The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1906-10-27


dry goods road salesman. He struel
me as being mighty bright fellow. .
"Oh, Williams, you mean, an
sWered the merchant" well, II
tell you. Williams was a good man 70,
a long time, but after q while he begaI
to show up late in the mornings an6
want to take afternoons off too often
After I'd had him a year or two ant
put him forward a little, you know
he was up with me a couple Of times
to help buy the goods from you-hs
began to feel his oats and I finally haG
to let him 60. That's one trouble I've
often had. Treat a man right and
then have him get toppy. This fellow
Williams came pretty near running al
the clerks I had at that time. He goi
them nearly all SO that they wanted tC
do the same things that he did.
raised my bristIes one Saturday night
and told all of my men that they
would have to get down at half past
seven and that each man must sweep
| his department. I said TO them, Boys,
III be here with you myself at that
time and / will sweep out the Office
that's my department.
Williams rather mumbled some
| thing about not wanting to sweep out
which gave me just the chance I was
looking for and I let him have his
walking papers right there. Since that
time I have had better discipline in
my store
It's easy enough for you to have
discipline in your store remarked
Watkins, the travelling man, and 1t Is
easy enough for you to have your
clerks take an Interest in your bust
ness, but it is different problem
when it comes to running a large re-
tail establishment.
Takes Interest In Employees.
II know of two heads OF large retail
houses that get more out of their
clerks, believe, than any two con-
Germs on earth. They got at it in en-
tirely different ways. There is large
retail dry goods house which has at
its head one of the best men breath
ing. In the first place, this firm car
ries reputable merchandise. The old
gentleman who is at the head of the
sales department does not stay shut
up in q little Office. but spends most
Of the time on the floor. He is a dig
nifed old gentleman, but he's not one
Of those proud old fellows who is al
ways sticking his thumbs under his
me fhaIY0f7 O.
Look at me: I'm the boss.
This man has organized in his own
store what you might call salesman S
college, Of which he himself is the
president. The professors In this col
Iege are the heads CT the departments.
The students are the clerks. The old
gentleman turns the dining-room Of
this department store into q lecture
hall. Everyone In his employ spends
one hour each week, or longer II the
discussion becomes interesting, in
study. The head of a certain depart
ment will call together all Of those
under him and he himself will either
make a talk to them, have some one
else do SO, or else call upon one or
more Of the clerks themselves to dis.
euss certain point. On the evening
of this school session, the firm gives
to each employe so cents in supper
money. They go out after the store
closes and return promptly at seven
and at eight, If they wish, they are
free. The old gentleman himself does
not attend all OF these sessions, but.
like those who are under him. he gives
one hour each week to this work
One week he will give an hour to the
dress goods department, another to
notions, etc The clerks OF this estab-
lishment have become in this way so
well drilled that anyone who has
worked for this firm for a year or
more can easily find position in any
other store in the city; but one who is
employed by this firm seldom leaves
it except to take some position higher.
Getting Good Work.
This man gets good work out of
his clerks by taking a personal inter-
est in them. He is very kind-hearted,
too. Many a time, SO one of his men
once told me, IL a rainstorna came up
suddenly as one of his saIes1adies was
out without an umbrella, the
old gentleman would take one out of |
stock and make her present Of it.
1.-THE head of the other store of I
which I speak goes at getting good /
work out of the clerks in this way. +
He figures that il you drop one penny
into a mans purse, he will try himself t
TO put another in. He pays his clerks
small salaries and then gives to each
one a commission upon sales. This /
dea came to that man several years
ago. He first tried it In the silk de-
9artment. That store today does the
aest silk business in it's city, which is
/ metropolitan one. It does not stand
exactly as the leading store there, but
t has the leading business in silks.
1ne young woman. on the day before
Christmas, last year, made eomnis-
lions amounting. that day alone, to
,ver. SIS.
T want to tell you, gentlemen. that
he one way for clerk to deal with
customer IS the fair, square, straight
way. Whenever clerk is working
or little ten cents or little two bits
,r a little half dollar for his own pock-
It, and is considering himself instead
# the customer, he is doing an injury
o the business. I know that this sniff
ystem prevails all over the country,
Tut I don't believe In it, as I said, be-