-NRLF 
 
uut. 
 
TRAINING FOR 
 STORE SERVICE 
 
 THE VOCATIONAL EXPERIENCES AND TRAINING OF 
 JUVENILE EMPLOYEES OF RETAIL DEPARTMENT, 
 DRY GOODS AND CLOTHING STORES IN BOSTON 
 
 Report of Investigations made in the Research 
 
 Department of theiWomen's Educational 
 
 and Industrial Union 
 
 LUCILE EAVES 
 
 Director 
 
 BOSTON 
 
 RICHARD G. BADGER 
 
 THE GORHAM PRESS 
 
Copyright, 1920, bj Richard G. Badger 
 All Rights Reserved 
 
 LIBRARY ED'UC. OPT. 
 
 MADE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
 THE GORHAM PRESS, BOSTON, U. S. A. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 Many persons have co-operated in supplying the data em- 
 bodied in this report. The investigators of the Research De- 
 partment of the Women's Educational and Industrial Union 
 have been in close touch with the work of the pioneer school 
 for the training of store employees which was founded in 1905 
 and maintained as a part of the activities of the Union until 
 September, 1918. 1 We are indebted to Mrs. Lucinda W. 
 Prince, the Director, and Miss Helen Rich Norton, formerly 
 Associate Director, for opportunities to observe the activities 
 of the school. We have profited, also, by the assistance of ex- 
 perienced and gifted directors of the education departments 
 of Boston stores; special mention should be made of our 
 obligations to Miss Bernice M. Cannon, of William Filene's 
 Sons Company, Miss Mary Hopkins of the Jordan Marsh 
 Company and Miss Helen R. Norton of the R. H. White Com- 
 pany, each of whom has given generously of her time for the 
 discussion of aspects of our report or the reading of the manu- 
 script. Employment managers and other store officials have 
 been patient and kindly in assisting our investigators to locate 
 the information buried in their files. Miss Susan J. Ginn, Di- 
 rector of the Vocational Guidance Bureau of the Boston Public 
 Schools, and the members of her staff, have placed their excel- 
 lent employment records at our disposal and assisted in their 
 interpretation. 
 
 Free use has been made of data collected and tabulated by 
 my fellow-workers in the Research Department, and the manu- 
 
 x The class for training women employed in stores was organized first for 
 the purpose of assisting women employed in stores to earn more by learning 
 how to give better services. Recognition of the value of such training led to a 
 demand for teachers which was met by the organization of a teacher training 
 class in 1909. Since 1911 Simmons College has co-operated in these teacher 
 training activities, and has granted certificates to those who completed the 
 course. The rapid development made necessary larger facilities than could 
 be supplied by the parent society, so the work was reorganized in 1918 and 
 moved to new quarters located in the heart of the retail district. The present 
 "Prince School of Education for Store Service" is supported by Simmons 
 College, and by contributions from Boston merchants and from the National 
 Retail Dry Goods Association. Mrs. Lucinda W. Prince, who was in charge 
 of the earlier classes at the Union, is the Director. 
 
 434273 
 
scripts embodying the results of their investigations have 
 greatly assisted me in the organization and condensation of 
 the material presented in this report. The first of our series 
 of studies was made in 1916-1917 by Miss Christine M. Ayars, 
 who collected and tabulated the data dealing with the store ex- 
 periences of 21-year-old employees, and procured many pay- 
 roll and employment records. In the fall of 1917, Miss Eliza- 
 beth Greene made a careful study of the shifting or changes 
 in positions of Juvenile store workers, which was based partly 
 on material collected by Miss Ayars and partly on information 
 obtained by supplementary field work. The tabulation of the 
 sample group of a thousand records of 14 to 21 year old store 
 employees was done in the fall of 1918 by Misses Elizabeth 
 Porter, Melba Martin and Bertha Hills. Miss Hills also pre- 
 pared an excellent discussion of the wages of juvenile store 
 workers, but this has not been printed in the final report as the 
 changes in wages have been so great that the data are no 
 longer of sufficient value to justify publication. In acknowl- 
 edging the services of my assistants in the Research Depart- 
 ment, special mention should be made of the painstaking 
 labors of our secretary, Miss Caroline E. Heermann, who has 
 copied our manuscripts and verified our tables. 
 
 LUCILE EAVES 
 
 Director of the Research Department 
 Women's Educational and Industrial Union. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGES 
 
 I. STORES AS PLACES OF EMPLOYMENT 9 
 
 Introduction Proportion of Juveniles employed in 
 Stores Statistics of Store Workers Opportunities 
 for Adults in Retail Selling Young Women Em- 
 ployed in Boston Stores Types of Stores Employ- 
 ing Boston Young Persons Differences between 
 Stores Selling Food and Clothing Increased Sale 
 of Ready-Made Clothing Smaller Stores Less Im- 
 portant Fields for Vocational Education Import- 
 ance of Retail Department, Dry Goods and Clothing 
 Stores for Urban Vocational Education Programs 
 Great Stores as Educational Centers Cultural 
 Value of Training for Store Service. 
 
 II. STORE ORGANIZATION 19 
 
 Introduction The Small Stores Organization of 
 the Large Stores The Central Governing Body 
 Variations in Groupings of Store Activities Com- 
 mon Tendencies in Store Organization Financial 
 Division Merchandising, Problems of Organiza- 
 tion Organization Policies Subsidiary Merchan- 
 dising Departments Advertising Department 
 Care and Preparation of Stock Personal Service 
 Store Operation or Store System Departments Be- 
 longing Exclusively to the Store Operation Division 
 Departments whose Functioning Relates them 
 Closely to the Store Operation Division Personnel 
 Division Work of the Personnel Division Op- 
 portunities for Promotion Revealed by Organiza- 
 tion Plans Promotion Assisted by Employment and 
 Educational Departments. 
 
 III. PERSONAL AND EDUCATIONAL QUALIFI- 
 
 CATIONS OF JUVENILE STORE EM- 
 PLOYEES 32 
 
 Introduction Sex Distribution Social Status of 
 Store Workers Overcoming Prejudices Against 
 Store Work Discourtesy of Store Officials a Source 
 of Prejudice Higher Types of Workers Attracted 
 by Newer Store Policies Educational Qualifications 
 of Juvenile Store Employees Variations between 
 Stores in Educational Qualifications Why Cloth- 
 
CONTENTS 
 CHAPTER PAGES 
 
 ing Stores Demand More Education Variations 
 in Educational Requirements with Size of Stores and 
 Quality of Goods Personal Traits Commended by 
 Store Officials Personal Traits which Annoy Store 
 Officials 111 Health The Department Scrapper, 
 Disagreements with Customers Personal Appear- 
 ance Desired in Store Employees Physical Charac- 
 teristics Desired for Store Executives Varied Tal- 
 ents May be Utilized in Stores. 
 
 IV. OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF YOUNG 
 PERSONS EMPLOYED IN BOSTON RE- 
 TAIL DEPARTMENT, DRY GOODS AND 
 CLOTHING STORES, AND THE QUALI- 
 FICATIONS DESIRED IN PERSONS EN- 
 GAGED IN THE CHIEF STORE OCCUPA- 
 TIONS 43 
 
 Introduction Selling Extent of Juvenile Employ- 
 ment Sexes, Ages and Education of Juvenile Sales- 
 people Preference for Attractive Young Women 
 Comments Showing Qualifications Desired A 
 Saleswoman with a Bright Future Clerical Occu- 
 pations of Juvenile Employees of Department, Dry 
 Goods and Clothing Stores Numbers Employed in 
 Clerical Occupations Sexes, Ages and Education of 
 Juvenile Clericals Characteristics of Successful 
 Clericals Shown in Reports of Their Superior Of- 
 ficers A Typical Office Stenographer A Merchan- 
 dise Clerical Who is Forging Ahead A Plodding 
 Merchandise Clerical Floor Clericals Summary 
 Care of Stock Duties of Stock Workers Re- 
 ceiving Clerks Stampers and Markers Stock 
 Rooms Stock Workers of Selling Departments 
 Ages and Schooling of Stock Workers Similar to 
 Those of Salespeople Comments on Stock Workers 
 Unsatisfactory Stock Workers A High Class 
 Stock Marker Summary Rapid Changes in Num- 
 bers Employed in Minor Juvenile Store Occupations 
 Distribution and Qualifications of Juvenile Em- 
 ployees in Minor Store Occupations Bundlers 
 Floor, Errand, Cash, Teller Cashiers, Inspectors, 
 Examiners, Checkers Decentralizing the Cash Sys- 
 tem Characteristics of Inspectors, Examiners, or 
 Checkers Age and Schooling of Cashiers Com- 
 ments of Store Officials on Examiners and Cashiers, 
 
CONTENTS 
 CHAPTER PAGES 
 
 Qualifications Desired Undesirable Employees 
 Satisfactory Cashiers A Cashier with a Bright 
 Future Delivery Chances of Promotion in the 
 Delivery Department Comments Showing Qualifi- 
 cations Desired for Various Miscellaneous Positions 
 Employees of Restaurants and Manufacturing 
 Departments. 
 
 V. SHIFTING OF YOUNG STORE WORKERS 65 
 
 Introduction S o u r c e s of Information The 
 Amount of Shifting Variations between the Sexes 
 in the Amount of Shifting Characteristics of Ex- 
 treme Shifters Other Occupations of Young Store 
 Workers Shifting Due to Seasonal Variations in 
 the Opportunities for Employment in Stores Extra 
 or Special Store Workers Months of Issuance of 
 Certificates Authorizing Store Work Shifting from 
 Factories and Other Stores in Busy Seasons Rea- 
 sons for Shifting Educational Significance of Shift- 
 ing. 
 
 VI. TRAINING FOR EMPLOYMENT IN RETAIL 
 
 STORES 82 
 
 Introduction -Training in Elementary Schools 
 Social Relations Physical Development Refocus- 
 ing of Elementary Branches Local Geography 
 Economic History Arithmetic Penmanship 
 Courses of Training for Store Service in Continua- 
 tion and Secondary Schools Continuation School 
 Courses Content of Continuation School Courses 
 for Store Employees of 14 to 16 Years Old Train- 
 ing for Store Service Given in Secondary Schools 
 Secondary Education Desirable for Store Employees 
 Obtaining Store Experience Details of Co-oper- 
 ation Failure to Enter Store Service After Receiv- 
 ing Training General Educational Value of Train- 
 ing in Salesmanship Need of Standardization of 
 Wages of Adolescents Content of Secondary 
 Courses in Retail Selling Lack of Standardization 
 Universal Store Activities Standardization of 
 Local Store Practices Training in Salesmanship 
 Importance of Vocational Education Two Parts of 
 Training in Salesmanship Knowledge of Merchan- 
 dise Gained in Secondary School Courses Class Re- 
 ports on Merchandise Meeting Customers Train- 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGES 
 
 ing Given Regular Employees New or Juvenile 
 Employees Reducing the Cost of New Employees 
 Insuring a Cordial Reception of the New Em- 
 ployee Training for Special Services Training of 
 the Regular Sales Force Knowledge of the Stock 
 Care of Merchandise Service to Customers 
 Training of Buyers Knowledge of the Stock 
 The Buyer and His Markets Marking the Stock 
 The Successful Buyer Organizing the Vocational 
 Knowledge of the Store A Store Advisory Board 
 Service Clubs or Booster Clubs Co-operation be- 
 tween Store Education and Employment Depart- 
 ments Need of Training for Store Executives. 
 
