Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-02-22
THE EMPLOYEES WORKING DAY
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

vance, will keep all clerks busy 10 ca
pacity at some hours while at others
half OF them win be standing around
waiting for customers.
Some adjustments must be taken into
account, as between cash and charge
sales. 1t has been found that the aver
age sale on a charge account involves
approximately six times as much money
as the average sale for cash. There are
two reasons for this. There has been
q substantial increase in the extension
of department store credit in recent
years. Weather people have long en-
joyed open charge accounts and, nat
uraily, make more expensive purchases.
But the wide extension Of charge &C.
counts to persons of moderate circum-
stances has resulted 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 then and there. It seems so easy
Just TO say charge it," A day of reckon
ing comes, of course. Yet losses on
charge accounts are not very heavy.
The selling time consumed is approx
mately the same.
Cities Show Differences.
Some highly interesting facts have
been cleaned relating to the distribution
Of employees time in various cities. The
results of the inquiry show an amazing
consistency with the general reputa-
tons of certain cities.
ness, its swift pace and general atmos-
phere of hustle in business activity.
New York claims greater dignity and
sophistication. while Philadelphia for
generations has had the reputation of
being a slow-moving, slumbrous me-
| tropolis where people rarely are in a
~. he Ia Ila
| business of selling over the counter.
In Chicago clerks are idle or waiting
only % per cent of their time, as COM
pared with the general average of 80
per cent. In New York they are Idle 81
per cent Of their time, and in Philadel-
phia they stand around during Al per
cent OF the hours of the day waiting
for customers to come in.
In Chicago people are very much
| harder bargainers than they are In New
York. There appears to be more Of an
| inclination to haggle. Such q conclu-
| sion is drawn from the fact that 81 per
cent of the working day Is spent IN
| selling time; that Is, the actual time
! which elapSes between meeting OF Gus
toner and clerk and the closing OF 2
| sale. This Is pretty Snappy compared
with the national average Of AZ per cent,
but slow when contrasted with New
York's low figure of only 81 per cent.
| In Philadelphia IS per cent Of the
clerks time is spent in selling.
The figure for interviews-that Is,
| the conversation between potential Gus
toner and clerk which ends with no
sale-is Illuminating also. Non-produc-
tive haggling in Chicago takes up IL
per cent of the time, compared with
| general average of per cent. New
York stands right at the average OF 9
per cent, while in Philadelphia these
interviews appear TO be cut to mini
mum. Only per cent of the working
| day is so consumed.
Stores differ, departments in the same
store differ, selling persuasiveness OF
clerks differs, and customers differ
widely.
There are two items in this schedule
which store owners would like to cut
down, the idle time and the time con-
sumed in non-productive interviews. The
latter is especially difficult If uniform
courtesy to customers is to be main
tanned There will always be the type
represented by the woman who, after
| having practically every bolt of cloth
and every box opened for her inspection,
turned away with the remark that she
was just looking for a friend. The
wearied clerk replied: Just moment
| madame. There is one more box. I'll
open that and see If your friend Is in
there"