The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-01-14
FLOOR WALKERS WORK.
His Position Is Not the Sinecure That
1t Seems.

The way of the transgressor may be
hard. but the daily path of even the most
exemplary of fioorwalkers is equally beset
with difficulties. Their troubles begin with
the opening of the store in the morning
and only cease when the last piece Of
goods is folded up for the night. 'Tt all
seems easy enough to the casual observ-
err" one Of them said. "Just to walk up
and down the aisles, saying pleasant
things here and there, to direct strangers
to various counters and incidentally to
keep watchful eye on cash boys and
girls. And people cannot understand where
any of the hardships come in"
They possess such a perpetual urbanity
Of manner that not even several successive
bargain days could disturb their even tenn
pers, and the great shopping public is de-
luded into believing that these perambu-
lating gentlemen are merely machines.
made to be courteous and agreeable
wound I'D to run all day and answer
every foolish question put to them.
One OF their duties is to be on the out
look for shoplifters. In stroll through
the aisles a floorwalker is in position
to note person who fingers unnecessa-
rily long at a counter and is quick at de-
tecting the transfer of any small pack
age, such as veils gloves, etc., to capa-
cious pocket. 1.-THE difficulty is" said one
hoorwalker, 'in accusing people OF de-
frauding the store when you are not abb
solutely certain you really saw the trans
action, or only imagined it. Constant
watching makes almost any circumstance
Of this kind suspicious and the danger Is In
having someone searched without finding
the supposed booty. If such thing nap
pened it would not only lose a foorwalk-
er's position, but perhaps bring on a law
suit for the firm. And yet, on the other
hand If there should be big haul, and the
foorwalker failed to report 1t, 1t would be
equally serious.
cious exterior. which they assume as
sort of armor for the fray, turks sense
Of injustice In the disagreeable features
of their profession Yet even in speech the
cautiousnesS that has become habitual Is
In evidence until after it has been proved
to their satisfaction that the interviewer
is also against the enemy as represented
by the public. Then narrowing stories
of troubles are poured into the sympathetic
ear, until the listener goes out and chas-
tises himself for every grain of trouble
he has ever caused the polished speaker.
He concludes that the time between the
sunrise and twilight of department store
day must be sufficiently nerve-racking to
upset the good nature of any ordinary
mortal for the remaining twenty-four
hours. There is always. the difficulty of
keeping the clerks good opinion. II the
fioorwalker is particularly good looking,
and they mostly always are they are
fiirted with by all the pretty women, and
If they pay too much attention to any one
clerk, they are liable to become disliked
by the majority. 1t is women who con-
tribute most largely to the foorwalker's
tribulations. The buy articles in hurry
and arrived home to find that the purchase
is not at all what they fancied, although
no one represented to them as such, and
then next morning they are down by 8
o'clock to exchange it. Well, If there is
more in stock Ii is all right; but If not,
they demand the money regardless OF the
fact that they have been trading in the
place for years, and know that 1t Is not the
custom of the house Then, again, women
buy bonnet or a coat on Saturday and
have it sent up ION approval to wear
Sunday, perhaps to church, and then come
down the next day and Indignantly COM
plain of some imaginary defect as an ex-
cuse for not keeping it. So a foorwalkers
position is no sinecure.