 APPENDIX I 
 
 STATISTICAL DATA SHOWING CONDITIONS OF 
 EMPLOYMENT OF JUVENILE STORE 
 ^ WORKERS IN BOSTON 115 
 
 Educational Certificates of Boston Young Persons 
 1 6 to 21 Years of Age War-Time Re-distribution 
 of Juvenile Labor Sample Group of 2I-Y ear-Old 
 Workers Used in this Study Classification of the 
 Sample Group by Businesses of the Employing Firm 
 Uses Made of Table Showing Distribution of 
 Sample Group Employment Certificates Issued to 
 Minors 14 to 16 Years of Age Tables Showing 
 Occupational Distribution of Juvenile Store Em- 
 ployees, and the Age and Educational Qualifications 
 of Those Employed in Different Occupations and 
 Types of Stores Care of Health of Employees in 
 Retail Stores Plans for Teaching the Care of Stock 
 Preliminary Study of Conditions in a Department 
 Organization for Care of Stock Care of Folded 
 House-Dresses, Nurses' and Maids' Uniforms In 
 the Morning Care of Stock During the Day 
 Additional agreements on stock care Duties of the 
 Head of Stock Care of Hanging Stock, or Ma- 
 chine-Made Dresses of Silks, Serges, or Cottons 
 Morning Care of Hanging Stock, Care of Hang- 
 ing Stock During the Day Supervision of Care of 
 Hanging Stock Statistical Tables Showing Experi- 
 ences of Juvenile Store Workers. 
 
 APPENDIX II 
 
 SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 133 
 
 INDEX .... 141 
 
Training For Store Service 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 STORES AS PLACES OF EMPLOYMENT 
 
 Introduction 
 
 Experiences and training of young persons employed in 
 Boston department, dry goods and clothing stores when 14 
 to 21 years old are discussed in this report of the results of a 
 series of investigations made by members of the Research De- 
 partment of the Women's Educational and Industrial Union. 
 It is hoped that the reading of such a discussion will assist 
 young mercantile workers to see their tasks as parts of the 
 great public service of distribution, that store managers in 
 other cities may profit by the descriptions of progressive poli- 
 cies which are being developed by Boston business men, and 
 that educators will find suggestions which may be embodied in 
 the courses of training for store service which are being in- 
 troduced in the secondary and continuation schools of many 
 cities. 
 
 Retail stores are focusing points of the activities which 
 supply human wants ; products of farms, factories and mines 
 are gathered on their shelves, and men and women come to 
 their counters to supply themselves with the necessities, com- 
 forts or luxuries of daily living. Workers in a retail store are 
 engaged in the great game of enlisting all the ingenuity which 
 the race has developed for the purpose of supplying any hu- 
 .man needs which customers present. This service of collecting 
 available commodities and distributing them to meet public 
 demands furnishes employment to a larger number of the in- 
 habitants of great cities than any other single occupation. Not 
 only those who earn a living by service in stores but all per- 
 sons interested in the business life of cities should know more 
 about the activities of the mercantile establishments where 
 
 9 
 
10 TRAINING FOR STORE SERVICE 
 
 goods necessary for human comfort or enjoyment are dis- 
 tributed to their ultimate consumers. 
 
 Proportion of Juveniles Employed in Stores 
 
 Between one-fourth and one-third of the wage-earning 
 minors of Boston serve in stores at some time during the 
 period between leaving school and reaching adult years. One- 
 fourth of the certificates obtained shortly before their twenty- 
 first birthdays by a sample group of 6,385 young persons au- 
 thorized employment in stores, and about one-third of the 1917 
 graduates of 8 Boston high schools were found employed in 
 stores after graduation. 1 There has been a decrease in the 
 number of children 14 to 16 years old who are employed in 
 stores, as their work certificates which specify occupations 
 authorized store positions for 36 per cent of the children in 
 1913 and for only 15 per cent in 1918. At the same time the 
 number who entered factories increased from 47 to 66 per cent. 
 
 Statistics of Store Workers 
 
 The extent of juvenile employment in stores is shown also 
 by statistics which give the ages of workers engaged in store 
 occupations. Nearly one-fourth of the clerks in stores and- 
 salespeople reported for Boston in the Federal Census of 1910 
 were under 21 years of age. 2 The proportion of young per- 
 sons is even greater in the large department and dry goods- 
 stores which help make Boston the great center where all New 
 England comes to shop. In 1914 it was found by a study of 
 women employed in these stores that 44 per cent of the regular 
 and 45 per cent of the extra workers were under 21 years of 
 age, and that 90 per cent were unmarried members of family 
 
 a These schools give general cultural courses and also offer instruction in 
 salesmanship and commercial subjects. Of the boys for whom the Boston 
 Vocational Guidance Bureau obtained reports, 132 or 29 per cent found work 
 in stores, while of the 213 girl graduates 37 per cent took mercantile posi- 
 tions. Graduates of the Commercial High School, the Mechanics Arts High 
 School and the Trade Schools were not included in this summary. 
 
 2 The figures were as follows : Total clerks in stores and salespeople, 
 24,498; number under 21 years of age, total 5,573; males 3,092; females 2,481; 
 percentage under twenty-one, 22.7; male and female retail dealers under 
 twenty-one, 492. Thirteenth Census of the United States, IV, 539-540. 
 
STORES AS PLACES OF EMPLOYMENT 11 
 
 groups. 8 A Minimum Wage Commission investigation which 
 included women working in stores throughout Massachusetts 
 found a somewhat lower proportion of younger workers, or 
 36 per cent under 21 years of age. 4 
 
 Opportunities for Adults in Retail Selling 
 
 In Boston, as in many other large cities, retail selling is the 
 most important occupation of adult men. 5 This is true both 
 because of the large number engaged and because of the ex- 
 ceptional opportunities which it affords for independent busi- 
 ness careers. In 1910 there were almost as many retail dealers 
 as clerks and salesmen in the groups of adult men engaged in 
 retail selling. The proportion of women who were independ- 
 ent dealers was not so great, but it is fair to assume that the 
 number might have been increased by married women who as- 
 sisted their husbands in small stores. It is true also that the 
 training which fits young women for intelligent services in re- 
 tail stores will be useful in adult years when many of them 
 may assume responsibility for spending family incomes. 
 
 Young Women Employed in Boston Stores 
 
 Retail selling positions were being filled largely by young 
 women even before war-time pressure forced the men to seek 
 more strenuous vocations. This tendency towards an excess 
 in females is particularly marked in the larger stores ; in our 
 sample group of 21-year-old young persons, 70 per cent of 
 those employed in grocery stores and 64 per cent of the young 
 persons certificated to the miscellaneous group of smaller 
 stores were men, while the proportions of the sexes were re- 
 versed in the large, centrally-located department, dry goods 
 
 Unemployment Among Women in Department and Other Retail Stores 
 of Boston, Bulletin of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, Whole 
 Number 182, Women in Industry, No. 8, pp. 33, 52. 
 
 4 Second Annual Report of the Minimum Wage Commission of Massa- 
 chusetts for the year ending December 31, 1914, p. 127. 
 
 The chief occupations of males 21 years old and over, in the order of 
 their numerical importance were : retail dealers, 10,700 ; salesmen in stores, 
 9,932; clerks (except clerks in stores), 8,655; draymen and teamsters, 6,447; 
 carpenters, 6,442 ; machinists, 5,508. The leading occupations of females over 
 21 years of age were: servants, 14,913; dressmakers and seamstresses (not in 
 factories), 5,939; saleswomen in stores, 4,532; bookkeepers, cashiers and ac- 
 countants, 4,236; stenographers and typewriters, 3,753; teachers, 3,305; board- 
 ing and lodging house keepers, 3,111; sewing machine operatives and seam- 
 stresses (in factories), 2.707. 
 
12 TRAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 and clothing stores, as 70 per cent of the young persons cer- 
 tificated to department and dry goods stores and 65 per cent 
 of those whose last educational certificates authorized em- 
 ployment in clothing stores were females. There was a de- 
 crease in the number of women employed in these stores after 
 the enforcement of the minimum wage in January, 1916. 6 
 This was due to the dropping of the less intelligent and efficient 
 rather than to the refusal to employ more women, as the rec- 
 ords already cited of positions taken by the high school gradu- 
 ates of 1917 show 37 per cent of the females and 29 per cent 
 of the males entering mercantile establishments. 
 
 Types of Stores Employing Boston Young Persons 
 
 Young persons working in stores are engaged chiefly in 
 tasks connected with the distribution of goods used to supply 
 the primitive human needs of food, clothing and shelter. While 
 food is the most fundamental of these requirements, the sale' 
 of clothing offers the city dweller greater opportunities for 
 employment. The food supply of the home is usually in need 
 of daily renewal, and the perishable character of a large por- 
 tion of such goods makes necessary prompt and careful de- 
 livery. On the other hand, clothing is purchased at certain 
 seasons, and is easily packed and shipped to distant customers, 
 hence dry goods and clothing stores serve a much larger terri- 
 tory. The woman who always orders the family groceries 
 from the small, neighborhood store, is willing to devote an 
 occasional day to a trip to town for the purpose of seeking the 
 greater opportunities for choice or the slightly better prices 
 of the centrally located department, dry goods and clothing 
 stores. 
 
 Differences Between Stores Selling Food and Clothing 
 
 Differences in the character and location of stores selling 
 food and clothing is shown by the distribution of a sample 
 
 "In department, dry goods and specialty stores, the number of women and 
 girls employed as full-time workers in 1916 was 4.6 per cent less than in 
 1915, and 10.7 per cent less than in 1914, but the total amount paid in wages 
 to regular female '.employees in 1916 exceeded that recorded for either of the 
 previous years. Preliminary Report on the Effect of the Minimum Wage in 
 Massachusetts Retail Stores, Bulletin No. 12, Minimum Wage Commission, 
 November, 1916, p. 6. 
 
STOEES AS PLACES OF EMPLOYMENT 13 
 
 group of young persons whose employment certificates indi- 
 cate that they held store positions when 19 to 21 years old. 7 
 Thirty-eight per cent of the firms selling food, and but 16 per 
 cent of the firms dealing in dry goods and clothing, were 
 located in the suburbs. The many small, scattering, food- 
 selling establishments employed an average of 2 young per- 
 sons of this restricted age group per firm, while the 34 cen- 
 trally located department and dry goods stores averaged 19 
 per firm from our sample group of young persons. Since 
 there are many small specialty shops dealing in ready-made 
 clothing, the average number of young persons per store was 
 only 4, 8 although there are several clothing establishments 
 which are like the great department stores in size and com- 
 plexity of organization. 
 
