The Penn's Grove record., 1886-07-10
A PLAIN WOMAN.
Her Opinion of the Proprietor and
Clerks of a Modern Dry-Goods
Emporium.

1 wonder IL the average merchant
ever stops to think what a big hypocrite
he is, and what a lot of monkeys he
makes of his clerks? In the days agone
the lady who entered a dry-goods store
was met with a courteous salutation
from proprietor or clerk. She stated her
wants, and they were attended to in a
business-like manner, and good after
noon" followed her as she went out.
What a change has come over the
earthl Recently as Ientered a ~dry-goods
store the floor-walker put on his sweet
est grin and ''good-afteTnooned" me.
He rubbed his hands together, grinned
some more, bowed five distinct times,
and was so pleased to show me to the
towel and napkin counter that he skim
ned his shins on a stool without losing
one bit of his angelic ~countenance.
Then the towel and napkin man bow
ed and grinned and twisted and smirked
and ''good-afternooned" and beautiful
weathered'' me for three minutes. If
had bought him a new tin whistle, or a
red top, he couldn't have been more
pleased. / wanted some crash toweling
at about a shilling a yard. knew that
before / left home. l asked direct for
what 1 wanted, and the clerk grinned
and smirked and twisted some more and
said:
"Ah-yes-exactly--yes. Certainly,
ma'am, with the greatest Of pleasure.
You didn't want Turkish towels?"
|. mo, STRIP
"Ah-no! We have a very nice bath
towel here for -ah- exactly thirty
cents-ah."
81 want crash toweling."
Certainly, ma'am-crash toweling-
l see. We are having beautiful weather
very beautiful. Here it is, ma'am."
At that moment the loor-walker sud
denly appeared. His face bore a look OF
great anxiety. l couldn't tell at first
whether he had a touch of the collie or
had heard of a death in the family, but
it all came out after a bit. He had been
suddenly struck with the idea that L
might have gone down cellar or upstairs
to hunt for the towel department, or
that 1 wasnot being properly waited on,
or that the crash toweling was OF on a
vacation. He had run back to make
sure, and what q relief it was to himl
He bowed and smiled and ducked and
twisted and backed off.
Then the clerk bowed and grinned
and gurgled and handed down some
toweling.
81 want four yards.n
Certainly, ma'am-I see-bewtlful
day yesterday-four yards-think it Will
do, eh?n
Just then the proprietor came up, and
his face carried Such a grinl He was de-
| lighted to see me. Didn't L want two
clerks to wait on me? 1t was a bewtifuI
day-very bewtiful. Did the toweling
suit? If not he would order from Eu-
rope. No trouble at all, you know-ah
-certainly-cal again-good afternoon.
The clerk had cut off four yards of
toweling, and 1 laid down a fifty-cent
piece.
"Ah-yes-nothing else table-cloths
or napkins-dish-towels or any thing of
the kind?'
"No, sir!"
"Ah-certainly-cash boy!-beWtiful
day, isn't it-a thousand thanks-pack-
age, ma'am-call again-good after
nOon."
I1b nilliIhCo anu SilIl1Sos Inv NV
walker ran across my path to grin IL
bow. The proprietor followed me to
twist and twitter. l had saved the three
of lem from the gallows by purchasing
four yards of crash toweling at a shilling
a yard, and they were duly grateful.
am a plain woman. L hope have
a fair share of common sense. know
lots of plain women with common n
who are looking for some merchant to
open a store where grinning balloons
will not be employed to wait on CUSTOM
ers. One woman out of fifty may ap-
p%reciate all this soft soap and tender
taffy, but the other forty-nine are dis
gusted with it. We want civil, our
teous treatment from shop-keepers and
their clerks, but let it end there. The
proprietor who exacts all this grinning
and grImacing and tom-foolery on the
part of his clerk towards female custom
ers is mistaken in the SEX. They have
mora brains than he credits them with.