The Daily Alaska empire., 1945-12-22
SHED A TEAR FOR MARRIED HOLIDAY
 CLERK, XMAS TIME
By ARLENE WOLFE ZAP. News Feature Writer)


 that Christmas is here. And keep right on pitying her until New | Years. What she and her sisters behind the counter go through i during the holiday holocaust de- serves the DSM-the distinguished | selling medal.
 The minute Suzy steps behind the counter, she loses her identity. It's Miss, I'm next" and Miss, wait on me, and Miss, what do you mean by ignoring me" Suzy's at a disadvantage she doesn't know who's next, or she can't see the customers for the crowd
 That's not the only disadvantage under which she's working De- spite what you've experienced with snappy salesclerks during the war, Suzy's been told to be cour- teous. The trouble is, nobody's told 1 the customers to be courteous to Suzy, No matter how rushed or 1 irate they are, the salesgirl is sup posed to hold on to her temper and her patience.
 Customers Don't Know
 The shopgirl is surrounded by customers who haven't had the 1 good sense to find out in advance the size of glove or slip they want. She's constantly having men plead for the right size stocking for a lovely lady just so high And while she's struggling to imagine the di- mansions of the lady described, fl 1 ether customers are clamoring for | service.
 Unless Suzy is one of the stores old selling standbys, she's not a specialist. She may be working her way through medical school. or waiting for her teaching license to come through. She may even be an unemployed stenographer who's been corralled to work part time at the cosmetics counter one night. in the toy department another. She had to decide what shade face powder would be right for a girl with blue eyes, purple hair and a yellow complexion Friend customer never thought of bringing ample, or an empty box, or something to help. In the final week before Christmas, she may sell neckties, refrigerators and tablecloths By weeks end. she's wishing she had decided to scrub floors to pay her college tuition
 Holiday Spirit Gone
 Christmas Day, Suzy collapses under her own tree. Somehow, she's managed to sandwich in a little shopping of her own during lunch hours, but her holiday spirit is gone with the customers. She could use a weeks vacation, but her troubles have just begun.
 On Dec. 26, she's back behind the counter, bracing herself for the post Christmas exchange orgy. That mans wife didn't have purple hair and blue eyes--it was the other <Way around, and she's back to swap Ter face powder Suzy writes out exchange slips until writer's cramp sets in, and then she, writes out some more.
 Many Exchanges
 Suzy and her sisters exchange at least Is per cent of the little par cels of Yuletide cheer, and nine tenths of the exchangers are irate females who didn't want silver bangles with gold trimmings. They wanted gold bangles with silver trimmings. Three times as many women's articles come back to roost as mems. And the more ex- pensive and impractical the gift, the better chance it has of being returned, store executives say. this 10-day return derby is on, Suzy isH,t selling thing If she's working on salary plus commission basis, she isn't getting her commissions. But her feet hurt just the same, and so does her back and her head and her brain. Just the same, Suzy has to be alert, sympathetic and very much interested in the swapping of a size 16 pink lace nightgown for a size 40, seersucker.
 After all, the store's motto is courtesy, and every Suzy has pledged herself