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

4
ed his right hand and gestieu1ated
with index finger; the discussion was
really becoming warm and interesting.
I quite agree with you, Mr. Hoover,
on the last point you make, he said.
One of my customers has this sys,
tenn. He gives each clerk who will
sell suit of clothes for $40 or more, q
spin OF 80 cents. And this is the re-
suit. When a man comes In and
wants to buy suit of clothes the
clerk will ask how good a suit he
wants. II the man says about SIS, the
clerk Immediately goes TO show him
something worth $50 or SIS, and eight
times out Of ten the clerk will sell q
$40 suit il the man has that amount
OF money In his pocket. And I know
from actual experience in selling that
this mans business on suits retailing
at $40 and up has more than trebled
within two years. He does the same
thing in his hat department now and
his shoe department. II one of the
clerks sells a hat for three dollars or
more, or a pair Of shoes for $3.50 or
/ up, he gets ten cents
Well, now, that strikes me as be.
| ing very good idea" remarked Haoy-
er, thoughtful1y. This had never come
| to me and I am going to adopt that
system in my business. believe, too,
II mad a very large trade like the
man you spoke of, Watkins, I should
not only pay commission on sales
+ rrs1y H.
mission for the sale of goods above a
certain standard.
To be sure, should adopt the sys-
tenn Of the other man you spoke Of,
VINO calls his clerks together and has
/ a sort Of a school. It seems to me that
combination OF these three ideas.
backed up with plenty of capital, and
with giving the clerks reputable mer-
ehandise to sell. would build bigger
any retail business IN America. .
Faults of Many Clerks.
And this boozfng:: that's another
thing. I believe really that this comes
about because a great many clerks be-
come respondent. They get their lit
tie Sl2 or S18 week and they see
the same amount coming in year after
year and No advance. They have no
stimulus during the week with each
sale they make, and that keeps them
from taking an interest in the husi-
ness. To make a clerk interested in
your business, make him interested
IN every sale. Instead of growing de.
spondent, stealing, knocking down and
boozing, clerk should feel that he
has future just as much as any other
man. There are lots OF men in bust
ness who intend, after awhile, to re-
TIRE from business perhaps not alto.
gether, but by degrees who would
IKE to have some one to put in a lit
tie money with them, and give the
business their attention Who is the
man they viii first look for to take
an interest? Not some stranger-but
the man he knows-the man who has
been in his eye all the tirne-the man
he can trust.
The clerk should not grow despond.
ent and steal and booze-bu instead
of that, he should take q vital inter-
est in the business. knowing that each
attention and hard work and honesty
are sure to bring him material reward
as well as a good conscience.
7 believe the greatest fault with
clerks is that they haven't enough
nerve. To be sure, to be d clerk on
salary, it matters not how much that
salary may be, should not be the final
goal OF any young man. It should be
to become proprietor himself Now,
for example, I know Of one young man
who for 20 years worked for one es-
Enlistment. He was splendid sales
man, strictly honorable and all that.
but one day he had a knock-down,
drag out scrap with the buyer in his
department. The buyer was thought
well of by the head Of the house and
this young clerk knew it. IN fact. he
felt SO ashamed OF himself for get
ting into the braW1 that he rendered
his resignation. He was asked to keep
on, but he said; No, I can't stay
around here any more. He was
married man, too, and had a couple
Of children. He had saved a couple Of
thousand dollars or SO. He thought
that he would work for some other
firm. All at once he said TO himself.
I an not making any progress even
L I do find another place. have
So, 900 here and I'm going to sink that
So, 000 before J SO to work for anybody
else, and I am going to have bust
ness Of my own. He talked the thing
over with his wife and she had nerve
enough to tell him to go ahead.
This was in the city Of st. Louis.
That man went downtown and rented
j room for ST. a month. He went to
New York ana bought q little line of
soods-speciaI patterns in dry goods.
3e sent out cards inviting those whom
10 had known and others TO come ii
Ind see his dress goods. Think of it!
Asking the bon-ton of st. Louis to
,ome and see dress goods in d room
hat cost S12 month. But he did 1t.
These ladies began to ask him where
hey could get these dresses made up.
Then lie got q few dressmakers to
axe an adjoining room. Business be-
ran to boom It then struck him that
he thing 10 do was to pay these
lressmakers salary and profit by
heir work. His next step was to buy
|. few frst-class ready .made garments.
lie started his little ghebang on the
ourth floor Of a little building On
Broadway. In two years he had done
n rua7f fI5a Z, y,,0ufsS FJ.y, .lS,<S..xs