li: yii^ii'fiW.ifS'SViSiVi^'^l'fiAi'V','.-'' 8 ; ;l' ' ! DEPARLHENT STORE MERCHANDISE .MANUAI.S m KENNARD Southern Branch of the University of California Los Angeles Form L-1 w 5501 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below o C- DEPARTMENT STORE MERCHANDISE MANUALS THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR BY BEULAH ELFRETH KENNARD, M.A. Editor of Series; Director of Department Store Courses, New York University; Chairman of Committee on Merchan- dise Courses for New York City Public Schools; Former Educational Director of the Department Store Education Association. NEW YORK THE RONALD PRESS COMPANY 1918 Copyright, 1918, by The Ronald Press Company )0 MF ■^ \ZL^ to Mrs. Henry Ollesheimer, Miss Virginia Potter, Miss Anne Mor- gan, and other organizers of the Department Store Education As- sociation, who desiring to give greater opportunity for advance- ment to commercial employees and believing that all business efficiency must rest upon a solid foundation of training and education gave years of enthusiastic service to the testing of this belief. PREFACE This manual is designed to place before the educa- tional director of a department store the many-sided character of her work and to give practical suggestions for educational and service plans. Vocational education is still a new field and none of its divisions is more vague than that of department store training. For this reason a book based on practical experience with salespeople should be of service. Books on salesmanship are increasing in numbers each year, but while many of these are excellent and deal very efficiently with their subject, they offer no solutions for some of the most serious questions which limit the work of the director. These are the questions which are dis- cussed in the present volume. Unless the educational work is based upon a knowledge of the store oppor- tunities and limitations, the personnel of the classes, and a comprehension of the salesmanship job in a store, the technical knowledge is not available or useful. The need for providing department salespeople with definite and concrete knowledge of their merchandise has long been recognized and the present series is intended to meet this need. However, the material for instruction does not solve all the problems of the educational di- rector. There are many practical difficulties to be over- vii viii PREFACE come, especially with regard to the assembling of classes from departments handling similar merchandise. The di- rector's manual suggests a method which has been found particularly effective in this respect. The author is indebted to a number of other workers in this field, every one of whom is a pioneer and has been obliged to work out the common problem alone. There is a growing sense of mutual interest among those who have been opening the new path, and each one contributes something of value which we all dedicate to a good cause — the raising of one type of human service to a higher plane. Beulah Elfreth Kennard. CONTENTS PART I— RELATION TO STORE ORGANIZATION CHAPTER PAGE I Duties of the Educational Director . . 3 The Rapid Growth of the Department Store and Its Effect upon the Salesforce The Creation of the Position of Educational Di- rector Previous Training for the Work Analysis of the Problem Reduction of Errors Improvement of Salesmanship the Main Work Beginning the Work Grading the Work Personal Qualifications for the Work II Store Organization and the Department Unit 13 The Department Store a Composite of Smaller Units Reasons for This Form of Organization Four Divisions of the Store Organization Store Service Merchandising Division The Publicity or Advertising and the Account-^ ing Divisions The Educational Director and the Buyer The Buyer Not a Teacher Buyer's Co-operation Most Helpful The Director's Influence The Unity of the Department Group The Necessity for Team Spirit X CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE III Department Salespeople 24 Problems in Connection with the Permanent Salesforce Necessity for Co-operation Between Director and Management Director's Acquaintance with the Store and the Salesforce Personnel of the Salesforce Difficulty of Classifying Salespeople Nationalities Represented Length of Tenure of Sales Position Chief Characteristics of Salespeople Individualism and Its Resulting Irresponsibility Lack of Ambition Increasing the Salesperson's Respect for Her Job Necessity for Definiteness in x^ll Forms of In- struction Combating the Passive Attitude PART II— SALESMANSHIP TRAINING IV Qualifications for Salesmanship ... 39 The Primary Consideration Confusion as to Necessary Qualities Three Factors in Salesmanship The Importance of an Effective Personality Health Mental Training The Cultivation of the Power of Attention Arousing Curiosity Willingness to Take Responsibility Constructive Self-Criticism Imagination, Judgment, Tact, and Poise Self-Control Imparting Definite Knowledge The Information Necessary for Real Salesman- ship V Courses of Training for Salespeople . . 51 Various Methods The Inspirational Method CONTENTS xi CHAPTER PAGE Use of This Method by the Educational Director Conferences The Efficiency Method Store Bulletins General Salesmanship Method Fundamental Basis of Courses Constructive Plan Merchandise Courses The Salesmanship Courses Training for Salespeople with Special Needs Unusually Promising Salespeople Schedules Certification VI Apprentice Salespeople and Junior Em- ployees 64 Adapting Instruction to the Different Grades of Salespeople The Junior Employees Plan of Work The Cashier Wrappers Apprentice Salespeople Discussion of Work with New Salespeople Introduction to Salesmanship Health Instruction Length of Course Classes for the Holiday Trade VII The Teaching of Merchandise . . . - ^^ The Great Need for Information on Merchandise Inadequacy of Sources of Information A Successful Experience Preparatory Measures The Course of Study Results VIII Material for Merchandise Classes . . 85 Importance of Suitable Surroundings Necessity for Exhibit Material xii CONTENTS CHAPTER tAGE Sources of Exhibits Permanent Exhibits The Right Method of Study Questions of Space and Arrangement Use of Moving Pictures Notes on Class Work Trade Papers Bulletin Boards The Store Library The Librarian's Opportunity Co-operation with Public Libraries IX The Study of the Customer .... 95 Salespeople's General Attitude Toward the Cus- tomer Attitude Toward Personal Acquaintances Cultivating an Interest in People Different Methods of Handling the Subject Types of Customers The Nervous Tj^pes The Disagreeable Types The Critical Types The Dependent Types Social Classes Developing an Attitude of Hospitality and Friendliness X Study of the Process of Selling . . . 107 Danger of Overemphasis on Process of Selling Personal Salesmanship Department Store Salesmanship The Salesperson's Habitual Attitude Illustration of Passive Attitude of Saleswoman Classes of Customers Suggestive Selling Analysis of Lost Sales Essentials of Retail Salesmanship Motives Which Influence the Customer Vanity and Comfort Thrift and the Home-Making Instinct The Demonstration Sale Other Methods CONTENTS xiii PART III— BROADER ASPECTS CHAPTER PAGE XI Welfare and Social Interests .... 123 The Theory of Employee Welfare The Director's Opportunity Ways in Which Employees' Interests are Cared For Connection of These Interests with Educational Work Rest Rooms Store Hospital Constructive Health Work Group Interests vs. Individualism Value of Gymnasium and Athletic Work Musical Interests Entertainments and Parties Mutual Benefit and Insurance Plans Co-operative Associations Illustrations of Employee Participation Necessity for Co-ordinating Interests The Store Paper Forms of Store Papers Example of a Successful Store Paper Director's Connection with Store Paper XII Employment, Placement, and Promotion 140 Position of the Director Attitude of Management Toward Labor Turnover How to Estimate the Turnover Reasons for the High Rate of Turnover Cost of a Turnover Necessity for a Better Handling of Employment The Employment Department Systems for Testing of Employees Use of the Application Blank Introducing the New Employee to the Store Intelligent Placement Based on Job Analysis Necessity for a Definite System of Wage In- creases Promotion xiv CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE Problem of Discharge and Resignations of Em- ployees Relation of Department Store Problems to Women in Industry XIII Co-operation With the Public Schools . 157 Closer Relationship Between the Public School System and Industry How the Public School Co-operates with the De- partment Store Shortcomings of High School Courses Co-operative High School Classes The Boston Plan The Cincinnati System The New York Plan XIV Outline for a Course in the Public Schools — the New York Plan . . . 164 How the Educational Director May Help Plan Must Be Mutually Beneficial The New York Courses XV Business Ethics in the Department Store 183 The Director's Responsibility Implication and Meaning of Commercial Ethics The Larger Social Consciousness Mutual Service the Key-note Overcoming Past Traditions The Director's Opportunity Appendix 191 Books for Reference Representative Store Bulletins Review Questions Junior Employees Sources of Material for Merchandise Qasses CONTENTS XV LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Leather and Glove Exhibit Frontispiece FIGURE FACING PAGE 1. A Certification Dinner 62 2. A Merchandise Class in Session 80 3. Exhibit for Millinery Classes 86 4. A Typical Department Store Employees' Gymnasium Class 130 5. A Summer Half-Holiday Outing 186 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR Part I — Relation to Store Organization FOREWORD In Part I the position of the educational director is defined, her duties are outlined, and the scope of her work is suggested. Her vision must always be fo- cused upon the department salespeople who are the main dependence of the store and who as yet, from lack of knowledge or the right sort of interest, fail to fill their important place in a satisfactory way. The immediate task before the director is therefore to lessen errors among the selling force and to secure better co-operation between the different elements in the store. An outline of department problems is given here to make the director's work clearer. She must begin to build a constructive educational plan and must first know the conditions and the mate- rial with which her work is to be done. Chapter I DUTIES OF THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR The Rapid Growth of the Department Store and Its Effect Upon the Salesforce The department store is a form of enterprise which, within a very few years, has grown from insignificant beginnings to a great and complicated organization. Some of the men who opened the first department stores in our largest cities are still living. In this rapid development, as in many forms of busi- ness, the mechanical things were given first attention. Beautiful and luxurious buildings have been erected, delivery systems have been worked out, and the ac- counting department has been developed. But the store's selling force, upon which the whole success of the business rests, has been left very much to chance. The Creation of the Position of Educational Director Very recently a large number of store executives have waked up to this fact and have begun to remedy the trouble. They have engaged for the training of their salespeople, an official who is usually called the 3 4 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR educational director. This position is usually given to a woman, although sometimes a man is placed at the head of the department with one or more women as- sistants. There are a number of reasons for giving the work to a woman. The chief one is that, while men are employed in many of the departments which require expert knowledge — such as silks, carpets, and furni- ture — the great body of salespeople consists of women and young girls. The educational director has an interesting but a very complex problem before her. In the first place she is a pioneer in an uncharted field. Her functions, duties, and relations to the other officials of the store have not been clearly defined. In the second place, while she has a " free hand " and may try out her own theories, she is required to produce results according to business standards rather than educational ones. Previous Training for the Work What previous training have these educational di- rectors had? The director is sometimes a young woman, fresh from college, who has had much study of economics but little business practice. Perhaps she is a woman who has been a teacher for some years, but has become interested in business. Under the most favorable conditions the special training for the DUTIES 5 position has been brief, owing to the recent develop- ment of the idea. The director who comes to her work soon after leav- ing college, with no teaching experience and a super- ficial knowledge of salesmanship, is apt to slip into the business attitude, aiming at simple, concrete im- provements which will bring quick though limited results, instead of trying to lay the foundation for more permanent gains. The trained teacher has the advantage of a wider experience, but she is likely to be appalled by the size of the job she has undertaken and thus to be driven from one tentative plan to another without carrying any of these to complete success. In either case the director suffers for want of a comprehensive outline and a constructive plan for her work. Analysis of the Problem The director's task involves two important problems — first, to secure immediate results in response to the most pressing needs of the store ; second, to develop latent ability and increase its efficiency permanently. The solution of the first problem is found in an im- provement in system and the reduction of errors and leakages of all kinds. Permanent gains are achieved by raising the standard of salesmanship. This may be done most effectively by careful organization of lines 6 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR of promotion and a real preparation for advancement. If the director proceeds in the right way, loyalty, inter- est, and team-work may be natural and spontaneous instead of forced and artificial and the labor turnover may be reduced to a minimum. The director must often enter upon her comprehen- sive task without assistance. She sometimes conducts, unaided, the instruction of hundreds of pupils who would in a school be assigned to no less than eight or ten teachers. For her work and its diverse require- ments the director has but one brain, one voice, some- times but one classroom, and really no appropriate store time. The hours in which class instruction may be given are nearly always limited to the first two in the morn- ing, with the possibility of forming groups for a short time at the end of the store day. This last hour is usually very unsatisfactory because teacher and stu- dents are too worn out to do effective work. A director must make for herself a program of work with the understanding that business conditions may entirely upset it. She should have a second and third line of defense by way of alternative programs, and then be able to scrap them all and pitch into some en- tirely new situation. These difificulties only make con- sideration and foresight in all her plans more impor- tant. DUTIES 7 Reduction of Errors It is not very difficult to attack the question of " er- rors " on sales slips and this is all that some stores expect of an educational director. If there has been no previous work done in this line the first necessity is a system by which these errors may be listed and classi- fied, and the records kept so that the director may learn who among the salespeople are in special need of ad- vice, criticism, or training. The errors all fall under three general heads : 1. Incomplete or wrong entries, such as: (a) Wrong addresses. (b) Wrong prices on goods. (c) No prices on goods. (d) Goods over on checks. (e) Goods short on checks. (f) Checks not dated. (g) Sales numbers not on checks. (h) Carbons not properly placed in books, (i) Charge address or send address not filled out. (As the sales check is not standardized, these errors will vary in different stores.) 2. Incorrect calculations : (a) Overcharges. (b) Wrong extension on checks. 8 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR (c) Wrong addition on checks. 3. Illegible writing or bad spelling: (a) Illegible writing. (b) Abbreviations in checks. (c) Bad spelling. The first and largest group indicates (except from new employees) simply carelessness. The other two may be due either to carelessness or ignorance, and the director must be able to determine which salespeople need help and which ones need a reprimand or warn- ing. Important as the question of errors is, the new di- rector should not allow it to absorb too much of the time. It can be fully disposed of only gradually and then only by more or less indirect methods in connec- tion with other and more constructive educational work. Direct " error " work is always critical and negative. It arouses only antagonism on the part of some who have in them qualifications for expert sales- manship. One of the early constructive pieces of work which will indirectly do much to reduce errors is the charting of the store, showing the interrelation of the office and sales and delivery departments. This will give the careless salesperson a sense of the responsibility of his or her position which no series of scoldings could ac- DUTIES 9 complish. If possible, the educational director should secure the co-operation of a store executive v/ho will have the charts made under his direction. Improvement of Salesmanship the Main Work After correction of errors comes the main work of the educational director — improvement of general salesmanship, reorganization, and better plans for pro- motion according to the ability and the good work of the salespeople. The specific point next taken up varies with the needs of the store, but the general object which must be at- tained is always the same — co-operation or team- work. In store organization general co-operation is difficult to secure, partly because it has been no man's special business. The educational director, however, needs it for her own success and the store expects her to make it her special concern. Various methods of securing team-work will be suggested in their proper places. Beginning the Work Suppose a director is without any assistant and the store a new field so far as educational work is con- cerned. How shall she begin? A good plan is to make a frank statement of the situation to the general manager or the person in the lO THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR firm who is most interested in the educational plan. He will not be much concerned with her methods, es- pecially those which are most constructively educa- tional. They are out of his line. But he will appre- ciate the objects and it is well for him to begin thinking about the size of the job. The director must also realize that the spirit which develops team-work is usually the result of the per- sonal interest of the management in the employees and of some social life among themselves. Athletics, clubs, music, dancing, and occasional dinners have all been successfully tried as a means to the end of co- operation. The store executives must feel an interest in the social activities as well as educational develop- ment, in order to deepen and strengthen loyal store spirit. Grading the Work There are marked differences in the educational work which must be provided for the boys and girls, some- times called junior employees; for the apprentice sales- people ; and for the regular departmental salespeople. These distinct groups constitute three " grades " which the director must study and for whom she must devise methods of teaching which will give them the immediate training necessary and a desire for broader knowledge. DUTIES 1 1 The boys and girls need the academic work which they have failed to receive in school, as well as in- struction in store service. Apprentice salespeople need to learn the first principles of salesmanship. But the most important of the three groups is the one com- prising the permanent sales force who need a good deal more sound training, knowledge, and inspiration than they now have, if they are to meet the new conditions of the business world. Personal Qualifications for the Work The educational director must be a well-balanced woman to do the work required of her as it should be done. Her task is quite different from that of the welfare secretary or store mother, whose successor she is. The store mother had a personal interest in as many girls as she could reach (and some store mothers have thought that they could be personally effective with a thousand girls at a time). The director cannot spend her time on details, for she is in the store to change conditions — a very dif- ferent sort of work for the new official, although the problem of the individual may suggest a condition which ought to be changed either in the store or in the girl. Like the dean of women in a college, the educa- tional director of a department store must provide the environment in which the girls can do their best work 12 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR and the plan with which they are to co-operate. She needs to see things in the large, to have vision as well as enthusiasm, and to be a builder, not a putterer. The director should, if possible, be a college woman. Though she will need to unlearn many college habits of mind, she cannot have too broad a foundation for the constructive planning which she is required to do. Business or professional experience is as invaluable to her as the academic background and should be added to it if possible. But above all, the woman who is to raise a whole group of women above the level where they now stand must be strong and fine, generous and just in character, free from any petty jealousy herself, and able to inspire in others the same high standards. The woman of today feels for the first time the chal- lenge of the business world. It is a call to the best that is in her. Chapter II STORE ORGANIZATION AND THE DEPARTMENT UNIT The Department Store a Composite of Smaller Units There are two factors in the director's problem which she must understand before she can begin to work it out. These are : first, the special organization of the store, and second, the character of the sales- people. The department store has an organization which differs in many respects from that of other types of business. Though it has developed as the result of the general movement toward speciaHzed functions with centraHzed control, it is still far from being a unit. It may be classified as a composite of smaller units called sales departments, which are held together by a common system of accounting and delivery of goods. The degree of dependence of the departments upon the store management varies even within one store, as well as between different stores. Reasons for This Form of Organization The reason for this somewhat loose and uncertain 13 14 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR form of organization may be found in the history of the department store, which has, in the vast majority of cases, developed by a process of addition and not of division. Comparing the store with the factory, for example, we see that in the factory growth has been chiefly a matter of subdivisions. Where a department has become too large for one manager it has been made into two departments under two managers, but the general system of organization is not changed. Even if new branches of manufactures are introduced they must come under the general control. Any executives that are taken in become part of the firm, but the heads of the new departments have their duties and limita- tions well defined so that there may be no confusion or overlapping. The department store, on the other hand, has usually started with a certain kind of merchandise, such as dry-goods, and has gradually added other departments, such as notions, millinery, shoes, etc., to the original unit. Although many stores seem to spring up full- grown, it will be found, when their history is exam- ined, that they have developed in this way perhaps in another section of the city and are merely trans- ferring an old store to a new place. In building up its organization by this method the department store has very often brought in the mana- gers of specialty shops with their stock and salespeople. THE DEPARTMENT UNIT 15 This was the approved method of one of our greatest merchants and it has been more or less common every- where. But whether an actual shop was incorporated in the store or not, the new type of merchandise has problems of its own. It was connected with different wholesale markets and in many cases needed specially qualified salespeople. The result has been that each of these added departments has been kept quite indi- vidual. The buyer is usually the manager of the de- partment and occupies a very independent position. Four Divisions of the Store Organization The general store organization falls into four divi- sions; (i) store service, (2) merchandising, (3) ad- vertising or publicity, and (4) accounting. Above these may be a board of directors, a general manager, or other officials representing general control, but the relations of the various divisions are more or less confused and difficult of adjustment under even the best management. The functions of each division may be briefly stated as follows : Store Service Store service includes delivery of goods; exchanges and adjustmei^t ; care of the building, elevators, and restaurants; and all questions of discipline. The head of this division is called the store superintendent. He i6 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR supervises the floor superintendents and aisle managers, and he also usually engages and discharges the em- ployees. Merchandising Division The merchandise departments, hov^^ever, are grouped under the merchandise manager, to whom the buyers report and who apportions the amount which each de- partment may spend. Sometimes the merchandise manager determines the general merchandising policy and leaves the buyer very little room for initiative. In other cases the buyer is practically an independent storekeeper, so far as the handling of his merchandise and sales policies are concerned, and is only required to make a certain profit for the store. In still other cases he may be little more than a tenant, though using the store delivery system, as is often the case in the piano and grocery departments which do not naturally ally themselves with other store divisions. The buyers who seem to be somewhat independent of the store are, at the same time, in a position of rivalry with each other. They are always being rated according to the amount of sales in their depart- ments, and cannot help being jealous of any advantage of location, advertising, display, or sales force and, while a certain amount of rivalry between different de- partments is wholesome and spurs each one on, the THE DEPARTMENT UNIT 17 jealousies arising among them are a source of constant trouble. The Publicity or Advertising and the Accounting Divi- sions The publicity or advertising includes window-dress- ing, newspaper advertising, slips for packages, and any special plans. Each department is entitled to some part of the advertising and display, which should be determined on the basis of its success in building up the business. The accounting division does not differ from that of any other retail business except that each merchandise department is in touch with it through the markers and checkers. The educational director is brought into intimate connection with some of these store divisions and has only an indirect relation to others ; for example, to the store accounting division. It is in the divisions of merchandising and store service that her duties lie, and it is in these divisions that overlapping, inefficiency, and wastefulness are commonly found. The Educational Director and the Buyer The educational director is in a strategic position, where she may show buyers the advantages of co- operation if they will only give her sufficient time. 1 8 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR Unfortunately the buyer is apt to be short-sighted, be- cause he must keep his weekly and monthly quota up to the mark and cannot afford to spend time to round out the efficiency of his department. The buyer is responsible for the merchandise turn- over in his department, but not for the labor turnover. It does not seem to him to be worth while to spend time in training salespeople whom he expects to lose in a short time or who he thinks are unable to increase their selling efficiency to any marked degree. The buyer is the most ardent believer in the theory that salespeople are born, not made, because he does not know how to make them. The Buyer Not a Teacher The old-fashioned storekeeper trained his salespeo- ple himself, and as the buyer is the successor of the small storekeeper he is supposed to do the same thing. But the age of specialization has caught him and it is impossible for him to train his force himself. The storekeeper was in constant touch with his employees. He sold goods at their side and was familiar with their habits of mind. Usually he knew them outside as well as inside the store. The modern buyer does no direct selling. The more efficient he is as a buyer, the less time he is apt to spend in the department, as he must keep in touch with mar- THE DEPARTMENT UNIT 19 kets, conditions of wholesale trade, and with traveling salesmen. The metropolitan buyer spends several months of the year in Europe and the buyer from the small town goes to the large city. There is nothing in the buyer's experience which fits him to be an instructor except his knowledge of the merchandise. Even this knowledge is often of a limited commercial type that will not be useful to a salesperson unless it rests on a foundation of general information. Buyer's Co-operation Most Helpful Buyers almost always have a shrewd sense of facts and can often be of invaluable help in diagnosing the weaknesses of their departments and their salespeople, though few of them know how to cure these weak- nesses. The director may have to go against the buyer's prejudices in making out her educational plan but she should never for a moment forget him. If she consults him whenever possible she will often find that this bugbear of all educators is floundering