Evening star., 1944-08-20
Business Frowns on Slogan,
There Is a War On, You Know

Tne bureaus cnle1 customer COM
plants today, she told us, are
against the business concerns where
dependence on the skill of individ-
uals is involved. These include
laundries, electric appliance repair
concerns, beauty parlors, radio re-
pair shops, house painting and auto
painting jobs, and many other gen.
eral upkeep services. Too many Of
the owners of these business groups,
she believes, are not taking sufi-
GENTLY into account, the future that
should be considered In their Gus
toner goodwill relations and con-
sumner confidence.
Repair Service Problem.
She points out on the other hand
that Washington merchants face
the problem of great masses of
people insistent on immediate re-
pair service for practically fireplace
able electric irons, fans, radios,
washing machines and many other
appliances.
All too often, though, there isn't
the proper check-up on the part Of
the public as to the reliability and
responsibility of the concerns to
whom it entrusts its repair work
Many times, too. there is not even
a request for receipt from those
to whom the family's precious radio
or electric iron is turned over, with
the result that Mrs. Housewife and
Mr.. Homemaker have only them
selves to blame If as sometimes
happens they never see their prop
erty again.
Mrs. Muchmore urges that the
public take advantage of the Better
Business Bureaus free service to
the public in regard to inquiries as
to the standing and reliability of
business concerns. 1t will do what
it can afterward. where there is
customer dissatisfaction. But often
this is very little with a merchant
who doesn't care about consumer
confidence. In such rather rare
cases the purchasers only redress
is the Small Claims Court, which in
her opinion, should be used by the
public even more frequently than
it is.
Investigate First.
Let the buyer beware" and Be
fore you invest, investigate" are two
Of the Better Business Bureaus slo-
gans which were never more true
than today, Mrs. Muchmore says.
Customer complaints today against
laundries and dry-cleaning estab-
lishments in the District are perhaps
the highest they have been in the %
years of the bureaus existence. Set
off against them on the side Of these
establishments. however. is the
public's unrasonableness in requir-
ing service "as usual and making
unnecessary emergency" requests in
the face of the most acute help
shortage in our commercial history
The public still is making its
purchases too much on the theory,
If I don't like it I can take it
back" Mrs. Muchmore says. TT
is necessary for the customer to
realize that many of our small
stores are not financed to stand the
financial drains of unlimited re-
turns. No one should buy an arti-
Gle where there is the slightest
doubt in ones mind, unless the
stores policy on returns has been
ascertained in advance"
Mrs. Muchmore also pays her re-
spects to chiseling customers. In
this class are the women who take
dresses home from shops for special
occasion wear, and then attempt to
return them as unsatisfactory mer-
chandise after they have been worn
There is definite hope for the
merchandising future in the supply.
ing of customer necessities, she be.
iieves, because both men and women
largely have stopped the hysteria
Of buying anything and everything
they could put their hands on, anc
are now applying more common
sense to their purchases.
Charity Rackets.
Since Washington has no ordi-
nance against starting a charity
the usual number Of "rackets" still
prevail in attempts to collect money
for nonexistent causes. Now the
plea, usually over the telephone, is
for so-called armed service needs
instead Of for the pseudo orphan
ages and hospitals OF peacetime
As usual thing, Mrs. Muchmore
believes it is wise to refuse all tele-
phone solicitations for charity, un-
less the person making the call i.
personally known or wishes to make