 Increased Sale of Ready-Made Clothing 
 
 The remarkable increase in the sale of ready-made clothing 
 is evident in all the tables showing the distribution of store 
 workers. The department and dry goods stores give much 
 attention to its sale, and there is, in addition, a group of 30 
 retail and 14 wholesale stores which devote their entire 
 energies to supplying the public with ready-to-wear clothing. 
 Only one of the department stores has more employees than 
 the largest of these clothing stores, and the total number of 
 employees of the clothing group is greater than that of the 
 dry goods firms. Moreover, the grade of employees of the 
 .clothing stores averages higher, and there is less irregularity 
 in their employment, as the percentage of variation between 
 
 7 An explanation of the certificates which Massachusetts laws require for 
 working minors will be found in Appendix I. 
 
 These averages refer to stores to which young persons of our 21- 
 year-old sample group had been certificated. The distribution of the sample 
 group of young persons who served in stores when 19 to 21 years old is shown 
 in Table I. 
 
14 
 
 TRAINING FOE STOEE SERVICE 
 
 TABLE I. 
 
 DISTRIBUTION OF A SAMPLE GROUP OF YOUNG PERSONS 
 EMPLOYED BY BOSTON SELLING FIRMS 
 
 Types of Employing Stores 
 
 Total, 
 
 Located 
 
 in Boston Located 
 Total Number of City Proper in Suburbs 
 
 No. No. No. No. 
 
 Young of Young of Young 
 
 Per- Fe- Per- Per- 
 
 Firms sons Males males Firms sons Firms sons 
 
 554* 1951 842 1109 399 1624 155 327 
 
 ' Stores, selling General Stocks, . . . 
 Department and dry goods, .... 
 5-and-10 cent 
 
 49 
 34 
 15 
 
 80 
 3 
 14 
 10 
 10 
 
 3 
 19 
 11 
 6 
 
 247. 
 61 
 21 
 48 
 53 
 14 
 13 
 7 
 
 3 
 11 
 
 9 
 
 ! i 
 
 5 
 5 
 5 
 
 63 
 8 
 17 
 8 
 13 
 7 
 4 
 2 
 4 
 
 78 
 26 
 5 
 
 4 
 4 
 21 
 
 18 
 
 771 
 665 
 106 
 
 337 
 176 
 43 
 27 
 19 
 5 
 3 
 30 
 25 
 9 
 
 484 
 131 
 87 
 70 
 98 
 19 
 19 
 
 10 
 15 
 11 
 6 
 11 
 
 57 
 20 
 9 
 9 
 8 
 6 
 5 
 
 161 
 41 
 36 
 31 
 26 
 8 
 
 6 
 5 
 
 14*1 
 43 
 12 
 
 12 
 7 
 45 
 
 22 
 
 200 
 198 
 
 142 
 60 
 
 19 
 
 "3 
 18 
 23 
 6 
 
 273 
 93 
 33 
 49 
 46 
 13 
 7 
 4 
 
 6 
 10 
 1 
 8 
 
 41 
 13 
 8 
 
 5 
 5 
 
 98 
 36 
 14 
 12 
 13 
 
 7 
 4 
 5 
 
 88 
 27 
 
 8 
 1 
 37 
 
 15 
 
 571 
 467 
 104 
 
 195 
 116 
 35 
 8 
 14 
 5 
 
 *i2 
 2 
 3 
 
 211 
 38 
 54 
 21 
 52 
 6 
 12 
 
 9 
 1 
 
 28 
 21 
 
 7 
 
 74 
 
 14 
 
 10 
 
 4 
 3 
 17 
 9 
 6 
 
 152 
 24 
 7 
 26 
 48 
 7 
 11 
 7 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 5 
 
 678 
 616 
 62 
 
 324 
 176 
 43 
 27 
 17 
 5 
 
 28 
 16 
 9 
 
 345 
 79 
 58 
 42 
 93 
 8 
 17 
 7 
 
 4 
 11 
 11 
 
 21 
 13 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 "2 
 2 
 
 95 
 37 
 14 
 22 
 6 
 
 2 
 2 
 
 93 
 49 
 44 
 
 13 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 139 
 52 
 29 
 28 
 
 11 
 
 6 
 4 
 
 
 Men's and women's specialty,. . 
 - "Women's specialty . . . 
 
 Men's clothing and furnishings, 
 General and credit stores ..... 
 
 Cloaks and suits 
 
 Clothing supplies (wholesale) . . 
 
 Leather (wholesale) . ... ... 
 
 Rubber goods 
 
 
 Groceries 
 
 Bakeries and delicatessen, 
 Provisions and markets 
 
 Restaurants and lunch rooms, . . 
 
 Tea and coffee stor6S ........ 
 
 
 Bakers' and confectioners' sup- 
 plies 
 
 Confectionery stores . ... 
 
 Wines and liquors 
 
 Prepared foods 
 Cigars and tobacco 
 
 3 
 
 16 
 7 
 1 
 3 
 3 
 2 
 
 63 
 
 22 
 19 
 13 
 
 1 
 1 
 2 
 
 53 
 16 
 12 
 
 4 
 6 
 8 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 33 
 10 
 7 
 4 
 5 
 5 
 2 
 
 57 
 5 
 17 
 6 
 13 
 7 
 3 
 2 
 4 
 
 55 
 21 
 4 
 
 2 
 10 
 14 
 
 10 
 
 50 
 17 
 9 
 8 
 8 
 6 
 2 
 
 132 
 37 
 36 
 9 
 26 
 8 
 5 
 6 
 5 
 
 95 
 
 37 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 7 
 23 
 
 18 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 2 
 
 "i 
 "i 
 
 6 
 
 "2 
 "i 
 
 23 
 5 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 'ii 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 "i 
 "i 
 
 29 
 '22 
 "3 
 
 46 
 5 
 9 
 '22 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 Wall paper and paper goods, . . . 
 Plate and ornamental glass 
 Plumbers' supplies 
 
 Stores Supplying Aesthetic and 
 * Intellectual Needs 
 
 
 Jewelry, clocks and watches, . . 
 Library and office supplies, .... 
 Stationery paper cards . . 
 
 Florists 
 
 Pianos and musical instruments, 
 
 Artists' and' architects' supplies, 
 
 
 
 Typewriters and adding ma- 
 
 
 
 Miscellaneous, not otherwise 
 classified, 
 
 The firms to which young persons had been certificated and which were 
 identified by reference to business directories, but which could not be located 
 because they had moved or gone out of business, have been omitted from this 
 table. 
 
STOKES AS PLACES OF EMPLOYMENT 
 
 15 
 
 the dull and busy seasons was 36.5 in the dry goods and only 
 13.2 in the clothing stores. 10 
 
 CHART I 
 
 DISTRIBUTION BY TYPES OF STORES AND SEXES OF A SAMPLE GROUP OF YOUN6 PERSONS WHO _ 
 HAD RECEIVED CERTIFICATES AUTHORIZING WORK IN STORES WHEN THEY WERE 19 TO 21 YEARS * 
 
 OF AGE 
 
 Stock 5oW in Young Persons 
 
 the Stores TOTAL- FEMALES- MALES 
 
 Department and 
 Dry Goods 
 
 Food 
 
 Clothing 337 195 
 
 Five'and'Ten Cent 
 
 Housing Supplies . 
 
 Stationery and 
 
 Office Supplies 57 
 
 Automobile Supplies ... 45 
 
 Drugs 43 
 
 News Distribution 41 
 
 Jewely 36 
 
 Females 
 D Males 
 
 1 The more important types of stores are presented in this chart. Complete data., 
 will be found in Table 1. 
 
 Smaller Stores Less Important Fields for Vocational Educa- 
 tion 
 
 The other stores to which members of our sample group 
 * were certificated have not received special attention in our vo- 
 cational education survey because they are less important as 
 places of employment, because their organization makes it 
 difficult to devise special educational programs adapted to 
 their needs, and because the services which they render the 
 public are less essential than those of establishments dealing 
 in food and clothing. The employees of a small store are 
 
 10 That is the number of employees in the dull season was 63.5 of those 
 in the busy season in the dry goods stores, and 86.8 per cent in the clothing 
 stores. 
 
16 TRAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 usually under the personal supervision of the owner, or some 
 other responsible person, who gives instruction and relieves 
 them of the necessity of making important decisions. The 
 forms of organization and policies of small retail dealers have 
 not been standardized, so that group instruction of employees 
 from different stores is difficult, but, since the experience in 
 meeting customers and presenting goods differs little from 
 that of the larger establishments, excellent opportunities for' 
 apprenticeship employment are found in the miscellaneous* 
 group of small stores. 
 
 Books and stationery, jewelry and flowers, may be con- 
 sidered as belonging to the class of luxuries which can be 
 spared until more basic needs have been supplied. Some 
 would claim that the larger portion of the druggist 's stock is 
 as easily dispensed with, but the fact that local drug stores are 
 found side-by-side with groceries in every community, sug- 
 gests that many persons consider their needs for drugs and 
 foods equally urgent. Shelter is provided for by agencies 
 other than stores, and so this great public demand was repre- 
 sented in our sample group by the comparatively small num- 
 ber of establishments dealing in household decorations or 
 furnishings. But little opportunity for the employment of 
 young persons is afforded by the wholesale selling firms ; only 
 5 per cent of our sample group certificated to mercantile estab- 
 lishments were found at work with wholesalers. 
 
 Importance of Retail Department, Dry Goods and Clothing 
 Stores for Urban Vocational Education Programs 
 
 Retail department, dry goods and clothing stores offer im-- 
 portant fields for vocational education, not merely because * 
 they employ large numbers of juvenile and adult workers, but 
 also because such training is necessary for the successful de-^ 
 velopment of their business, and because they afford peculiar * 
 facilities for sound educational work which may have per-; 
 sonal and social as well as economic value. 
 
 From two to four thousand persons are required to handle 
 the business of the largest Boston stores, and the average num- 
 ber per firm employed for each type of store in the busy sea- 
 son was as follows : department, 1,618 ; dry goods, 346 ; cloth- 
 
STORES AS PLACES OF EMPLOYMENT 17 
 
 ing, 187. Such an aggregation of employees points to a Mer- 
 cantile Revolution comparable to the Industrial Revolution of 
 the past century. It makes possible the division of selling 
 activities into many simple tasks which may be undertaken by 
 juvenile workers. But great stores like great factories must 
 be well organized and carefully supervised in order to secure 
 an efficient and profitable utilization of large groups of youth- 
 ful and irresponsible employees. 
 
 * The advantages of division of labor are lost unless greater 
 expertness is attained. Store managers, like factory man- 
 agers, must standardize their tasks, stabilize their working 
 forces and develop intelligent and devoted heads of depart- 
 ments. Thorough training must compensate for the lessened 
 personal interest which is inevitable when store people are 
 working for hire rather than for the promotion of their own 
 enterprises. Without such educational activities, the great 
 stores may find it difficult to compete with the many small 
 shops where every detail of the business is closely supervised 
 by interested owners. 
 
 Great Stores as Educational Centers 
 
 The great stores afford peculiarly good opportunities for 
 the sort of educational activities which are required for their 
 successful development. The large numbers employed make 
 possible well-graded class instruction, and the highly specializ- 
 ed departments are apt to be in charge of persons with much 
 expert knowledge. Under the guidance of a skillful educa- 
 tional director, such a corps of experts may give vocational 
 training of a high order. Effective co-operation between stores 
 and high school classes in salesmanship is easily secured be- 
 cause of the irregularities in the demands for store services. 
 In the course of the present investigation, store officials were 
 asked to state the largest and smallest numbers employed dur- 
 ing the previous year. These reports show that 7,781 more 
 employees were required for the busy than for the dull season; 
 in other words, the number of employees in the dull season was 
 67.5 per cent of those in the busy season. 11 Variations during 
 
 "A full discussion of the seasonal variations in the demands for store 
 workers will be found in Chapter V. 
 