only be- cause he fails to understand connections which are out of his line. He is ready to co-operate if the instructor is tactful and practical. The Director's Influence There is often antagonism between the buyer and 20 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR his salesforce, because he is impatient over defects which he does not know how to cure and they are irri- tated by what they consider his unjust criticisms. It is the director's province to bridge this gulf of mis- understanding and, by seeing both sides, to overcome the antagonism. She can see the flaws just as well as the buyer can, but she also sees the reasons for the defects, which she can often correct. She should be a sympathetic listener, always trying to get from the buyer the positive side and to learn from him what in- formation he wants to give, or often thinks he has given, his salespeople. Then she can put it into the form which they will understand and use. Many stores are now trying to secure a higher degree of efficiency and increase sales by linking up depart- ments through selected salespeople who are *' paired " for this purpose. Each saleswoman in a department has a friend in another department to whom she re- fers a customer for special attention, often giving her a personal card of introduction. By this method the customer is given the same sense of friendly interest which she finds in the smaller specialty shops, new goods are introduced, and special sales are advertised. The plan is not entirely artificial as the saleswoman does have a greater interest in a customer so introduced and also feels that she has connections outside of her own department. It helps to lessen the loneliness of THE DEPARTMENT UNIT 21 her position and to give it occasionally the flavor of surprise. In one store where this plan was being inaugurated the buyers felt themselves quite able to handle it and resented any interference from the educational direc- tor. But soon the whole thing was in a snarl. In one case every buyer in a group had asked for the same expert saleswoman to pair with one of the girls in his department, while other members of the expert's de- partment were quite out in the cold. The buyers were glad to turn to the director and ask her to straighten things out; she appointed in each case the saleswomen she thought best fitted to work in pairs. The buyer is not less human or reasonable than other people. He is merely a highly specialized com- mercial product who has learned to look at every- thing from one point of view and to measure his subordinates according to limited standards. His problem is often a hard and discouraging one, but he is quick to respond to real help and understanding. The Unity of the Department Group The department group should feel its own unity. This is one reason for forming classes in which mem- bers of the same or allied departments are brought to- gether and which include, at one time or another, all the members of the department. Any class system by 22 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR which salespeople are chosen at random from depart- ments having no common interests serves to break up this sense of department unity, w^hich is the basis of the larger loyalty to the store. Departmental meetings should be supplemented by interdepartmental ones, so that their relations may be seen and group interests developed. Team-work can- not be done without first securing a team in which each member is assigned to some special function and yet feels his dependence on the others for complete success. The Necessity for Team Spirit In one store a whole group of first-floor departments agreed to help each other, to advertise sales and new merchandise, and to co-operate in every way. The buyer in the leading department had once been a base- ball player and he knew the spirit of the league game. The results were noticeable, even in a large store or- ganization. On the other hand, it was the custom in that same store, to use some of the first-floor aisle tables for the sale of " specials " from a number of departments in widely separated sections. Some of the salespeople at these tables were new employees whose isolation from the other members of their departments made them careless and inefficient. They were put under the di- THE DEPARTMENT UNIT 23 rection of a special supervisor who had been a success- ful buyer and had always secured co-operation from her salesforce. But the buyers of the department from which the merchandise came were not willing to let her develop her plans or assume control and the plan failed because of lack of team spirit. Perhaps the educa- tional director might have made this combination effec- tive, if she had been allowed to arbitrate between the conflicting interests. The store reaps an indirect benefit from team spirit because of its influence on the customer. Anyone who comes into such an atmosphere of good-will and friend- liness is immediately impressed by it, even though the feeling is unconscious. It will lessen waste and in- crease efficiency all along the line. Salespeople may learn, like other people, that aver- age ability combined with other average ability reaches a higher level than either could reach alone, and that here as elsewhere " in union there is strength." Chapter III DEPARTMENT SALESPEOPLE Problems in Connection with the Permanent Salesforce The second essential element which the educational director must consider is the character of the sales- people who constitute the permanent salesforce. The junior employees and apprentice salespeople need dif- ferent treatment, which is discussed in more detail in Chapter VI. The director must see this block of her work in clear perspective as she makes her plan for its accom- plishment. No improvements in system or service are worth the effort they cost unless they are part of a constructive scheme to raise the standard of salesman- ship. If the store is to be brought to a higher level of efficiency, it must be done through the training and inspiration of the experienced men and women who constitute the permanent salesforce. They are not usually aware of any need of training. They know the store system and method and they are sufficiently 24 DEPARTMENT SALESPEOPLE 2$ satisfactory to be held over dull seasons. But in too many cases they seem to have slowed down into an un- varying jog-trot which cannot easily be changed for the better, though it may slacken as the salesperson grows older and the work becomes more monotonous. This large group has been the subject of many more or less successful experiments in " efficiency " training, but the effects of such attempts are not lasting except in the few cases where personal ambition has been aroused. No speeding-up process will give permanent results. Just as soon as the pressure is relaxed the group falls back to its old standard and its old prac- tices. Necessity for Co-operation Between Director and Man- agement Any permanent gains must come through increasing the personal interest and efficiency of the salespeople and getting better team-work. The director must also have the full co-operation of the store management and proper recognition of improvement or the interest will soon die out. A teacher can give information and develop ability, but the store must supply the incentive through increased wages or promotion as the employee earns such advances. The question of promotion and other employment problems are discussed in Chapter XIL 26 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR Director's Acquaintance with the Store and the Sales- force It is not well to consider the formation of classes among these experienced salespeople until the director is fairly well acquainted with the store in all its depart- ments and has broken ground among the younger groups. She must have the full support of the man- agement to counteract the criticisms of buyers and old- time salesmen who think they know it all, and resent the idea that anyone should try to improve them. By carefully preparing the way the director can see that the members of such classes have the right attitude and feel that they have gained something of value. The director should know something of the type of mind and the mental habits of the salesgirls who will make up her largest classes. She should know what their special weaknesses are and the positive qualities upon which she can build. She should not underesti- mate the knowledge which they have gained from expe- rience, yet she must know that nearly all their infor- mation is so superficial and fragmentary that she is in danger of assuming too much and therefore talking above their heads. Her task is to gather up the scattered threads and weave them into a solid fabric of knowledge. She must not forget that she is teaching adults and that the minds of adults are not very pliable. They must be DEPARTMENT SALESPEOPLE 2^ led to new ideas along accustomed paths, otherwise the ideas simply do not get to them at all. Those who purpose teaching salesmanship in the de- partment store do not usually have a clear idea of the special needs of their students. The educational direc- tor must understand her group before she can work with it. She should study its racial and local back- ground so that she may be able to adapt her educa- tional plans to them. Personnel of the Salesforce Some stores and some cities draw salespeople from a much better social grade than others. A number of studies in one city have shown that less than half of the employees in ten stores had graduated from grammar school, but this condition is changing for the better as educational and child labor laws restrict the employ- ment of children. Though the legal age for employment is now four- teen years, many establishments have decided to em- ploy no person under sixteen years, thus doing away with compulsory continuation classes and labor certifi- cates. The general raising of the age for employment is even now having its effect and this effect will be more and more apparent as the older salespeople are replaced, but at the present time there are many with a very limited education. 28 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR Difficulty of Classifying Salespeople Some experts in efficiency have tried to classify sales- people and to discover their peculiar characteristics, home surroundings, or the other influences which should be reckoned with by the salesmanship teacher. Such investigations are futile, because there is no special kind of person entering the department store. The background, training, and personal qualifications of a number of salespeople differ as much as those of an unselected class in the public school. A few gen- eral distinctions may, however, be found. Nationalities Represented In the salesforce of our city stores there are many Jews, a fair sprinkling of French and Germans, but few Italians or southeastern Europeans. The immi- grant girl from southern Europe discovers the factory at her door, and as she understands production better than merchandising, she drifts into it. The factory also may be indifferent to her lack of English, but the store cannot. In most stores it is an essential that salespeople should speak English without even a no- ticeable accent. Therefore the group is chiefly made up of Americans and of Irish, English, and Scotch of the second generation. Since the salesman or saleswoman has had American influence and is often of American parentage, certain DEPARTMENT SALESPEOPLE 29 American characteristics may be expected. He, or rather she, is quick, adaptable, good-natured, im- patient, restless under discipline, careless, superficial, and nervous. These characteristics are specially marked in the Irish-American who probably ranks next to the Jewish-American among the selling forces of the store. Many of the store requirements and methods utterly ignore the human material with which they deal and much waste and loss results. Length of Tenure of Sales Position One of the objections often made to systematic train- ing for department stores employees is that they spend only three or four years at their work and during this time shift rapidly from one store to another. The first statement is not borne out by the facts ob- tained by investigators. In one city, where a careful study was made, it was found that out of the 327 women members of the sales force in the largest store, the average age was 24 and the average number of years spent in department store work was six. These records were very full, so that it could be shown this was a real average and not one built up by a few who had spent many years in the service. Similar investigations were made in a number of New York stores and the results were even more sur- so THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR prising. The survey was not confined to one store, but spread over seven representative houses and in- cluded the members of one typical department in each. The waist department was chosen because it was neither at the bottom of the scale nor the top, but some- where near the middle, representing the average sales- woman rather than the beginners or the experts. The average age in these seven departments was found to be 28.9 years, and the average number of years already spent in department store work was eight. Another store prides itself on the number of em- ployees who have received its hundred-dollar bonus for twenty years' service. It is not hard to find salespeople in any store who have served a number of years in single departments. The shifting from one place to another is an evil for which the stores themselves are largely responsible. Some changes are due to change of residence and some to restlessness, but many are caused by a lack of any system of promotion or salary increases. The sales- woman who believes that she ought to earn more money does not go to the management and ask for it. She is too proud or too timid to do that, but she goes to a rival store to ask and often gets it. Chief Characteristics of Salespeople In addition to certain general American failings and DEPARTMENT SALESPEOPLE 31 the limitations of their education, department store employees show some characteristics which have been developed by their business life. These are a strong individualism, irresponsibility, and lack of ambition. Individualism and Its Resulting Irresponsibility Nowhere in the business world do we find such ex- treme individualism. Each department and each mem- ber of a department is sharply separated from all the others and the lack of intelligent co-operation is one of the most serious obstacles to department store success. Counter salesmanship is competitive in a narrow sense. Salespeople standing side by side are judged only by their relative efficiency and not according to a fixed standard. In a mill or factory there may be an exact measure- ment of the output of a given machine and operatives know at least the maximum and minimum work which is expected of them. This method cannot be repro- duced in the selling process. There are too many ele- ments over which the salesperson has no control. Goods may have been badly bought so that they do not meet the current demand, or must be sold at prices above the market, or fashions and fancies may change abruptly. Store advertising varies in effectiveness, and weather conditions have a marked influence on the buying public. Finally, the customer is an uncertain Z2 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR quantity, who can be induced neither to buy what is set before her nor to make her purchases on schedule time. These many elements of uncertainty make the aver- age saleswoman think her success a mere matter of luck. She knows that she should run a large " book," but she does not see any sure way of doing it. Though the competition between members of a depart- ment makes " sales grabbers " of a few, the large num- ber try to give each other equal chances. But this is not team-work and is often done with an absolute dis- regard for the total sales of the department. The saleswoman's sense of responsibility ends with her " book " and an}i;hing further is avoided or re- sented. Indeed, the position of head of stock is some- times refused because it means the taking of more re- sponsibility, even though it is in the direct line of pro- motion and brings a somewhat higher salary. Store rules are too often given out as orders, with- out explanation. When the salespeople can evade them without detection they do so, just as rules are broken in school for the mere love of adventure or from careless disregard. While the saleswoman is more anxious than the school girl to avoid censure, she has no greater sense of personal responsibility. Lack of Ambition Irresponsibility and lack of ambition are apt to be DEPARTMENT SALESPEOPLE 33 associated and the saleswoman has a good excuse for the latter because of the uncertainties of her position in the store. As there are no definite standards of sales- manship, so there is no definite line of promotion and no assurance in most cases that efficient work will be recognized and rewarded. The percentage system of wage payment is worked in so many different ways and with such secrecy by nearly all stores that it is not understood and carries far less incentive than the management believes. Most saleswomen who are living on a restricted income pre- fer to have a fixed wage on which they can depend. They would also like to know that continued good work would bring a wage increase or promotion. Under present conditions they " never know where they stand," and have no clear idea of a higher goal which they may try to reach. The division of authority over the saleswoman is productive of many troubles. She knows that the buyer is watching her sales for results, but she is far more constantly under the eye of the floorman or aisle manager, who reports to the store superintendent. Friction between her two superior officers is a common situation which the clever salesgirl does not fail to turn to her own advantage. This conflict of authority is being remedied in some stores by limiting the buyer's function to the direct merchandising and relieving him 34 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR of all responsibility for the salespeople. The sales- force can thus be brought under a unified and definite control, transfers and promotions are made easier, and good organization results. Increasing the Salesperson's Respect for Her Job The essential thing in raising the standard of sales- manship in the department store is to give the sales- woman higher respect for herself and her work. Too often she looks upon salesmanship as a low-grade job, far inferior to stenography or bookkeeping, and she has a correspondingly low opinion of herself because she is in it. When she leaves the store she tries to forget her work, and if she is in a large city tries to prevent her friends from knowing what she is doing. Sometimes she will choose a store at a greater distance from home, so that her friends may not see her be- hind the counter. The recent enthusiasm for salesmanship, the books which have been written, and the popular articles in magazines have helped to dignify the despised occupa- tion and give it a new interest. Every educational de- partment established in a store serves to increase this respect, because any work for which training is needed becomes an expert or professional job. Salesmanship is in reality a high-grade job which, when appreciated, creates interest and enthusiasm. DEPARTMENT SALESPEOPLE 35 Necessity for Definiteness in All Forms of Instruction A director should avoid, on the one hand, efficiency plans which take away the initiative of the salesperson and on the other hand " inspirational " talks which leave the listener's mind in a whirl of rosy abstrac- tions. She should concentrate on the practical bases of knowledge, purpose, and good honest work, and show how these make for success. In some systems of training the salesperson is asked to analyze his own qualities to see whether he has ini- tiative, enthusiasm, aggressiveness, decision, and other desirable traits. Self-analysis is most desirable for anyone who knows how to do it, but accurate analysis of any kind is one of the finest products of a trained mind. To set a half -educated, scatter-brained girl wondering whether she has initiative is mere foolish- ness. The business of the director is to make sit- uations which will develop latent initiative instead of smothering it as stores usually do. She herself must know the requisite qualities for good salesmanship and then plan her couse of training to secure them. Combating the Passive Attitude The most unfortunate trait in department store em- ployees is their general attitude of passivity. They are always in more or less definite fear of losing their positions without warning. They have no definite 36 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR hope of improving their situation. They therefore choose the Hne of least resistance and wait for what will turn up. The energetic ones may forge ahead, but even they are dependent on chance for the op- portunity to show their abilities, and when they see that untrained girls can compete on an equal basis with their knowledge and experience, their ambition dies a slow but certain death. Better organization, definite lines of promotion, and vocational direction must keep pace with the individual development or all enthusiasm will die out and leave the saleswoman in her old state of apathy. Part II — Salesmanship Training FOREWORD In order to understand the courses suggested for training salespeople it is necessary to review the quah- fications essential to good salesmanship. Part II, therefore, begins with a short discussion of this sub- ject. The suggested short course for apprentice sales- people corresponds to the work which is now given in a number of stores. The comprehensive study of de- partments and the organization of a system which will meet their needs are also outlined ; this is a much larger and more difficult task. It can be achieved, however, even under present business conditions, if the director receives the full co-operation of the store management and adequate assistance in her work. The limited success attained by conferences and effi- ciency methods is also discussed and explained. The director must, in her constructive work, meet the need for broader educational foundations, which include knowledge of merchandise, of customers, and of the process of selling which salespeople do not now pos- sess. 37 Chapter IV QUALIFICATIONS FOR SALESMANSHIP The Primary Consideration The most important duty of the educational di- rector is the improvement of salesmanship in the store. All things are secondary to this main purpose. She must therefore consider, in her educational plan, two points : First, what are the qualifications for suc- cessful salesmanship? Second, to what extent can they be developed by training? Confusion as to Necessary Qualities Educational directors themselves are often confused both as to the qualifications needed for good salesman- ship and as to their relative importance. Almost any store manager can enumerate the qualities of a success- ful salesman, but the requirements are all jumbled in a heap of primary and secondary qualities, and when any analysis has been made of personal qualifications of saleswomen the analysis has shown the same con- fusion of ideas. For this reason the training of sales- people has been as unstandardized as their occupation itself. 39 40 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR Three Factors in Salesmanship There are three factors in good salesmanship which may be defined broadly as : 1. Natural ability 2. Mental training and knowledge 3. Moral qualities which make for good store ser- vice A further analysis of these qualifications might be made as follows: A. Natural ability includes : I. Attractive personality (a) Good health and vitality (b) Erect carriage (c) Pleasant expression (d) Pleasant voice (e) Alertness and energy Temperament (a) Cheerfulness (b) Self-confidence (c) Enthusiasm (d) Initiative (e) Ambition Menta: 1 qualities (a) Imagination (b) Judgment (c) Tact QUALIFICATIONS FOR SALESMANSHIP 41 (d) Poise (e) Ability to talk well (f) Interest in selling B. Mental training and knowledge includes : 1. General education (a) Arithmetic (b) English (c) General information 2. Vocational education (a) Knowledge of : Store system and policies Stock Customers The process of selling Relationship of saleswomen to department and store C. Store service includes : 1. Obedience to rules (a) Courtesy (b) Promptness (c) Carefulness (d) Attention to store service 2. Loyalty to the store (a) Honesty (b) Faithfulness (c) Co-operation 42 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR The Importance of an Effective Personality A positive and effective personality is the best asset for good salesmanship. Someone has well said that personality is another expression for surplus power, either physical, mental, or spiritual. Physical surplus depends upon good health; mental surplus is the product of an active, well-informed mind ; and spiritual surplus is finer than either, yet somewhat dependent upon both. Health Good health is an absolute necessity for continued success in selling. The nervous, anaemic saleswoman cannot impress her customer favorably and cannot stand the strain of department store work. The demands are heavy, although not more severe than those of many other occupations. Care must be taken of the digestion, feet, sleep, and exercise, but with such care an ordinarily healthy woman can live many years under the constant grind without breaking down. The principal strain is upon the nerves, which are affected by the constant crowds, the confusion, and the unreason, the lack of consideration, and the haste of customers. While the health of the salesforce is not usually considered the special responsibility of the educational QUALIFICATIONS FOR SALESMANSHIP 43 director, its importance is so great that she should make it her first concern. The physical and mental reactions of erect carriage, pleasant expression, and a gentle voice should be impressed on those who have never before been asked to consider these important assets. Mental Training Mental surplus power may be secured, in the first place, by developing the natural strength of the mind, and in the second place, by adding to its store of knowl- edge. Some traits which may be classified under natural ability seem almost incapable of development in those who are without them. Among these are originality, confidence, and a sense of humor, but even these do sometimes appear in apparently hopeless cases. Con- fidence, for instance, is developed by a sense that the saleswoman is really better informed about this one thing than the superior customer who tries to overawe her. It is always easier to be courteous to the person of whom we are not secretly afraid. The faults of saleswomen are, in fact, largely on the negative side. When they are not the result of care- lessness they usually arise from ignorance or timidity. The educational director must encourage more than she criticizes. She must not only suggest the right 44 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR path, but either directly or indirectly make that path easy to follow. Real education recognizes natural ability and seeks to develop it, though such a process among adults is necessarily slow. The right sort of knowledge puts a firm foundation beneath the feet of the student and changes her attitude toward the purely mechanical or incidental factors of store service. The director's teaching should develop attention, curiosity, enthu- siasm, sportsmanship, reliability, and self-criticism. The Cultivation of the Power of Attention Charles Dickens says attention is the " one safe, sure, serviceable, remunerative quality. It will grow in the poorest soil and bud, blossom, and bear the golden fruit of Paradise." Voluntary attention is so difficult for the untrained mind that the director must coax it along by constantly stimulating curiosity until the subject grips of itself. Arousing Curiosity The kind of curiosity that leads to right understand- ing can be inspired in salespeople by the way in which both merchandise and salesmanship are introduced to them. Enthusiasm will come with growing interest in the work, but sportsmanship is harder to secure and that is something which the good saleswoman needs. QUALIFICATIONS FOR SALESMANSHIP 45 Sportsmanship in selling — throwing herself heartily into each sale, but reacting quickly as a good loser when she is unsuccessful — and sportsmanship in the depart- ment where she is meeting with difficulties of some other person's making, are essential. Willingness to Take Responsibility It is much harder to train the force in reliability and willingness to take responsibility. All larger concerns give plenty of opportunity to slip out of responsibility unless each person's duties are sharply defined and each subordinate is responsible to one superior. The organ- ization of the department store is particularly loose and there are many loopholes and leakages. Constructive Self-Criticism Self-criticism is a form of checking up which should be encouraged so long as it i^ healthy and practical. Some timid or morbid people indulge in a kind of self- analysis that prevents them from doing their best work. They are discouraged because they cannot do things in the way in which some more vital and aggressive ac- quaintance does them, and so they are afraid to ven- ture into any new fields. The self-criticism which is constructive and helpful analyzes such an incident as a lost sale, and tries to discover the weak spot in order to overcome it next time. Salespeople need this stimu- 46 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR lus in order to counteract their tendency to fatalism and belief in luck. Imagination, Judgment, Tact, and Poise How are these four most valuable qualities to be developed? Perhaps they are not so difficult as some of the more temperamental ones. Imagination and judgment are in part due to natural endowment, but also depend very largely upon an environment in which the imagination may spread its wings and upon oppor- tunities for making quick decisions. The director should keep these qualities ever in mind and provide at least the opportunities for their exercise in her course of study. If tact and poise are not cultivated early, they must result from other development, since they cannot be artificially created. Self-Control The salesperson especially needs a " mind disciplined and a character trained in self-control," for she is deal- ing with men and women of many kinds and tem- peraments. These customers must be treated as the store's guests even if they do not show the courtesy expected from guests. The self-control of the salesperson may unfortu- nately degenerate into self-suppression which destroys her effectiveness so that the director must never forget QUALIFICATIONS FOR SALESMANSHIP 47 the importance of building up an active personality behind the control. Personality is an invaluable asset in anyone who would influence other people, and per- sonality depends on activity of mind and body. Imparting Definite Knowledge Besides the cultivation of attention, enthusiasm, and the other fundamentals of salesmanship, the director's task is to impart definite knowledge to the salespeople. Knowledge is but a means to an end in her case, as no amount of knowledge is of any use to the salesperson who does not apply it to the making of a sale. Never- theless, instruction is the ladder by which salespeople must be helped to climb to efficiency. It is illogical to expect quick results in changing the habits of mind or the characteristics of grown people, but they can be given a large fund of information, and knowledge is the foundation of many of the qualities necessary for salesmanship. Girls and women are not usually so much interested in the psycholog}^ of a sale as men are, but they have a more spontaneous interest in the things they sell, especially in all the feminine lines of a department store. This interest can be stim- ulated to a marked degree by increasing their knowl- edge of the sources and methods of manufacture of their merchandise ; such information contributes to tlie effectiveness of almost every sale. 48 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR Intelligent selling will win permanent customers. The number of people who can give that kind of help- ful service is so small that they are remembered and sought out on all possible occasions. Knowledge would be placed first among the require- ments for good salesmanship if our standards were not so low that a great deal of what we call salesmanship is only counter-serving. The customer who knows what she wants goes to a counter where it may be found, asks the price and pays it, the goods are handed to her, and she leaves the store a satisfied customer. She has simply satisfied herself and an automatic machine could have served her just as well. The Information Necessary for Real Salesmanship Real salesmanship consists in something more than a combination of courtesy and psychology. It is based on three kinds of information : 1. Knowledge of the merchandise. 