Los Angeles herald., 1907-08-25
FAIR SHOPPERS HAVE
THEIR TROUBLES, TOO
INCONSISTENCY OF WOMAN MAY
BE CLERKS FAULT
The p O.'s and the p. Ms Play a Big
Part In Wearing Down Tenn
pers, Says One Who
Knows

'In the bright lexicon of the woman
shopper there is no such word as 81
o'clock
| 1t was the literary clerks parody on the
| famous quotation. He said it YEARLY as
he glanced at his watch which showed
| five minutes to closing time. Then he
started to put away the crepe de chine
and other merchandise that Uttered his
| counter
"Those two women who have just left"
| he continued-"there were four of them
| when they sat down at my counter just
| fifty-three minutes ago, but two of them
adjourned to the shirt waist counter as we
passed the quarter post-came in here to
match shade of ribbon that never was
| seen on land or sea, and they will get
| home about $50 tonight after looking at
and discussing dress goods, gloves, shirt
waists hats, shoes, laces, parasols, table
| linen, side combs, shopping bags, collars
| and the newest thing in wells. And when
| they reach home they'll probably declare
that, positively there isn't single thing
! to be seen at the stores this summer.
The Clerk Punctures a Bubble
women have the reputation of being
| experienced and systematic shoppers"
| continued the clerk as he folded up yard
|
so alluringly before his customers eyes.
| But that's mere tradition. Any depart
ment store clerk can puncture that bubble
| for you. Nine-tenths of the women who
| come into this store in the course of a
| day haven't the slightest idea what they
want and buy something else. Yet L sup"
| pose the time honored belief that women
are COOL calculating deliberate and dis
corning shoppers will endure as long as
| shopping continues a custom on this earth
| and women are here to do it.
Is this indictment true?
"Why, the very idea!' exclaim the shop
pers, all in one breath. 1.-The mean
horrid thing! That's probably all because
| somebody asked him for sample of dress
| goods or something instead of buying
with her eyes shut as man would do.
There's another side to the question If
YOU please. OF course 1t didn't occur to
| the clerk (the mean thingD to say any
thing about his part in demoralizing shop
ping-of course not. But he is mainly re-
sponsible for it just the same
In Buying French challies
Suppose now we go into a store to-
| look at-Oh, French challies, let us say!
Imagine that we are just crazy over
| challies; that we have been dreaming or
them for weeks; that our very souls thirst
for them; that absolutely nothing Will
make us happy but challies.
I'VE go to look at them. Confidently,
| expectantly without doubt or misgiv-
ing we ask to see challies. What hap
pens? Why, the clerk in his superior
| wisdom and being, of course, +. y.
clerk besides-what is p. o. clerk?
o. dear me! What's the use discussing
the subject at all If you don't know the
first thing about it? Such ignorance!
why, stupid, p o. clerk is a Push
Out clerk and his business is to sell
womankind something they don't want.
The p. M. Smiles PityingIy
well, with the P. o. clerk on one
side and the p. M clerk on the other
what are we? What You don't
know what a p. M clerk is, either?
You poor benighted man, where have
you been? No, p. NJ. doesn't mean
afternoon in this case. 1t means prem
ium, and premium means the clerk is
trying to sell an article to you in order
to earn a commission. The p. M clerk
is the one who smiles and shakes his
head in a plying way when you VEN
ture to ask for Smither's toilet soap.
"TIave you tried Blinker's?' he asks,
and produces it and rattles on for three
minutes about its virtues. If you
weaken and buy the substitute he
makes FIVE cents probably. That is the
p. M clerk. o, you recognize him, do
you?
His Indifference to ChaIIles
but we started to look at challies,
| didn't we? Well, what happened? Why,
something that mere man probably
wouldn't even notice. and certainly
wouldn't understand If he did. But the
woman shopper who has no system
she knows-she knows!
1.-THE clerk shows at once marked
Indifference to challies. That's the
, first symptom. If you press him he re-
luctantly produces few samples, put
, his heart isn't in it, you can see that
He regards them with cold ana un-
! feeling eye as he holds them up NO
} words of warmth and wisdom escape
, his lips. His nimble fingers DO not
busy themselves in draping the goous
over the counter to dazzle the eye anu
entrance the imagination, his clerKly
fire and zeal all have fed. What is the
matter! Why Swiss plumetis Is the
, matter, probably, or dimities or some-
thing else his counter is overstocKed
, on.
When the Buyer Errs
"A little error in judgment on the
. part of the buyer when he went east
this spring has made the clerk cold
: toward challies, but very warm toward
dimities. II the challies don't Just
t suit. won't you step this way and
c glance at our showing of chiffons?
That is what comes next. Some ex-