The Harrison times., 1911-03-04
Be PATIENT WITH
YOUR RETAILER
He Is Doing His Level Best to
Serve You Property,
HIS JOB IS NOT A CINCH.
Customers Often Fail to Understand
the Obstacles In the Way of the Man
From Whom They Obtain Their
Household Supplies.

From Whom They Obtain Thsir
Household Supplies.
1t is comparatively easy for the
small merchant to get in disfavor ia
his particular community, often through
no fault Of his own. He frequently
finds himself righteously on the defeu-
siye against some of his best customers.
In the present time of high prices ey
plantations are demanded Of him that
he isn't able to clear up, at least to the
satisfaction Of the aggressive Gus
toner.
More than this, in these times Of
sharp trading in so many sections Of
the country the merchant in dealing
with the iobber gets a hard knock in
an unexpected manner One of these
devices Of the crooked" jobber is pre-.
sented by the salesman stranger who
appears with proper credentials from
the improper house he represents, says
Irwin Ellis in an article in the Chi
cago Tribune.
This salesman pushes his sales hard
The retailer in the provincial town
expresses his fears that such pur-
chases will not be justified by his
trade. The salesman is voluble, cheer
full and full Of promises. He will let
the customer lay in his certain lines
and If they don't go" the manufac-
turing or jobbing house that he rep
resents will agree to "eNChangc" to
full purchase cost Of the goods,
Later the wisdom Of the retailer Is
proved. He has his contract and re-
burns these certain lines Of goods
which he has reason to believe were
covered to indemnify him. But the
exchanged" goods when unpacked
are discovered to be far below the
quality Of the goods Of first shipment.
But such merchant can do nothing.
His contract has left out the whole
question Of quality The emphasis has
been laid upon the ready exchange.
Among the small business men,
whether in towns villages or neigh
borhoods in the cities, the small busi-
ness man has a burden upon him Of
pleasing which may become Il burden
indeed. Many OF his customers grow
10 know him by sight and name. He
may be Bill or Jack or John to whole
oeighborhood.
But, whatever the relationship on a
personal basis, he has his customer
banking upon that relationship to the
advantage OF every other house in the
aeighborhood He may be a grocer
and marketman. He gets his fruits,
vegetables and kindred daily supplies
In order ut 8 o'clock . O'Clock or later,
as the distance increases from the sup
ply center These everyday supplies
are displayed for sale to the best ad
vantage for the early personal shop
per. Most Of his telephone orders come
later in the day, when his scores Of per-
sOnal buyers, seeing to what they get.
have handled the stock more or less.
Nothing Is more simple than state
ment Of truth--that fruits and vegc.
tables, even meats and many other
kinds of market supplies, cannot be as
desirable and fresh and tempting at 4
o'clock in the afternoon as they were
nt s o'clock that morning. Among
these fruits and vegetable supplies the
shopper, coming in person, has tilted
boxes, gouged into them, perhaps,
peeped into bottom layers and made
like inqusitions, all to the detriment
OF perishuble goods Can the Smith
household, which telephones al ,
o'clock in the afternoon, expect to re.
ceive such goods as those which Mrs
Jones in person chose at 0 o'clock In
the morning and the exhibition OF
which caused Mrs, Smith to telephone
for the goods? Yet II Mrs. Smith gets
y chance In the next few days she'll
"jump all over the grocer" about the
matter. which has been impossible for
the grocer TO prevent.
Occasionally the honest grocer tells
Mrs. Smith over the telephone that
really he hasn't just the kind and qual'
ity Of goods that she wants This Is
not enough, often, for the reason thai
Mrs. Smith Is expecting friend or
two in to dinner and must have some
thing. The grocer may do his best
choosing for her and Mrs Smith be
Just as disappointed and sore as she
can be.
should say emphatically that Mrs
Jones. who walks over to the market
early and observes the decencles ~
shopping In not paving over periShahle
stuff TO the detrimcnt Of the shoppers
after her, deserved the best that Is In
the house; that Mrs. Smiths telephone
order late in the afternoon takes u
distinctly second choice. But You can
get the Smiths 10 see t that way