2. Knowledge of the customer and her wants. 3. Knowledge of the process of selling. The saleswoman should know more about the goods than the customer does, unless the customer is an ex- pert in that particular line. In any case the salesperson should have a fund of information about all her merchandise which gives her a sense of confidence QUALIFICATIONS FOR SALESMANSHIP 49 and makes the purchaser willing to accept her advice. What are called " suggestive sales," unless they are based on accurate information as to the merchandise and good judgment as to the customer's wants, may result in selling the wrong goods to the wrong person. Initiative and tactfulness are most valuable assets if the salesperson can gage the situation rightly, but a sale which proves unsatisfactory to the purchaser reflects the greater discredit if it has been pushed along by tactful suggestion and good " salesmanship " as it is generally understood. Again, though the higher priced goods often prove the best bargain, the sales- person should give only the relative points and leave the customer to make her own decision. Store Rules The requirements of good store service should be laid upon all employees. They depend only on the moral qualities of earnestness and self-control and are within the reach of every normal person. No excuses, therefore, should be allowed for marked failure at any point. The director should call as often as possible on the reasoning faculties of her classes. They need to be taught to think for themselves. Reasons should be given and required for the observance of store rules and policies. The saleswoman has such a vague idea of her relation to the store, that a review of store or- 50 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR ganization and management should be given frequently, so that she may have a sense of the general machinery and of her important part in it. The apparently small matters of store service are not therefore insignificant, and the store management does well to insist on the observance of rules which make for efficiency and the comfort of its patrons. Loyalty to the best interests of the store, faithful- ness in small as well as great matters, and co-operation between all the different parts of the complicated or- ganization will be evident to the customers as well as to the management. Everyone knows whether the people behind the counters are in earnest or sublimely indifferent. The sharp competition in selling will always put in- difference at a disadvantage, and now that competition has shifted from undercutting of prices to giving more efficient and satisfactory service, salespeople cannot afford to give passive and indifferent attention. Chapter V COURSES OF TRAINING FOR SALESPEOPLE Various Methods Courses of training for salespeople should be as defi- nite and comprehensive as for other kinds of workers. At present they are but a collection of expedients and experiments, as department store salesmanship is still an unstandardized occupation and neither the employer, the salesperson, nor the public have a definite idea of its requirements. Up to the present time three methods have been em- ployed. Each has some good points, but no one of the three is at all adequate to cope with the situation. The three methods may be called the inspirational method, the efficiency method, and the general salesmanship method. The Inspirational Method The inspirational method was the earliest one in use and is still a popular plan. According to this method, the salespeople are called together in large groups for SI 52 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR conferences. Sometimes these groups include also buyers and floormen ; in other cases they are composed of salespeople alone. In one large store the force was divided into groups representing every branch of store service. Successive groups met each morning to re- ceive instruction and to discuss general store problems, such as the results of errors, suggestive selling, and matters of store system. Such meetings are excellent as a means of getting together, but their influence is so general and is spread over so large a space that it is difficult to measure results. Sometimes these large groups are given a course of lectures by an expert in salesmanship. These are un- doubtedly of permanent value to some of the groups, but to a large number they are only temporarily stimu- lating. Such lectures must be followed by practical applications and checked up in the store in order to be generally worth while. Use of This Method by the Educational Director The educational director may well begin her work with experienced salespeople by one or two such lec- tures. They serve as an introduction and open up the subject of training and of standards, and even if they excite criticism they set people talking and thinking. No lecture should be given before an audience so in- clined to be critical without most careful preparation. COURSES OF TRAINING 53 The lecturer should know her subject thoroughly and should draw concrete illustrations from the store. She should include with the inspirational material a sketch of the plans by which she expects to carry out her ideas. Conferences The question of holding regular or occasional con- ferences thereafter must be decided by the director according to circumstances. If the interest is great and a co-operative plan can be devised, such confer- ences will be invaluable. They can be made the basis of all the social and educational work in the store and they will provide the director with the personal contacts which she needs for her own guidance in her various undertakings. If permanent gains are to be secured, however, there must be similarity of interests and a definite program of work. If the conference is only another dead weight to be lifted by the director's own enthusiasm and another drain on her energies, it is wiser to leave it until a later time when other methods have devel- oped a more spontaneous response. The time and strength of the director must be conserved and not spread over too much ground or she will lose her own sense of proportion and become discouraged by the size of her task. 54 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR The Efficiency Method Efficiency methods try first to determine scientifically what the sales quota of each salesperson should be and then to give him the necessary drill and supervision to attain it. This method may be combined with the in- spirational conference or used by itself. Some stores have adopted efficiency plans which are considered more or less successful, but their success depends upon the management rather than upon the individual sales- person or any department group. Though these meth- ods are helpful in determining what the quota of sales ought to be, yet they are often misleading, because they first prove their point mathematically, and then admit of so many variables absolutely beyond the salesper- son's control that the proof is worthless. Suppose, for instance, that the sales quota has been fixed according to previous experience and a theoretic increase in business. It will be affected so materially by weather, advertising, change of price lines, change of fashions, and shifting population that nothing but an approximation can be made. Within the depart- ment the relative position of salespeople at the counter may greatly influence the size of their books. One may be stationed nearer the more expensive or more popular goods than another and the same ability and effort will thus show greater results. Efficiency methods stimulate the salespeople to in- COURSES OF TRAINING 55 creased effort if there is a definite goal and an assured return. Sometimes the members of a department are encouraged to rival each other in a contest for in- creased sales, and suggestion sales are given special attention and reward. Members of one department are paired off with those of other departments to whom they send customers. The chief objection, or rather limitation to these methods is that they are all in the nature of " drives." They will be very effective for a time, but cannot be kept up as a permanent system. Real efficiency must be based on sound management and control, good or- ganization, elimination of waste, and intelligent ser- vice. Store Bulletins A step in advance of the inspirational conference for stimulating salesmanship and otherwise co-ordinating the work of the store is the use of store bulletins. In Filene's (Boston) this method has been used with ex- cellent effect. Numbered and dated slips were issued with such topics as : The value of the shopping card. The technique of good selling. The value of service. Timely hints as to making the most of the month of February and holiday sales. 56 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR The store used various methods for reaching the salespeople and securing a record which showed that they had seen the bulletin. Sometimes it was passed from one to another in a department and signed by each one. The floor superintendent was usually made re- sponsible for this, and for any explanations which might be necessary. An effort was always made to see that the information was really understood and ap- plied. The writer used the bulletin plan to formulate and preserve the points made by buyers in their talks to groups of salespeople. The lecture was first given to the class orally; then test questions were given requir- ing written answers from the salespeople; finally the bulletin was drawn up embodying the principal points of the lecture and the results of the test. Two of the sample bulletins used in this store are given in the Appendix. General Salesmanship Method The third and most successful of these tentative methods consists of what may be called general sales- manship classes. These classes are made up of se- lected salespeople from different parts of the store, who are given a course in salesmanship, store system, and textiles. They are very successful in raising the COURSES OF TRAINING 57 standards of the individual and in time have a wide influence in the store. The best example of training for selected employees is found in the " House of Sel fridge " in London. (Mr, Sel fridge is an American who has become a leader in London retailing.) Courses of systematic commercial education have been established from the beginning for the salespeople in this store. The courses commence with first principles and proceed through all the theory and practice of modern mer- chandising. Everything is done to stimulate ambition, and the students have every opportunity of fitting themselves for leading places in the world of com- merce. Among other things promising students may win traveling scholarships, which enable them to go abroad with their respective buyers to study markets and manufacturing centers on the Continent. The " Embryo Club " is an organization to which the most successful students may gain membership. It gives its members special opportunities for studying details of organization, finance, and general executive subjects. The knowledge of these opens the road to the highest positions of responsibility in commercial houses. Fundamental Basis of Courses But although the gains from this selective training have been considerable, the only really effective way of 58 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR improving conditions is through the improvement of all the salesforce through systematic training. The first of the three methods described is inadequate because it is too general and unsystematic. The effi- ciency methods are in the nature of a speeding-up process. The bulletin or general salesmanship methods are not sufficiently thorough and comprehen- sive. According to the analysis of salesmanship qualifica- tions made in Chapter IV, there are three lines along which the training of salespeople should be given : ( i ) the development of personal characteristics, (2) in- struction in merchandise, and (3) instruction in sales- manship. The first must come as a by-product. One cannot teach energy or initiative or decision of char- acter. The course should, however, aim to develop these desirable characteristics by suggestion and prac- tical tests. Constructive Plan The plan of the educational director should be in- clusive enough to cover the ground so far as the re- quirements for successful salesmanship are concerned, and they should be available to all the salesforce that is considered permanent and valuable to the store. These considerations bring her back to the three kinds of knowledge which are needed: knowledge of mer- COURSES OF TRAINING 59 chandise, knowledge of customers, and knowledge of the process of selling. The first grand division of the course, therefore, must be merchandise. The prevailing ignorance of their merchandise on the part of department store salespeople is one of the gravest causes of inefficiency. They neither know the values and qualities of the goods they sell, nor how to present them to the customer in an attractive way. In covering this field the study of textiles is far from adequate. One-half or more than half of the depart- ments deal with non-textile materials, such as metals, clay, glass, rubber, and leather. Merchandise Courses The study of any departmental stock should include : 1. Materials of which department merchandise is made. 2. Processes of manufacture. 3. Qualities and characteristics. 4. Styles, kinds, and sizes — staples and novelties. 5. Color and design as applied to merchandise studied. 6. Commercial knowledge — selling points. The Salesmanship Courses The course in salesmanship may be summarized briefly under four heads : 6o THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR 1. Principles of salesmanship. 2. Analysis of stock knowledge as applied in sell- ing. 3. Study of the customer : (a) Types of customers. (b) Classification of customers. (c) Psychology of customer. 4. Study of the selling process : (a) Analysis of the steps in a sale. (b) Analysis of suggestive selling. Instruction in merchandise and in salesmanship can be given in the same class, but the two subjects are so broad that they are usually separated. An effective system may be used whereby the facts brought out in the merchandise classes may be empha- sized in the salesmanship group and the salespeople may be taught how to use their knowledge to ad- vantage. The scope of the work should be broadened to include general topics such as : Relation of buyer to salespeople. Relation of floormen to salespeople. Knowledge of equipment and how to use it. Care and arrangement of stock. Team-work in the department. and a short course on business economics, ethics, and health. COURSES OF TRAINING 6l An outline like the above looks very formidable to the new store director, and indeed she cannot carry on such a course in a store of any size and give the other necessary help to junior and apprentice employees un- less she has one or more assistants. It is well, how- ever, to see what a genuine salesmanship course should include, even if it cannot immediately be carried out. Training for Salespeople with Special Needs In every group of old salespeople some will be found whose elementary education is so limited that they need instruction in arithmetic and English in order to be able to do their work at all satisfactorily. These cases have usually been discovered by the errors in their sales slips, but the director must decide whether they can profit by special training or not. They should not hold back a general group, but some means for private instruction or drill should be found. Sometimes the public school night classes may be utilized for them, and nearly all cities have some system of which the store may take advantage. Unusually Promising Salespeople The training of particularly bright and capable peo- ple for promotion is another special problem. Such training may well be taken on the employees' own time, but the store may need their services so much that it 62 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR will give time either within the store or outside of it for individual instruction, or group work. It is very fascinating and productive work for the director, but she must recognize that special help to selected indi- viduals will not raise the standard of salesmanship in the store. Only the raising of the " average " sales- person will do it. The director should not permit herself to be drawn away from her main purpose by any of the immediate needs of special groups. She can make them her avo- cations, but she must view the educational plan as a whole as her vocation and keep her sense of propor- tion. Schedules Such a course as the one outlined has been tried out and been particularly successful in the most difficult task — the teaching of merchandise. For an average class it requires not less than twelve weeks with two periods a w^eek of an hour and a quarter each. This arrangement provides for three classes a year, omitting the months of December, July, and August. The classes should be held the first hour in the morn- ing, taking precedence in time of all classes for other groups, as these salespeople are needed in their depart- ments and can be spared only at the time when cus- tomers are few. COURSES OF TRAINING 63 When the classes are discontinued, especially during the month of December, the director can devote the leisure time to a study of the store and all its prob- lems. Defects in store system or administration and the individual abilities of salespeople may be more clearly seen than under ordinary conditions. Certification When a definite course is completed, a certificate should be given to all those who pass the tests success- fully. Suggestive test questions upon the merchandise of two different departments are given in the Appendix. Such a certificate does not insure that the student will be a successful salesperson, but it should be given only to those whose department work is satisfactory. Figure i shows a dinner given at the certification of a class in one store. One of the chief values of such recognition is the added self-respect which the holder of the certificate feels, and the added dignity which it gives her job. These are two of the most desirable results to be achieved by any course of training. Chapter VI APPRENTICE SALESPEOPLE AND JUNIOR EMPLOYEES Adapting Instruction to the Different Grades of Sales- people Since most salespeople are " made and not born," and courses of training are needed by all, it is neces- sary to distinguish carefully between the different classes or grades of workers and to deliberate upon and experiment with the various studies adapted to their requirements and intelligence. It was stated in Chapter I that there are three general classes of salespeople : junior employees, apprentices, and regular department salespeople. Suitable work must be found for each group and the lessons must be graded and related so that the educational work in the store may form a coherent and progressive whole. Before the regular courses outlined in Chapter VII can be given to the younger and newer employees, the director must arrange some special work for them. The Junior Employees The boys and girls who are in the various branches 64 APPRENTICES AND JUNIORS 65 of store service have been given scant attention in most stores. The teaching of these young people is not strictly the work for which the director has been en- gaged, but it must be done as an essential preliminary to the education of older employees. The director has a special duty and responsibility to the junior em- ployees, for among them she will find splendid material from which superior salespeople may be made. The minds of the children are plastic and receptive, and they usually gain more from vocational instruction than the older salespeople do. The younger employees of the store include messen- gers, stock boys and girls, markers, " special " and wagon boys, bundlers or wrappers, cashier-wrappers. Among their number are some boys and girls with ex- ceptional ability for merchandising. They should be given opportunity for advancement as fast as they are ready for it, but such brilliant workers usually attract the notice of their superiors anyway, and are promoted. The ones who are slower or less mature, and yet who often have abilities, may very easily be neglected and so miss the training necessary to develop them. Plan of Work Many of the young workers are deficient in common school branches. Wherever the continuation school is in operation, the store director should see to it that an 66 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR instructor is installed in the store to teach English, arithmetic, and local geography at least. If the city or town has no continuation schools, the store can well afford to make some special arrangement for their instruction at its own expense. The vocational in- struction necessary should rest upon a solid foundation of academic work, but may be closely related to store problems. Arithmetic can be taught through the sales check, the invoice, and the marking system. Suggestions for w'ork in arithmetic may be found in the Appendix. English should include the spelling of merchandise terms and other words used in business. Writing should be clear and business-like, and geography should include sources of merchandise as well as names of streets. The four or five hours usually given to this work each week will not permit much besides these points unless there are two classes. If practicable it is wise to arrange either for an occasional longer session or for an advanced class in order to study textiles and other materials, the store system, and other more directly vocational topics. Instruction in personal hygiene should be given in every class. The director should give some of her personal atten- tion to the young people in these classes and should co- operate in every way with the teacher, whose work is APPRENTICES AND JUNIORS 67 more practical and detailed. The director will regard the work in a broader way and can make suggestions from a fresh angle. She will need to know the boys and girls later, and may have a very definite influence upon their behavior and ambition as they progress in the store. Moreover, she is in the best position to make the line of promotion clear and should be in touch with those who are engaging the apprentice sales- people. Suggestions as to instruction given junior em- ployees may be found in the Appendix. The Cashier Wrappers The cashier's position is often a very responsible one and offers a good preparation for higher positions. The cashier can check errors or omissions more readily than anyone who is handling the general business. She often has the list of coin numbers so that pack- ages may be delivered without calling the aisle man- ager. A girl who has been in the marking and stock- rooms and has spent a short time at the cashier's desk has the best preparation for salesmanship in her knowl- edge of store system, stocks, and customers. In some cases, however, she may not be interested in selling and then she should go from the cashier's desk to the accounting or mail-order department. The educational director should constitute herself a " rout- ing clerk '' for these young employees, helping them on 68 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR their way and also directing them at the proper time into the path where they ought to go. The instruction of junior employees should not all be prosaic and " down to business." These children have missed much of the cultural side of life as well as some of their playtime. They should find in their daily store experience all that it is possible to crowd in. Apprentice Salespeople There is one general salesmanship problem which is always special and that is the new salesperson. The demands of business are of such a nature that the store is constantly adding to its forces those who have had little or no preparation for their work, and these new " apprentices " cannot meet even the modest demands made upon them without a short general course. These new employees in the department have always received some general attention and short courses have been planned for them. The following outline, though it is very inadequate as a training for salesmanship, is given here because it shows how the principles involved can be applied to a condensed and general plan, and also indicates that the broader scheme is merely the logical development of what has already been recognized as a necessary order of study. This work for the apprentices is not the main work APPRENTICES AND JUNIORS 69 of the educational director, but it is very important since it represents in abbreviated, sketchy form what should be done for the regular salesforce. If the courses are well-planned and ably carried out with proper perspective, they will lead to, and make easier, the development of the work for the older people. Discussion of Work with New Salespeople One of the early plans of the director should be the gathering of all the new salespeople in groups for such a course. The topics for discussion are naturally such subjects as : Store system. The sales check. Store policies and rules. Principles of salesmanship and personal charac- teristics. Knowledge of merchandise and of customers. The girl or boy who has reached an aisle table, or even a higher position in the selling force, from the stock-room or cashier's desk, begins with a knowledge of store organization, rules, and policies. Such salespeople have a decided advantage over those who begin their store work behind the counter. Their ideas of business and business methods may be crude and limited, but they are practical and to the yo THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR point. A salesman without this experience starts with a handicap which sometimes lasts long enough to affect seriously his interest and ambition. If it is practicable to classify the groups into those who have had previous store experience and those who have not, they may be handled more efficiently, but this is not essential as the most familiar and common rou- tine has often escaped the notice of many who should know it by heart. Discussions of store policies and rules with simple, clear explanations will go far toward creating a spirit of co-operation. In large store organizations, the mili- tary system has been almost universal ; obedience, rather than reason, is required. Unexplained rules often arouse in salespeople the kind of perversity which is excited in school children by the same system. This is one of the high walls of misunderstanding which it is the educational director's business to break down. Introduction to Salesmanship The group should spend a considerable part of their time on the principles of salesmanship, illustrated oc- casionally by a demonstration sale, but more often by the discussion of concrete cases which the new sales- woman is always ready to give. Such discussions may, of course, easily drop into " swapping " stories with very little value either to the teller of the experi- APPRENTICES AND JUNIORS 71 ences or her hearers. The director, therefore, should have an outhne which must be f ollow ed ; for example : Success or failure with undecided customers. Reasons for such success or failure. Sales made through some unusual method adopted by salesperson. Value of stock knowledge; of knowledge of cus- tomers. Suggestion sales. Lost sales, with reasons. Effect of team-work among salespeople. Sometimes a single experience will bring out a num- ber of important points. At other times four or five short descriptions of different sales will make one point clear. The director will gain so much from the right handling of these discussions that she should prepare for them carefully and check them up afterward, just as she wants the salesperson to criticize a sale. An occasional written review of such points is essen- tial. Salespeople are not used to expressing their ideas in writing, so that the director will find some of the papers very crude at first. She must not become dis- couraged, however, for she is helping them to acquire the two valuable habits of analysis and self-criticism. After the first trial the ordeal of writing things down does not seem so terrible and many salespeople enjoy it. 