The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1931-02-20
DEPARTMENT STORE
WORKER IDLE ABOUT
0NE-7H|RD Of time
0ne-Fifth of Employees Working
Day Is Taken Up Caring
for Stock
CHARGE SALES ON INCREASE
Interviews, Wrapping and Re-
cording Of Sales Take Rest
of Time
CHARGE SALES ON INCREASE
BY J. HASKIN

naughty blonde behind the counter
OF the department store or almost
any other kind of merchandise estab-
lishment spends from one-quarter Ia
One-third Of her working hours in
powdering her nose, rouging her
lips, fluffing her hair. and adjusting
her gum-in other words. in waiting
for something to turn up. This has
been ascertained by a careful survey
conducted by the Division of Domes-
tic Commerce of the Department OF
Commerce.
Out Of the dollar paid by the us
toner to the average store, almost Ia
cents goes to the salespeople in SAL
aries. The one-third idle or waiting
time which is not productive of rev.
enue to the store is paid for out OF
this fraction.
The survey va made in an effort
to supply sh%opkeepers with data on
which to base methods of applying
the time of employees to better advan-
tage. No method Of correction has
been advanced. but solid information
as to just where the shopkecper
stands has been compiled.
Divided In Six Parts
The time OF a salesperson Is divid :
ed into six parts, the investigation
has shown. 1t is up to the efficiency
experts Of each store to discover
means of ~readjusting these six periods
to better advantage on the basis Of
the government data.
The six periods are divided as fol-
lows:
Selling time is the actual time oc.
cupied between the moment a GUS
toner approaches a counter and q def
mite selection and decision to pur-
chase has been reached. This Is the
longest single time item. occupying
AZ per cent Of the salesperson's day.
There is wide variation among Gus
toners. A man almost always makes
a speedy selection and decision
Some women who know just what
they want do likewise. But a very
large number Of women shop and
shop and shop. Ten or Is minutes
may be devoted to the selection of 4
handkerchief. The percentage Is an
average.
The rext .A.sest -pesiodf of actual
WorKf lame is that devoted to care
Of the stock. Nearly every clerk is
charged with keeping the stock In or
der. The shopper may desire to look
at numerous styles OF designs and
various bolts of cloth have to be UNI
rolled Or many boxes opened. After
tho purchaser has left, it is the clerks
duty to restore the unsold items to a
neat and orderly state in readiness
for the next prospective buyer. This
duty absorbs or an average 20 per
cent or one ; fifth Of the employees
working day.
Next Come Interviews
Next comes the time spent in
what arc designated for purposes Of
this investigation as interviews. This
is the time spent in talking to a pros
pective customer. showing the wares
in which he is interested. answering
his questions and otherwise attending
to his shopping demands. This clas-
sification relates only to time the
sa~lesperson spends on a customer with
no sale resulting. Nine per cent Of
the sellers working day Is consumed
in this manner. So far As revenue
to the store Is concerned this Is lost
time except for the goodwill value
it carries.
Two other time items go into the
days work. One is classified as serv-
ice time and includes the minutes de-
voted to wrapping packages and wait
ing for change II the sale is for cash
or the minutes devoted to making out
the necessary slips IL the sale is to be
charged.
The sixth period Is the one-third
period Of idleness or waiting. This
is, to a large extent. unavoidable. To
maintain its goodwill and reputation
for service a store must have on hand
a sufficient number Of clerks to
handle a peak demand for attention.
Customers become FESTIVE If asked to
wait for the attention of a clerk. Rush
periods, which cannot always be
in advance. will keep al:
busy to capacity at some hours
while at others half Of them will be
standing around waiting for Gus
Charge Sales Larger
Some adjustments must be taker.
into account as between cash and
charge sales. It has been found tina:
the average sale on a charge account
involves approximately six times as
much money as the average sale for
cash. There are two reasons for this.
has been a substantial increase
in the extension of department store
credit III recent years. Weather
people have long enjoyed open charge
accounts and, naturally. make more
expensive purchases. But the wide
extension of charge accounts to per-
sons Of moderate circumstances has
In larger sales. A customer
is much more likely to buy and buy
more extensively II he does not have
TO produce the cash from his purse
hen and there. It seems so easy just
say charge it." A day Of reckon
me- comes, Of course. Yet losses on
charge accounts are not very heavy.
The selling time consumed is approx
mately the same.