Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1890-11-06
THE DRY-GOODS CLERK.
HE Qualifications Outlined By q
Chicago Manager.
He Must Be a Gentleman and Have d
Complete Knowledge of the Glass af
Goods He Sells - Pay Regulated
According to Departments.


'Dry-goods clerks, although they are
continually being sneered at, possess
considerable BRAINS" said the manager
OF one of Chicago's great retail houses
to an Evening News reporter.
people in general are fond of maxi
ing unkind allusiuns to dry goods clerks
una considering them as a lot Of ma
chine=lika thcn, good enough I'd walt on
YOU and try 10 make YOU biiy goods; but
that IS all. The fact is, many, if not
all; clerks possess much business Capa-
bility. In their own way they conduct
almost business of their own at the
department over which they preside,
ard take as much pains to promote the
growth of that business as if il were
their own. The customer thinks that
they arc instructed to att Just so and
wor!, Just such schemes, but that is all
wrong. The clerk receives no instruc-
lions, but goes ahead and carries on the
work he IS assigned to the best of his
ability.
Il don't think there is big retail
house in the city where the statesmen
receive regular instructions about their
work. | know they don't In our house.
An applicant fer the position of sales
maA comes in and asks me for position.
"'NFhat are your qualifications, and
how much experience have you had? l
ask.
HE tells me, and then | ask him
what pay he wants. He will name the
amount he thinks he is worth. Per-
haps it is the limit of the amount paid
in the department that he wants work
in. If think want him land 1assure
you, long years of experience have
taught managers to guess pretty accIlr-
ately OF a mans worth in one inter
view l tell him l will give him a
place, but would not like to pay him ct
first quite as much as he asks. If all is
satisfactory between us, and he is en-
gagged, that ends it.
He IS introduced to the fioor=walker
in his department, who in turn In
Produces him to the other clerks in that
department. He is given q check book,
placed behind the counter and left to
hustle for himself. That's all there is
to 1t. We don't tell him to act just So
and to be polite to this party or not
idle, etc. None of that at all. When
HliCli Iuc HILL uiC Id surprising Ii0 WIS
a competent man and q gentleman. No
beginners or novices are taken. The
men must have learned their business in
some smaller house before they will get
a job in q large one, and during their
apprentice days should have learned all
those points which go to make up a
good salesman. He must know his
duties thoroughly and understand the
art of selling the articles in his depart
mcnt, once he becomes familiar with
them and the prices.
''As to his manners, would not have
hired him if | did not believe him to be
Il gentleman. | never say any thing to
q now man on that head at all. lie
should be well posted on all points of
etiquette and good-breeding necessary
to make him agreeable to the people he
waits on. The man is expected to go
right i'll and sell goods in way that
Will be profitable to the house and pleas
ing to its patrons.
a clerks pay is not gagged by his
experience, but according to the depart
ment he is in and his ability to sell
goods. There is certain limit for the
pay of clerks in each department, and
we rarely go over that. A clerk is hired
for a certain department, given SO much
pay, and generally that ends it,
I'm what department does a clerk get
the best pay?"
In the dress-goods, silk or linen de-
partment. You see, in the dress-goods
and silk departments q great deal of the
sales depends on the ability of the
clerk to make the customer buy what
she doesn't want. To 50 arrange fabrics
rs to catch her eye and make her want
them. He must be a good talker-in
short, have the gift of gab,' so as to
make his patrons covet and buy moro
than they really intended to. Often
comparatively new and inexperienced
man will be given a position in those
departments for the very reason that he
is n good taller. The manager thinks
he has the right qualifications, and, al
though he may not know thing about
the business, the new clerk will go in
and sell right over the heads of the old
clerks. Such man is valuable, and is
generally, in the course of time, trans
ferrcd TO the wholesale house and sent
out on the road.
~ man who understands linens is al
most always in great demand. Our
linens are made IN the old countries,
and when q man comes along who has
been right in that business all his life
he is valuable. Foreigner though he is,
and doesn't know a thing about Amer
lean ways, he is valuable man, for he
the merits of linens and
can sell them. Such men are always
sure of position. and get good paw"