The Washington herald., 1919-12-26
THE SNOB CLERK
: BAD FOR BUSINESS

Mr.. Business Man, is your shop
infected with snob clerksH
II 1t is. you may be unaware OF
the fact. but fnd out. for the be-
havior of the snob in q sales force
may poison and lower the efficiency
OF your entire business organiza-
ton and defeat your cleverest ad-
vertising and best business meth
DDS. A snob clerk will drive from
the shop door more customers than
weeks of advertising would attract
We are accustomed to think Of
the snob as confined to a portion
OF the persons possessed OF wealth
and social prominence. II that were
true the snob would be a tolerable
affliction. for he or she can disturb
no very large part of the public.
Unfortunately. the manner and
methods of the snob have seeped
through in the business world, and
are now annoying the buying pub
lie.
The business snob is all smiles
and courtesy to the new customer
She may be a good sale" But, let
the customer inquire timidly for a
~ blouse In a shop where blouses
ranging from 81 to $50 are sold"
and sudden supercilious languor
overtakes the saleswoman. I'm
afraid We have nothing so inexpen-
sive as that" she drawIs elegantly.
but she makes a slight effort to
produce aPd display the despised 81
II possible. the true business snob
turns the poverty-cursed customer
over to an apprentice clerk, thank
he
reefs her to ''our basement store"
Her manner. IL not actually insult
ing. is SO uninterested. so subtIy
scornful. that the abashed custom
er feels one OF two strong desires
either to slap the clerk-or to beg
her pardon for intruding and sneak
out OF the store.
Only the well-dressed, full-purs-
ed. socially elect customer Is well
coined by the business snob. but
many a 81 sale, and many a small.
but regular and reliable customer
turns from her counter with a firm
resolve never to enter the shop
again. and to warn her friends
against il.
The business snob is the result
OF two influences.
The psychological effect of
hoHNI'h5 OHliy COsllN kDOuS, ana
dealing frequently with0bersons Of
clerk the illusion Of being sur
rounded with great, wealth and So
cial distinction, and tends to give
her false standards Of living. far
beyond her financial ability to
achieve. The effect is an irritation
and Il desire to approach those false
standards by initiating the manner
and methods OF those who have at
tained them. She is irritated by
the presence and demands OF GUS
! TONERS of lower" standards. who
seems to get in her way by remind
ing her of cold financial and social
facts and pricking her bubble Of
! illusion.
! Every woman knows. too, every
other woman's sensitiveness to the
influence OF clothes and environ
ment. The saleswomcn in smart
shops Is required to be very well
dressed-Often better than her SAL
airy warrants-and is assisted by
her opportunity to take advantage
OF special sales and rates made to
employees. Therefore. she is almost
invariably very well dressed. and
her manner is unCunsciousIy infiu-
enCed by the fact that she looks
and feels very elegant and fashion
bic indeed
The second cause which produces
the business snob is economic. 1t
/ lies in the fact that her employers
usually base her salary on the num-
Der. or rather on the amount shown
on her sales checks The clerk who
makes the largest sales is III" best
paid. and has the best opportunity
for Advancement to head Of her de-
partment OF of elevation to buy
err for the shop
AT tn. same time. the cumulative
effect on the public mind OF a store
full OF Scornful young clerks each
bent only on large sales and i'm
patient OF small ones is distinctly
bad for business
Its a little leak the wise bust
ness man will do well to investi-
gate and check. Larger salaries
and better training would help.