The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1905-09-12
LONDON GRocERs.

Tricks OF Their Trade by Which
They svindle Customers.
Most people would be astonished II
they knew how many London shop
keepers are compelled to resort to all
sorts Of mean economies" said a Lon
doner who is now visiting this coun-
try, but who served many years as an
assistant In a large provision store in
the English capital.
'T don't believe there Is any Yankee
shrewdness to equal it. Even the Lon
doners would be incredulous If one
told them that many Of the shOpmen.
especially those in the provision de-
paTtments, are absolutely compelled to
practice the tricks Of the trade. At
the shop l worked at If any one Of the
assistants was discovered giving fun
weight he would be at once dismissed
and another man more expert at
weighing up put in his place.
This seems, / know, a sensational
sort OF statement TO make, but It Is
nevertheless quite true. In some shops
I have worked In the prOprietors abso-
lutely discourage honesty-make 1t, in
fact, an utter imp0sslbility for any as
sistant 10 serve the public In an honest
and straightforward manner.
What do I mean? Well, take, for
instance, the butter counter under my
charge. am served out with forty
pounds OF butter and ten pounds Of
wrapping paper, each weighed to the
fraction of an ounce, and for these
must show returns for fifty pounds of
butter. II I do not there IS trouble
ahead.
How IS It done2 Water Of course
weighs heavy, so we use plenty Of it
while patting the butter into shape.
Dash some more water on the paper,
then thump butter and paper on to the
scales together; snick a bit or If the
scale goes down heavily or smack a
morsel on If it won't move; take 1t or
and give 1t another pat, then thump
the lot On again. The scale moves
down slightly and, whisk, of comes
the butter and another paper goes
around It! Butter, water and paper
only weigh just a pound altogether. /
but Of course the customer pays the I
same price for the paper and water |
as for the butter. This weighing up. I
I might say, is done very quickly and /
neatly.
Cheese Is much easier to manlpu- |
late, and occasionally when our butter
receipts are low we can make up the |
deficiency at the cheese counter. A |
lady asks, we will say. for a pound OF I
cheese - 'eightpenny cheddar' - and
cut piece which weighs slightly more. /
Picking up a few Of the smaller 4
weights, put one or two on each side
Of the balance. Perhaps the cheese
weighs half an ounce over the pound.
Seventeen ounces, nlnepence, madam,
say. VIII that doY And, as a rule.
she takes It without question. thus
paying for the extra half ounce at the
rate Of .. Sd. per pound.
in the other departments it IS the
same. Tea Is usually weighed IN n
lead wrapper. and sugar. Of course, in
the familiar thick and heavy paper,
so that in every case the customer pays
for the wrapper at the same rate as
Tor the article
'Of course IL is not fair to the pub
lie, but what can we assistants do?
II we are at any time found giving
more than weight we are reported and
most probably dismissed. The man
lger win sometimes send a small boy
II girl into the shop for some butter
II cheese; then directly the messenger
lands him the package he bounces IN
70 the shop and puts the butter OF
,heese on the scales again. If It, with
he paper, just balances, then ALPS
Tell"-New York Herald.