Evening star., 1924-08-04
CLERKS OFTEN RUIN
CHANCES OF SALES
Merchants Find Discourtesy
, Offsets Best Advertising
! in Many Big Stores.
BY j. G. ROYLE.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, August 4.-The vol
ume of advertising in New York City
in July fell off slightly as COM
pared with the corresponding month
last year and similar reports have
been received from other large retail
-centers That condition is largely
seasonal one and such reports are not
taken by expert advertisers as indlca-
tive of a precarious or alarming con-
dition in the retail markets. To some
extent it is due to a determination or
merchants to get the utmost returns
from the advertising they place at
time when the days are long, the
thermometer high and tempers short
and fiery.
Better Sales Forces Needed.
Merchants are realizing that incom,
petent and improperly disciplined
sales forces are nullifyinS mucn OF
the good obtained from even the cieV-
crest and best planned advertising.
Consequently they are concentrating
on raising the efficiency and courtesy
of their sales people. They have
Erasped the fact that it is of small
avail to attract prospective custom
ers through advertisement onls 10
have those customers forced away
courteous statesmen.
4 former customer of one of the
larest mems clothing establishments
in New York told the writer today
that as a result of d lack of polite
ness on the part of one salesman
when he had been attracted to the
store by one of its ads, he had not
only ceased to deal with the hrm
himself but in the last year nag a.
verted the trade of seventeen of his
acuuaintances from the store. Ihe
annual purchases of these acqualnt-
ances, he declared, ran between S2O0 and
$500 apiece.
Rebuffed at Shirt Sale.
Hence the net result of the ad-
vertisement in question, in this par
ticular case, was the certain loss
of Is customers, their removal
from the field possible to interest
an future advertisements of the firm
and a possible loss of $500 in gross
sales. The clerk who caused TINS
loss still is employed by the com
pany. If other cases of inclvillty on
his part had similar effect, he
probably is the most expensive cloth
ing salesman in New York.
At a luncheon attended last week
by a score of men in various busl-
nesses in the vicinity of City Hall
Park it developed that five of the
twenty had attended shirt sale held
by firm of haberdashers having
stores in that neighborhood All mao
been rebuffed by incivility of clerks
and had determined to purchase
nothing from the firm in question In
the future.
The sales manager of the firm in
question probably does not know TINS;
but advertising men know 1T ana
those not fortunate enough 10 handle
this firms accounts are Laughing
over it, The agency which does
handle it is not laughing.
Anxious to Change Conditions.
Merchants here and elsewhere are
determined to correct this condition.
Many are organizing classes OF
craftsmanship or urging their en-
ployes to attend such courses OUTSIDE
their own stores. Many OF the retall
companies are comparing and MAKING
analysis of training plans such as are
in use by the Burroughs Adolns
Machine Company, the Metropoiltan
Life Insurance Company, the Natlonal
Cash Register Company ana o"ilt
Company and adopting some or the
principles for their own needs.
Few sales managers in their hearts
feel that the customers are always
right, but so acute has the quesion
of courtesy to patrons become that
we'll sustained complaint by cuSto-
mer is sufficient grounds for I'M
mediate discharge in one of the larg-
est New York department stores.
More Attention to Complaints.
Complaints are receiving more at
tention than ever before, as store
managers are more afraid of not re-
ceiving them than of adjusting them.
Many disgrunted customers will not
take the time and trouble to make
=. formal complaint, but they always
have the recourse of staying away
from the store in question, and such
customers are lost without store ex-
ecutives being able to tell why:
The problem is being compllcated
at present by the vacation season for
the inclination toward discourtesy
seems more prevalent at that time
among the regular employees Sales
forces and customers alike are less
forebearing in the heated season ana
department store managers are max
ing every effort to avoid the necessity
of employing temporary help such as
is utilized during holiday and sales
ruSheS.