'J2. THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR From the discussion of their customers it is not hard to lead to a discussion of salesmanship in general. Personal criticism is a different matter, as anyone resents public exposure and comment on his faults. By keeping on the positive side and showing the value of such traits as initiative, cheerfulness, decision, self- control, and tact, the director will avoid trouble. Otherwise she becomes the type of scolder against whom every member of the class builds a protective fence. Health Instruction Health talks should be given to these groups fre- quently. They should not be in the form of scientific lectures, but short, simple statements about food, exer- cise, sleep, shoes, posture, etc., as related to health and the very important effect of health upon successful salesmanship. A good plan is to give ten or fifteen minutes to a health topic every time that the class meets. If possible these talks should be given by a doctor or trained nurse. Many stores have a nurse in atten- dance who would be only too glad to do some con- structive teaching in addition to the care of headaches and other disabilities which she knows might be pre- vented. If the store is fortunate enough to have a physical director for gymnasium or athletic work, he APPRENTICES AND JUNIORS 73 is the person to describe the virtues which are to be derived from exercise. The director herself may not be a physical or medi- cal expert, but she can always emphasize the necessitv for good health in successful salesmanship and she can encourage the formation of athletic and gymnasium clubs or swimming classes, or the arrangement of half- holiday walking trips. All the health lectures in the world are of no use unless the bad habits of excessive cofifee- and tea-drinking are given up and good habits regarding exercise, fresh air, and sensible diet are formed. Length of Course These groups of apprentice salespeople are con- stantly changing. As in all occupations, the newer employees are far more apt to leave or to be dropped than the older ones. Spring, fall, and holiday sales bring in much new material and even in the dullest times the labor turnover is large enough to mean some shifting. The courses of training must be short and general. A six weeks' term beginning about the mid- dle of September with classes meeting at least twice each week, or for a shorter period three or four times a week, will serve the main purpose of the course for those who are expected to remain as regular members of the force. 74 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR Classes for the Holiday Trade When the holiday trade begins a change of plan must be made. The new people who are taken on at this time are often from the '' contingent force," or from a shifting and unsatisfactory type. Though they are apt to be transient they must not be allowed to pull down the standard of the store. A very short inten- sive course should be given requiring attendance every day for a week after the new employee is engaged. The program can be so arranged that the necessary subjects are covered in that time and a new salesperson may enter, after the preliminary drill on the sales check, at any point in the course. All other class instruction must be discontinued dur- ing the month of December, but this class should be held in spite of the pressure and hurry of the Christ- mas trade. In fact, just because of this pressure, classes for apprentices are necessary and will save a great many losses through preventable errors and mis- management. The session should be not more than half or three-quarters of an hour long, but the director should be on hand fifteen minutes earlier to answer questions and give personal help. Each lesson must be intensely practical, covering the store system, the care of stock, suggestion sales, errors, and care of one's health when under strain, though each store will have its own needs. APPRENTICES AND JUNIORS 75 Such classes will be an inspiration to the young salesgirl who is often so confused by her first experi- ence under trying conditions that she is a dead weight on the department which she serves and is too discour- aged to try again. The new people can be given help and advice after their work has been observed, and in some cases a promising salesman or saleswoman may be found who should be given a chance to work into the permanent salesforce. The new messengers, cashiers, and wrap- pers also need some intensive training and observation, but for this the director must rely on assistance from floormen and experienced salespeople who are asked to co-operate in this way so that the director need not fol- low them up individually. Confidential reports each night may be the basis for brief and pointed talks to this younger group, but the boys and girls need " case work " more than they need lectures and they are not likely to profit much by gen- eral instructions. Chapter VII THE TEACHING OF MERCHANDISE The Great Need for Information on Merchandise The department store exists for the purpose of sell- ing many kinds of merchandise, yet its salespeople know almost nothing about the goods. The criticism most often voiced by customers is not that they have been treated discourteously, but that they could not get satisfactory service because of the ignorance of those who waited upon them. As the result of experience and in spite of shining exceptions, many customers simply assume that salespeople do not know anything about their goods and cannot be expected to. If an occasional salesperson is found who is really well- informed, it is not due to the system. The reasons for this ignorance are not hard to find. Because of the wide range of the goods sold and the large number of salespeople and their low level of general information, the task has seemed so huge that little effort has been made by the stores or by anybody to improve conditions. A manufacturer requires the salesman of his product 76 THE TEACHING OF MERCHANDISE JJ to follow it through the various stages of its making, and sometimes places him under the direction of a com- petent instructor who gives him both oral and written tests in order that he may show his ability to describe the processes and special points. The books on retail salesmanship, on the other hand, give scarcely a clue as to the manner in which mer- chandise may be taught. They dwell largely on the personal qualifications of the salesman, give some at- tention to the customer and much to the process of selling, but their suggestions about the study of mer- chandise are so fragmentary and inadequate that they leave salesperson and teacher of salesmanship alike at sea. Inadequacy of Sources of Information The present facilities for such study are meager when compared with the field of knowledge to be cov- ered. There are trade papers which give many excel- lent points and specialized information, but they are not designed to be text-books and their material is very fragmentary and unorganized. Books which touch on many of the subjects may be found in libraries but they are not written for salespeople and leave many im- portant questions unanswered. Even the customer has been drawn upon for infor- mation. Many clever salespeople learn about their 78 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR goods from their customers, but this source of knowl- edge is an unsatisfactory one. The customer may or may not speak with authority. She may have poor taste or a Hmited knowledge which the salesperson has no means of verifying. Moreover, a customer is prejudiced by her own interests and circumstances, while a salesperson must be able to take account of the wants of many different people under different circum- stances. Standardized, fundamental knowledge is what the salesperson needs, to which may be added all the knowledge of style, variations, and commercial points that affect the cost or the demand. It is the task of the educational director to supply such knowledge or at least to make a beginning. Thus far, most directors have compromised on the study of textiles. This is a major subject for the de- partment store, since textile merchandise comprises from a third to nearly half of the goods sold. But even the merchandise of the textile departments is not adequately covered by a study of textiles alone. Each article has its special as well as its general process of manufacture, and the selling points may lie in these distinctive facts rather than in the general processes of spinning, weaving, and the like. Intelligent directors have been dissatisfied with this fragmentary work, but anything more definite has THE TEACHING OF MERCHANDISE 79 seemed to be barred by two insurmountable difficulties : (i) the lack, hitherto, of material with which to in- struct the salespeople in a systematic way; (2) the im- possibility of calling out the entire force of one de- partment during business hours. A Successful Experiment Both of these difficulties have been handled, how- ever, with a considerable measure of success under con- ditions which were far from favorable. The plan is here given in some detail as a suggestion of how such a course may be worked out. The opportunity for the first experiment was given in a large metropolitan store and the classes included in all about 3CX) experienced salespeople. It is worth noting: (i) that the store management, since nothing of the kind had previously been at- tempted, was at first doubtful of the value of the course, but that it supported the experiment with scrupulous fairness; (2) that the salespeople, after taking the course, became enthusiastic in its favor. Preparatory Measures The first step was the analysis of a number of de- partments in order to see the relations between their merchandise and their selling conditions. The second step was the grouping of departments in 8o THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR which the merchandise and selling conditions were similar. The third step was the formation of a class which included all the members of these " allied depart- ments " but was divided into three sections, as one- third of the department seemed to be the greatest num- ber that could be spared during even the first hour in the morning. The divisions which were designated as A, B, and C would have come to the classroom twice a week, but Monday was the day for store sales and was therefore reserved. This made the schedule a lit- tle complicated, but did not create half the confusion that was feared. The A division came to the classroom Tuesday and Friday of the first week, Wednesday and Saturday of the second, and Thursday of the third. The B divi- sion began on Wednesday and followed A, while C fol- lowed B. By means of little slips containing the dates for a month, the class members were prevented from making mistakes and there were surprisingly few who forgot the date and hour of their classes. The same lesson was given to each of the three divisions. At first certain members of the class were quite re- sentful at the idea of " going to school," but the spirit grew more cordial with each succeeding division and the fact that none were exempted except for unavoid- able duties prevented any invidious criticism. u < ti. THE TEACHING OF MERCHANDISE 8 1 Figure 2 shows a typical merchandise class in ses- sion. The Course of Study The course of study was planned in each case to suit the departments chosen. As there were then no text- books the lessons were prepared on the basis of the department stocks. From these, classified lists of ma- terials and processes of manufacture were made, to- gether with the special knowledge required by the sales- people. Textile departments were taken first as there was more material to be obtained on that subject, but the second group plunged into the uncharted sea of non- textile merchandise. This was the real test of the plan, for since the classes w^ere large and included seven or eight departments in each, it w^as impossible to handle them in exactly the same way as a textile group. The best thing that could be done was to find the " common denominators." Among these the more common materials were glass, rubber, leather, paper, wood, celluloid, silver, and other metals. Brief studies of these raw materials and their manufacture were made the basis of general class in- struction. Fven before these studies were completed the classes were divided into smaller groups so that two simul- S2 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR taneous lessons could be given (by two teachers), one on a general topic and one on a special departmental subject. The two teachers then exchanged classes and the general topic was repeated, but the special one was changed to suit the new group. For instance, leather is the chief material used in the leather goods, shoe, and glove departments, but it is also of interest to salespeople in the departments in which stationery, jewelry, and toilet articles are sold. The first three needed an intensive study of leather and special studies of bags, shoes, and gloves; the latter groups needed some knowledge of leather, but it was not their chief interest. Leather was therefore made the subject of three general lessons followed by much more definite work by the first three groups. Paper, rubber, and glass were each given in the same way. This doubling up was also aided by the health talks and salesmanship discussions in which certain sections of the class were engaged, while the special group work occupied the at- tention of others. The final lessons for one most satisfactory group of salespeople were given in the evening after dinner. Then each department was taken by itself and its stock was classified, analyzed, and checked as to its values and selling points. For these last lessons two addi- tional teachers were called in and the subdivision was made as complete as possible. THE TEACHING OF MERCHANDISE 83 Results It must be stated that this arrangement was a series of compromises. No member of the teaching staff (consisting of three people) thought that the course was as thorough as it should have been, but it was help- ful and stimulating to a wonderful degree and it pro- vided a real basis of information from which those who wanted to learn their merchandise more thor- oughly might go on to expert salesmanship. At the close each member of the class who had completed the course received a certificate stating the fact and also that she had made a satisfactory record in the depart- ment work. This same program has since been followed in sev- eral other stores with equal success. In one store half of the sales force of the selected departments came to the classroom at one time, but usually not more than a third could be spared. The buyers were always sure that it would work havoc in the department, but when once established the wheels ran very smoothly and not more than reasonable adjustments were necessary. The course thus far has been from three to three and one-half months long. It has been much easier to carry the later classes with the aid of the merchandise manuals which were the outgrowth of earlier work. The response of the salespeople to the large interests of the merchandise, wherever these courses have been 84 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR given, has been quite surprising. They seemed to real- ize at once the opportunity presented. They not only enjoy the study and want to make a record in the class, but they freely acknowledge the intellectual stimulus. One woman, no longer young, said, " It is like a col- lege education for some of us who had to leave school early." Another remarked, " It is like opening a new world." Such courses give professional training for retail sales work and raise the status of the salesperson by placing her in the class of skilled workers instead of among untrained ones. The same revolution took place a number of years ago in the character and effi- ciency of nurses when the trained graduate nurse took the place of the old " experienced," but often ignorant and incapable, type. The result of training salespeople has been to increase not only their knowledge and efficiency but their self-respect, ambition in business, and interest in life. Chapter VIII MATERIAL FOR MERCHANDISE CLASSES Importance of Suitable Surroundings The educational director should not let her work be made unimportant by its poor setting. She must have a quiet and suitable classroom if she is to do good work, and she must have suitable tools to work with. In spite of the demands of business these can be pro- vided if she makes it clear that the time of valuable salespeople should be conserved to the utmost and therefore that proper equipment is real economy. Necessity for Exhibit Material Merchandise classes need a large amount of concrete material for the purpose of illustration. Salespeople are accustomed to handling things, not to reading about them. They can grasp any kind of merchandise in- formation more easily if it is illustrated with exhibits of raw material, pictures, and charts. The exhibit is a very important part of the instructor's equipment. Fortunately, opportunities for securing such exhibits are increasing rapidly. 85 86 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR Sources of Exhibits It has become quite fashionable for manufacturers to prepare special exhibits showing their own products at various stages. A number of educational exhibits have been prepared for the schools, and the United States Government has also gone into the exhibit busi- ness. A partial list of sources from which exhibits may be obtained will be found in the Appendix. With all the aids which are now available, a director should not depend on outside agencies for the organ- ization of her store exhibits. The field is wide and the purposes of those who prepare them are not quite in line with her own plans. Manufacturers are anxious only to bring out the special virtues of their own prod- ucts and not to give a general view, while educational and government exhibits are planned for the general public from the consumer's viewpoint. It will often be necessary to break up manufacturers' exhibits or even educational exhibits and rearrange them in order to secure a uniformity of plan and the emphasis which is needed in department store classes, but this should not be done until a general plan has been made and tested by actual use in the class- room. Permanent Exhibits For the merchandise classes described in Chapter MATERIAL FOR CLASSES 87 VII permanent exhibits of various kinds were used, supplemented by a large number specially prepared. These exhibits were by no means confined to the things which are fastened to a card or boxed behind a glass cover. Whole skins with the hair on, finished leather, gloves, and shoes in all stages of manufacture were shown and passed around the class. The same course may be followed in teaching pottery and glass and the stock of other departments. The Frontispiece and Figure 3 show the exhibits used in the classes studying leather and gloves and millinery. Textile materials are, of course, among the easiest exhibits to obtain. Non-textile materials, such as rub- ber, leather, glass, pottery, hat straw, metals, and spe- cial manufactured products can now be secured with- out the vast amount of effort which was formerly re- quired. So many calls have been made, in fact, that a number of exhibits which were at one time furnished by manufacturers without charge are now put on the market for sale. The director may sometimes secure such exhibits, however, through the co-operation of the buyers of the store departments. Even where they must be purchased, if the director asks only for those she needs for class use, the expenditure will be spread over a period of months and the store will probably be proud enough of its increasing display to make the necessary appropriations. 88 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR The Right Method of Study The study of the materials exhibited should be re- organized for the department store. It is essential to begin with the merchandise in the department under discussion; to describe and analyze the things which the saleswoman sees every day ; to progress from the particular to the general, from the concrete to the ab- stract. Methods of raising flax in Ireland are vague, but the elaborate towel or centerpiece which the sales- person is looking at is a most real and visible object. It is necessary to end wath the merchandise also, so that the salespeople may realize that they have been journeying through the fields of botany, economics, and history not only to gain pleasant and profitable information, but to complete the circle of knowledge which makes for efficiency. For these reasons the wise director begins her course with a description of the special department and its stock, and ends with a detailed classification of that stock. Questions of Space and Arrangement The questions of space and of the proper arrange- ment of exhibits are of great importance. The space available in any store is so limited that the greatest care must be taken to make each exhibit as complete as possible and yet keep it in small com- pass. Finely arranged exhibits, protected by glass MATERIAL FOR CLASSES 89 doors or covers and so delicately mounted that they may not be handled, are also to be avoided as far as possible, though it is necessary for some things to be put up in this manner so that they may be preserved. In the exhibits of cotton, flax, silk, and wool the best plan is to have a card or box in which the cotton bolls, flax stalks, silkworms, or wool fibers are dis- played; varieties compared, and stages of production and treatment are shown consecutively. A box from which similar articles may be taken out and passed around may accompany these. It is usually best to wait until a considerable amount of material is collected before trying to arrange for a permanent display, and then to call in the window- dresser or display manager of the store to help devise a plan. In a number of stores one or two exhibits occupied an amount of space out of all proportion to their importance, and others had to be crowded into a corner or put away in drawers. Very likely it may be necessary to have a sort of rotary exhibit with wall or table cases in which one series of displays is placed for a certain period and then another replaces it, the first being stored away in boxes until its next appearance. In one store a practical arrangement was made by which the display exhibits were all placed in shallow, cloth-covered boxes similar to those which were used 90 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR for trimmings and other merchandise. Articles to be exhibited were fastened securely on cards which were placed in the bottom of these boxes and protected by the box cover. Not only could textiles be thus dis- played, but small articles of glass, china, leather goods, feathers, a shoe exhibit, and many others, including color and design cards which were illustrated with different kinds of merchandise. These boxes were provided with handles at one end and labeled as stock boxes would be. They could then be stacked up in a rack and drawn out when they were wanted. This exhibit was easy to transport from place to place. Another store has wall cases with sliding glass doors and shallow drawers beneath in which the supplemen- tary exhibits may be kept. Each store has its own problems of space, light, and availability. The director should lay her plans in such a way as to avoid the loss and destruction of her mate- rial, to have it in a convenient form, and, as it accumu- lates, to place it in an effective setting so that it may be a credit to the class and attract interest because of the manner in which it is displayed. Use of Moving Pictures Moving pictures have become one of the popular means of instruction today and are nowhere more val- uable than in teaching industrial processes. There are MATERIAL FOR CLASSES 91 now several different companies preparing industrial films for use in schools and on the lecture platform and some of these can also be obtained for merchandise classes. Some of them are much better adapted to such use than others, but unfortunately this is not al- ways indicated in the catalogue and is not discovered until they are tried. Stereoscopic pictures of industrial process have been made which can be used in a store lantern and are quite as educational though less vivid, and also less expensive, than the motion pictures. Notes on Class Work One great difficulty which all directors face is the lack of short and appropriate written material. While most of the information given in store classes must be in the form of talks or lectures and discussions, the class session will be much more profitable if the mem- bers can go over the subject either before or after the lesson. We cannot expect them to do much reciting, but they are very glad to have notes to refer to, espe- cially when a test is to be made. Their own notes would be most satisfactory if they knew how to take notes. In one class, after a number of experiments, the instructors decided that taking notes was a waste of time for people to whom writing was such a difficult form of expression. The notes 92 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR were therefore prepared for them on a copying ma- chine and each girl had a loose-leaf note-book in which these were inserted. At the end of the course the note-books were returned for revision and missing leaves were supplied so that a complete record was made. Trade Papers Most buyers take one or more of the trade papers which deal with their merchandise, but these papers are thrown away after they have been read, because they become a nuisance. It would be helpful to the salespeople if these papers were placed in the rest rooms. There should also be a system for filing such periodicals in board covers in the library and salespeo- ple should be encouraged to use them. Bulletin Boards A bulletin board should be placed in the rest room or lunch room of the store on which notices of lectures, conferences, and other topics of general interest are posted. Such a bulletin board may also call attention to in- teresting articles in the current trade papers and some- times may have pictures or articles arranged on it poster fashion. MATERIAL FOR CLASSES 93 The Store Library Every store should have an employees' library. Some stores have tried the library plan and then dis- carded it because the salespeople did not use their op- portunity. In most of these cases, however, it had not been given a fair trial. A store library needs a librarian as much as a store class needs a teacher, and the library must be made at- tractive and interesting. Employees do not get the library habit just because there is a collection of books available. They may need to have the books brought to them at first, instead of having to hunt them up dur- ing a busy day. The Librarian's Opportunity The educational director in one very large store happened to be a librarian before she became a teacher. In her early store work she would go from one de- partment to another, taking the books which she thought the salespeople ought to know about. Some- times these books were on salesmanship or business topics, sometimes they were books of more general interest. Little by little she made the library popular and established the reading habit so that the store now keeps three special librarians busy and has a collection of technical as well as popular books which form the basis of the store instruction and are in constant use. 94 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR Co-operation with Public Libraries In many cities the public library is now willing to supply a traveling collection which can be changed from time to time and may include books of useful in- formation as well as fiction. It is part of the library idea now that books must be brought to the people. The library will also purchase extra supplies of books on subjects for which there is special call. Such col- lections, however, are not satisfactory by themselves, though they may supply supplementary material. The store should begin to build up its own business library as soon as possible and the director should consider it one of her most effective tools. Chapter IX THE STUDY OF THE CUSTOMER Salespeople's General Attitude Toward the Customer Good salesmanship requires a knowledge of the cus- tomer as well as of the merchandise sold. A great deal has been written about the salesperson's attitude toward the customer. Many criticisms have been made and much excellent advice has been offered. In point of fact store salespeople have one general atti- tude toward customers — chronic indifference. They are not antagonistic or ill-disposed and they are usually anxious to make a sale, but in very many cases they are really bored by the streams of people passing up and down the aisles and when a prospective customer approaches, their manner makes this perfectly plain. The customer usually finds it necessary to gain a salesperson's attention before she can begin purchas- ing. Salespeople who do not stand behind a counter are more apt to go up to the customer and offer to serve her, but even their approach is often a merely formal thing. 