18 TRAINING FOR STORE SERVICE 
 
 the week in the amount of service required are common, so that 
 many stores employ a regular force of part-time extras. This 
 combination of tasks suitable for young persons and numer- 
 ous demands for extra or part-time workers offers unusual 
 opportunities for co-operation between schools and depart- 
 ment, dry goods and clothing stores in the development of 
 sound plans for vocational education. Striking uniformity in 
 seasonal variations is shown in all the reports from stores 
 dealing chiefly in clothing and dry goods, and the busiest 
 periods fall in months of the year when school vacations are 
 customary, so that temporary work in stores need not inter- 
 fere seriously with the school course. The use of members 
 of the high school salesmanship classes as extra helpers in 
 Boston stores has been found to be advantageous, both because 
 the students profit by the practice under normal business con- 
 ditions and because the excessive shifting from other positions 
 of young persons who cannot hope for regular employment as 
 store workers is prevented. 
 
 Cultural Value of Training for Store Service 
 
 The criticism that vocational education lacks in cultural 
 value is not valid for much of the training needed by store 
 employees. They must learn to cultivate an attractive per-* 
 sonal appearance and a quiet and dignified bearing ; necessary 
 adjustments must be made to fellow workers so that harmoni- 
 ous and effective group activities will be possible ; agreeable * 
 manners, skill in meeting all sorts of persons, in discovering 
 and administering intelligently to their needs must be de- 
 veloped. The increased personal dignity, adaptability and' 
 social insight which may result from such training is equally 
 valuable in many other walks of life. So too, a knowledge of 
 the sources of supply and varying uses of the many commodi- 
 ties handled in great stores is of value for anyone attempting" 
 the development of a comfortable home ; and an understanding 
 of the complex organization and differing functions of a great 
 mercantile establishment may assist to a better comprehension 
 of the intricate economic life of a highly developed society and 
 prepare for the more intelligent exercise of the responsibili- 
 ties and privileges of citizenship in an industrial democracy. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 STOKE ORGANIZATION 
 
 Introduction 
 
 The numbers employed, the qualifications demanded, the 
 training needed, the regularity of employment and the chances 
 of promotion of young store workers are all dependent in 
 large measure on the forms of organization of their places of 
 employment; yet the bewildering array of more or less per- 
 sonal adjustments found in the Boston stores raises questions 
 as to whether retail selling has reached the stage of develop- 
 ment where occupations can be standardized, or where there 
 is a general agreement about the forms of organization suit- 
 able for different types of stores. The juvenile workers and 
 their employers interviewed in the course of these investiga- 
 tions were found in establishments which were typical of all 
 stages of development : on the one hand there were the little 
 neighborhood " thread and needle" shops, the suburban dry 
 goods stores which added staple dress goods and paper pat- 
 terns to this stock, the specialty shops which were little more 
 than the salesrooms for the output of small dressmaking estab- 
 lishments ; and on the other there were great stores in which 
 two to four thousand employees were required to handle the 
 varied wares which were spread through great buildings with 
 seven or eight floors above and two floors below the street 
 level. 
 
 The Small Stores 
 
 Many of the small stores are family enterprises; the wife 
 runs in from the adjoining living room to "mind" shop while 
 the head of the family is absent buying stock, and the son de- 
 livers goods in out-of-school hours. Foreigners frequently 
 start successful American business careers with such enter- 
 prises. Stores with five to a hundred employees are apt to 
 continue the autocratic, one-man control characteristic of these 
 early conditions. Their owners or responsible managers de- 
 
 19 
 
20 TRAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 cide how the capital shall be invested, engage, train and dis- 
 charge their "help," and settle all disputed questions. The 
 conditions of work and chances of promotion depend on the 
 personal characters and business abilities of those in charge. 
 On the whole, the tendency to desert such establishments 1 for 
 the larger stores shows a sound judgment of business oppor- 
 tunities, but cases were found where regularity of employment 
 and personal preferences held young persons to long terms of 
 service in the smaller stores. 
 
 Organization of the Large Stores 
 
 Characteristic features of the organization of the large 
 stores have been obtained by a comparative study of the or- 
 ganization charts of three of the most highly developed stores 
 of Boston. The recent origin of these charts shows how slow- 
 ly the great mercantile establishments have come to a realiza- 
 tion of the necessity of standardizing their tasks, and perfect- 
 ing their agencies for supervision and instruction. Persons 
 familiar with the stores claim that some sections of these 
 charts represent first steps in the efforts to develop a sound 
 store system rather than reports of actual conditions. While 
 there is confusion and lack of agreement in the grouping of 
 departments, the range of occupations and their relative im- 
 portance are clearly shown. The charts are helpful also in 
 estimating the agencies required for supervising and instruct- 
 ing store employees, and the chances for promotion open to 
 juvenile workers. 
 
 The Central Governing Body 
 
 The central governing body in each of the stores is a group 
 of managers or board of directors, 2 one of whom is recognized 
 as the general manager, president or chairman. The largest 
 store has three firm members on this board ; and in one of the 
 other two stores the five members of this managing board are 
 responsible to a group of representatives of stockholders, and 
 in the other to a board composed of eleven directors chosen 
 
 'See p. 69 in Chapter V. 
 
 The terms are sometimes used as though they were interchangeable. 
 Technically, the directors who are the agents of the corporation have a 
 different legal status from the managers who^ are executive officers of the store. 
 
STORE ORGANIZATION 21 
 
 by the common stockholders, four of whom are selected from 
 six representatives nominated by the co-operative society of 
 1 store employees. 
 
 Variations in Groupings of Store Activities 
 
 Many variations are found in the groupings of store activi- 
 ties assigned to the supervision of different members of the 
 
 central body, though each store is provided with all the serv- 
 ices rendered by the differently distributed store employees. 
 
 Thus the educational director serves under the supervision of 
 ihe sales manager in one store and in the department of store 
 personnel in both the others ; the publicity department is sep- 
 arately organized in one case, and is a section in the sales 
 division or division of merchandise management and adminis- 
 tration in the others ; in one store there is a merchandising de- 
 partment responsible for buying which is quite distinct from 
 the sales service, while in the others there is closer co-opera- 
 tion between the selling and buying services. The departments 
 of one store are apportioned to the five members of the board 
 of managers as follows: (1) Financial or comptroller, (2) Or- 
 ganization, (3) Sales management, (4) Merchandise, (5) Base- 
 ment store. In another all activities connected with the or- 
 ganization, training and supervision of the force of store work- 
 ers are in charge of a "Director" who is assisted by an 
 "Operating Committee" and a "Personnel and Store Man- 
 ager;" another department with sections for the main and 
 basement stores provides merchandise, and the financial and 
 publicity activities are separately organized. In addition there 
 is the co-operative association of the employees which is re- 
 sponsible for varied welfare activities and some phases of 
 store administration. Confusion in interpreting one chart re- 
 sults from the fact that responsibility for establishing the 
 relations of a department to the store organization or system 
 may belong to one director while another supervises its actual 
 operation. 
 
 A complete reorganization under expert supervision has 
 taken place recently in the third and largest store, in which it 
 is necessary to provide supervision and training for a force 
 of over 3,000 employees. The store activities are divided into 
 
22 TRAINING FOR STORE SERVICE 
 
 two main groups : one, which is designated " merchandise man- 
 agement and administration, ' > deals with the purchase, manu- 
 facture, advertising and sale of merchandise, while the main- 
 tenance of the store organization and personnel, the up-keep 
 and operation of the store plant, the administration of the 
 financial and other offices are assigned to the " non-merchan- 
 dise " division. The store has a "Methods Director " who 
 studies continually the complex organization problems which 
 arise in its numerous departments. 
 
 Common Tendencies in Store Organization 
 
 While the lack of standardization which is characteristic 
 of this stage of development in the organization of large mer- 
 cantile establishments is evident both in the charts of the three 
 large stores and in reports of conditions in other Boston 
 stores, it is possible to discover common tendencies which 
 justify a prediction of the forms of organization and the 
 types of expert supervision which may prevail in the future. 
 
 Financial Division 
 
 There is a general agreement on the necessity for a financial 
 division in charge of an expert comptroller or auditor. Since 
 the survival of the business depends on securing an efficient 
 administration of the interests cared for, it is not surprising 
 that this department received early recognition. When stores 
 emerge from the stage where they are family enterprises, the 
 first trained assistant employed is usually a bookkeeper, and 
 similar expert services are necessary at every stage of the 
 later development of a mercantile business. An exact knowl- 
 edge of all expenses is necessary in order to fix prices ; suit- 
 able allowances must be made for profits, interest, and de- 
 preciation in stock and plant; available capital must be ap- 
 portioned to the different branches of the business in accord- 
 ance with policies determined by those who represent the pro- 
 prietors or stockholders. In addition to the keeping of rec- 
 ords, the making of financial reports, the collection and pay-' 
 ment of charge accounts, the apportionment of overhead ex- 
 penses to different departments and the preparation of pay- 
 rolls, various other duties are assigned to the financial de- 
 
STORE ORGANIZATION 23 
 
 partment in the organization charts; it fills the statistical 
 , schedules, calculates bonuses and payments made in profit- 
 -sharing systems, establishes or approves of all accounting 
 plans used in the store, and sometimes takes charge of the 
 general office force and cares for miscellaneous legal or cleri- 
 cal activities. 
 
 Merchandising, Problems of Organization 
 
 The three stores whose plans were studied are not agreed 
 'about the best method of organizing the store activities which 
 "are usually classed under the general term of " merchandis- 
 ing. " The services of the two largest groups of store em- 
 ployees, namely, those engaged in selling and those who buy 
 and care for the stock, must be brought into effective co-opera- 
 tion. Three problems confront store managers when they 
 attempt to perfect the organization of these important groups 
 of employees: 
 
 (1) The large numbers in the groups make classification and 
 divided supervision desirable; should the division be made 
 along departmental or along functional lines? 
 
 * (2) Buyers of merchandise must be kept informed about 
 what the public demands or accepts from sellers ; what are the 
 best methods of securing close co-operation between the selling 
 and buying branches of the merchandising service 1 
 
 + (3) Various subsidiary groups care for activities necessary 
 to successful merchandising; what relationship should they 
 sustain to the main buying and selling groups ? 
 
 Organization Policies 
 
 The earlier organization policy is suggested by a recent ad- 
 vertisement of a large clothing store in which customers were 
 urged to avail themselves of the services of 63 specialty shops 
 
 housed under one roof. The less developed stores are loose 
 .confederations of departments whose heads retain many of the 
 
 . powers of the owners or managers of small stores. They not 
 only "hire and fire" their assistants and train new workers 
 but also act as buyers for their departments, and, if time re- 
 mains from these duties, they may serve at the counters. In 
 two of the stores studied, buyers or assistant buyers serve as 
 
24 TRAINING FOR STORE SERVICE 
 
 heads of the selling departments whose stocks they provide. 
 They are grouped under "merchandisers" who organize the 
 buying activities of the entire store. Although the depart- 
 ments of the basements duplicate those of the main stores, 
 their merchandise is provided by separate groups of buyers 
 who are expert bargain hunters. 
 
