand, cour-
teous, reliable, accommodating salesman
will 80 attract and retain custom as TO
make his service invaluable to his en-
plOyers.
1t has been said that every man thinks
he could edit newspaper or run hotol.
This, OF course, is an extravaganza but
certainly every one thinks that every
man, woman and child can sell goods ::
whereas, to do it satisfactorily, IL, like
everything else, an art to be learned, and
the model salesman or salcswoman is as
rare as skillful artisan among prentice
hands.
TO WAIT on A CUSTOMER REQUIRES,
first of all, patience and good temper,
serenity, cheerfulneas-in a word, good
manners. Emerson has said: Manners
arc the happy ways of doing things, each
one stroke Of genius, or of love, now
repeated and hardened ih:o usage. They
form at least a rich varnish with which
the routine Of life is washed and its
details adorned. But throuoh
the lustrious varnish the reality is ever
shining. No surface politcness can sue
cessfully conceal inbred irritability and
ill temper"
Nex. &c scea manners, TIC: &c perhaps
the most desirable quality-a little word,