95 96 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR Attitude Toward Personal Acquaintances When a customer is really known to a salesperson the situation changes. A friendly desire to serve, an interest in the personality and wants of the purchaser is then spontaneous and very genuine. It results in many purchases which the customer did not intend to make and which are prompted not because the sales- person wants to increase her " suggestion sales," but from a friendly desire to meet a want of " her " cus- tomer or give her an opportunity to secure a bargain. In the stores of a large city the proportion of these personal customers is comparatively small, while in small places they may be in the majority. No store, however, should depend on this personal acquaintance for interested salesmanship. The general attitude of the salespeople must be changed so that every customer is interesting, for no galvanized pretense of interest will answer the purpose. Cultivating an Interest in People Interest in people can be cultivated through a study of people, just as an interest in merchandise is devel- oped through studying the goods. Interest in any sub- ject results either from some knowledge or from curi- osity and a desire to know more. The educational director may arouse in salespeople what the French call " the great curiosity." This is not of the same THE STUDY OF THE CUSTOMER 97 genus with petty curiosity in regard to people's per- sonal affairs or social standing. It is the desire to know what people are like in themselves, how we may meet them, and learn to know their quality. For the saleswoman it means the desire to know how certain customers' minds work in order that she may meet them in the right way to make a sale. Classes in salesmanship should take up the study of the customer before considering the process of the sale, for many of the methods of arousing interest or clos- ing a sale depend for their effectiveness entirely upon the kind of woman with whom the salesperson is deal- ing. Different Methods of Handling the Subject The study of the customer may be made a part of the departmental course and balance the lessons on merchandise, or it can be given to a group selected in an entirely different way; for instance, from the most expert salespeople. If departmental lines are observed in making up the classes, the merchandise has a freer play in the discus- sion and the two subjects may be made to strengthen each other when the process of the sale is taken up. In whatever manner it is introduced, the discussion of customers is always a live subject capable of drawing out the ideas of the class. This will always be one of 98 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR the most entertaining groups under the director's care. It will be quite permissible for members to discuss their patrons if names are omitted and personal criti- cism is forbidden. Types of Customers When a group of salespeople are first asked to name different types of customers, they are very much at a loss. They will think of " dependent " and " critical " and " common-sense " people, but beyond these their ideas are scattered. Some of the characteristics which they mention affect salesmanship and some do not. They need help in classifying their customers under a few general heads so that they may know how to deal with them. The effort at classification has an addi- tional value because it arouses interest and curiosity and makes salespeople analyze their own conclusions. There is a school which gives much attention to the shape of the face or head, texture of the skin, and other physical points in judging people. Whatever the value of such estimates, and it may be considerable, the department store salesman or woman is not equipped for making them, but must be content with simple analyses. There is a more or less valid division of people ac- cording to temperament which has been used in teach- ing salesmanship to men. The nervous, the sanguine THE STUDY OF THE CUSTOMER 99 or good-natured, and the phlegmatic types are de- scribed and made the basis for different kinds of treat- ment. These distinctions are a httle over the heads of most department store people and the guesses which they are likely to make before they place men and women properly according to their type are apt to go wide of the mark and discourage further trials. A simpler and more concrete method is to list the large number of cases which may be gathered by ques- tioning the class, and then work out a classification under certain general groups. The subject of attitude and treatment of these groups may then be taken up. The following list was worked out with two classes of saleswomen and afterward reviewed and slightly revised by a class of store teachers, so that it may be considered quite typical. It may be found advisable to change it considerably for a given group. A Classification of Customers and How to Meet Them For customers who are We need Nervous types Tired and cross Unreasonable Fussy and nervous Interrupting Ignorant Excitable Impatient Patience Good temper Quiet manner Assurance lOO THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR For customers who are We need Disagreeable types Patronizing Aggressive Inquisitive Skeptical Talkative Insulting 'Dignity Self-control Confidence in ability Knowledge Calmness our own Critical types Cautious Critical Indifferent Bargain hunters Silent Penurious CBelief in our own goods Knowledge of their values Care in presentation .Convincing manner Dependent types Timid Sensitive Dependent Absent-minded Deaf Old ladies Undecided Children and men buy- ing gifts Foreigners 'Sympathy Gentleness Helpfulness Suggestions An effort to think them for Commonsense types Decided Pleasant Intelligent Considerate We should be thankful, serve them well, and learn from them all we By these methods we shall add steadily to that treasured class whom we call " our customers." THE STUDY OF THE CUSTOMER lOl The important thing, of course, is to inspire the class members to make their own hsts and help them in analyzing them so that they will be live and practical instead of a group of meaningless words. Not all of the people listed under these group head- ings are characterized exactly by the type label, but it comes near enough to show certain likenesses among the people described, and plainly indicates a similarity of attitude and treatment on the salesperson's part. The Nervous Types Among the nervous types, the tired and cross woman m.ay be really quite decided and pleasant under normal conditions though now she is fussy, unreasonable, and impatient. In this case the salesperson must supply the repose, good temper, and patience which the cus- tomer lacks. Patience is the one virtue which seems to have im- pressed itself on the average saleswoman's mind as an essential quality. Doubtless it is among the most important things in the midst of the worry and friction of a great department stofe, but patience alone will not make an efficient salesperson. The nervous person should have prompt as well as quiet service. She should not be referred to someone else. She is pleased with an alert, positive, yet un- aggressive manner. Salespeople should distinguish 102 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR between the nervous type and a person who is in a nervous mood because of fatigue. The Disagreeable Types In dealing with certain types of people a positive attitude must be assumed if the right impression is to be made. The group of customers who have been listed under the disagreeable type require a certain stif- fening of the saleswoman's spine and dignified self- control of which the word " patience " does not give the right idea. Patronizing, aggressive, and insulting people especially need to be met with a dignified cour- tesy which is thoroughly self-respecting, in order to command respect from them. Talkative people may " talk themselves out of a sale," and should be gently brought back to the subject before they discover that their time is up or that there is some reason why they should wait until tomorrow to decide. The Critical Types For critical people defects should be frankly ad- mitted and reasons given for prices. Bargain hunters appreciate a statement of the reasons for reductions or special values, if the statement is based on facts. Sometimes it is well to bring out the article which has been set aside for just this occasion. THE STUDY OF THE CUSTOMER 103 Salespeople need to distinguish carefully between the customers listed as " disagreeable " and those who are critical and cautious. Many are apt to call all critical people disagreeable and to adopt a defensive attitude toward them. This is very unfortunate, as the cautious and critical customer is one of the most loyal to those who have gained her confidence. The silent, reserved customer is sometimes critical and sometimes only quiet or timid. If possible, such customers should be induced to talk even on some sub- ject other than the sale, so that the saleswoman may be better able to judge how to treat them. The critical person should be met with reason and the timid one set at ease. The Dependent Types The dependent customer is theoretically approved by all salespeople, but this usually means that they are merely customers who will act upon advice. They forget the special classes of dependent people who are deaf, absent-minded, foreign, or disabled in some way. The dependent customer often brings out the best qualities of the person who waits upon her, but some- times those positive qualities which make suggestions and real helpfulness possible have never been developed in the saleswoman. Two passive people on the oppo- site sides of a counter will never make a decision or a I04 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR sale. Saleswomen should be shown some of the num- berless ways in which they can actually assist the timid or the undecided customer to make up her mind. An undecided person may like to be saved the trouble of deciding, and when she has shown a prefer- ence for some one article the salesperson may take her choice for granted without an actual *' yes " or '* no," A cautious, critical customer, on the other hand, will resent such treatment. While being careful not to call attention to deafness or other personal defects, the saleswoman should always be on the watch for such limitations and give a special attention to the customer's wants. Absent-minded people appreciate a care of their par- cels and change which may save them a long trip back to the counter. Children or men who are shopping for someone else should be special objects of courtesy and attention. Social Classes Salespeople should recognize the social class from which people come in order to save their own time and that of the customer by not showing the wrong mer- chandise. They should, however, not assume too much from quiet dress or manner, for many people of wealth and taste dress very simply on the street. There are many indications by which the salesperson THE STUDY OF THE CUSTOMER 105 may judge whether the customer is interested in the more expensive goods. Among these are fine gloves and shoes, or other handsome accessories in her cos- tume, even where the effect is simple. But some peo- ple are indifferent about their clothes and lavish in their household furnishings. One must be careful not to act hastily on apparent evidence, perhaps spoiling a sale by jumping at a conclusion. Some stores will not allow the social grade of theirj customers to be recognized at all, but that is for fear some distinction in manner or service will be made. Such a question should be met firmly and squarely. When any difference in service is rendered it should be in favor of the poorer and more dependent customer and the same courtesy should certainly be extended to all. Developing an Attitude of Hospitality and Friendli- ness The attitude toward customers should be that of a host or hostess toward guests. Service is rendered promptly and gladly, because the comfort of the guest is the first concern of the host. The wants of the guest are supplied in the most efficient way possible and she is made to feel that she is always welcome, whether she makes any return through purchases or not. I06 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR The salespeople who make it their pleasure and duty to study and serve all customers well, will reap a large reward in their feeling of increased self-respect and efficiency, and in the lengthened list of their special customers. There is another even larger return which this friendly study of people will give to those whose im- aginations have been starved by the commonplaceness of their lives. As the knowledge of merchandise has opened a door into a fascinating world of things, so the knowledge of people brings them into a real fel- lowship with the students of the mind. Chapter X STUDY OF THE PROCESS OF SELLING Danger of Overemphasis on Process of Selling " The sale is the thing " seems to have been the motto of all who have lectured or written on the sub- ject of salesmanship. Knowledge of the commodity to be sold and even knowledge of the customer is often taken for granted, but the psychological process by which a sale is made forms the basis of salesmanship instruction. The criticism to be made upon this kind of instruc- tion as applied to the department store is that it is relatively out of proportion when we consider the con- ditions under which counter salespeople work. Personal Salesmanship In personal salesmanship, such as insurance, real estate, bonds, or even the merchandise of a commer- cial traveler, the salesman is dealing with more or less reluctant minds. He must convince his " prospect " that the particular commodity he carries is what the prospect wants, and must lead him by mental sugges- 107 io8 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR tion through all the necessary psychological processes until the subject of his wiles finds himself either will- ingly or unwillingly the possessor of whatever goods the salesman has decided to make him buy. This is a fair translation of salesmanship as taught under such heads as : 1. Attracting attention. 2. Arousing interest. 3. Creating desire. 4. Closing the sale. The process is a perfectly legitimate one, as the prospect has the liberty of opposing it at each and every stage and, unless the commodity is something which he really wants, he is weak-minded if he has allowed himself to be the victim of persuasive elo- quence. Department Store Salesmanship The situation of department store salespeople, espe- cially of those who sell behind the counter, is quite dif- ferent from that of the personal salesman. The cus- tomer who approaches a counter has, in the great majority of cases, a desire to purchase goods at that counter. Her attention needs no attraction, her inter- est is already aroused, and the salesperson should con- centrate her own attention on finding the goods which THE PROCESS OF SELLING 109 will best satisfy the customer's wants, presenting the merchandise in an effective and convincing way, and closing the sale. The last part of the transaction often demands some of the methods characteristic of per- sonal salesmanship. The psychology of selling is well worth the study of all department store people and in suggestive sell- ing they may approach the skill of any kind of sales- man, but the director should not be carried away by a theory of salesmanship so that she presents ideas which salespeople do not recognize as applying to their case. The Salesperson's Habitual Attitude Now, what most department store salespeople need to learn is the spirit of salesmanship. They have not yet learned to be active; their habitual attitude is one of passivity — the direct result of the general feeling of indifference toward customers. The point which needs emphasis in talking to the saleswoman in the department store is that she should take an active, and not a passive, part in each sale she makes. Frequently it seems as if sales were made in spite of the sales- woman, not because of her. Illustration of Passive Attitude of Saleswoman A typical example of passive salesmanship was no THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR given recently in the glove department of a metro- politan store which prides itself on its store service. There were a number of customers at the counter, but not too many for the salespeople to handle promptly. A customer who had but twenty minutes in which to make her purchase came to the counter. Nearly five minutes were spent in getting the saleswoman's atten- tion, after which her " interest " was shown in the fol- lowing manner : Saleswoman (making no effort to examine the hand, which is small and short-fingered) : " What size do you wear? " Size is given and one pair of gloves brought back. These gloves are soiled and the fingers are evidently too long. Customer waits for a suggestion, and finally makes it herself. " Have you none in a better qual- ity?" Gloves at a slightly higher price are examined — there are none in that size. A pause follows. " What about your best gloves? " These are advertised in plain sight at the customer's right hand. A box is brought and at customer's insistence the gloves are tried on. The thumb proves to be some- what tight; otherwise the gloves fit w^ell. A discour- aging pause ensues. THE PROCESS OF SELLING m The saleswoman then ventures her first suggestion : " You should have a larger size." " Yes, but what about the fingers? I dislike a wrin- kle across the glove." The next size is brought out and the customer assured that they will undoubtedly fit. As she is on her way to a concert the gloves are to be worn immediately. The saleswoman does not offer to try them on, but allows the customer to put them on herself and as the first glove is being drawn on a friend appears and she is hurried away. The gloves are, of course, too large. Classes of Customers A good saleswoman will approach her sale in dif- ferent ways, according to her customers, who may be grouped in the following classes : 1. Customers who know what they want and where to get it. 2. Customers who know what they want, but not where to get it. 3. Customers who do not know exactly what they want. 4. Customers who are " just looking." The first class needs nothing but a counter-server, though they appreciate good salesmanship if it is not too persuasive nor insistent. 112 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR The second may need considerable help in the way of suggestion, but they should not be coerced into get- ting what they do not want. The third class presents a real problem and the salesperson sometimes must use all her ingenuity to find out the difficulty and meet it successfully. The ignorance of the customer may be in regard to the suit- able thing to fill a well-defined need, or it may be due to general vagueness of mind, or the uncertainty which attends the search for a gift. Christmas shoppers and those looking for wedding gifts are a helpless, but not necessarily an unintelligent, group. Salespeople who are able to put themselves in the cus- tomer's place can make really helpful suggestions. Then the people who are " just looking " may not be idly gazing, but trying to compare values or to see whether they can satisfy their wants for the sum they wish to spend. All the art of attracting attention is useful here, but people must never feel that they are being trapped into buying. Suggestive Selling Suggestive selling is a most important part of the salesperson's work. It can be done in such a way as to make a permanent customer as well as a sale, for the spirit of helpfulness and new ideas are always wel- comed. It has been known, however, to produce the THE PROCESS OF SELLING 113 opposite effect. A customer has been heard to say, " I will never go near that salesman again, for he always makes me buy a lot of things I don't want/' Analysis of Lost Sales One of the best ways in which salespeople may be led to think about their methods is by the analysis of lost sales. They may not reach the right conclusion when trying to see why they failed, but they are at least more observant next time. Imagination is one of the dormant qualities in sales- people as a group. They do not put themselves in the customer's place because they cannot. Salesman- ship classes, therefore, should be very definite and practical. It is easy to learn a set of words without getting their meaning at all, and sometimes a sales- woman can talk about arousing interest or closing a sale without any ideas back of her words. An inter- esting experiment has been made by which members of a class were shown what they actually did when a cus- tomer approached and so on through the sale. Where was their attention at first? What was the next thought and why ? Essentials of Retail Salesmanship For a group of experienced people the following brief outline was made in order to accomplish the 114 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR same result, that is, to bring their attention to the essentials and see whether they were observing them. Too much detailed analysis of a sale is confusing and may defeat its own object, namely, to make the sales- person think. Approach to Customer Points to remember r. Manner is more important than the form of address. 2. Try to remember customers' names. 3. Study type of customer. 4. Try to judge her wants somewhat from her appearance and manner. 5. Watch a customer's eyes for interest. Stock Arrangement Points to remember 1. Know where all the stock in your department may be found. 2. Know the quantity of your own stock. 3. Notice how fast any stock you sell is moving, whether it is your own or not. Avoid remnants and odd pieces. 4. Save time and strength by system. Put things away promptly and neatly. 5. Study simplicity of arrangement. Arousing Interest Points to remember The customer's interest depends largely on your manner and your knowledge. I. Qualities in a salesperson which appeal to all customers are: (a) Attention and confidence (b) Clear speech (c) Well-chosen words THE PROCESS OF SELLING US (d) Pleasant voice (e) Earnestness and courtesy (f) Demonstration 2. High-grade selling is based upon high-grade stock knowledge. 3. Stock knowledge consists of: (a) Purpose (b) Construction (c) Style or design (d) Finish (e) Price 4. A good saleswoman asks few questions. 5. Whenever possible answer objections before they are made. 6. Increase the number of your good and appropriate adjec- tives. A new word attracts attention. 7. Ask a customer's opinion. Get her to say " yes." Never argue. 8. Do not show goods of which you have not the right sizes or something which is plainly unsuitable. 9. Demonstrate whenever you can. Try on or show how an article looks when worn or in use. 10. Three reasons for objection to price are: (a) The customer cannot afford it. (b) A cheaper article will serve the purpose. (c) The customer does not appreciate the value of better goods. This customer can often be persuaded to buy the better article. Closing a Sale Points to remember 1. Closing a sale is an act of will. You must get your customer to decide. There is a difference between tactful suggestion and pressure. 2. Do not leave too many articles out for the customer's choice. This is very important with hesitating or un- decided people. Ii6 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR 3. Appeal to imagination and reason. Think of the strong and attractive points of your merchandise. 4. Do not undo your sale at the last by distracting your customer's mind when it seems to be made up, 5. Analyze your lost sales to see whether you were at fault or might do better next time. 6. " Three qualities are needed by men who influence men : good sense, good will, good principles." — (Aristotle.) Motives Which Influence the Customer The motives to appeal to vary also according to the merchandise. What are the motives which will act as incentives to buying a particular kind of merchandise? There are general motives which would come into play in any purchase, such as the desire for possession, utility, and appreciation of good values. In addition to these there are motives which arise in connection with special kinds of merchandise. Vanity and Comfort Articles of wearing apparel appeal to the vanity and comfort of the wearer. If she is a sensible person and her purse is limited, their durability as to material and conservative fashion are important, but if she is young and wishes to be " smart," these are the last motives to appeal to. In a hat sale, for instance, the knowledge of mer- chandise concerns materials and qualities, shapes, colors, fashion trend, suitability for different occa- sions or costumes. Knowledge of the customer re- THE PROCESS OF SELLING 117 lates to personal characteristics — coloring, shape of head and face, manner of wearing the hair, age, man- ner of dressing, etc. The sale is conducted by appealing to vanity and comfort, style in vogue, becomingness ; attention is called to any personal points as the hats are tried on, and the sale, if properly concluded, is based on the suitability of the hat to the wearer. Therefore the saleswoman has a definite guide in making the sale. Thrift and the Home-Making Instinct Housefurnishings appeal to motives of thrift and desire to save labor, as well as to the home-making instinct. Silverware, china, glassware, and linens ap- peal to the sense of beauty, home-making, and also to vanity. In a sale of china, for instance, the mer- chandise knowledge needs to be far more definite and detailed than in selling wearing apparel. The sales- woman should know materials and processes of manufacture in order to know whether the china will chip easily, whether the decoration is likely to wash off, and many other points relating to the service- ability of her stock which are not apparent to the pur- chaser. She should know the principal manufacturers and their trade-marks because these are important to the purchaser. Knowledge of the customer, in the sale under dis- Il8 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR cussion, would mean knowledge of her style of living, her present stock of china, personal tastes, whether she is a china fancier, and whether she " knows " china. Most of these facts are absolutely beyond the ken of the average salesperson. If she is to profit by any of them she must be tactful, observant, and quick-witted. The sales appeal is either to utility, beauty, or both, durability, exclusiveness, suitability to a home she does not know, and a taste which she can merely infer from her customer's general appearance. It is a much more difficult sale to make than a hat sale, if salesmanship is required at all. The advantage which the china saleswoman has over the hat sales- woman is that the customer can more readily make up her own mind. She does know her own home, her own stock of china, and her own taste, while she can- not always recognize a becoming hat. The Demonstration Sale The motives which determine a particular purchase, as well as the merchandise itself, must be determining factors in that much discussed type of salesmanship teaching, the demonstration sale. This method is one of the questions at issue now among the teachers of salesmanship. Some teachers make it their chief de- pendence ; others think it almost worthless. The real trouble, where just criticism has been made, is not THE PROCESS OF SELLING 1 19 with the demonstration, but with what is behind it. Very many demonstration sales are nothing more than " playing store " for the amusement of the class or of visitors, the latter being much impressed by the familiar process under unusual conditions, and by the remarks or criticisms which are obvious and stale to the class but new to the outsider. A director should never stage a demonstration sale except for the purpose of impressing some important points not understood by the class or as a test or re- view of former lessons. As a test, the sale may be extremely valuable, if it is" well prepared. As a demonstration of expert handling of a sale, it may be a revelation to some members of the class. In the latter case the salesperson and cus- tomer must be chosen carefully, but if their parts are rehearsed beforehand, the drama is neither convincing nor effective to those on the inside, whatever it may be to the outsider. It must be a demonstration of a salesman's ability to handle an unknown, not a known quantity. The class should in this case be required to make notes, analyze, and criticize the sale according td a given schedule. The reason for grouping the salespeople who handle similar merchandise and work under similar conditions is obvious. The sale of a hat, which is a favorite and effective subject, is almost valueless to the salesperson I20 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR handling china or stationery. Store service is the same, but the handling of the sale is very different. The untrained mind cannot carry over and translate the forms of one sale into those of another. The sales- girl from the china department is much more apt to be interested in the way her next hat is sold to her when she herself is a customer. Other Methods Any method, however, is good in the hands of an expert, and no method is safe in those of a bungler. The director who would increase the interest and effi- ciency of her classes should try them all, including: Discussion of the principles of salesmanship Analysis of sales Demonstration sales Application of merchandise knowledgv, and any other device which she can invent. Intelli- gence, interest, enthusiasm, and increased sales are what she is aiming to develop and she should judge of her success by results and not by effective class exer- cises. Part III — Broader Aspects FOREWORD In Part III the broader aspects of department store relationships are considered. The welfare and social interests of the employees and the problems of employ- ment and placement are very intimately connected with the constructive plan of the educational director. This is so, in the first place, because she learns to know the needs of the employees through personal associa- tion; in the second place, because both social activities and a system of promotion aid her in making her edu- cational program effective. Health, freedom from worry, and a freshened in- terest in work increase the spirit of store service. Proper placement and promotion are the tangible, necessary returns of the store management to the em- ployees after they have done their part and shown improvement. Only then can proper and intelligent co-operation be secured. Finally, the director is concerned with the com- munity relations of the store, the reactions upon pub- 121 122 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR lie school training and co-operation with the high schools in order to secure a better grade of employees, and the ethical foundation upon which the store bases its business policy toward its members and toward the community it serves. In short, the educational director's task is the diffi- cult but not impossible one of supplying the connecting links in the chain — service of employees, recognition of management, satisfaction of the community. Chapter XI WELFARE AND SOCIAL INTERESTS The Theory of Employee Welfare The educational director is in many stores the suc- cessor of the welfare secretary or the social secretary, who was the first official installed to give the personal touch to employee relations — to consider their health and to provide the social and moral safeguards which some of the younger ones manifestly needed. This phase of benevolent patronage has not altogether passed. Sometimes the store retains the welfare sec- retary in addition to the educational director, and sometimes the former is superseded by the latter, but in any case the relations are very close. The theory of employee welfare suffers from the aristocratic fallacy which employees of the better sort resent in spite of its kindly intentions. So far as it aims to supply good working conditions it is sound business and simple justice, not benevolence. When it goes over the line into personal affairs it is becoming less and less acceptable to the employee, unless it grows out of a real personal interest and understanding. 