San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-11-16
CANDY KLEPT0MANIACS.
PNFERERS NOT A TERROR TO
BIG cONFecTDNERS.

A Noticeable Subtraction From tho Profits
Customers the wors. ofenders-Ladies
Who Feel Secure From Rebuke-How
Losses Are Covered.
Strolling through some OF the we'll patron
lied uptown confectionery stores, a reporter
observed many ladies slyly cribbing candies.
As they walked by the long counters filled
with tempting trays Of sweet morsels they
would stretch out their gloved hands and whip
up candy here and there, sampling the diff
ferent kinds with GOODNESS, not to say affront-
cry. 1t is, indeed, a very common thing for
this sort of theft to be practiced Purchasers
may be seen, while waiting to have their
p,.ckages prepared, deftly swapping a cara
mel or gum drop or a chocolate or a pepper
mint before the eyes of the attendants, and
making no proffer Of pay or apology, and
receiving no rebuke
y coutectIoner, speaking on this subject
said 1T is Of course noticeable subtraction
fruA: our profits 30 see this sort Of petty lar.
ceny gong on day after day. In a large
store, where many kinds of candy are dis
played and hundreds of customers pass in
and out every day, the amount of candy thus
consumed may be measured by pounds They
are often women of means, well able to pay
for everything they want. But they seem to
take delight in apparently getting so much
the better of a storekeeper Do not suppose
that we do not see this going on. We do see
it But what can we dos The offenders are
our customers. They buy often. They buy
sometimes Large quantities. Not all of them,
perhaps, but some of them come in many
times in the course of the year They rarely
come in for the mere purpose of plucking an
odd candy. Sometimes we get from them
party orders on which we make profit enough
for thousand such offerings
If we should object to their pluck1ng a
piece of candy here and there we might lose
valuable customers If you will observe
closely, however, you will see that the trays
most exposed are not those with the most ex-
pensive candies The best goods are gener-
ally protected from peculation by glass cases
or wire screens, which enable the customers
to look, but compel them to keep hands of.
The candies that are exposed are the cheaper
kinds. The candies that We lose are our ad-
vertisements. We get good prices for what
we sell, and those who pay are made to pay
enough TO cover the loss from those who
grab.
THE customers who are in the habit of
'swiping' are well known to all the clerks. If
they go i'll too strong they will feel the keen
eyes of attendants upon them, and they will
not wait long TO be served We know that
the longer they stay the more we lose, and we
do not let them stay long if we can help it,
and if a candy drops off the box which they
buy we may forget to pick it up 1t may be-
set down as a rule that candy cribbing is
mostly practiced in high priced stores, where
ladies feel secure from rebuke. On the east
siLe that sort of thing is much less in vogue,
and the proprietOrs would have no scruples
about resenting an imposition In the same
stores frequented by some wealthy customers
all the candies are protected by glass cases or
screens. You may look, but hands off. >
When you look AZ the price of sugar as COM
pared with the price Of candy and reflect
how much of all candy is mere. sugar, you
will see how large a margin of profit there is.
The stolen candies are just as much part of
80 .-aeE-sS q the store as the rent. Theop.
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