The Black range. (Robinson, Socorro County, N.M.) 1882-1897, 1896-02-28
THE FL00R-WALKER.
Lis Lot Is Not IS Easy as Is Gen.
orally Supposed
Duties of the Man Who Meets You at the
Entrance TO Every DTy-Gcod7 store
A Calling That Requires Cool
ana Diplomatic Read.

i*fAht va AAAtAA atAAAAf ebtAAf NAAAAAa .
little above the average, to thoroughly
fulfill the duties of floorwalker,' - said
one Of those tireless beings who stand
in the front of all large stores and an
swer innumerable questions all day to a
Chicago News reporter.
eyes, feel safe in saying that a man
has to possess more than ordinary intel
ligence to be competent hoor-walIer.
Every man can't do it. 1t takes years
of the hardest kind of work to acquire
that insight into the business that will
make man almost unerring in his judg-
ments of men, goods and prices And
such knowledge must the floor walker
have If he aims to satisfactorily perform
his work. He must have at his tongues
end the exact location Of every depart
ment of the store, no matter how vast
the emporium may be. He must be able
alta glance to determine thecorrect value
of goods sold, and, without hesitation,
be able to settle disputes. Such are the
incidents which make up the day in the
life of the average hoor-walker.
"a floor-walker's position" continued
he, ''seems to the unobservant to be u
nice one indeed. The crowds notice the
well-dressed men standing around Civ
ing directions here and there, and ap-
parently enjoying rather an easy time
compared to the clerks. That is as far
as the observance of the crowd goes,
and, as is usually the case with opinions
formed by the public is incorrect. They
don't see the daily hardships and trials
we are compelled to endure, the actual
work we do, and the responsibility that
rests upon US. Overlooking the hard
things, they see US as we occasionally
stand on dun day having nothing to
do, and foolishly imagine that that is a
fair example Of the way we work.
"The average f1oor-walker is an ordl-
nary sort of person. Commencing life
probably as a cash-boy, he has, by as
siduous application to work, raised him
| solf 70 r'rr'thing botter Bnt y" w
spent years in the business, anu know
nothing else Commencing work at
eight a. m. and finishing at six p. m. he
finds the day long enough He has
many things to look after, and, If he at
ends to his duties, is thoroughly tired
out when night comes. Let me show
you what head floor-walller has to do
He has charge of the cash -boys-no light
work, that. lie hires and discharges
them and is supposed to attend to them
! properly. Besides this he must stand
at the head of the aisle or floor where
he is placed and direct customers to any
department they may ask for This
necessitates the loor-walker being
thoroughly acquainted with the entire
location Of the house. ~
VIhen he must In sort of way. be
the head of the department in which he
/ 30 r,1acod. Ttis true thr
rndor nm bnt he is. nevertheless. sup.
nosod to lraon an eve uoon them. Ii
customer is not beinq waited upon he
Is 70 see that she Is attended to as soon
as possible. Very often disagreeablc
/ person will insist on rotting into row
i with the clerk over the sale Of some
article The foor-waIller is supposed
TO be diplomatic enough to settle the
affair up without letting it 90 any fur
ther. Suppose the row is about the
price of some article. The foor-wallcer
must be discreet enough to mako o
satisfactory arranrement without hurt
inr the interests of the house or los!u
/ the customer. 1t is the noor-walker
who is appealed to in all such cases,
and he must be able at all times no
matter what may be the trouble. to af-
ford a solution of tho problem And
then. sometimesa clerk will become i'm
pudent to a customer. and it is then the
! duty of the floor-walker to report the
clerk to the manager. If he fails in
this and the customer makes the com
plant the loor-walSer is held RESPONSE
bic. So it goes, ono thing and another,
to keep the ioor-walkcrs wits active.