123 124 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR The Director's Opportunity When a store engages an educational director it is taking a distinct step beyond the welfare idea and it often gives her the opportunity and privilege of chang- ing the whole conception of the social relations of the store and of putting these relations on a sound, demo- cratic basis. Ways in Which Employees' Interests Are Cared For The interests of store employees as imderstood by the management may be grouped under three general heads : Welfare Social activities Economic betterment Under welfare should be included: Lunch rooms Rest and smoking rooms Hospitals, nurses, and store physicians Holidays and vacations Under social life: Gymnasiums and athletic clubs Choral societies Store parties, dinners, and entertainments Store papers WELFARE AND SOCIAL INTERESTS 125 Under economic betterment : Mutual benefit and insurance plans Co-operative associations There is a good deal of overlapping in all these divisions, but this is inevitable when personal interests are concerned, A few stores include nearly all these activities and most modem stores have some of them. A very few have gone so far as to organize a co-oper- ative association and many have grievance committees in which employees can voice their objections and reach the management through representatives. Connection of These Interests with Educational Work Whether the educational director is in charge of any of these interests or not, they all touch her work directly or indirectly. She is deeply concerned with the health of the employees, as it is a vital factor in store efficiency and in store happiness. She is there- fore interested in seeing that wholesome and palatable food is provided in the lunch room at a reasonable price. The lunch rooms in some otherwise well-man- aged stores are so unattractive that the appetite and digestion of delicate girls are affected. Rest Rooms Well-ventilated and quiet rest rooms, fully equipped 126 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR with comfortable lounging chairs or couches, are most important in a busy store where the nervous strain is great. A rest period of fifteen minutes daily is pro- vided for the employees in most large stores and these brief minutes of relaxation may add much to the efficiency of the salespeople. As an educational aid, the rest room should be provided with interesting trade papers, newspapers, and periodicals and should adjoin the library. A well-planned store will have its lunch rooms, rest rooms, educational department, and gymnasium grouped so that they may be mutually helpful. Store Hospital The hospital, with its nurse or physician in atten- dance, is essential in reaching minor illnesses and help- ful in preventing serious breakdowns. The director should encourage all employees to seek medical ad- vice before a condition becomes so serious that it cannot be corrected. Stores which have established this temporary hos- pital service, where an hour's rest may be taken or first aid rendered, have found it most valuable. They do not consider it so much a humanitarian as a business proposition, which saves many days of enforced ab- sence on the part of employees. This health service, however, does not usually go far WELFARE AND SOCIAL INTERESTS 127 enough. It merely relieves and does not attempt to build up the general standard of health in the store. These same half measures are often carried into the educational department, where temporary corrective work takes the place of permanent, constructive teach- ing. Constructive Health Work Some stores have established a system of physical examination for new employees, so that they may gradually weed out the seriously unfit. A few have tried the experiment of giving such examinations to those already employed. In one such case the exam- inations were followed by *' prescriptions " of correc- tive exercises, diet, and dress, with an occasional refer- ence to a physician or dentist for treatment. The re- sults of this treatment were highly satisfactory, but opposition from certain influential quarters stopped the experiment before it could be thoroughly tried out. Such constructive treatment of the health question would justify itself in a short time and permanently help valuable people, just as the hospital saves valuable time. Commercial hygiene, in relation to the needs of the individual or of the store, has never been sufficiently studied. The physical effect of light, noise, confusion, and the fatigue which results from standing for eight 128 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR hours a day, have never been considered v^ith relation to their effect on selling efficiency. Yet a hosiery saleswoman in a metropolitan store complained of a very noticeable decline in her own ability as the result of the transfer of her department from the second to the first floor. It is a common observation that sales- women are physically unable to give good service in the last hours of a busy day. Any personal help or store adjustment that will lessen fatigue will add to selling ability, Saturday half-holidays, which in some cases have been stretched to full holidays during July and August, are in line with the growing recognition of the strain imposed by nervous work in hot weather. Vacations with pay are also given as a reward for continuous service, but are rather an earned bonus than a gift. The store is amply repaid for its liberality in this re- spect when it secures more continuous service and the impetus which every employee brings back after a rest which has not been too much of a drain upon a limited purse Group Interests vs. Individualism The director may well encourage group interests among store employees that will brighten their lives and add to the social spirit. Gymnasium and athletic clubs serve two purposes. They improve the health WELFARE AND SOCIAL INTERESTS 1 29 of those who join them, and also add greatly to store atmosphere and good feeling. Excessive individualism, with its resulting lack of co-operation or team-work, is the most glaring defect in department store work. Nowhere in the business world does one find such extreme individualism. Each department and each member of the department is sharply separated from the others, and the lack of a normal social atmosphere and social organization is a serious obstacle to the development of the girls and women employed in the store. Because of the con- stant presence of customers, there are extremely few opportunities for friendly intimacy with one's fellow- workers during business hours. A girl who had been in a gymnasium class but a short time said: " I have seen different ones of these girls year after year, as they come and go from the store, but I have never spoken to one of them until I met them in the gymnasium class." If that girl re- ceived nothing more from her class than the social or group spirit expressed by her, it would have given her a new interest both in her own work and in the store. But that is not all she gains. Physical exercise and athletic games develop self-control and self-reliance. Every kind of play that is worthy of the name de- velops not merely health and strength but also alert- I30 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR ness, quickness of response, coolness, balance, wari- ness, and swift judgment — qualities of the greatest importance in selling. Salesmanship is itself a sort of game or contest of wits between two minds, and all the sportsman-like qualities are needed. Team spirit may be talked about forever, but it will never develop as the result of lectures. Figure 4 shows a typical de- partment store gymnasium class. Value of Gymnasium and Athletic Work The value of gymnasium and athletic work can be summarized as: (i) the development of surplus physi- cal energy and spontaneity and the correction of many physical weaknesses; (2) the cultivation of the social spirit, enthusiasm, and team-work, which will have their reflex effect on store work. A first-hand description of an evening gymnasium class under the direction of the educational department of a metropolitan store, which appeared in The Survey during April, 19 16, is inserted here, because it illus- trates these two points from actual experience. " Up and Down the Liberty Pole " The scene last night was a gymnasium, the actors thirty- five saleswomen from one of our New York department stores, and they were exercising in order to overcome the special evils and weaknesses incident to that occupation. It was the " open night " for visitors, but the program of the evening was carried out as usual. o WELFARE AND SOCIAL INTERESTS 131 First the girls marched in the usual way, showing a spring and vitality hardly to be expected after standing nearly nine hours behind a counter. Next they spread out in ranks on the floor for the " mat " exercises. In this relaxed position they flexed and extended their knees and pointed their toes gracefully and rhythmically to music. Next a sitting posture in rows facing each other, one girl grasping firmly the toes of her opponent who swayed back until she touched the floor and up again without moving her folded arms. The mat exercise ended with deep breathing. Then springing to their feet they swung through an English contra dance, " Pop goes the weasel," whose mazes were too intricate for a casual visitor to follow. Up and down the liberty pole. The monkey chased the weasel, That's the way the money goes, Pop goes the weasel. When the visitor was out of breath watching, however, the real fun of the evening began. First came bat ball in which the teams were divided according to weight. The light weights won in the fourth inning, the score being six- teen to ten. Arch goal ball was still more exciting and the score three to nothing with weight more evenly divided. There was no need for silence in this game. Verbal assis- tance was offered to each contestant who failed to get her ball into the basket with the first throw. As the witty mem- ber of the group happened to come from the toilet goods department, the remarks were apt to have a cosmetic flavor. "Why didn't you get it over the way you sell soap?" or " She sells the best hair tonic in New York." The play seemed such an excellent antidote for labor in that " stop gap " period preceding marriage that I was shocked to hear the instructor announce after a particularly sportsman-like throw, " This lady is a grandmother." Then to our amaze- ment she continued : " Five members of the class are mothers and they have their children in the room watching them play." It was not a suitable time to ask the ages of the class members but I learned afterwards that only three 132 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR were under the fatal line marked " twenty-three," one had been in that store twenty-five years and several others were approaching the autumn of life which the before-mentioned grandmother had reached. . . . One of the three men present was an authority from Co- lumbia University, who said first that he had not had so much fun for months, and second that the class beat the average college girl in posture and in goal-throwing. At ten o'clock, after an hour and a half of constant activ- ity, one of the girls who was asked if she were not tired said, " No, indeed, I always come tired but this rests me." The one question asked by the authority from Columbia was, " Are not these women in exceptionally good health ? " They are, but how much of their vitality is due to good wages, which mean good food and comfortable homes ; how much to exceptionally sanitary conditions in the store ; how much to the daily exercises which many of them take under direction; and how much to the prophylactic value of play? Who knows? Musical Interests Choral and instrumental music have been introduced in a number of stores as a group interest. Marshall Field in Chicago and Strawbridge and Clothier in Philadelphia have quite remarkable choruses which give public performances of a high order. The Wana- maker stores in both New York and Philadelphia have bands, and Filene in Boston has an excellent orchestra. The musicians are drawn from among the employees of the store. These are but a few notable instances out of many in which music has been made a factor in store social life. Music not only contributes to social good feeling, but has certain very definite values in WELFARE AND SOCIAL INTERESTS 133 bringing out necessary business traits. It is well worth trying as a part of the social program of any store that wishes to have the interest of its employees depend on something more than the weekly wage. Entertainments and Parties Dancing parties and entertainments are much more incidental. They are pleasant ways in which store people may become acquainted with each other and make a break in some very dreary lives, but they do not necessarily create social group feeling in the store. Girls will often bring their own escorts to such parties and have little to do with their fellow-employees. Some of them resent any connection between their business and social life, and feel that there is a species of patronage in store entertainments. Figure 5 shows a group of girls on a summer half-holiday outing. Mutual Benefit and Insurance Plans The relation of the director to the third division of welfare work is less direct. Mutual benefit and insur- ance plans and co-operative associations have actually been planned by the store management. They touch the economic side and must be handled very wisely and squarely or they will do more harm than good. It is unnecessary to recall some recent cases where a mutual benefit association became involved in the financing of the store and large sums of money belong- 134 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR ing to the employees were lost in the store's failure. Any insurance plans which call upon the employees for assessments or other financial support should be managed by a board or committee responsible to the employees themselves, and any contributions from the management should be made freely as a legitimate item of business expenditure. A joint board may be ad- visable, but the employees should never feel that it is controlled by the management. Co-operative Associations Co-operative associations may be quite outside of the store life and concerned merely with providing the members with opportunities for wholesale buying of goods not carried by the store, or they may have a definite part in store management. The grievance committee is usually the opening wedge for employee co-operation. A number of stores now have these committees composed of employees who meet regu- larly and have power to reinstate discharged fellow- employees as well as to make rules for the manage- ment of the restaurant, rest rooms, and other employee interests. Illustrations of Employee Participation Among stores where employee participation has been carried very far are Altman's in New York, WELFARE AND SOCIAL INTERESTS 135 Filene's in Boston, and Sel fridge's in London. In the latter store the committee, to which each department elects a member, is called a " staff council." This council meets periodically to discuss details, criticize matters which can be improved, and propose new rules. The management has found no difficulty in accepting without change the conclusions at which the staff coun- cil has arrived. Thus the employees practically make the general rules of the house. No disagreement is allowed to become a so-called grievance, because, be- fore that point can have been reached, the matter has been discussed and settled by the staff's ow^n council. Filene in Boston has successfully carried out both the idea of the council and of the co-operative store, but the most interesting feature of these two experi- ments is the conference on cases of dismissal and other management and employment questions. Few, if any, store executives are ready to go so far as Selfridge and Filene have done in this respect, but there is a growing desire for a better understanding and greater co-operation, so that the store may be a united organization instead of a collection of units more or less antagonistic with constant friction and waste of energy. Necessity for Co-ordinating Interests Much has been said of the waste of time and mate- 136 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR rial in the department store, but there is no waste or lost motion comparable to that which is due to the lack of co-ordination between the different parts of the store machinery. The educational director cannot put her own time and energy into any great number of social activities or co-operative movements, but in her general educational plan she must have a vision of these relationships and use her influential position to foster, if not to direct them. The good effect of social organization will often be apparent before educational work begins to tell, and the two should develop harmoniously. The Store Paper The educational director has a very immediate in- terest in the store paper. Nearly all stores which try to cultivate social feeling or do any constructive work among the employees feel the need of a store paper. This paper gives the dates of athletic or club events and items of personal interest. It usually has a semi- literary flavor and is a medium for good advice from the management. It should also be the organ of the educational department, which needs it perhaps more than anything else in the store. The director should not carry the whole responsibil- ity of such a paper herself. The more people there are who are personally interested in its success, the better. WELFARE AND SOCIAL INTERESTS 137 It should have the backing of the buyers and encourage department rivalry for news, but the director should have her page or section in which the educational work is kept constantly before the store public, so that those who have been in former classes are not allowed to lose their interest. It is another tool with which she builds her educational house. Forms of Store Papers The store paper will undoubtedly take its color from the store management and reflect store policy as inter- preted by the editorial staff, but it soon begins to shape opinion in the management and among the employees through this editorial selection and interpretation. It is interesting to glance over a group of representative store papers. One is little more than an advertising sheet, con- cerning itself chiefly with sales and merchandise, but containing a few interesting notes for employees. Another specializes on inspirational talks and store loyalty combined with news of store events and wel- fare notes. Another is the product of the management and seeks to give employees the history and business ideals of the firm with suggestions for their own advancement. Others are leaflets of the educational department of a store and interesting from that viewpoint. 138 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR Example of a Successful Store Paper One of the oldest and best store papers has a large and representative staff, which insures its success as a genuine " organ " of the store. There are seven edi- tors of this paper, all of them in positions connected with general store management, accounting, or adver- tising. The staff of reporters has thirty-one members including representatives from twenty-five merchandise departments, five from the office and executive staff, and one from the operating department. A recent .number of this paper had the following varied contents : Five groups of short department notes. Announcements and reports of two parties, a baseball dinner, and a concert — all of them store activities. Notices of a campaign for members for the ath- letic association and the relief association, and news of store clubs. Three educational items, of which two in narra- tive style described the value of store service and knowledge of merchandise, and the third, a list of questions, showed the scope of the edu- cational department. Scattered through the paper were editorial notes and exchanges which were inspirational and suggestive. WELFARE AND SOCIAL INTERESTS 139 Such a paper as this could be pubHshed only in a store which had well-estabhshed social and educational departments, but for such a store it is indispensable. The difficulty in assembling large numbers of em- ployees at any one time during business hours, and the varied interests of the different departments, make such a medium for the interchange of news and opin- ion necessary. This paper is " edited by and in the interest of the employees of Strawbridge and Clothier and published for them on the fifteenth of each month, in the hope of promoting the general welfare and bringing each into closer relation with all," Director's Connection with Store Paper A director who is encouraging the first publication of a store paper must not be too ambitious as to the variety and quantity of its material, but she should try to have it well-balanced, so that it will appeal to all departments and be representative of all. As in her other relations with the store activities, she is in the position of an umpire or referee who has no favorites and who is interested in the whole more than in the separate parts, so that she can trust to a general belief in her fairness and wisdom. Chapter XII EMPLOYMENT, PLACEMENT, AND PROMOTION Position of the Director The relation of the educational director to questions of employment, placement, and promotion is a very- important one. No incentive for better work can be given unless there are just rewards for improvement, and no broad system of training can continue unless it has a close connection with the machinery of organ- ization. The educational system in a store does not exist for its own sake, but for the betterment of business condi- tions for employer and employee alike. The director must therefore stand in the position of adviser to those who control the employment and placement of new people. She should be something more than an ad- viser in matters of transfer and promotion which must be integral parts of the store's educational policy. Attitude of Management Toward Labor Turnover The educational director should have a clear idea of 140 EMPLOYMENT PROBLEMS 141 what the labor turnover is, since the desirability of training department store employees has been more seriously questioned because of the prevailing high labor turnover in the store than for any other reason. It is the argument chiefly used by store managements against the development of an educational department. The director, therefore, must be ready to meet the ar- gument and to refute it. The management holds that employees remain in the work only two or three years and change their posi- tions two or three times during that period. This statement may be disproved by referring to statistics in Chapter IH. Even where some notion of education has taken root, the same arguments are used to urge the director to put the emphasis on quick results and short cuts which interfere seriously with any attempts to reach high standards ; whereas the high labor turn- over is actually one of the strongest reasons for having an educational department. If the director under- stands the full significance of the term her answer to objections is convincing. How to Estimate the Turnover The following definition was given by the 19 17 com- mittee on employment of the National Association of Corporation Schools : " The turnover is the change in the personnel of any working force that is brought 142 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR about by hiring and terminating the service either by- resignation or dismissal of employees." It is estimated by dividing the average number of employees on the pay-roll in a given period, into the total number v^ho terminated their employment in the same period. For example, if in an establishment employing an average of i,ooo employees, 500 termi- nated their services during the period, the turnover is 50 per cent. The percentage is reckoned usually on an annual basis. Reasons for the High Rate of Turnover The department store's very high rate is due to causes more or less inherent in the business, but not so uncontrollable as they have seemed, namely: 1. It shares the disadvantages of a partly seasonal trade. At certain times in the year the force in some stores is almost doubled. 2. Its requirements are so uncertain that it attracts the unskilled workers, w^ho always form an unstable and unsatisfactory group. 3. The lines of promotion are normal, but there is such a lack of co-ordination between store departments that employees do not know how to take advantage of the opportunities and therefore often become discour- aged. The store shares with all industry losses due to dis- EMPLOYMENT PROBLEMS 143 satisfaction with wages, hours, working conditions, and to ill-health. The educational director should not be discouraged by the negative arguments, but be ready to show the store the cost of this excessive turnover, irrespective of special training and also to make suggestions as to how it may be reduced. Cost of a Turnover The cost of a turnover usually varies according to the skill required in a given position, yet one railroad corporation estimated that it cost $60 to make even an experienced trackman, so that each one lost after six months' experience amounted to a loss of $60 to the company. The cost of bringing any employee to efficiency must include : 1. Hiring, including the time of high salaried men. 2. Instruction, necessary time of superior (if there is no class work). 3. Reduced production or effectiveness. 4. Additional waste; in the case of salespeople this would include errors of all kinds. 5. Greater percentage of overhead expense. If the expenses of systematized training are to be added to these costs, the latter will be increased by the 144 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR actual cost of the training, but lessened by reduction of waste and increased effectiveness of employees. The director should be prepared to prove that the turnover can be steadily lessened by : 1. A better handling of employment. 2. More intelligent placement. 3. A definite system of wage increases and promo- tion. Necessity for a Better Handling of Employment In a very large number of stores the hiring of new employees is made a side issue in a department already overloaded with work. Sometimes it is the store superintendent's duty, and if the work is not delegated to an assistant, it must be crowded into a couple of hours a day, with constant interruptions from people who feel that they have a prior claim on the superin- tendent's time. The timid applicant fills out a blank, receives a few minutes of preoccupied attention, is assigned to a de- partment where help is needed, and is then forgotten. If he or she remains long enough with the firm to acquire a definite personality and rating, there may be opportunities for proper placement and promotion. Hundreds of employees, however, slip through the store and out again every year without having an op- portunity to know what they can do or receiving any EMPLOYMENT PROBLEMS 145 incentive to do their best work. The store makes some inquiries as to honesty, good character, and experience, but there is no follow-up work or observation to see whether the first conditions of employment were favorable or the first casual placement was successful. The Employment Department Every large store should have an employment de- partment, well-organized, efficient, and closely asso- ciated with the educational and welfare work. It naturally falls under the management of the educa- tional department, but need not be under its control, so long as there is harmony between the two. The edu- cational director and the head of the employment de- partment should work harmoniously and construct plans and policies together, in order to secure coher- ence in the work and life of the store. The employment department should have complete records of each employee on file, including: Application blank. Placement. Duties. Reports of superiors. Employee's own statements concerning depart- ment work and working conditions. Wage increases. Promotions. 