The Idaho Republican., 1916-12-22
MORE PRIZES AHEAD
The Idaho Republican Will Pay Cash
For Your Judgment
CRITYCIsING THE DEALERS

| CRITYCISING THE DEALERS
Another set of prizes will be given
by The Idaho Republican. This time
they will be awarded to the persons
who give the best comments or
criticism on the manner of conduct
ing business by any firms in Bingham
county. The prize letters will be
published for the information of the
public, but the editor reserves the
right to withhold the names of firms
that are criticised unfavorably. Gus
toners wishing to point out the good
service or good methods of any firm
can do 50 and give the correct firm
name, but those wishing to give in
stances of blunders or lack of system
or bad management or lack of tact
and courtesy do so with the under
standing that If the letter is publish
ed the word BLANK" will be sub
stituted for the real name. We pre-
fer that the right name be given in
the communication, and that will be-
come the confidential information of
the editor. If the manager of store
wants to know whether it refers to
him or his sales people, he can apply
to the editor and find out whether
1t was or was not, and that may aid
him in improving conditions in his
store. The letters will not be dis
played so that any one could use
them against competitors.
The service rendered by most firms
improves each year. There are fewer
sales people now who are Indifferent
about waiting on customers than
there used to be, but persons coming
from cities often remark about the
poor service and lack Of courtesy to
customers here. Some of them visit
store and afterwards complain of
being treated with indifference, and
they never want to go into the place
again. That complaint is not made
so much as it was ten years ago.
This is partly because the service
has improved, and partly because the
older residents have become accus-
toned to whatever service they re-
ceive. The writer remembers his ex
perience when he entered Black
foot store the first time. An elderly
man sitting on tn. counter smoking
pipe, removed his pipe from his
mouth long enough to say, What
do you want, Bub?" But Bub had
changed his mind by that time and
didn't want anything, so the man re-
mained on the counter.
A Matter of Custom
In the newer communities where
the country is sparsely settled, and
the settler or stockman drives in
from distance to, do his trading,
he looks upon his visit to town more
in the nature of social visit than
do people who usually go to store.
He puts up his team and stays a day
or two. He goes into store to
shake hands and chat some, and
would feel offended if the clerks
seemed bent on business right away.
He wants to mix a little sociability
first and come back and buy after
he has made his rounds and seen
his friends. The city person who
goes into store where they are
accustomed to this chatty kind of
customer, does not understand why
clerks take their own sweet time to
wait on customers. Do not under
stand why the clerk visiting with
somebody does not rush up to serve
the person who stands waiting.
Another Example
There are still other conditions
that seem strange until they are
analyzed. Some clerks do not watch
to see whose turn it is to be waited
on next, and give offense. by taking
them in the wrong turn. 1t is some
times difficult matter for the sales
man, and allowances have to be made
for existing conditions. Several
Blackfoot men once saw a condition
where this particular thing was OPP
Grating in the extreme. During the
stampede 20 the Arctic regions when
vessels were coaling at Dutch HabOr
or lying in wait for the ice to break
up in Behring sea, thousands of peo-
pie went ashore and crowded into
the company store operated by the
Alaska Trading & Transportation
company. Sick of steamer fare they
were anxious to buy food from the
store for a change, and it was OBJ
served that when they got into the
store they waited for their turn to
be served. Finally they would go
away and perhaps walk to the other
store at Unalaska couple of miles
down the bay, paying toll to get
rowed across the inlet midway. At
Unalaska they would have the same
experience and not get waited on,
altho they tried patiently to get their
turn. Finally those folks would get
about half mad and proceed to crowd
their way up toa counter, and once
against the counter would shove their
money at the clerk and recite the
names Of the articles wanted till he
took the money and handed out the
goods-not the order-took money,
passed the goods over. The clerks
would keep this up till o'clock and
then they would open the doors and
request that the building be vacated,
and they would lock up and go home
and rest and sleep, and after proper
lapse Of time, would open up and
resume the sale of goods on the same
plan. Twenty-Five hours of daylight
and two hours Of dusk and dawn,
with people hanging around the
store all the time ready to buy goods
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