The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-01-02
REFERENCES REQUIRED.
What Metropolitan Stores Do When
They Decide to Give Credit.

New York Sun.
In the middle of one of last weeks busi-
woman called upon the superintendent of a
big Twenty third-street dry-goods store and
said she would like to open an account
there
II have Just returned from the West she
said, and must make a number of pur-
chases.'
The superintendent received her with po-
likeness. After asking her to be seated he
said:
Having written these down he. added:
Now, please give me your references"
She had them ready, too.
Thank you,' he said then: mat will
do. We Will make an immediate investiga-
ton Of your references, and be prepared to
But. said the woman. Il want to get
I'll be put to a lot of fuss and bother"
oh. no; not at ALL said the superin-
liver your goods to-day 1t doesn't take
long for US to make the regular inquiries,
any remarkable delay in the delivery. of
your goods ! shouldn't be surprised If they
count had been running.'i
The woman was not at all satisfied, and
was inclined to be indignant.
is lot of fuss and red tape about this
| never had any such trouble in Chicago.
Here my bank book and check book
They ought to be sufficient to prove my
trustworthness.'
my dear madam" said the superintend-
dent. II have not the slightest doubt that
you are entirely trustworthy, and that we
shall be very glad to give you credit. At the
same time you must realize that we have
to go about this business in a systematic
way and even while we are morally assured
we cannot omit the usual precautions. If
we did we would slip up and we could not
to e our as and an as obee
customers as much as it does US, for, in
asmuch as our loss is very slight, we can
afford to sell goods cheaply If you could
realize how many audaciOus attempts are
made to swindle us and how much care has
to be exercised to discover the artful
dodgers who are constantly getting up new
schemes to fool us, you would appreciate
the need of our acting with the deliberation
will use every effort to expedite mat
ters and, if it is necessary to do so, we
will deliver your goods by special meSSen-
GER
The woman went away satisfied.
aided in investigating the trustworthiness of
persons who apply to them for credit by
firm which devotes itself to Investigating
which issues at stated intervals directory
containing the names of those whom it finds
worthy. This directory is confidential and
never is seen by the customer. Not every
firm is as cautious about extending credit
Of the largest dry-goods houses in New
York is continually making efforts to ex-
tend the number of its credit customers.
be delivered c. o. d. a special clerk hunts
for the name of the customer in the. di-
rectory referred to, and if it is found there
the goods are delivered, and no bill is sent
until thirty days have elapsed. The OBJ
ject of this is to attract the customer by an
unusual show Of attention. Other firms
agree to give credit to any respectable look
ing applicant but make their investigations
before they deliver the goods, and if the re-
suits are not satisfactory break their prom
Use. The superintendent of one of the lead
ing dry-goods stores said:
Most of our customers are required to
give references if they want to open credit
accounts. Some people,. however, are so
well known in New York that they do not
lar department for investigating references,
and everything is done on a thorough sys-
TEN. Sometimes crooks, who appear re-
spectacle, apply for credit and give excel
lent references Then they order goods and
ask that they be sent to some other adj
dress than the one they have given. We
were fooled a number OF times in that way
simply this: They would give as their
own the names and addresses of persons
who were eminently respectable, and the
names and addresses of some of the ac-
quaintances of these people for references.
Both would prove satisfactory. Then they
would order goods sent to other persons
and charged to them. OF course, they
would never be heard of after the goods
were delivered, and the persons whose
names they had used knew nothing OF
them. To overcome that sort of swlndling,
strangers, who give satisfactory references
otherwise, must also be identified before
we. will deliver goods to them at other
rectories belonging to the names given