 The third store, which deals in ready-made clothing, does 
 not maintain so close a relationship between the buying and 
 selling forces. Floor superintendents assume full charge of 
 the salespeople. Although the buyers are released from all 
 responsibility for supervising the selling of their merchandise, 
 they usually have served an apprenticeship at the counter, 
 they continually study the selling qualities of their wares, and 
 frequently assist in the training of the salespeople. The 
 buyers for the main store are grouped under 11 division man- 
 agers, who in turn are subject to the supervision of the main 
 store merchandise manager and the firm director of merchan- 
 dise. The buyers for the basement store have over them three 
 division managers and the basement merchandise manager. 
 
 Subsidiary Merchandising Departments 
 
 Directors of merchandise also supervise or co-operate with 
 various subsidiary departments which assist in the provision 
 and care of goods and in their sale. The most important of 
 these are the advertising departments, the stockrooms and the 
 manufacturing departments. In addition there are many 
 forms of personal service which are maintained for the con- 
 venience of customers. Among other special store activities 
 which may be cared for in the merchandise division are those 
 of the statistical offices, the maintenance of headquarters for 
 buyers in other cities or in foreign countries, shopping bureaus 
 which keep buyers in touch with what is happening in other 
 stores, departments for dealing with returned goods, and 
 agencies for registering complaints and requests for goods 
 not in stock. These latter activities may be cared for by 
 service managers rather than by merchandisers. 
 
 Advertising Department 
 
 The need of a specialized department under expert super- 
 vision for advertising the merchandise offered for sale is fully 
 
STOKE OBGANIZATION 25 
 
 recognized in all the large stores, though there are doubts 
 
 about its place in the organization scheme. Should it be at- 
 tached to the buying or selling service, or should it come under 
 *the jurisdiction of the director of store operation? There is 
 ,a strong tendency to give it independent standing as a sep- 
 arate store department. The latest organization chart assigns 
 its "Publicity Department " to the division of "Merchandise 
 Management and Administration." Its activities are classi- 
 fied as follows : advertising division including newspaper, cir- 
 cular and mail order advertising, and records of publicity 
 costs; the division responsible for window and store decora- 
 tion, and the office which attends to the preparation of mer- 
 chandise signs. The staff of the director of publicity of an- 
 other Boston store includes the following persons: publicity 
 manager, chief decorator, chief advertiser, window decorator 
 and assistants, sign shop foreman and assistants, basement 
 store decorator and assistants, musical director and his musi- 
 cians, advertisers for important lines of goods and their as- 
 sistants, artists and writers, printing shop foreman and his 
 pressmen and compositors, a man in charge of out-of-town 
 advertising, and numerous office assistants for the various 
 members of the staff. 
 
 Care and Preparation of Stock 
 
 - The stockrooms offer employment to many young persons 
 . as all merchandise must be unpacked carefully, compared 
 
 with invoices, marked and classified ready for placing on the 
 shelves where it is stored until needed by the salespeople. 
 "Department stores produce many commodities, and altera- 
 % tion departments usually are found in the merchandising di- 
 visions of stores. A large Boston department store having 
 '18 manufacturing departments has adopted the policy of plac- 
 ing these shops under the general supervision of the mer- 
 chandisers who direct buyers handling similar goods. 
 
 Personal Service 
 
 The many forms of personal service to be obtained in great 
 -stores may be regarded as merchandise, although they are 
 , supplied usually for the convenience of customers rather than 
 
26 TRAINING FOR STORE SERVICE 
 
 as means of gaining additional profits. Services of all sorts 
 may be commanded from the manicuring of nails and shampoo- 
 ing of hair, to the buying of theatre tickets, making of Pull- 
 man reservations, or even carrying of messages to husbands 
 waiting in automobiles, out of reach of the telephone. It is a- 
 common practice to supply an assistant to guide and advise- 
 out-of-town shoppers, so that their needs may be supplied in* 
 a prompt and satisfactory manner. 
 
 Store Operation or Store System 
 
 The difficulties of organizing the varied activities of a great 
 store so that its numerous employees can work together in an 
 effective, harmonious and economical manner are so great that 
 there is a growing tendency to employ a staff of experts re-- 
 sponsible for supervising and co-ordinating all the store activi- 
 ties. The divisions under their supervision are variously des-. 
 ignated in the organization charts as ' * organization, " "sys- 
 tem," "operation," "management," or "service" divisions * 
 of the store. This development in mercantile policies is of 
 such recent origin that there is still much confusion about 
 just what should be assigned to these divisions. Sometimes 
 the division of store system serves as a sort of catch-all for 
 store services which, logically, cannot be assigned to other di- 
 rectors. The difficulties of securing a clearly denned organiza-- 
 tion of this division are increased by the fact that it requires 
 a functional classification which is foreign to ways of thinking- 
 resulting from the historical developments of mercantile es-* 
 tablishments. Thus when viewed from the standpoint of the 
 goods to be handled, the sales department should be in charge 
 of the supervisor of merchandising, but when consideration 
 is given to the complicated relationships of the groups of em- 
 ployees who render the final services of distribution to cus- 
 tomers, it is evident that the supervision of selling belongs in 
 the store system or operation department. Clear thinking and 
 close co-operation are necessary to avoid the irritation and 
 confusion which may result from conflicting orders being 
 given by superior officers responsible for portions of the 
 supervision of the same groups of employees. The depart- ' 
 
STORE ORGANIZATION 27 
 
 ments classified under the store system or store operation di- 
 
 vision fall into two groups: (1) Those which belong exclu- 
 k sively in this division; and (2) those whose functioning in the 
 .general store activities should be subject to its supervision^ 
 but whose constituency is in need of expert direction of an- 
 
 other kind. 
 
 Departments Belonging Exclusively to the Store Operation 
 
 Division 
 
 Among the services which belong exclusively to the store 
 .operation division are (1) all activities necessary for maintain- 
 .ing the plant in a cleanly, sanitary and efficient condition; 
 .(2) the elevator service required by customers and employees ; 
 
 (3) examining, bundling, delivery and porter services; (4) 
 .telephone exchanges both within and without the store; (5) 
 'Store protection by means of detectives, watchmen, and 
 -agencies for preventing and extinguishing fires; (6) such 
 minor services as those of the information, lost and found, 
 "transfer, adjustment, and time keeping desks or offices. The 
 .floor walker, floor manager or floor superintendent usually 
 
 has duties which entitle him to recognition as a deputy of the 
 -director of store operation or store system; it is his business 
 to keep the store activities in his portion of the building run- 
 ning smoothly and to guide customers so that they may readily 
 find the goods or services which the store wishes to sell. 
 
 Departments whose Functioning Relates them Closely to the 
 
 Store Operation Division 
 
 The purpose of the entire organization of a retail store is 
 the sale of its wares, hence all store activities must be focused 
 about those of the salespeople. The co-ordination of store 
 departments for the promotion of their success belongs to the 
 operation division; but the care of their merchandise, the 
 policies about its marking and sale, the qualities and uses 
 which may be presented as selling points, are all matters which 
 demand the expert supervision and knowledge of the mer- 
 chandise division. The personnel as well as the stock sold 
 may be provided and cared for by other divisions of the store, 
 
28 TRAINING FOR STORE SERVICE 
 
 although its organization and functioning may be regulated 
 in the store operation or store system division. Devising of * 
 plans by which all sections of the store will co-operate in keep- * 
 ing records belongs to the store operation division, while the * 
 results of such labors supply the fundamental data on which 
 the business of other departments must be based. Thus the . 
 keeping of records by salespeople and cashiers is a part of the 
 store system and at the same time supplies the data used in 
 the financial division. Many employees must assist in carry- 
 ing out well-organized plans, which will result in the knowl- 
 edge of the condition of the stock demanded for good work in 
 the merchandising division. The educational departments are * 
 listed consistently in the operation division, since they are re-- 
 sponsible for familiarizing employees with the entire system 
 of the store and with the duties expected of those holding 
 special positions. Even when it is assumed that they belong 
 in the merchandising division, because the chief functions of 
 educational activities are the promotion of knowledge of the 
 stock and of effective salesmanship, it is recognized that the 
 person charged with training junior employees belongs in the 
 operation or organization division of store administration. 
 
 Personnel Division 
 
 Two of the three stores whose organization was studied in- 
 tensively maintain separate personnel departments. There " 
 is a logical consistency in separating many of the activities- 
 connected with the employment and education of the store 
 force from those of the store system or operation. Just as the 
 merchandise division provides and cares for commodities sub- 
 ject to the sales activities, so the personnel division provides 
 and trains the working force of the store. As already sug- 
 gested the distinction drawn is one where a difference is rec- " 
 ognized between the functioning of the store organization and * 
 the constituency of the working force and of the commodities ^ 
 handled. Parallel distinctions can be made in an industrial 
 plant where the problems of providing raw materials and a 
 labor force differ from those of organizing and supervising the . 
 processes of manufacturing. 
 
STORE ORGANIZATION 29 
 
 Work of the Personnel Division 
 
 A study of the activities listed in the personnel division 
 . shows that it renders four important services: (1) It selects 
 and engages new employees. (2) It estimates the vocational 
 .abilities and service values of the store staff, so that transfers, 
 .promotions, profit sharing awards and bonuses may be dis- 
 tributed intelligently and justly. (3) It conducts educational 
 work adapted to the needs of the store force. (4) It cares for 
 'various welfare activities designed to promote the loyalty, 
 ' contentment and physical well-being of the employees. 
 
 Opportunities for Promotion Revealed by Organization Plans 
 The exceptional opportunities for promotion in retail selling 
 establishments are evident from the foregoing summary of the 
 chief features in the organization of three large Boston stores. 
 While, as already suggested, the Mercantile like the Industrial 
 Revolution has been characterized by great establishments 
 and large working forces which make possible division of labor 
 and many tasks suitable for young and inexperienced workers, 
 there are very different ratios between the skilled and un- 
 
 - skilled workers of factories and stores. The tasks of factory 
 pperatives are more mechanical and require less supervision, 
 
 since expansion in business results in the multiplication of 
 units of machinery which do similar work. On the other hand, 
 
 -each department of a store has peculiar problems : stocks must 
 be carefully selected and protected from depreciation, and 
 salespeople must learn to present the wares to customers with 
 
 vvaried tastes and purchasing capacities. Success under such 
 
 conditions requires a much larger force of intelligent super- 
 visors than would be necessary in an industrial establishment 
 -with a working force equal to that of the stores. A summary 
 
 * of the more responsible and better paid positions found in the 
 ^three stores whose plans of organization have been described 
 will show the exceptional opportunities for promotion which 
 confront intelligent and ambitious young workers. The selling 
 departments of the three stores number 81, 104 and 192 re- 
 'spectively. Each of these departments requires one to three 
 superior officers ; heads of stock 3 or head salespeople care for 
 
 'Buyers in charge of several small departments supervise the heads of 
 stock and assistant buyers. 
 
