Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1901-04-19
DISSATISFIED CUSTOMERS,
Frequently Caused by Incompetent
Clerks

tlerks.
1t issgenerally admitted by progress
I've, thinking retailers that the dissatis-
ned customer Is one of the most unde-
slraDle results of the relations between
buyer and seller, says Brains. His eff
fect on trade Is most pernicious-per-
maDently pernicious. rho modorn
storekeeper must realize that with ev-
cry unsatisfactory sale that is made in
MS establishment his chances of being
commercially prosperous are immeas-
urably weakened.
pood advertising will interest and
iead customers TO store. but the best
advertising in the world cannot for any
extended period successfully contend
against inside methods which dscour-
age ana antagonize purchasers. Good
advertising in the newspapers becomes
poor advertising and represents an in
Vltation to business failure Immediate
~ II Is supplanted by bad store man
ageineht. The success of the modern
merchant in these days of keen compe-
tlt1on is primarily dependent upon the
harmonious combination of good adj
Vertising and good storekeeping. One
without the other is as inappropriate
and Ineffective as coal without the
lame with which to kindle it.
Ihoughtless and incompetent clerks
are frequently the direct cause of dis
satisfaction to patrons. They NAV be
CLASSIFIED in two groups, those who are
thoughtless as result of incompetence
ana those who are incompetent as a re-
suit of thoughtlessness. One is as unde-
sirable as the other from business
standpoint. They both invite difficult
situations, which the conscientious
storekeeper or his manager is striving
necessarily to avoid. Too much care
cannot be exercised in selecting en-
ployees to fill and to fill satisfactorily
the many difficult positions behind the
counter.
The success of a store depends very
largely upon the caliber and ability of
the salcspeople and it is therefore en-
inently important to have the right
man in the right place. \ sullen dis
position, a 'know more about it than
you do" air, hasty temper, lack of
uhdDIlily' Il pdtlOillLlllS lldlHcT, any Oh
these displeasing qualities or charac-
teristics should forever exclude their
possessor from the list of eligibles.
The Woodworking, good natured, affa-
bic, "never too tired to show you this
or that" sort is the man you want.
He's a storekeepers jewel and should
be sought out and cherished when
found. He exists and isn't very scarce
either.
One more word about the clerk. A
business frequently suffers from over
anxiety on the part of salesman to
make sale. This shows a commenda-
BILE disposition, an interest in a bust
ness which cannot be overestmated,
but the store zealot at times goes too
far He does more harm than good.
Dissatisfied customers frequently be-
come so as result of the lust as good
as" habit of statesmen. When a GUS
toner desires a certain article and it ia
not in stock, the very enterprising mer-
chant of today offers to procure it for
him instead of substituting something
similar.
Good truthful advertising supple
mented by correspondngly worthy
merchandise, sold by polite, obliging
statesmen, will seldom fail to bring to
the merchant the success and prosper
ity for which we are all so anXiously
struggling.