146 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR In case of resignation or discharge, the reasons for such action. Records of departments, especially sales depart- ments, should also be kept, so that a heavy turnover may be marked and checked. Systems for Testing of Employees Employment managers should have some training in the estimation of character and should use it. There are a number of systems of " character analysis " which may be helpful, but none of them are yet stamped w^ith authority by the approval of experienced executives. The method seems to be a development, says Dean Schneider, of the old idea of phrenology. Dean Schneider and others at the College of Engineer- ing tried it out on people they knew, with decidedly negative results. They found men possessing the physical characteristics that ought to make them ex- ecutives, but these men were anything but executives. " We were forced to the conclusion," he declares, " that this system was not reliable." Psychological tests as to reactions, habits of thought, types of ability, and physiological compari- sons are worth while if they can be made scientifically and if there is an abundance of material sufficient to allow the employment manager to choose and reject as EMPLOYMENT PROBLEMS 147 he will, but the demand for rapid decisions and the small number of satisfactory applicants for depart- ment store positions will not encourage this detailed work for some time to come. Each manager must work out his own system with due reference to the experience of others and realizing that much of the youthful material which comes to him is still unformed and will be made or unmade by the early years of business life. The employment manager must not have too strong a belief in heredity or early environment. He must steer clear of types, judging as well as he can by personality, manner, and especially voice, and trust the rest to training. Use of the Application Blank The application blank, if it is intelligently planned, will tell much of the story. It should require not only the usual statements as to birth, parentage, education, and experience, but some questions to test the appli- cant's fitness for the particular job. An excellent test for judgment and some other qualifications is a ques- tion demanding self -analysis, for example the follow- ing: " Why do you consider yourself a desirable appli- cant ? " or ** Please state fully the qualifications you have for the positions for which you have applied." The director who asked these questions considered 148 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR them the most important on the slip. If the applicant was honest he would give his own opinion of himself, and even if this were wrong it helped to check up other judgments. If he was dishonest it also helped to grade him. Introducing the New Employee to the Store One of the first conditions to receive attention is the applicant's state of mind when he or she first enters the store. Many a young girl is discouraged at the very beginning and will leave when her first week or month is up, if she is not forced by necessity to remain. If she happens to be placed in the wrong position she knows nothing of the store organization and is unable to see any places where possible changes might be made. The National Cash Register Company has a system which puts the new employees immediately in touch with the organization and makes them feel a part of it. Department stores might well adapt the method to their own purposes. In the first hour spent with the company the work done for employees is outlined by slides and motion pictures, supplemented by a book de- fining the things which will help them to become iden- tified with the organization. When thirty or forty girls are hired in a morning they are taken to the matron in charge of the social work, so that they may EMPLOYMENT PROBLEMS 149 become acquainted. The matron takes them to their departments and introduces them. Intelligent Placement Based on Job Analysis There is another side to the question of proper place- ment of an employee and that is proper job analysis. As a rule the employment manager has but a vague idea of the requirements of a position; therefore, he cannot tell what kind of applicants will fit. Too often his ideas are so general and the jobs are so unstandard- ized that no intelligent placement of the employee can be made. The educational director has some exceptional ad- vantages with respect to knowing the job. The as- sistance and advice of the director are becoming essen- tial in the problems of placement as well as in those of employment. After an applicant has been placed according to the best knowledge available at the time, the real work of the director begins. The new employee should be im- mediately put in touch with the educational depart- ment, assigned to her group among the juniors or the apprentice salespeople, and her class work and depart- ment work checked side by side. One store sends to the section manager an appointment slip reading thus: I50 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR Conference Room Section Kindly ask to report at the Conference Room, floor, on at The group will meet on , , and for weeks, beginning with that date. Please emphasize promptness in coming. By Date After a certain period the section manager is ques- tioned upon the employee's improvement, and the em- ployee is also questioned as to interest, choice of an- other department, or other changes desired. Necessity for a Definite System of Wage Increases When a new employee enters the store she should be introduced into a system which is organized for her normal advancement. There should be a periodical rerating of everyone in the system, from the messen- gers to the buyers or floor superintendents. It would be well for the store to have a semiannual stock-taking of its human forces as well as its merchandise. The educational director, the employment manager, and the store manager are the logical members for a com- mittee on promotion. One store has been doing this very thing, at least in EMPLOYMENT PROBLEMS 151 its sales departments, for seven years. Unusually de- tailed records are kept in a series of ledgers. In one of these the records of each salesperson are assembled by months, two years' records on a page. Another book has the comparative records of all the members of a department assembled for the same period. These books are open to the employees except that the list of names is covered when the comparative record is shown to her. In January and July of each year these records are tabulated, the sales quota and the per- centage determined, and wages are fixed as the result of dividing the total sales by the sales of each one in the department. There is no distinction between the wages of men and women, but an allowance is made for extra stock work. If a salesperson's efficiency has increased, her salary is automatically raised. The only exception to the working of the rule is in the case of an old salesperson whose efficiency has apparently decreased. If the change is slight it is passed over, as it may be due to some temporary cause. If it is serious or continuous, the salesperson is called to the office and the matter is discussed in consultation with the buyer and the floorman. In case there seems no prospect of im- provement, as in cases of age or failing health, the sug- gestion is made that such employees resign, as the store does not wish to demote them. Sometimes they prefer 152 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR to take a smaller salary, which represents their present value. This phase of the system, which seems over- strenuous, is really to the advantage of the older em- ployees, as no store can afford to keep salespeople who do not earn their salaries, and the other choice would be dismissal. For all members of the force who are capable of im- provement, this method is manifestly fair, since it re- lieves them of the disagreeable task of reminding the store of their increased efficiency. For the last three years this store has also given to each salesperson whose sales for the twelve months ending December 3 1 were in excess of those for the corresponding period of the previous year, a cash bonus of i per cent of the increase. Many stores pay wages theoretically on a percentage basis, but have a defective system. In fixing the rate of salary they establish a base line which is below the probable sales of the employee and is also a lower wage than the salesperson expects to earn : they then give a percentage (usually 2 per cent) on all sales over that amount. The percentage for the original base wage, however, is more than 2, so that the results are not really equitable. For example, on a 3 per cent rating : The sales quota of one girl is $300, and her wage $9. EMPLOYMENT PROBLEMS 1 53 The sales quota of another girl is $200 and her wage $6. But if the second girl sells $300 her wage is $8. If the original percentage is 4 or 5, the difference will be still greater. In two other respects the usual practice differs from the one mentioned above : ( i ) the rating is made on the basis of the highest sales in the department instead of the average of all; (2) rerating and readjustment are not regular. Promotion There are two lines of advancement in the depart- ment store: (i) increased responsibility and wages within the department; and (2) promotion to a higher department. The latter is often difficult to accom- plish because of the jealousy of buyers who are very loath to lose a good salesperson, even if it is for that person's good. The only way in which advancement of the second kind can proceed in an orderly manner is by charting the store, grouping the related departments, indicating the line of promotion, and then putting the whole mat- ter in the hands of an impartial outsider, such as the educational director, to see that the changes are made. This will not win her the approval of the buyers, and 154 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR can be done only with full support of the management. An easier solution is reached when there is a sep- arate employment department which handles this whole question, and to which the director is an ad- viser. Unless there is provision for earned increases and promotion, the educational department cannot retain the good- will of the employees nor be able to build up the proper standards. If the store is to increase the efficiency of its force it must supply the motives for improvement, while the teacher supplies the method by correcting defects, developing ability, and giving a background. Problem of Discharge and Resignations of Employees Besides the hiring, placing, and promotion of em- ployees, there is the further consideration of their dis- charge or resignation. This should be studied, since at the close of every rush season a certain number of salespeople are dropped for no reason except that the store does not need so many. Sometimes their work has been watched and found unsatisfactory, or they do not make their sales quota. Sometimes they are merely the newer people in overmanned departments. All through the year employees leave voluntarily to seek other positions, but their reasons for leaving are seldom asked or given. Some leave because of ill EMPLOYMENT PROBLEMS 155 health, many go to positions where they will be better paid. Some go just " for a change," wishing to break the monotony of a treadmill existence. The store should have better records for the first group, those who are dropped, and as complete records as possible of those who leave voluntarily. Defects in store management should be discovered and remedied, even if the individual employee is not retained. The reasons will not always be frankly given, but under a good system enough information can be secured to check such leakage in many ways. Girls are very re- sponsive to the personal touch and are not naturally so restless as men. One factory employment manager said recently : " In factories where they treat girls right the turnover is much lower than that of the men," in spite of the ones who marry. Relation of Department Store Problems to Women in Industry The questions of employment, wages, and opportu- nities for advancement of women are very compli- cated, and yet their solution is growing more pressing every year. Women have not ceased to be a special problem in industry and perhaps never will cease to be, so long as industry is carried on in great congre- gate centers away from the homes to which women 156 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR will always owe their first allegiance. The trained women whose eyes are open to the serious difficulties and whose sympathies are both feminine and sane are imperatively needed wherever large numbers of women are employed. Chapter XIII CO-OPERATION WITH THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS Closer Relationship Between the Public School System and Industry The public school system throughout the country is getting closer to industry and business, and is at last preparing to fit children for trades and for commercial hfe, as well as for college and the professions. The increasing co-operation between the schools and the department stores furnishes inspiration, as well as better material, to the educational director. In return, she can do much to make this relationship closer, as well as to suggest the courses of study which will be most helpful. The director is glad to encourage the growing spirit of helpfulness in the schools, because it is the best pos- sible indorsement of her own ideals. Even a brief and general statement of the director's task shows that her work is very comprehensive, not only because of the many diverse needs of the store organization, but also 157 158 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR because of the constant need of supplementing the de- ficient general education of the employees. Her task would be wonderfully simplified if she had a better trained group to begin with. The high school's growing interest in the subject of salesmanship is therefore of great importance. One of the most encouraging aspects of the present sit- uation is the disposition on the part of the school au- thorities to treat department store work seriously and to set definite educational standards for those who would enter it. The commercial courses of the high school which .taught stenography, bookkeeping, and other office work are now being supplemented, if not supplanted, by practical and definite business courses. In some cities there is still a close connection by which stores and schools actually co-operate in the training. How the Public School Co-operates with the Depart- ment Store The school enters the store through the continuation classes. The store becomes a part of the school through the part-time co-operating classes. The continuation classes have been established in many cities where child labor laws are enforced. In some states those children who are given working cer- CO-OPERATION WITH PUBLIC SCHOOLS 159 tificates at fourteen are still required to have at least four hours of instruction per week on the employer's time, unless they have completed the grammar school work. In other states continuation classes are not oblig- atory, but the power of decision is left with the school board and the employers. The classes in these states seem to be installed just as quickly as teachers can be found and arrangements made. Store time for the study of elementary arithmetic, English, and geography is readily given. Shortcomings of High School Courses Some employers consider children who enter the store at fourteen or fifteen more promising than those who have had several years in high school. The younger children are often more ambitious and under- stand the business better when they begin in the stock room. There are two reasons for this belief. First, the curriculum of the high school has led directly away from business, so that the high school graduate has been actually less fitted for it by his immediate interests and mental habits than when he left the grammar school. Arithmetic, geography, penmanship, simple English, and all grammar school studies are needed in the store, but algebra, Latin, and ancient history are i6o THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR not vital subjects. Second, even the high school boys and girls who have taken commercial courses have not planned to go into department store work and, if they have done so, it has been because they have failed in something else. The occupation of selling goods has been considered a low-grade and " dead-end " job, quite beneath the attention of the high school pupils. While no cultural study would be useless if given in its right relation to business, the emphasis has hitherto been placed on those subjects which make a boy or girl care only for professional life. Now the problem is being viewed from a different angle and the cultural subjects which are necessary in a thoroughly adequate business education are taught in connection with business courses. Moreover, the high school is mending its ways and has given attention to business as a real subject, for which courses must be definitely planned and to which the general curriculum must be adjusted. Definite efforts are being made to show that salesmanship is a highly skilled occupation, that opportunities for ad- vancement are really greater than in office work. Co-operative High School Classes The most promising situation has developed where the co-operative classes have been organized in the high school. These classes give boys and girls an oppor- CO-OPERATION WITH PUBLIC SCHOOLS l6l tunity to spend a part of their time in the store and a part in the school. The school aim is to keep in touch with their store work and to give courses in salesmanship and merchandise to make them efficient salespeople. The Boston Plan For a number of years Boston has had this plan in operation. The high school seniors are allowed to spend Monday, as well as Saturday, of each week in the store. Courses have been planned as follows: Boston High Schools Course in Business Organization and Salesmanship Elective: Open to High School Seniors and Graduates I. Salesmanship — (3 points) (a) General Salesmanship Subjects Department store organization and system. Demonstration of selling in class — with class criticism. Class conference on important salesmanship subjects: Care of Stock; Service; Waste in Business, etc. Practical experience in stores. Store experience discussions; application of basal principles. Individual conferences as a result of teachers' follow-up work. (b) Arithmetic Sales slip practice and store system. Drill in addition, multiplication, fractions, per- centage. Business forms. 1 62 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR (c) Economics Meaning of capital and wages. Relation of expenditure to income. The spending of money. The saving of money. (d) Business Ethics Relation of conduct, hygiene, clothing, recre- ation, and use of leisure time to a business position. II. Textiles — (3 points) Intensive study of fibers : Wool, Silk, Cotton, Linen. Manufacture — factory visits. Fabrics. Transportation and industrial conditions in relation to cost. III. Color and Design — (i point) As applied to clothing, furnishings, and other mer- chandise exhibits ; display. The Cincinnati System Cincinnati has developed a different system whereby the high school students are paired in the co-operative classes. Each boy or girl goes to school one week and into the store the next. A double class is thus kept going throughout the year and each group has twenty instead of forty weeks of school. The New York Plan New York City has adopted this second plan and has gone the farthest perhaps in giving it a sound educa- tional basis. According to the New York plan the first year of the high school is undisturbed, but in the CO-OPERATION WITH PUBLIC SCHOOLS 163 second and third years of the course the co-operative system is used. The pupils are thus given three years of cultural and vocational training, during two of which they are able to earn from $10 to $15 a month or even more. It is thought that this plan solves the problem of the scholar who would otherwise leave school at the end of the first year, either for economic reasons or because of the stronger appeal of the busi- ness life. The course of study and the syllabus worked out for this group and now in operation in the New York schools are given in detail in the following chapter, be- cause of the relation to the whole subject of the train- ing for department store salesmanship. They indicate the wide scope of the field which the educational direc- tor must cover to the best of her ability in the store. This outline was prepared in consultation with educa- tional directors of stores and the Director of Depart- ment Store Courses at New York University. The plan of the work has received the approval of the City Superintendent and has been assigned credits by the State Board of Regents. Chapter XIV OUTLINE FOR A COURSE IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS — THE NEW YORK PLAN How the Educational Director May Help In Chapter XIII the general problem of co-operation between stores and schools was discussed. The New York system has been fully and carefully worked out and is here given in detail. It seems essential, never- theless, to discuss the present situation at greater length, to explain the different conditions and needs in both store and school which must be met by the courses outlined. The first essential is harmonious understanding be- tween the school board and the store management — usually represented by the educational director. In most cities school co-operation is just beginning and the educational directors of the stores may do much to direct the courses intelligently. The Boston stores are co-operating in a system of training their own em- ployees through the Boston School of Salesmanship. A number of New York stores have now formed a 164 CO-OPERATION IN NEW YORK SCHOOLS 165 Department Store Educational Council, for the pur- pose of co-operating in a similar way with the Board of Education. Other cities will doubtless adapt the same methods to their own particular problems. Plan Must Be Mutually Beneficial Like all perplexing problems, the co-operation under discussion has two sides and in order to reach just con- clusions and to maintain a good working schedule, the theory must be worked out for the mutual benefit and advancement of both school and store interests. Naturally the person who can make the co-operative plan effective is the educational director of the store. She is in a position to see the relation from the points of view of both the teacher and the business woman. The store is in need of better educated people on its force. As standards of salesmanship are raised and avenues of promotion are opened up, this need becomes more and more apparent. On the other hand, school officials realize that many of the old occupations are already crowded, and that those who were going into commercial life before vocational classes were estab- lished were thoroughly unprepared. The educational director may sometimes secure the interest of the high school through lectures given in the store by the Art Supervisor, the Supervisor of Domestic Art, or some- one else whose vision is broad enough to see and under- 1 66 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR stand the close relations between business and educa- tion. Even when there is nothing more than the contin- uation class to work with and where teachers of this class have no knowledge of business or store condi- tions, a bond of sympathy and interest has been created from which the director may work toward understanding and co-operation. The school has been sufficient unto itself for so long a time that it is hard for many teachers to see its relation to the working life of their boys and girls. They have prepared chil- dren for examinations, not for life. It is a most il- luminating work for some of them to teach children who are already facing industrial competition, and the effect on the school will be quite as marked as that on the store. The New York Courses During the first year of high school work courses in general science and the principles of color and de- sign are given to those pupils who have elected the business course. The syllabus of the course in gen- eral science is given in full, because the term general science is very comprehensive and would have very little meaning without a detailed outline of the course as it is actually presented. ■ During the second year a second course in color and CO-OPERATION IN NEW YORK SCHOOLS 167 design is given, in which the work of the first year is related to the merchandise sold in the department stores. Throughout these courses in color and design the emphasis is placed upon appreciation and under- standing of art rather than upon creative work. In addition to the course in color and design, textile merchandise is studied during the second year of high school. In the third year a course in non-textile mer- chandise and one in salesmanship and business organ- ization are offered. When the high school pupils have completed these courses and have had some prac- tical experience in the store, they may enter its or- ganization well prepared to display the interest, abil- ity, and intelligence which the suspicious customer hopes to find only in the salesperson of her dreams. General Science A First- Year High School Course Purposes: To present to pupils some scientific conceptions and principles which will serve as a foundation for the study of textile and non-textile merchandise ; and to give a comprehensive survey of related scientific infor- mation. Time: Five periods per week during the first year of high school. Method: The subject is to be presented by: 1. The use of text-books on general science or by mimeo- graphed notes. 2. Demonstration experiments performed by the teacher. 3. Simple experiments performed by the pupils. l68 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR 4. The use of illustrative material. First Term — (20 weeks) I. Mineral Products 1. The soil 2. Minerals 3. Physical properties of metals : (a) Elasticity (b) Ductility (c) Malleability (d) Crystallization 4. Useful metals: tin, brass, aluminum, iron, copper, nickel, mercury 5. Precious metals: gold, silver, platinum 6. Stones 7. Clays 8. Mineral oils and dyes II. Water and Its Physical Properties 1. Molecules 2. Cohesion and adhesion 3. Surface tension 4. Capillarity 5. Liquid pressure 6. Hydraulic press 7. Development of water supply : well, pump, cis- tern, etc. 8. Water supply of New York City 9. Water meter 10. Plumbing and sewage disposal III. Air 1. Pressure and weight 2. Barometer 3. Air-pump 4. Applications of atmospheric pressure: pneumatic tube system, vacuum cleaner, etc. IV. Machines 1. Household tools and their development 2. Advantages of machines CO-OPERATION IN NEW YORK SCHOOLS 169 3. The sewing-machine 4. Mechanical motors: (a) Water wheel (b) Steam engine (c) Gas engine V. Vegetable Products 1. Woods and straws 2. Textile fibers : cotton, flax, hemp 3. Paper: rag, wood-pulp 4. Vegetable oils: linseed, cotton-seed, sesame, pea- nut, palm, cocoanut, and cocoa butter 5. Rubber 6. Vegetable dyes : indigo, logwood, etc. 7. Paints, varnishes, enamels, lacquers VI. Animal Products 1. Leather 2. Fur and feathers ; hair 3. Bone, horn, ivory 4. Animal fats and oils : beef tallow, mutton tallow, lard, butter, oleomargarin VII, Foods and Their Values 1. Carbohydrates 2. Fats 3. Proteins Second Term — (20 weeks) VIII. Acids, Bases, and Salts 1. Common acids 2. Common bases 3. Neutralization 4. Salts 5. Soaps 6. Bleaching and dyeing 7. Preservatives and disinfectants IX. Heat I. Combustion: coal, wood, gasoline, gas lyo THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR 2. Cooking devices: stove, bunsen burner, gas stove 3. Expansion and contraction : thermometer 4. Conduction; convection; radiation 5. Applications : fireless cooker, thermos bottle, re- frigerator, clothing 6. Ventilation 7. Heating systems 8. Water vapor in the air 9. Solution ID. Evaporation 11. Distillation 12. Freezing mixtures ; artificial ice X. Electricity and Magnetism 1. Magnets 2. Compass 3. Batteries 4. Electric bell 5. Dynamo and motor 6. Electric light 7. Electric flat-iron, percolator, etc. 8. Electroplating g. Storage battery 10. Telephone XI. Conservation of Natural Resources 1. Forests 2. Rivers 3. Fish 4. Mineral and soil Color and Design General Statement Purpose: The purpose of this course in color and design is to train pupils in the knowledge of these subjects as they appear in different phases of retail trade. It is planned that through this study the pupils shall come to see the universal application of the laws of color and design. Particularly it is sought to train these pupils CO-OPERATION IN NEW YORK SCHOOLS 171 in taste through constant opportunities, requiring them to judge between forms and colors, good and bad. Scope: The course is to embrace theory and practice; it is to require systematic note-taking by the pupils and continuous free-hand sketching. Time: Two periods a week shall be given to the subject. One-half of each period shall be devoted to explanation and demonstration by the teacher, with appropriate notes and drawings made by the pupils, while the sec- ond half of each period is given to recitations by the pupils on notes previously made. Methods of Study: The principles underlying the critical study of design and of color, as these appear in manu- factured forms, shall be presented to the pupils in suc- cinct statements appropriately illustrated by blackboard drawings by the teacher, and other forms of graphic demonstration. These statements shall be entered by the pupils in their note-books with careful transcripts of the drawings made in illustration. Especial atten- tion must be given by the teacher to insure clear and accurate sketches of this description. Home-lVork: Required home-work shall include the prepa- ration of recitations from pupils' note-books and the supplementary illustration of these note-books with illus- trations drawn from catalogues and similar sources. Each pupil each week shall be required to submit a brief critical analysis of examples of color or design taken from catalogues or other sources. The purpose of this work shall be to quicken the pupils' power of observa- tion, to stimulate the ability to compare good forms with poor, and to give practice in the statement of the reasons for preferring one example of design or color to another. First Year First Term — (16 weeks) This term shall be given to the study of the Princi- 172 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR pies of Design : — Nature of design defined. Decorative elements in all applied design. Definition of design terms: balance, rhythm, etc. Interest in design and its creation. Balance of interest, structure in free and architectural decoration. Decoration as related to func- tion and form. Decorations violating structure. " Keeping " in design. Conventionalization of design. Adaptation of pattern to material. Various materials discussed with the nature of the patterns suitable to each. Symbolism in design. The emotional qualities in design. Second Term — (i6 weeks) This term shall be given to the study of the Princi- ples of Color, as applied to manufactured forms : — General scope of color study. Definition of color terms. Study of the neutral scale. Definition of values. De- velopment of neutral scale. Development of spectrum scale. Study of color intensity. Different methods of scaling by intensity and by value. General principles of color harmony. Dominant, analogous, and comple- mentary harmony. Imperfect color harmonies and methods of harmonizing crude color schemes. The study of color in manufactured forms. Study of effects of juxtaposed colors and of colored lights upon colors. Second Year Half time in school ; half time in store First Term — (8 weeks) This term shall be given to the study of the Principles of Color and Design, as these appear in millinery, v^^omen's dress, and accessories. Second Term — (8 weeks) This term shall be given to the study of the Principles of Color and Design, as these appear in decorative ele- ments used in the home, as wall-papers and hangings, carpets and rugs, furniture and accessories. CO-OPERATION IN NEW YORK SCHOOLS 173 Third Year First Term — (8 weeks) This term shall be given to the study of the Principles of Color and Design, as these appear in the manufac- tured forms which constitute the staples in retail trade, as chinaware, decorated novelties, cut glass, leather goods, stationery, silverware, etc. Second Term — (8 weeks) This term shall be given to a series of practical dem- onstrations in which diflferent pupils shall present to the class succinct and specific statements of the reasons for preferring one example to another in the case of dress, hat, textile, manufactured form, etc. The entire term is to be given to dramatizing situations in actual sales- manship, as these appear in the daily work of the sales- woman. The pupils are to be taught how to address the customer, how to secure information in regard to the conditions governing the use of the proposed pur- chase, and how to lead the customer to see the propriety of the better form. The particular object aimed at in the work of this term is to show each prospective saleswoman that in matters cesthetic she frequently must play the part of the teacher, but must play it in so tactful and skilful a manner that the customer will welcome the information given and will be led, naturally, to make a wise choice among the objects offered for sale. Textile Merchandise The textile merchandise course differs from the usual courses in textiles in its treatment of the subjects as mer- chandise and its applications to definite departments. Purpose: To present to pupils information concerning the sources of supply, methods of manufacture, and uses of textile merchandise, with special reference to its com- mercial handling and classification. 