Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-04-12
BUYING PUBLIC
HESITATES, SAY
BUSINESS MEN
Customers Take on Attitude
of independence and Wait
Price Decline.
PROBLEM HARD TO SOLVE
By FREDERIC J. HAsKrN.

the customer has been smiling appealing
ly at the girl or the man behind the
counter, hoping to get a little attention
from that proud being. Now the smile
has migrated. The sales-person Is the
suppncating one, and the customer has
once more assumed his proper attitude Of
arrogant independence.
We are now in a transition period.
Pictorially speaking, the merchant Is slid
ing down a steep hill toward lower prices,
trying desperately to make a gradual de-
scent. Meanwhile. the public stands afar
of, meditatively considering how long
II win be before he hits bottom. We
could go further and describe the storm
of unemployment which is about to break
over the unsuspecting thinkers head II
he hesitates too long, and numerous other
details, but the analogy grows compH-
Gated.
The point is that the buyer has changed
in character from an eagerly reckless Gus
toner to a very cautious one who de-
mands to be shown. This change In the
attitude Of the buying public has been
noted by the editors of number OF
trade journals. 1t is further substanti-
ated by the merchants themselves. All
Of them seem to be taking trouble to
please customers. And many are increas-
ing their overhead expenses for service,
at a time when every possible economy Is
being practiced in store management.
This last is brought out by an inquiry
lust made by the domestic distribution
department of the United States Chamber
Of Commerce Mr. Dodd, the head Of the
department, sent questiOnnaires to mer-
chants all over the country in order to
find out how they are meeting the prop
osition Of declining prices. In the 1850
answers received, he learned that very
few shopkeepers are making any cats in
service. Rest rooms. quick delivery serV-
ice. credit instructions in fancy work
and other attractions are to be continued
and in many cases new ones added.
These are the usual methods of making
a store attractive but Mr.. DOdd has
new suggestion for the same purpose Of
interesting buyers. It IS that merchants
should take the public into their conf
dence and make plain the why and
wherefore Of the middleman, overhead
expense, bargain sales and price levels.
Some other branches OF industry and
business long ago saw the wisdom Of
showing the people exactly how they
worked. 1t was figured, for instance,
that If telephone patrons knew how con.
human element in a telephone system,
there would be fewer hasty, irascible
complaiuts-6nd there were.
PUBLICITY FOR
STORE METHODS.
Now, Mr.. Dodd explains, people are
demanding to know how costs are fixed
and why prices have been doubled or
trebled between producer and consumer.
They want 10 know why the cost of liv-
ing, which rose % per cent between 1914
and 1920, should have fallen so far only
20 per cent. The public is asking why
prices do not come down faster and who
Is getting the profits IL the merchant is
losing money, as he says he IS. And 1t
Is partly because these questions are not
being answered, or are answered so con-
fusingIy by different people, that the be-
wildered buyer settles down TO see II
prices will not reach the desired normally
before he has 70 buy.
All of these troubles Of the merchant,
and his opportunities for proflteering as
Well should be thoroughly explained to
the public, Mr.. Dodd believes. This would
make for greater honesty toward the GUS
toner, and a more reasonable attitude
toward the merchant.
The instability of markets is so confus-
ing to the buyer now that a little Of Mr..
DOdd's open diplomacy would be well
coined by many Of the ultimate cOnsum-
ers His questionable sheds some rays
Of light on the retailers side OF the
problem, so we mention some Of the con-
illusions drawn for the $50 answers.
The obstacle to lower prices and sta
bility most frequently mentioned in the
questionnaires was railroad rates. Trans
portation was pronounced so high as to
discourage shipments Of good, and It was
further claimed that present railroad
fares make the expenses of travelling
statesmen extremely heavy. Both of these
items help to account for the price Of a
piece OF goods by the time it reaches a
shop counter The merchants who COM
planned about transportation costs urged
that the railroads should lose no time
in cutting wages and rates, so that in
turn merchandise could be cut more
rapidly.
The QUESTIONABLE answers also be-
walled the hotel rates which help to make
the travelling salesman so expensive al
item Of overhead. Some felt that the
hotels should fall into lines and begin
to lower prices in proportion to the
gradual decrease in the cost OF living.
SITUATION DIFFICULT
TO HANDLE.
Regarding the extent Of their own re
trenchments, the merchants expressed
varying sentiments. Many explained that
wages Of salesgirls could not be lowered
to a great extent because their wages
were not raised in comparison with those
In industry. The majority of store
owners complied with requests for more
pay, in part at least, by granting bonus,
with the definite understanding that this
bonus was to be given only through the
emergency period of war prices. Many
of these bonuses are now stopped.
Some merchants reported partial re-