Middletown transcript., 1904-02-13
THE AVERAGE sALEsWOMAN
Five Years il Estimated as the Length oi
Time Most of Them Serve

THE AVERAGE SALEsW0MAN
Five Years is Estimated as the Length q
Time Most of Them Serve
"What become of the saleswomen VIII
grow old in the service?' asked Sta
reporter Of the manager of one of Wash
ington's best-known department stores
recently.
"Girls stay with great many of th'
stores for long time" was the response
"They can stay as long as they wish to
and the longer they stay the better the
store likes it. Every year adds to sales
girls value that is, if she is conscientious
and really wishes to be of service. There
is no objection to middle-aged sales
women. 1t is all nonsense to imagine
for moment that after a girls first
youth is past she is OF no more value to a
store. Many girls work hard and be.
come heads of departments; but even il
they should not be able to do SO, they
are kept and are welcome to their posi-
tions as long as they wish to have them.
The average length of time that girl
stays with firm is five years. Ofcourse,
some stay four times and five times as
long as that, but I am talking of the
average girl. At least 25 per cent. of the
girls get married. Are they ambitious?
Yes, good many of thema are, but We
really know very little about that, as
they do not tell us about their studies.
Those who wish to go at something else
generally 60 to business colleges at night
and then, when they have completed the
course, leave the firm to go into some
thing else. No, We do not discourage
them when they wish to 90 to something
better; in fact, We are very glad to see
them make the most of themselves"
"Girls, as a general rule" declared
another manager, "are content with
their positions and are not very anxious
to 60 into anything else. The work in
a store where the firm treats its employees
well is not very hard, and salary is
usually good. So they just stay on un-
til some man comes along and they get
lifetime position. The average length of
time a girl stays? Well three or four
years should say. Sometimes it is ever
and ever SO much longer than that.
"a girl is sure of one thing if she is
a saleswoman-tha as long as she is con-
scientious and does her best she will keep
her position and get better wages each
year. Every merchant prefers to have
employees stay with him as long as posi-
BILE. The girl that drifts from store to
store does SO with very little benefit to
herself. But girls are really very con-
tented, and most of them are seen be-
hind the counters of the same store for a
long time. They have the same sort OF
idea that school teachers have-the sal
ary is good and they like the work. Do
merchants employ young and good look
ing girls in preference to older women?
Most emphatically they do not. 1t may
be so in some OF the stores but most mer-
chants judge girl by her ability to sell
goods, and not by her good looks. OF
course she must dress neatly and look
pleasant, but the older women are some
times preferred. A woman of 80 or 35
who applied for position would get it as
quickly, all things being equal, or more
quickly than young woman. 1t is
simply the ability to dispose of goods
that counts. No, saleswoman need not
worry that she will be turned down after
she grows older, as long as she tries to be
a benefit to the store. She is always as
sured of good position and grows each
year more in the confidence OF her en-
ployer.
''The trouble with most girls" said a
well-know merchant, sis that they look
upon marriage as certainty, and there
fore do not try to improve themselves.
/ have some very bright girls in my store,
who, if they would, might make them
selves of value to US, but they are just
common saleswomen so far as we are con-
cerned, because their interest is not in
the store. Their minds are centered on
parties, dances, beaux, and so forth,
and their work is but minor considera. |
ton. These girls are dead sure they will |
be married. Most probably they will.
But there is chance they will not, and |
it is pity they do not look on their
work as men do theirs, as something that |
will have to be done through life. Men
look on their work as a career, but rarely |
does woman feel that way. If she does
she gets her reward and becomes head
of her department and there is no posi-
ton she may not aspire "-Ex.