30 TRAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 very small selling departments; when somewhat larger, as- 
 sistant buyers are added, and when the departments do a large 
 amount of business both buyers and their assistants are re-' 
 quired to provide merchandise. The successful salesperson 
 may look forward to promotion to these positions or may per- 
 mit a soaring ambition to aim at becoming one of a board of 
 merchandisers who supervise groups of store buyers. 
 
 The many subsidiary departments of large stores are in^ 
 charge of minor officers promoted from the ranks: thus there' 
 are chief telephone operators, supervisors of elevator at- 
 tendants, directors of the delivery service, matrons in charge 
 of cleaners, heads of cashiers, persons who attend to all cash 
 register supervision and instruction, chiefs of the office force, 
 managers of restaurants, stewards, head waiters and numer- 
 ous other minor officials. In a well managed store, all such 
 positions are filled by the promotion of persons whose ex- 
 perience, loyalty and intelligence fit them to supervise and 
 train workers rendering these varied services. 
 
 Store employees of exceptional administrative capacity may 
 look forward to passing from aisle walker or superintendent 
 to floor manager, and then may be director of the main or base- 
 ment store, and, if exceptionally gifted, may command a salary 
 of $5,000 to $50,000 in an important position as director of a 
 store division or general manager. The office worker who has 
 availed himself of opportunities to profit by college courses 
 in statistics, economics and accounting may look forward to 
 filling one of the well-paid positions of expert accountant or 
 statistician which are common in the central offices of great 
 mercantile enterprises. If he is exceptionally gifted he may 
 hope to assume the greater responsibilities of directing the 
 financial division of a store. 
 
 Promotion Assisted by Employment and Educational Depart- 
 ments 
 
 The young persons whose vocational interests prompt them 
 to select forms of store service as life careers should seek posi- 
 tions in stores having well-organized employment and educa-' 
 tional departments. Otherwise they may find themselves in 
 blind alley jobs without opportunities to perfect themselves in 
 
STORE ORGANIZATION 31 
 
 their calling or assurance that faithful and intelligent services 
 will be recognized and suitably rewarded. The Boston stores 
 .whose organizations have been described have definite policies 
 of instruction and promotion which are gradually developing 
 an intelligent and stable working force. In the future excep- 
 tionally gifted bundler girls or delivery boys may find an 
 open road to the most responsible and highly paid positions. 
 
CHAPTEB III 
 
 PERSONAL AND EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS 
 OF JUVENILE STORE EMPLOYEES 
 
 Introduction 
 
 A thorough knowledge of the personal and educational quali- 
 fications of juvenile store workers must precede the develop- 
 ment of sound plans for their vocational guidance and train- 
 ing. Caution in presenting general statements of such char- 
 acteristics is necessary since the activities of a great store 
 make possible the utilization of persons whose talents vary 
 from those of the $10,000 general manager to the good-natured 
 moron who was found collecting bundles in a wheeled basket 
 which he pushed up and down the store aisles. However, data 
 obtained in the course of this investigation reveal a large 
 measure of uniformity in the main body of young store em- 
 ployees. A general summary of the important personal and 
 educational characteristics of this large group will be followed 
 by a more detailed discussion of variations in the requirements 
 of different store occupations. 
 
 Sex Distribution 
 
 The division between the sexes of the activities which sup- 
 ply human needs is resulting in an increasing tendency to as- 
 sume that the distribution of commodities to the persons who 
 will put them to their final uses is primarily an undertaking 
 suitable for women. They do the larger part of the buying and 
 are rapidly developing equally important responsibilities in 
 selling. An even 800 1 of our thousand juvenile store workers 
 were females ; this ratio of 4 to 1 held true in each of the three 2 
 types of stores studied. While women predominate in the 
 
 'Our cases were taken in the order in which they were filed in the records 
 of the Boston Vocational Guidance Bureau and in schedules collected m a 
 previous investigation of the Research Department. By chance the result was 
 this exact division in a ratio of 4 to 1 between the sexes. 
 
 'Proportion of females was as follows: department stores, 79.0; clothing,. 
 80.5; dry goods, 82.7. 
 
 32 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS 33 
 
 central body of store employees, men are chosen for the two 
 extremes as they usually hold the important supervisory posi- 
 tions and also perform the rough, unskilled work. 
 
 Social Status of Store Workers 
 
 American reluctance to recognize class distinctions has re- 
 sulted in a tendency to ignore the difficulties of vocational 
 guidance which result from social prejudices against store 
 work, particularly against service behind the counter. Two 
 typical cases will illustrate a common point of view which pre- 
 vents many sound vocational adjustments : 
 
 An attractive young woman with agreeable manners but no 
 great mental endowment came to the Boston Vocational Guid- 
 ance Bureau for assistance in finding a position. She had 
 taken the high school salesmanship course and found the prac- 
 tice work agreeable. A position as saleswoman in a large de- 
 partment store was found for her, and reports from her su- 
 perior officers proved that she was well adapted to the work, 
 but she returned in a few weeks with the demand that she be 
 given another position. Her earlier satisfaction with a job 
 well-adapted to her capacities had been destroyed by a former 
 public school teacher who had met her with the exclamation, 
 "What, you a saleswoman! Why, I should think you would 
 be fitted for something better than this ! ' ' 
 
 The second case is that of a pretty young woman who had 
 served as a minor cashier in a large department store for six 
 years. The educational director of the store urged that she 
 prepare herself for selling, as no further progress was possible 
 in the position which she held. The girl was ashamed of her 
 vocation and determined to take no work which would bring 
 her before the public. Her request for service in a telephone 
 exchange was granted, but she failed to give satisfaction. 
 Finally, her prejudices against service behind the counter were 
 overcome and she found both pleasure and success in selling a 
 line of goods for which she seemed exceptionally well adapted. 
 
 Overcoming Prejudices Against Store Work 
 
 A social stigma is an intangible but powerful influence, as 
 it arouses a deep-seated, instinctive desire to avoid the loss 
 
34 TRAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 of the respect of associates. It will require years of vocational 
 and educational readjustment to overcome completely the 
 prejudices against store service. Two new tendencies in store 
 administration are hastening this development in Boston : 
 
 (1) There has been a lessening of the humiliation due to 
 compulsory association with fellow workers of low personal 
 standards. The store giving the greatest attention to prob- 
 lems of organization and training refuses to employ anyone 
 who has less than a secondary school education, and such an 
 example is sure to influence the standards of other employers. 
 Co-operation with the salesmanship classes conducted by the 
 public high schools and by Simmons College 3 has brought 
 many student workers into the stores. No doubt their pres- 
 ence has assisted in raising social standards and reassuring 
 regular workers who are learning greater respect for their 
 calling. 
 
 (2) Education for store employment is the strongest force 
 for overcoming social prejudices, as it is assisting both the 
 public and the employees to regard such work as a skilled 
 trade or even as a profession. The introduction of training 
 and research in salesmanship in several colleges will do much 
 to justify claims for the latter standing. The activities of the 
 educational departments of the large Boston stores do not end 
 with the promotion of this finer attitude towards the job, but 
 devote much attention to improving social relations and to 
 securing opportunities for advancement for all ambitious 
 members of the store force, thus the social outlook of the store 
 employees is improved and respect for persons in less skilled 
 store occupations is promoted by the realization that they may 
 be on the way to positions of greater importance. 
 
 Discourtesy of Store Officials a Source of Prejudice 
 
 The older types of floor superintendents and buyers, ac- 
 customed to dealing with a class of women who do not resent 
 rude manners, sometimes keep alive the prejudices against 
 
 'Originally this school for store workers was conducted by the Women's 
 Educational and Industrial Union, with Mrs. Lucinda W. Prince serving as 
 Director. Recently it has been organized under the title of Prince School of 
 Education for Store Service. 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS 35 
 
 service in stores. Women of refinement will not accept em- 
 ployment which subjects them to rough treatment. The feel- 
 ing of high school girls that their social standing is better in 
 offices is explained by the superior associates and more courte- 
 ous supervision commonly found in office positions. The Bos- 
 ton Vocational Guidance officials report cases where high 
 school graduates have abandoned store work because of the 
 offensive manners of their superior officers. Gossip about such 
 experiences spreads rapidly among groups of young persons 
 and a few unpleasant incidents may assist in keeping alive and 
 justifying the feeling that service in stores is suitable only for 
 persons with low social standards. 
 
 Higher Types of Workers Attracted by Newer Store Policies 
 The activities of personnel directors, employment managers, 
 educational directors and welfare secretaries create a demand 
 for and also make possible the retaining in store service of a 
 much higher type of worker than has been common in the 
 past. The policy of filling important positions by the promo- 
 tion of faithful and ambitious subordinates leads to greater 
 care in the selection of these understudies of store executives. 
 The thorough training given in store classes overcomes de- 
 fects of early education and stimulates efforts at self -improve- 
 ment. Attractive recreational opportunities supplied by the 
 co-operation of store officials and organizations of employees 
 leave no opportunities for a consciousness of social ostracism. 
 National and local organizations of retail merchants are 
 availing themselves of the opportunities afforded by the 
 Smith-Hughes Act to enlist Federal and State support for the 
 teaching of store occupations in secondary and continuation 
 school classes. 4 No doubt in other cities as in New York it will 
 be found necessary to conduct systematic educational cam- 
 paigns in order to induce the better types of young persons to 
 enter these classes. This could be done by sending to the 
 schools speakers who could present in an attractive way the 
 
 *The Federal Board for Vocational Education maintains a field agent 
 who is increasing rapidly the number of cities offering such training. She 
 reported recently 16 cities where efforts were being made to promote educa- 
 tion for store service. 
 
36 TEAINING FOB STORE SERVICE 
 
 opportunities in store service for promotion to responsible and 
 well-paid positions. Appeals should be made also to more 
 unselfish motives by helping the young people to realize that 
 retail stores render important services to the community. 
 With the growth of vocational guidance activities, such op- 
 portunities to present their claims will be open to all em- 
 ployers, so that we may look for wholesome competition in the 
 effort to enlist the most gifted young people of the community. 
 
 Educational Qualifications of Juvenile Store Employees 
 
 Only 50 out of one thousand 18 to 21 year old illiterates 5 
 certificated at the Boston office had been promised positions in 
 stores, and but 9 per cent of the thousand juvenile store em- 
 ployees 14 to 21 years old had failed to reach the eighth grade 
 of the elementary schools. Three out of five of the latter 
 group of young store workers had received secondary school 
 training and two out of five had spent more than two years in 
 secondary schools. It is evident that mercantile establish- 
 ments have but few positions suitable for persons who have 
 received a limited education. 
 
 Yet a surprisingly small proportion of the young persons 
 who entered the stores handicapped by a defective education 
 made use of opportunities to obtain additional schooling. Only 
 95 of the thousand 14 to 21 year old group reported courses in 
 business colleges or evening schools. Seven girls and 2 boys 
 had taken work in elementary evening schools ; 68 others at- 
 tended secondary classes in night schools ; 1 girl and 3 boys 
 had taken evening school work after graduation from high 
 school ; 9 girls and 5 boys recorded business-college or trade- 
 school courses. 
 
