The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1899-05-27
BUYING BY LETTER.
How Shopping Is Done by Mail in
the New York Department

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The spring is the busiest time of the
whole year for the mail order section
OF the big department stores. At one
store 1000 letters are received daily.
These letters come from all over the
country, although very few are from
the extreme west. That region is sup
Piled principally from the western cit,
les, the express rates from New York
being too heavy. Some people have
an idea that the mail order clerks cut
up and send off in samples more goods
than are ever ordered in return for
those samples. This is a mistake which
causes the head of the department. in
question to smile a silent, gleeful smile
and turn to the records showing no.
600 out-of-town customers on his
books.
Each customer is entered in the card
index, system something like that
in vogue in libraries. a white card rep
resents woman; a yellow card de-
notes man. The cards are subdivided
on a geographical plan, into different
sections-suburban New England,
southern, western, and SO on. Various
marks show whether the customer is
charge" or "cash," whether the goods
were ordered from a sample or from
an advertisement, and whether it is a
first otfense-that is to say, first favor
or not.
The young women who select the
samples to be sent must be Judges of
handwriting as well as familiar with
the latest fashions in New York and
the extent to which they will go in
other places. The wisdom of the SER
pent is nothing compared with the
shrewdness they must display. No
matter how clear a request for sam
pies may be, there are always plenty
of chances for the sender to pick out
the wrong thing. Even when Il let
ter is more than usually explicit, she
"sizes up the handwriting, the paper,
the language and the locality from
which it comes. If two identical letters
should arrive, one from Ohio and the
other from South Carolina, they would
receive different responses in the way
of samples.
Most of the letters coming from the
extreme SOUTH" said one of the clerks,
want the very cheapest kind of ma
terials. In fact, they often ask for a
cheaper quality than we carry at all.
They want 20-cent silks and that sort
of thing. New England customers in
the cities want good things, but when
it comes to the countrywide, they
count their pennies about twice as
often as anybody else does, and we
get more cross letters from that Sec
ton than we do from any other. The
western people, out in Ohio and west
of there, are the best customers"
"Do many women send for samples
just to find out what is being worn or
for use in fancy work?"
"Yes, some of them do. Why, they
admitted it out in Pennsylvania. They
were making silk quilts or something
like that, and the whole sewing society
tried to stock up with samples"
The sample department buys the
goods, which it cuts up, getting them
from the counters downstairs, just as
any customer would, except that it
gets discount of 20 per cent. Hun
dreds of yards of material are sliced
into bits with big shears or by cut
ting machine which is used for plain
goods. Five hundred dollars worth
of material is disposed of in this way
every month. In addition TO these sam
Piles, three girls in the mail order de-
partment are kept busy getting sam.
pies from the counters downstairs
These are sent in response to special
requests for something to match a
color or design inclosed.
When an order is received it is regis.
tered, and the letter is given to one Of
several young women who are called
shoppers. They buy the goods down
stairs and the material is sent to a
special shipping department to be for
warded. In many of the stores these
shoppers eventually get to know the
wishes and tastes of certain custom
ers who have ordered a number oil
times. When the customer comes te
; New York for a visit she often drops
in for a call on the girl who has served
her so many good turns.
Among the queer requests which
have been pcrpetrated upon these long
suffering mail departments was one
for "black stockings with white at
tackled feet" The clerk inferred thai
attached" was intended. Another ex
pressed a desire for ribbon that car
be shored up" which seemed to be {
rendering of ''shirred up" One WON
an wrote for samples 'for wedding
dress for ME and my daughter" There
> were SO many possibilities in this tina
the entire department puzzled over it
1t might have meant that each one
of the women was to be married anC
wanted a wedding dress apiece; Of
that they were both to be married, but
would take turns at the dress; or thai
the daughter was to be married anc
the mother was merely going to assist
, or vice versa. One order said: "Please
send by express two dollar shirt waists
and $50 poker chips. Send red, white
and blue" One of the vague requests
which come by the hundreds, was:
"Please send samples of summer good:
in green or blue" A wide margin i.
left in this case in regard to material
whether silk, cotton or wool; to design
to cost and to the age of the person
for whom it is intended. Many mai
order customers seem to think thai
their part of the matter is about a!
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