174 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR Time: Five periods per week on alternate weeks during the second year of high school. (Total 20 weeks.) Method: By the use of text-books and mimeographed notes. By the use of illustrative material. By the co-operation of heads of textile departments of stores. Second Year — (20 weeks) I. Cotton Goods 1. History 2. Sources of supply 3. Manufacture (a) Centers of industry (b) Processes: spinning, weaving, dyeing, print- ing, adulterations 4. Uses (a) Materials for furnishings (b) Wearing apparel (c) Tests, laundering, and care II. Linen Goods 1. History 2. Sources of supply 3. Manufacture (a) Centers of industry (b) Processes: spinning, weaving, dyeing, printing, adulterations 4. Uses (a) Materials by the yard (b) House linens, made up Table, bed, towels ; fancy linens Wearing apparel (c) Tests, laundering, and care HI. Silk Goods 1. History 2. Sources of supply 3. Manufacture (a) Centers of industry (b) Processes CO-OPERATION IN NEW YORK SCHOOLS 175 (c) Weighting and adulterations (d) Unions (e) Artificial silks 4. Uses (a) Materials by the yard (b) Knitted underwear and hosiery (c) Velvets (d) Tests, cleaning, and care IV. Woolen Goods 1. History 2. Sources of supply 3. Manufacture (a) Centers of industry (b) Processes: Shoddies Unions 4. Uses (a) Materials by the yard (b) Knitted goods, underwear, hosiery, etc. (c) Blankets (d) Tests, cleansing, and care V. Laces 1. History 2. Sources of supply 3. Raw materials 4. Manufacture (a) Centers of industry (b) Processes: Real hand-made lace Machine-made lace Imitation lace (c) Comparison between real and imitation lace 5. Classification and uses of finished product VI. Carpets and Rugs 1. History 2. Raw materials 3. Manufacture 176 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR ^a) Centers of industry (b) Processes: Hand-made carpets and rugs Machine-made carpets and rugs 4. Classification and uses Non-Textile Merchandise Purpose: To present to pupils information concerning non- textile merchandise, as with textile departments. Time: Five periods per week on alternate weeks during the third year of high school. (Total 20 weeks.) Method: As in textile merchandise. I. Review Work on materials as given in general science course II. China and Glassware 1. History 2. Materials and sources of supply 3. Manufacture (a) Centers of industry (b) Processes 4. Classification and uses Table china ; household ; art pottery ; glassware ; lamps III. Silverware and Jewelry 1. History 2. Materials and sources of supply (a) Metals (b) Precious stones (c) Sundry materials 3. Manufacture (a) Centers of industry (b) Processes 4. Classification and uses (a) Silverware Table silver Toilet silver CO-OPERATION IN NEW YORK SCHOOLS 177 Decorative silver Arts and crafts (b) Solid gold jewelry Plated jewelry Specialties Arts and crafts IV. Leather Goods — Shoes and Gloves 1. History 2. Sources of supply 3. Manufacture (a) General processes (b) Special processes Bags and leather specialties Shoes Gloves 4. Classification and uses V. Rubber Goods 1. History 2. Sources of supply 3. Manufacture (a) General processes (b) Special processes (hard and soft rubber) Rubberized cloth Rubber boots and overshoes Toilet articles Household articles VI. Woodenware and Baskets 1. History 2. Sources of supply 3. Manufacture (a) General processes (b) Special processes 4. Classification and uses Household woodenware Willowware and baskets Vn. Paper I. History 178 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR 2. Sources of supply 3. Manufacture (a) General processes (b) Special processes Stationery and paper goods Pressed paper and fiber board 4. Classification and uses Salesmanship and Business Organization Purpose: (Salesmanship.) To present to pupils examples of practical selling through type cases, and from them to discover the principles of good salesmanship, its ethics, the qualities required of salespeople, and the steps in a sale. (Business Organization.) To follow business organ- ization of a department store through wholesaling to manufacturer, so that pupils may have a clear outline of the organization of retail selling and a general view of the business world. Time: Five periods per week in alternate weeks during the third year of high school. (Total 20 weeks.) Method: By the case system, accompanied by text-book ref- erences and discussions. First Term — Salesmanship I. Process of Sale — (Illustrated through type cases treated as problems) A — System 1. Normal cash sale: take — send 2. Normal charge sale: credit — deposit ac- count 3. Special order for later delivery 4. Engravings (silver, ivory, etc.) 5. Repairs of various kinds 6. Alterations on suits and other clothing 7. Transfers — sent or taken CO-OPERATION IN NEW YORK SCHOOLS 179 8. C O. D. and bill for collection 9. Special deliveries to customers; etc. B — Merchandise 1. Staple goods 2. Novelties 3. Special sales C — Customers 1. Critical customers 2. Dependent customers 3. Difficult cases 4. Mail-order purchases (shoppers) 5. Telephone orders 6. Personal service (guides) 7. Interpreters — different nationalities 8. Complaints from customers II. Formulation of Principles from above 1. Modern methods of selling 2. Proper attitude of sales clerks: (a) Toward store (b) Toward customers (c) Toward fellow employees III. Requisite Qualifications of Sales Clerks 1. Personal characteristics (a) Initiative (b) Judgment (c) Enthusiasm (d) Energy (e) Tact (f) Cheerfulness (g) Attractive appearance (h) Accuracy 2. Good habits (a) Courtesy (b) Promptness (c) Carefulness (d) Self-control (e) Neatness i8o THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR (f) Regularity 3. Necessary knowledge (a) Good English (b) Good penmanship (c) Local geography (d) Arithmetic (e) Store system (f) Store policies (g) Human nature (h) Merchandise IV. Points of a Sale 1. Approach to customer 2. Presentation of merchandise 3. Attracting attention 4. Arousing interest 5. Creating desire 6. Closing a sale V. Waste in Business Second Term — Business Organization I. Introduction Briefly trace the course of retail selling from a sim- ple beginning of a small store with proprietor and one or two assistants, handling one line of mer- chandise, gradually adding related lines, and then unrelated lines as the opportunity presented itself, to the more complex organization of the modern department store. II. Retail SELLiNa A — Department Store 1. Its function 2. Organization (chart showing organization and the inter-relations of the various departments) (a) Administration (b) Merchandising CO-OPERATION IN NEW YORK SCHOOLS i8l (c) Superintending Selling Non-selling (d) Accounting and auditing (e) Advertising (f) Store service To the public To the staff (g) Conditions of service Environment Remuneration Opportunities for advancement Comparison with other vocations B — Chain Stores 1. Function of business compared with that of the department store 2. Organization compared with that of de- partment store (a) Points of resemblance (b) Points of difference, and reasons 3. Service rendered to the public; advantages and objections C — Mail-order House 1. Function of business; compared with de- partment store 2. Organization compared with department store (a) Points of resemblance (b) Points of difference, and reasons 3. Service rendered to the public; advantages and objections D — Specialty Shops 1. Function of business compared with de- partment store 2. Organization compared with department store (a) Points of resemblance 1 82 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR (b) Points of difference, and reasons for these 3. Service rendered to public; advantages and objections III. Wholesale Selling 1. Function of business 2. Organization Executive Selling 3. Relation to retail selling 4. Relation to manufacturing 5. Comparison of organization with that of the retail house 6. Advantages and disadvantages IV. Manufacturing 1. Introduction — brief sketch show^ing devel- opment of the modern factory 2. Organization Executive Production 3. Relation to vi^holesale selling 4. Relation to retail selling 5. Direct, or so-called " direct from manufac- turer to consumer" Chapter XV BUSINESS ETHICS IN THE DEPARTMENT STORE The Director's Responsibility The most delicate but most far-reaching function of the educational director is the task of interpreting the point of view of the management to the employees, and in turn making their position clear to the employer. This is not supposed to be included in her work, but it naturally develops out of it, and among other ques- tions there are many involving the ethics of business which cannot be escaped. The influence of those whose position enables them to give the proper balance to business relationships is very important. Such persons must therefore have their own ethical foundations secure. Business ethics are dependent on the relations of the management and the employees to each other and their obligation to serve the community. This service requires mutual loyalty and co-operation which em- ployees are ready to render when they understand it. 183 l84 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR In many cases a discussion of abstract business prin- ciples would only confuse the minds of those who are unused to thinking in such terms. But practical ques- tions may be talked about in an impersonal, though definite and concrete way, and business principles de- veloped. Implication and Meaning of Commercial Ethics The words " commercial ethics " have generally had a curious significance as used in the department store. There are not a few cases in which they mean only the employee's performance of duty and an attitude of loyalty to the firm. From this point of view commercial ethics means : Honesty Loyalty Care of employer's interest Promptness Obedience to rules This list might be extended to include other quali- ties but they all relate to the same thing — the obliga- tions of the employee. Without making these obliga- tions any less binding, the educational director must recognize that they neither express the content of com- mercial ethics nor satisfy the adult employee. The reiteration of the obligation of loyalty to the em- BUSINESS ETHICS IN THE STORE 185 ployer, for instance, is only irritating to many people. They know that they must do the work for which they are paid and do it in a fairly satisfactory man- ner, or they will lose their jobs. More than this they do not intend to do nor do they see why they should be " loyal " to a perfectly cold business relationship. This spirit grieves a kindly employer who thinks such ideas show a great deterioration in the " working class." The latter are beginning, meanwhile, to talk about the class of employers and capitalists. The Larger Social Consciousness The department store is one of the later forms of business life to feel the effects of great industrial changes and readjustments in the relations of capital and labor. It would be well for the director to become familiar with the present attitude of men and women who belong to the industrial groups, in order to see the causes of certain discontents which filter through to her store people. They themselves have but a vague idea of these causes, but they repeat what they hear. " Class consciousness " is the term given to an atti- tude of antagonism toward all capitalists, especially one's employer, and it indicates the belief that all wage earners should band together to protect their interests against the employing " class." This attitude has 1 86 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR much to justify it in the relations of capital and labor, both past and present, but it is a limited view, a half- truth which distorts the vision of those who hold it. Class consciousness can be met only by substituting the larger social consciousness of which it is a part. Mutual Service the Key-note Both industry and business are founded on the prin- ciple of mutual and reciprocal service. Self-intferest in the service must be balanced by an interest in the other person's welfare, or the service becomes servile and distasteful. There is nothing more repellent to an honest person than to discover that the apparent interest taken in his welfare was merely a cloak for selfish ends. For ex- ample, a customer who has received some special cour- tesy and consideration from a salesperson at one time and careless indifference at another, discovers that on the first occasion the buyer was looking on. While she may prefer to make her next purchase in the buy- er's presence, she has less respect for the enforced courtesy than for the natural carelessness. Overcoming Past Traditions In dealing with business as a community service we have a long series of bad traditions to overcome. Some of the modern salesmanship instruction still re- BUSINESS ETHICS IN THE STORE 187 minds one o£ the ethics of the horse-trader, but better standards are being set. In discussing business ethics it is better to begin at the larger end and afterward show the individual's part. This will involve a little excursion into the fields of economics. Let the director ask herself and her class what is the place of the department store in the great field of production and distribution? Why are the costs of distribution rising? How can waste be lessened? How can the store serve the community better? Such questions have probably never occurred to most of the salespeople nor perhaps to the buyers or executives in the store. The importance of careful and efficient distribution — getting the right goods to the right people with the least waste and loss — has become a more pressing problem each year, and the enormous waste caused by the great war has made it a problem which must be solved. We no longer have a surplus in the world which permits the waste to which we have been accus- tomed. Only institutions and agencies which serve the public in an efficient manner will survive and these must become more efficient than they have been in the past. The ethics of trade have often been as destructive as those of war, but we are rapidly coming out of that stage into one which recognizes mutual rights, obli- i88 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR gations, and co-operation as a basis of all our dealings. This sense of co-operation must begin in a more democratic control of the employee relations than most stores have established. If the employees are "jun- ior partners " they must have some direct means of expressing themselves as to business policies. The employer cannot take his employees for granted. With his limited knov^ledge of their lives and their thinking he is sure to go wrong. They are traveling along paths which are perfectly normal and reasonable from their point of view. Let him make them his confidants and friends and they will respond with the loyalty which is sincere and lasting. Something more is needed than a " grievance com- mittee," although that is an advance over the old sys- tem by which grievances almost never reached the ear of the authority which could change conditions. Un- ceasing efforts should be made to keep the store and its members in touch, to bridge that vicious gap between capital and labor and establish human relations be- tween them. The Director's Opportunity The educational director is usually the medium through whom the approaches can be made and each side interpreted to the other. She represents neither the merchandising nor the service nor the accounting BUSINESS ETHICS IN THE STORE 189 of the store, but is concerned with the human element in all three departments. Her background and train- ing have given her a social vision which should be made sane and logical through her business experience. She should be recognized as the most valuable assistant to the general manager. Appendix Books for Reference Health Fatigue and Efficiency, Josephine Goldmark. Charities Pub- lication Committee. Personal Hygiene, Anne J. Galbraith. W. B. Saunders Co, Physical Education, D. A. Sargent. Ginn & Co. Exercises for Women, Florence Botton. Funk & Wagnalls. Athletic Games for Women, Dudley and Keller. Henry Holt & Co. Store System and Salesmanship Salesmanship and Sales Management. Library of Salesman- ship and Advertising. Retail Selling and Store Management, Paul H. Nystrom. D, Appleton & Co. Salesmanship Theory and Practice, T. H. Russell. National Institute of Business. The Art of Selling, A. F. Sheldon. Sheldon University Press. Retail Selling, James W. Fisk. Harper. Salesmanship, Deportment and System, Wm. A. Corbion. Jacobs. Service Instruction of American Corporations. Bulletin of the Bureau of Education. Salesmanship for Women, Benedict-Roche. Ronald Press Co. Employment Choosing Employees by Mental and Physical Tests, Wm. Fretz Kemble. Engineering Mag. Co. igi 192 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR The Job, the Man and the Boss, Katherine Blackford. Dou- bleday Page. Hiring the Worker, R. W. Kelley. Engineering Mag. Co. Eificiency How to Live on Twenty-four Hours a Day, Arnold Bennett. G. H. Doran & Co. Efficiency as a Basis, Harrington Emerson. Engineering Mag. Co. Imagination in Business, Lorin F. Deland. Harper. The Ambitious Woman in Business, Eleanor Gilbert. Funk & Wagnalls. Increasing Human Efficiency in Business, Walter Dill Scott. Macmillan. Scientific Management, Taylor. Harper. Welfare and Social Relations The Human Side of Business, Frederick Pierce. John C. Winston Co. The New Industrial Day, Wm. C. Redfield. Century Co. Wage Earning and Education, R. R. Lutz. Cleveland Edu- cational Survey. Department Store Occupations, I. P. O'Leary. Cleveland Educational Survey. Saleswomen in Mercantile Stores, Elizabeth B. Butler. Charities Publication Committee, N. Y. Report of Committee on Retail Salesmanship. National As- sociation of Corporation Schools, 1917, N. Y. C. Department Store Education, Helen R. Norton. Bulletin 1917, No. 9, Department of Interior, Bureau of Educa- tion, Washington, D. C. An Experiment in Industrial Organization, E. Cadbury. Longmans, Green & Co. Citizens in Industry, Charles H. Henderson. D. Appleton & Co. Woman and Labor, Olive Schreiner. Stokes. Work and Wealth, J. A. Hobson. Macmillan. APPENDIX 193 Economics, Merchandising, Ethics Economics of Retailing, Paul H. Nystrom. Ronald Press Co. Retail Buying, Clifton C. Field. Harper. Advertising as a Business Force, Paul T. Cherington. Dou- bleday Page. Some Problems in Market Distribution, A. W. Shaw. Har- vard University Press. The New Business, Harry Tipper. Doubleday Page. Industrial Democracy, Sidney and Beatrice Webb. Long- mans, Green & Co. Democracy and Social Ethics, Jane Addams. Macmillan. Representative Store Bulletins ^ Old Goods Mr. H. began with a proverb : " Collecting old goods is collecting trouble." His principal points were the following: Stock 1. Many kinds of stock are destroyed by time, even if they are not handled. Among these are rubber goods of all kinds and spool silk which rots on account of the dye. 2. All stock is injured by dust and handling, as side combs which are scratched by being rubbed against each other. Buyer 1. Old goods cause a department to have too much of one kind of stock, because a buyer is only allowed so much money, and if he has old stock left over in one line he has not enough money to buy even necessary things in another line. 2. A buyer wants to move stock quickly, because his busi- ness is to buy, and he wants to turn his money over often in order to make larger profits. 1 See Chapter V, " Courses of Training for Salespeople." 194 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR Customer 1. A customer always likes to see new goods. 2. It is harder to convince a customer that the old goods are " just as good," or that they will suit her as well as the new. 3. A customer is more likely to return old goods when she examines them and finds them shop-worn or out of style. Salesperson 1. It takes twice as long to sell old goods as new, because old goods must be talked up. 2. The salesperson is more interested in new goods. That makes selling much easier and more successful. Cotnments on Answers to Test Questions 1. Only three or four spoke of the loss of profit by keeping old stock. Some seemed to think it was good to have new stock, just because it looks new and fresh. 2. Illustrations were given of French ivory which turns darker with age, perfumes change color, white hats grow yellow, feathers gather moths, tinsel becomes tarnished, kid gloves harden, and velvet becomes marked by being kept in stock. The test questions which were given to the salespeople are given below. The " Comments " on the bulletin were upon the answers to these questions. Test Questions on "Old Goods" 1. How does stock lose in value by remaining too long in the department? Give two illustrations. 2. Why does a buyer wish to move stock quickly? 3. How do old goods cause a department to have too much of one kind of stock? 4. Why is a customer more likely to return old goods than new ? 5. Why does it take more time to sell old goods ? 6. What difference does your own interest make in the amount of goods you sell? APPENDIX 195 Care of Stock The lectures given by Mrs. L were given careful at- tention and aroused a new interest in the careful handling of stock. Her main points were : 1. Importance of handling stock with care, because a very small damage done by each of forty or fifty girls would make the hat or other article soon look shop-worn. 2. Putting stock back where others can find it and not allowing it to remain out of the case after it has been shown. 3. Soiled or mussed stock must be reduced in price and cause loss to the department. 4. Co-operation in the department — putting away stock for a busy saleswoman, as well as general care of our own and other people's stock. Co-operation with the buyer — giving proper attention to all the goods, and not selling the newest things in preference to goods that were in the department previously. Co-operation uith the store — being courteous about re- turned goods by care in selection and asking the customer, "Are you satisfied?" Comments on Answers to Test Questions The answers given by the three classes to a series of questions on care of stock showed that some had given the matter careful thought and some had not. Very few remembered Mrs. L 's point about the large numbers handling stock. All realized that soiled or mussed stock must be reduced in price. A number did not give any answers as to how they could co-operate. Some do not seem to understand what co-oper- ation means. The best answers on these points were: System is the main thing. Being courteous to people whether they buy or not. Handling goods as if they were personal property. Putting away stock for another girl if she is busy. Being on the alert to help others. People can do more by working together. Showing new girls. 196 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR The test questions which were given to the salespeople are given below. The " Comments " on the bulletin were upon the answers to these questions. Test Questions on Care of Stock 1. Why does carelessness in handling stock cause so much loss in a large department? 2. What must be done with shop-worn goods? 3. Why should you sell old goods first? Give two reasons. 4. What are the advantages of co-operation in a department? 5. In what ways can you co-operate in your department? 6. What goods in your department are most easily injured and need most careful handling? 7. Suggest some improvement in your department which you think would help to keep your stock in better order or make it easier to get. 8. What are the points which the head of your department thinks most important in handling your stock? Review Questions^ Infants' Wear Department 1. Which of the four textiles are most suitable for infants' wear? (Underwear, dresses, bonnets, and caps.) 2. What linen goods do you sell? Woolen, Silk, Cotton? 3. What is the difference between wool and worsted yarns? Which is used in your goods? 4. What is the difference between cashmere and flannel? What is eden cloth? 5. What are some of the infants' wear goods recently put into your department? What are their advantages? Are they popular? 6. What instances can you mention of how the saleswoman may assist a young mother in her buying? 7. What laces are found on your goods? What is the difference between pillow (or bobbin) and needle- 1 See Chapter V, " Courses of Training for Salespeople." APPENDIX 197 point lace? What are some imitations of each in your goods ? 8. What straws are found in children's hats? What other materials in the hats and bonnets you sell? What are some good designs and styles in these? 9. How is kid prepared for bootees? 10. What are infants' pillows stuffed with? Why? 11. What designs are found in yarn goods? What colors? 12. What is necessary for a baby's layette? 13. What length should the slips be? 14. What is the best fabric for slips and cotton skirts? 15. What is the disadvantage of rubber diapers? Of lace and edging on infants' dresses? 16. What is bird's-eye linen? Its advantages? 17. What is the advantage of the "Gertrude" skirt? Of tapes rather than buttons? Of a knitted band with shoulder straps? 18. Why should infants' wear goods be washed before using? Why not use cheap safety pins? Why put on warmer clothing on a damp day? 19. What are the advantages of a "ribbed cashmere" shirt? 20. Why should one use flannel of mixed cotton-and-silk rather than all-wool ? 21. What is rubber cloth? Water-proof sheeting? 22. What are appropriate designs in infants' wear? What are appropriate fur trimmings? Glove Department 1. What different skins are used for gloves and how are they prepared? Where do they come from? What is "tawing"? "Chamoying"? 2. Describe the process of making a glove. 3. What is the difference between the dressed and un- dressed kid? What is the "grain" of leather? What is "split" leather? What kind of gloves belong to each class? What is the advantage of each? How are chamois gloves made? Washable kid? 198 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR 4. Which is more sanitary, a glace or suede glove? What are the general rules for cleaning the different kinds of gloves? 5. What is stitching? What four kinds are used? Name three kinds of seams. What is the advantage of each ? 6. Are fabric gloves knit or w^oven goods? What is the advantage ? 7. From what are chamoisette gloves made? Lisle thread? 8. What is the difference between Milanese and Tricot in silk gloves ? Why do silk gloves " run " ? 9. How do the sizes run in kid gloves? In fabric? Do you fit a hand in the same size in both kinds? What are the different button lengths in long gloves? 10. What designs are good in embroidered gloves? Explain " design may refer to either shape or decoration." 11. Give some general color principles you use in suiting gloves to suits, hats, or dresses. 12. What are staples in your glove stock? Novelties? 13. What are some of the good points of the different makes which you can mention in interesting customers? 14. What suggestions could you offer for the " art of fitting gloves " ? 15. Why is it economy to have several pairs of kid gloves? 16. What are the special qualifications of a successful glove saleswoman? 17. Why is it important to "turn" glove stock often? Junior Employees^ Suggestions for Work in Arithmetic in Department Stores Based upon practical experience with salespersons The department store salesperson's needs in arithmetic may be briefly summed up thus : he needs a thorough ground- ing in the four fundamental operations, a working knowl- 1 See Chapter VI, " Apprentice Salespeople and Junior Employees." APPENDIX 199 edge of simple fractions (principally multiplication of whole numbers by fractions or by mixed numbers), and the ability to handle trade discounts. I. The Fundamental Operations. The emphasis here should be on addition and multiplication. (a) Addition: Exhaustive drill on the 45 primary combinations until automatism results, is the secret of accurate and speedy work in addition. Besides this, there should be drill on rapid counting (starting with any number other than zero or the number used itself), on combinations of three digits, and on rapid addition of numbers of two places. One of the best aids to rapid addition is counting. To secure accuracy, inculcate the habit of adding each column twice, once up and once down, before writing down the result. (b) Mtdtiplication: Exhaustive drill on the tables, at least up to 16, so as to bring out the two multiplication facts, the two division facts, and the two fraction facts involved. Drill on rapid counting, starting from zero or the number itself. Drill on short methods of multiplica- tion ; also on the law of commutation. II. Fractions. Operations with simple fractions, empha- sizing fourths, eighths, and sixteenths. Short cuts with fractional multipliers of whole numbers. III. Discounts. One and two discounts. Discounts gen- erally used are either 10% or 6%. Problems met with call for a discount of 10, or of 10 and 10; or, for a discount of 6, or of 6 and 6. The discounts of 10 present no difficulty. Practical short cut much in use in department stores for 6 and 6 off: Take six cents off on each dollar, and one cent off for every seventeen cents below dol- lar, using the following table : 200 THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR 17^ gives !<} discount 5o<^ " 3^ " 85