 The larger Boston stores are bringing educational oppor- 
 tunities to their employees. Classes are held during working 
 hours and attendance is a part of the store service. Thus op- 
 portunities for improvement are held continually before all 
 employees. In a well-organized store the disposition to profit 
 by such training is stimulated by a knowledge that the better 
 store positions are filled by promotion from the ranks, and 
 
 "With education less than that required for the completion of the fourth 
 elementary school grade. 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS 37 
 
 by the publicity given in the store newspaper and in meetings 
 of | employees. Thus even the less energetic and ambitious 
 young persons who often drift into store positions are stim- 
 ulated to efforts to become expert salespeople or capable store 
 executives. 
 
 Variations between Stores in Educational Qualifications 
 
 Differences between the three types of stores were found in 
 the proportions of the juvenile employees who had received 
 secondary school training; 83 per cent of the juvenile em- 
 ployees of the ft&thing stores, 60 per cent of those working in 
 department stores, and 40 per cent of those holding positions 
 in dry goods stores had attended secondary schools. These 
 variations were due largely to two factors : (1) Differences in 
 the value of the merchandise handled, and (2) the retaining in 
 some stores of earlier organization plans which made exten- 
 sive use of juvenile messengers and bundlers. The influence 
 of the latter tendency is evident from the fact that the propor- 
 tion of the juvenile employees utilized in these " blind alley " 
 occupations in the three types of stores were, clothing 5.2 per 
 cent, department 25.9 per cent and dry goods 41.4 per cent. 
 The sooner the dry goods firms abandon these earlier organi- 
 zation policies the better it will be for their juvenile em- 
 ployees. 6 
 
 Why Clothing Stores Demand More Education 
 
 The insistence of the largest clothing store in Boston that 
 new employees must be high school graduates is responsible 
 largely for the fine educational showing of this type of store. 
 It is true also that there is a general tendency to use sales- 
 people of superior intelligence and training in selling ready- 
 made clothing. Higher values are involved in such sales, and 
 skill is required for assisting customers in selecting suitable 
 garments. Only a small portion of the stock is composed of 
 goods which sell themselves, and many kinds of ready-made 
 
 The handling and cutting of yard goods is usually entrusted to em- 
 ployees of experience and maturity. Dry goods stores have fewer commodi- 
 ties which can be sold by young employees than are found in the department 
 stores, hence a smaller proportion of their juveniles engage in the better 
 occupations. Tardiness in the development of store organization may be a 
 local or accidental cause of these variations. 
 
38 TEAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 clothing are capable of rapid deterioration in commercial 
 value. The larger Boston clothing stores have eliminated the 
 young employees of messenger grade by decentralizing their 
 cash systems, and the smaller ones make little use of juveniles 
 because they employ but few persons who are not engaged in 
 selling. 
 
 Variations in Educational Requirements with Size of Stores 
 
 and Quality of Goods 
 
 Variations in the educational requirements for juvenile em- 
 ployees with the size of the stores and quality of the goods 
 handled were slight and somewhat inconsistent. The smaller 
 dry goods stores showed better education than the larger and 
 the reverse was true in the clothing and department stores, so 
 these differences probably are due to store policies rather than 
 to inherent differences in the requirements of various types of 
 store service. Obviously, stores seeking the patronage of 
 persons who are willing to pay well for superior grades of 
 goods and intelligent service, must employ salespeople of bet- 
 ter education than those endeavoring to attract customers by 
 the cheapness of their wares. The extensive development of 
 basement departments in high-class stores conceals these vari- 
 ations, but when young persons are grouped by places of em- 
 ployment our records of the education of juvenile employees 
 show differences of 10 per cent between the two types of stores 
 in the numbers who had received some secondary education. 
 
 Personal Traits Commended by Store Officials 
 
 The use of psychological tests for measuring ability has not 
 been attempted in Boston stores. Personal judgments of store 
 officials, records of sales and of attendance, and ratings in 
 educational classes are depended upon to guide the personnel 
 or employment managers in recommending promotions or in- 
 creases of pay. We were permitted the use of a large collec- 
 tion of the confidential reports of store officials telling of the 
 personal characteristics and estimating the value of the serv- 
 ices of their subordinates. The general manager of one store 
 warned us of the danger of giving undue weight to these 
 "rule-of -thumb" judgments of store officials. He pointed out 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS 39 
 
 the extent to which such estimates are subject to bias because 
 of temperamental differences, and suggested that circum- 
 stances easily might arise which would give the floor super- 
 intendent of a department the impression that an exception- 
 ally efficient salesperson had unusual capacity for causing 
 annoying difficulties. Granting the validity of these criticisms, 
 the fact remains that such reports from supervisors have de- 
 termined the promotion of store employees in the past and are 
 likely to continue to do so for some time to come, so that a 
 knowledge of what the average official commends or condemns 
 is of great practical value for young store workers. 
 
 Personal Traits which Annoy Store Officials 
 
 III Health. Quite naturally store officials are unfavorably 
 impressed by subordinates who cause them extra work or 
 annoyance. Absence because of sickness leaves a selling de- 
 partment short handed or delays important office work. The 
 uniformity with which good health was commended proves it 
 to be one of the first qualifications sought by store officials. 
 Women employees are greatly handicapped by their careless 
 disregard of personal hygiene, as nearly one-third of their ab- 
 sences are due to ill health. 7 The extra work and annoyance 
 caused by their irregularity prevents sympathy with their 
 weakness. 
 
 A woman with a record showing much irregularity because 
 of illness cannot hope for promotion to a responsible posi- 
 tion. Thus a faithful employee is praised for her tact, for her 
 command of the details of five or six departments, and for her 
 pleasing manner of handling customers ; but she has no future 
 because "her lack of physical strength will keep her from mak- 
 ing a good floor superintendent. " 8 
 
 The Department Scrapper. A quarrelsome person cannot 
 hope for a favorable report from the official in charge of her 
 section of the store. Here is the comment on a capable sales- 
 woman with such contentious tendencies: " is the de- 
 
 T Unemployment among Women in Department and Other Retail Stores in 
 Boston, Bui. U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Whole No. 182, p. 20. 
 
 The forms of sickness common in Boston stores maintaining clinics are 
 given in Appendix I, Table 5. 
 
40 TRAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 partment scrapper ! When she is busy, all right, but when the 
 department is slack, looking for trouble ! Does not mind her 
 own business ! Bad temper ! ' ' The expressions, ' ' Easy to get 
 along with," "well-liked by other workers in the office," recur 
 continually in the commendatory reports of store employees. 
 But ability to win the active affection of fellow workers is not 
 indispensable for success, as both the man whom everyone 
 liked and the woman who had no close friends were recom- 
 mended as potential executives. 
 
 Disagreements with Customers. Disputes with customers 
 cause losses to the store and annoyance to its officials. In- 
 struction books of Boston stores forbid all arguments between 
 customers and salespeople, and direct that floor superintend- 
 ents be called promptly to settle disagreements. The frequent 
 need of such assistance reflects on the ability of the store 
 employee, and results in reports of "lack of tact," "rubs 
 customers the wrong way," "irritating manners." 
 
 Personal Appearance Desired in Store Employees 
 
 The instruction books of the large Boston stores prescribe 
 the costumes required of all employees who come in contact 
 with customers. From November to April the women are ex- 
 pected to wear dark blue or black dresses ; but during the sum- 
 mer they may wear white blouses with dark skirts. Some 
 stores request women employees to avoid transparent blouses, 
 and practically all forbid gum chewing and eating during 
 business hours. Men employees are warned against wearing 
 conspicuous clothing and are urged to give scrupulous care to 
 the cleanliness of their linen and the shine on their shoes. 
 
 These instructions reflect the psychological effect sought by 
 the managers of well-organized, mercantile establishments. 
 They wish to create a smoothly-running, harmonious whole, 
 and desire employees who have a well developed social point 
 of view which will make it possible for them to merge their 
 personalities in a co-operative service of the public. There 
 are sound sociological reasons for urging that all business 
 women should cultivate a pleasing but not particularly striking 
 personal appearance. Such regulations as have been quoted 
 are justifiable since fastidious customers should not be offend- 
 
EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS 41 
 
 ed by the lack of neatness or cleanliness of store employees 
 with whom they must deal. A conspicuous or eccentric ap- 
 pearance in members of its personnel destroys the harmonious 
 effect of the store service, and tends to focus attention on the 
 salespeople rather than on the goods which the store wishes 
 sold. Boisterous manners and loud talking are forbidden for 
 the same reasons. Such regulations should be acceptable to 
 store employees, since they merely enforce the standards of 
 personal appearance and conduct which are generally adopted 
 by well-bred persons. 
 
 Physical Characteristics Desired for Store Executives 
 
 The reports of store officials indicate that a frail or in- 
 significant looking physique is a handicap which would bar a 
 person from promotion to most of the important supervisory 
 positions. The claim that "a person whose physique leads 
 customers to an instinctive recognition of leadership should be 
 selected for the head of a department " has a superficial valid- 
 ity. However, reports on persons recommended as potential 
 executives show occasional, instinctive recognition of the 
 subtler personal forces which confer the right of leadership, 
 as, for example, the comments on the exceptional success of 
 the daughter of a university professor who enlisted in store 
 service: "She looks frail and dresses sensibly and plainly, 
 but has a pleasing personality and gracious manners. Cus- 
 tomers seem to pick her out as an authority and come directly 
 to her. She has possibilities as a floor superintendent. ' ' 
 
 That capacity for leadership was recognized to be a matter 
 of personal character rather than of a college education or 
 intellectual attainments is evident from the comments on an- 
 other college graduate: "Bright young woman of educated 
 family * * * Plenty of brains but not much common sense. 
 Executive ability absolutely lacking. Memory of details very 
 poor. Not good on present job (clerical). Might do better 
 selling. Has not enough common sense for any executive 
 position. Eather the * spoiled child ' type. Very conscientious 
 and studiously agreeable, but essentially weak. * * Has 
 mastery of several foreign languages. Is a good deal of a 
 student, but lacks commercial and business instinct. " 
 
42 TEAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 Varied Talents May be Utilized in Stores 
 
 While the main body of store employees must possess the 
 characteristics which will enable them to deal successfully with 
 people, the complexity and variety of the activities of a great 
 store make it possible for an ingenious educational director to 
 find suitable employment for persons of varied talents. Good 
 health, intelligence, industry, eagerness to be of service and 
 ability to work harmoniously with associates are the personal 
 qualifications sought by officials in charge of many forms of 
 store service. 9 Such traits are common characteristics of de- 
 sirable workers in both mercantile and industrial establish- 
 ments, but more specialized qualifications are necessary for 
 exceptional success in particular store occupations. These 
 will be discussed in the following chapter dealing with the 
 occupational distribution of juvenile store employees. 
 
 The policy adopted in the employment department of the 
 
 department store is an example of a systematic effort to base promotion on the 
 development of desirable personal characteristics. A printed slip is sent to 
 each division superintendent who rates each employee on five points : per- 
 sonal appearance, courtesy, industry and general estimate. In case of an 
 unfavorable report from a division superintendent the salesperson is in- 
 terviewed. The employment department considers a request for deserved pro- 
 motion a slap in the face. Salary inspections and promotions take place twice 
 a year. 
 
