The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-01
WOMAN AS SHE sIIOPs.
IhinEs Done by Department stores
In Efforts 90 Please Customers.
From The New York sun.


From the New York Sun.
1T seems 90 me sometimes" remarked
a superintendent off duty, that cur big
department stores are run primarily for
the convenience Of shopping women. aud,
in the background. the firm gets a little
profit, If IL may. Certainly the shopping
women do not hesitate to demand the most
extraordinary coneessio ions.
"A woman came into the carpet depart
meut the other day to look at floor cover
ings. She was extremely hard to please,
and finally the salesman said that he
would send home to her a roll Of carpet
that she might spread ii on the floor and
see IL il harmOniZed with her hangings
and furnishings, ia being, she explained,
very difhcult for her to carry their COL
oring in her eye. This was done. and
second visit from the customer followed.
She wasn't quite sure that the shade was
quite right, and would ne mind sending
up another roll which showed little dark
err design? This was done, and the day
after she came in enthusiastic. The car
pei was perfectly suitable In every way,
and we might so ahead and make it up.
1T was a handsome moquette carpet,
and the room was large, with several
deviatlons from regularity Measures
were taken and the order finished at the
prescribed time. 1t left the house one
Thursday morning and was put down be-
fore night. On Friday she appeared al
the store In a few moments the sales
man who had conducted the proceedings
thus far sent for me- | found the wo-
man in one of the most difficult moods we
encounter in customers. She threw her
self absolutely on our mercy. She said
that we had done everything in our pow
err and she had supposed that the carpet
was a perfect success, but she said, in
stead, it is absolutely intoerable. On the
floor made up il looks very different from
what il did on the floor spread out. 1t
cheapens everything I've got in the room,
takes the color out of some things and
gives 20 others a most unaccountable
glare. Why, when / enter that room
feeling of nausea comes over me, | can
not describe it. but l cannot live with
that carpet. Now what vii! you do about
IL?
THE question was rather poser to me.
for she was a good customer. and l knew
that the firm would want to do everything
possible. ! suggested putting an inexpen-
sive new paper on the walls. But no, she
had just had new paper put on that coud
not be changed. The carpet must come
up, and she would never have another one
down there. She would have hard wood
floor / suggested that we would like 10
furnish her estimates on the hard wood
floor but this she would not listen 10
until we could do something with the car
pet, as she could not afford two floor COW
erings. Well, in the end | sent for the
carpet l agreed to deduct the value Of
the laying and making from her bill, and
the carpet l would attempt to sell. We
did make an effort, showing IL TO several
persons, but the fact that il had been
misfit aroused everybody's suspicion, and
We could not dispose of ii. Finally we
sent it to an auction room, getting about
half of the selling price. On referring
the matter 10 the firm, 1t was decided that
half of the loss should be borne by the
house in order TO hold the customer. al
though there was not the slightest blame
on our side, and we had done more than
we We're really expected to do in an effort
to please the woman.
another woman in the silk department
bought a dress one afternoon, after pulling
over sixteen or twenty pieces and discuss
ing with the friend who was with her ev-
cry possible phase of silk, from the time
the cocoon began to unfold until the mate
rial left the loom. In two days she was
back. She laid the parcel on the counter
and asked for the head OF the depart
ment When he came she told him that
1T was true she had bought the silk in all
fairness. and that IL was probably a good
silk, but she had decided that IL was not
a gray silk after all that she wanted, but
black one She said It might seem a
trifle TO him, but that q silk dress to her
meant a good deal and she had conclud-
ed that 1t was very poor economy for her
to get a gray one. She said that she had
really had no idea of buying one the aft
ernoon that she did. but the clerk was
insistent and persuasive, and against her
better Judgment she had yielded to him.
Now she said, putting IL as clinch-