The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-12-18

"that the bundle Of yarn was not In the
box. unpacked It myself, and ] cannot
be mistaken. 1t is shameful that ! should
be so DELAYED in getting my Christmas
presents ready by a shipping clerks stu
piditv. and she cast a whitening glance at
the young man.
Every well, madam" was the superin-
tendent's reply. 81 only wished to show
YOU by our records that we have made
every possible effort to send you the goods
sou ordered and rs you ordered them. You
mav 20 now. johnson" CHS TO the ship
ping clerk, "aud hope l shall not have
occasion 20 call upon you for another ex-
planation.'
Then. after directing through speaking
tube that tie customer should have an
pther bundle Of yarn exactly like the one
that had been lost, lie turned to me.
$50 you want to know something Of the
holiday trade behind the scenes, do you?
We'll, the incident you have just witnessed
Il not Of very common occurrence consid-
eriag the immense number Of packages we
send out daily, but Of course mistakes will
be made in spite of all our efforts to avoid
them. more common complaint than
that made by the lady who has just left is
that Of miSdirection. The addresses Of
two packages are transposed, and Of course
there are two complaints. johnson, the
shipper / had here, is very careful man,
and firmly believe he packed the bundle
Of yarn with the rest Of the goods. Among
other things in the box were some majOlica
vases and a tea set. To save breakage the
goods were packed In excelsior, and the
little bundle of yarn, which was worth
only thirteen cents was overlooked when
the box was opened. / have in mind two
or three instances IN which the lost goods
were Of considerable value, and the shipper
felt 50 sure they had been included as di-
rected that ] allowed him TO go to the
house OF the buyer and examine the dis
carded excelsior, with the result that the
missing article was found. In the inter
ests Of discipline and trade, however l am
Obliged to always assume the employee to
be in the wrong-et least in the presence
OF the customer.
GLOW many customers do we have in
day during the rush Of the season. That
Is hard TO say. Fully 100000 people pass in
and out Of the store every day in Deem
Der, bat how many buy cannot say. Prob
Rbly 80 per cent. buy something, though a
large proportion OF them make very small
purchases. You would be surprised If you
knew what variety of things suitable for
Christmas gifts can be bought for dollar.
Let me give you few instances.
Suppose you wish TO remember each
member of the family of one Of your friends.
You are not anxious TO expend great deal,
for you have many friends, but this friends
family consists Of five members-father,
mother, young lady daughter, small son
and baby For the father you may buy
copy of one Of Dickens novels, well printed
and bound in cloth, at twenty-seven cents;
for the mother a silver thimble at thirty
five cents; for the daughter really artistic
calendar, with Scriptural or poetical quota
tiOns, printed in tints. in excellent imita-
tion Of water colOrs, put up in a neat box,
for fourteen cents; a box of Illuminated
note paper and envelopes for the boy at
eleven cents, and a colored picture book for
the baby at thirteen cents.
Here is another list" and he handed
me slip, which is here reproduced:
For the father, individual cup and sau-
Ger. .s..'.....'.'ss' ..'.'.'......'..... %
For the mother, Ookbook................. q
For the boy, home gome................... 10
For the girl, case Of crayOns............... Is
For the baby, linen book.................., Il
AO'aAs sssssssssssssssss - W
Another was as follows:
For tho father, silk handkerchief. ........ Is
For the mother, material for a head rest
and rag ag......................... 90
For the daughter, fancy basket........... Is
L Z
For the grandmother, face heater, when
She has neuraig ia....................... Is
1olal'. .......................... 81 90
Suppose you want TO buy a dollars
worth Of presents for your friends little
daughter" he went on. In that case YOU
can do very nicely as follows, and include
one useful article and some candy:
Dolls tete-a-tete tea set................. 25
I'm kitchen. Observation-Disclosures. -
Llllic uOi........... ......................., 10
sni'''uS .....'s.-...'........... Is
bOA OF pants. ............................ Is
candy Observation-Disclosures. 10
'O'ai''''-''. ....................,..... 81 20
"If you want to get a dollars worth for
the boy you may take this list:
'Sall Observation-Disclosures. %
Robinson Crusoc. bound in cloth....... o.
Leather or bead purse. l3
- Observation-Disclosures. -
~e-'"' ........................... 10
Aotal' ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 81 90
"How many people do we employ at this
time OF the Year, Well, say $500, and there
ire several other houses in New York that
employ nearly as many. That sounds like.
. big story Well, stop and think. Look
through the sales floors and see the army
OF men and women be-. ind the counters. the
mulntude OF dying cashboys and girls, the
ncorwal&ers and the persons at the bundle
counters. Then go down into the shipping
department, pass through the receiving
rooms, look into the restaurant kept for
customers and count the walters. glance
through the restaurants kitchen, come
early some morning and BEE our 25delivery
wagons, each Of which must have a driver.
besides the men who care for the horses. 20
down into the engine room aud see the men
there, don't forget TIE elevator boys. the
women who are kept busy altering ready
made gowns and Sloaks 10 ht customers.
aea - ca I don't believe can tAink Of