 Elaborate "Personnel Cards" are kept in another store. These show 
 regularity of attendance, sales records, changes of salary and errors or ex- 
 ceptionally good services. See Women's Wear, April 1, 1920, p. 20. 
 
CHAPTEE IV 
 
 OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION OF YOUNG PER- 
 SONS EMPLOYED IN BOSTON RETAIL DEPART- 
 MENT, DRY GOODS AND CLOTHING STORES, 
 AND THE QUALIFICATIONS DESIRED IN 
 PERSONS ENGAGED IN THE CHIEF 
 STORE OCCUPATIONS 
 
 Introduction 
 
 There are but few forms of store service in which young 
 persons cannot be utilized, but the variations in the numbers 
 employed in different occupations are great, since they are 
 influenced not only by the nature of the services rendered but 
 also by the types of stores, the wares sold, and the sexes, ages 
 and education of the young workers. The chief store activities 
 in which juveniles are employed and their relative importance 
 are shown in the accompanying graph, which gives the dis- 
 tribution in the eight most important occupations of young 
 persons in a group of one thousand 14-to-21-year-old store 
 employees. 
 
 It is generally assumed that education for store positions 
 should deal chiefly with training in salesmanship. While this 
 is the most important store occupation both because of the 
 number employed and because of the opportunities for promo- 
 tion, it is well to note that only 20 per cent of the thousand 
 young persons of the sample studied were engaged in selling. 
 Present vocational education plans include also training for 
 clerical work, but here again we find that only 20 per cent of 
 the juvenile store employees served as clericals. 1 A little less 
 than 40 per cent of the young store workers were engaged in 
 the two most important occupations; the remaining 60 per 
 
 J The occupations included in the clerical group are clericals, 15.4; book- 
 keepers, 1.1; auditors, 1.9; receiving clerks, .4; total 18.8 per cent Bookers 
 in the delivery department, .7, and markers in the stockrooms, 1.5, do clerical 
 work and other miscellaneous duties. Salespeople constitute 19.6 per cent of the 
 1,000 juveniles. 
 
 43 
 
44 
 
 TRAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 CHART I 
 
 DISTRIBUTION BY IMPORTANT OCCUPATIONS OF MALE AND FEMALE JUVENILE EMPLOYEES IN BOSTON 
 DERMITMENT , DRY GOODS AND CLOTHING STORES 
 
 (Selected from occupational groups of 1000 juvenile workers) 
 Total 1 Females Males 
 
 Salespersons .... 
 
 196 
 
 16 2. 
 
 34 
 
 
 168* 
 
 158 
 
 30 
 
 Car* of Stock.,... 
 
 125 
 
 62 
 
 4 
 
 
 119 
 
 107 
 
 12 
 
 Floor, errand, 
 
 cash, teller ' 
 
 119 
 
 63 
 
 30 
 
 Inspectors, exam- 
 iners, checkers ' 
 
 109 
 
 106 
 
 1 
 
 Cashiers . . . . 
 
 "77 
 
 75 
 
 2 
 
 Delivery. . 
 
 if 
 
 a 
 
 I 9 
 
 a 
 
 3O 
 
 cm 
 
 1 Complete daVa for iooo juvenile employees is given in Appendix 1 , Table 4 . Forty-one employed 
 
 in miscellaneous occupations are not represented in the chare. 
 
 hi includes general clericals, bookkeepers and auditors in the financial division and the re- 
 ceiving- clerks of Mtc stock rooms. The bookers of the delivery department and the stampers 
 and markers of the stock rooms have not been included in the group of clericals since they 
 frequently do other tasks in their respective departments. 
 
 CHART m 
 EDUCATION OF JUVENILE EMPLOYEES ENGAGED IN IMPORTANT OCCUPATIONS IN BOSTON DEPARTMENT. 
 
 DRY GOODS AND CLOTHING STOKES 
 (Selected from occupational groups of iooo juvenile workers) 
 
 1 Secor 
 Total ary 
 
 Salespersons 196 154 
 
 id- Etemen- 
 42, 
 
 Clericals .... 188 i-ss 
 
 33 1 
 
 Care of Stock . . 145 74 
 
 Bundle rs . . U9 39 
 
 51 | 
 
 8O 
 
 Floor, erratid ... .. 
 
 78 
 
 cash. teller " 
 Inspectors, exam- lo - ^ 
 
 Cashiers . . 77 62 
 
 JQ 
 15 
 
 Delivery. . . . 32, 21 
 
 n 1 
 
 || Secondary 
 PI Elementary 
 
 * Complete data for 1000 juvenile employees is given in Appendix.i , Table 4. , Forty-one employ- 
 
 ed in miscellaneous occupations are not represented in the chart. 
 
 * This includes general clericals, bookkeepers and auditors in the financial division and the receiv- 
 ing clerks of the stockrooms. The bookers of the delivery department and the stampers and 
 markers of the stock rooms have not been included in the group of clericals since they fre> 
 
 (juently do other tasks in their respective departments. 
 
OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION 45 
 
 cent found employment in various subsidiary activities. It is 
 evident that a sound program of vocational education for 
 mercantile workers must prepare not only for salesmanship 
 and for clerical work, but also must deal helpfully with the 
 60 per cent of the juvenile employees engaged in the subsidiary 
 occupations. These vary greatly in vocational value; some 
 afford opportunities for profitable business careers and others 
 are "blind alley " jobs which should be held only for brief 
 periods while preparing for more promising callings. A com- 
 prehensive vocational education program must be founded on 
 a knowledge of the character and relative importance of these 
 varied activities of juvenile mercantile employees. Details of 
 sex distribution, educational attainments, and qualifications 
 considered desirable for different positions will be given in the 
 following discussions of store occupations. 
 
 } SELLING 
 
 Extent of Juvenile Employment 
 
 After considering the costly and elaborately organized ac- 
 tivities which are required before goods can be placed before 
 the buying public, it is surprising to discover the frequency 
 with which the critical transactions upon which all other store 
 activities focus are entrusted to youthful and slightly trained 
 salespeople. The Census of 1910 reported 14 per cent of the 
 male and 29 per cent of the female salespeople of Boston to be 
 under 21 years of age, 2 but the proportion of minors in the 
 selling force of large stores, particularly in the department 
 stores, probably is somewhat larger. 8 As already stated, 
 about 20 per cent (19.6) of the thousand juveniles whose rec- 
 ords were tabulated for this study were engaged in selling. 
 The department and clothing stores used more of their juve- 
 
 'Male salespeople 11,602, of whom 1,670, or 14.4 per cent, were under 21. 
 Female salespeople 6,393, of whom 1,864 or 29.1 per cent were under 21. 
 
 "In a Federal study of women employed in department and other retail 
 stores in Boston, it was found that 43.7 per cent of the regular employees of 
 whom 52 per cent were selling, were under 21 years of age; 56 per cent of 
 those who served both as regular and irregular employees of whom 70 per 
 cent were selling, were under 21; 45 per cent of the extra employees of whom 
 77 per cent were selling were under 21. Unemployment Among Women in De- 
 partment and Other Retail Stores of Boston, Bulletin of the U. S. Bureau of 
 Labor Statistics, Whole Number 182. 
 
46 TRAINING FOR STORE SERVICE 
 
 niles as salespeople than the dry goods stores, as the percent- 
 age distribution in the three types of stores was : department, 
 22.8, clothing 22.3, and dry goods 3.7 per cent engaged in sell- 
 ing. In the sample group of 21-year-old store employees, 
 30.4 per cent held selling positions, but only two of their 170 
 positions gave the rank of head of a department. We conclude 
 that minors enter store employment through numerous sub- 
 sidiary occupations ; that when adult years are reached, nearly 
 one-third have been promoted to selling positions; and that 
 the younger members of the selling force are rarely entrusted 4 
 with the more responsible supervisory positions. 
 
 Sexes, Ages and Education of Juvenile Salespeople 
 
 The largest sex and age group of the juvenile salespeople v 
 (45.9 per cent) was that of the females 16 and 17 years old, 
 and the females of 18, 19 and 20 come next in size, (33.2 per 
 cent). Slightly more than one in six of the salespeople were 
 males, and these were rarely less than 18 years of age. Usually 
 boys of adolescent years are clumsy and self-conscious and ill- 
 adapted to positions requiring a pleasing personal bearing. 
 They are used in department and clothing stores chiefly for 
 the sale of men's furnishings. Over two-thirds of the juvenile 
 salespeople were employed in handling the varied wares of the 
 great department stores, so it is evident that the stocks of 
 these stores furnish the best opportunities for early experience 
 in salesmanship. However, little use was found for young 
 persons with less than secondary school training, as over f our-- 
 fifths of those who were selling had more than an elementary 
 school education. 
 
 Preference for Attractive Young Women 
 
 The frequent commendation of the personal appearance of 
 saleswomen favorably judged by store officials shows the 
 strength of the conviction that the public buys most willingly 
 from young, good-looking, neatly-dressed women. Questions 
 may be raised as to whether this universal assumption on the 
 part of men buyers and floor superintendents has any founda- 
 tion in facts. The naive surprise with which one floor super- 
 intendent spoke of the large " books " of a middle-aged woman 
 
OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION 47 
 
 who, although she was not particularly attractive or well- 
 dressed, had won a following because she was jolly, talked well 
 with customers and had a memory for names, suggests that 
 men supervisors may have credited the buying public with 
 their own personal preferences. Middle-aged women, seeking 
 to supply family needs, are the chief purchasers of store 
 wares, and it seems probable that service by kindly women of 
 their own age would be acceptable. 
 
 Comments Showing Qualifications Desired 
 
 General desirable qualifications for salespeople, such as 
 good health, neat and attractive but not conspicuous clothing, 
 and pleasing manners with both fellow- workers and customers 
 have been discussed. 4 The saleswoman who "dresses too 
 flashily, " "has fallen down in her personal appearance, " or 
 who "is apt to be too talkative, " or "is too abrupt in her 
 manner, " surely will earn the disapproval of the person in 
 charge of her department. 
 
 Care of the stock comes next in the frequency with which it 
 is mentioned. The general appearance of a department suf- 
 fers when salespeople allow goods to accumulate in a disorder- 
 ly heap, while they rush from one customer to another. Such 
 careless ways lower the profits of the department, since the 
 goods deteriorate in value so that they must be sold at a loss. 
 To win the entire approval of the head of the department, a 
 salesperson must not only care for stock which he has shown, 
 but also must be ready to assist a companion who has been 
 overwhelmed with customers who have demanded an extensive 
 display of merchandise. The salesman whose report reads, 
 "Very pleasant with customers, knows his merchandise, looks 
 after his own stock pretty well, but not willing to help any- 
 where else in the department, ' ' fell short of perfection in his 
 calling. 
 
 The successful salesperson avoids spending too much time 
 with one customer. The following are examples of this un- 
 economical practice : 
 
 "Her biggest weakness is that she takes too much time with 
 customers and cannot wait on as many as the other girls." 
 
 4 Chapter III, pp. 38-41. 
 
48 TRAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 " Shows a good deal of merchandise, but does not grasp the 
 customer's ideas very quickly. She has to talk too much to 
 find out what the customer wants and tries on too much mer- 
 chandise. ' ' 
 
 At the opposite extreme is the saleswoman who was de- 
 scribed as, "Attractive, bright and can wait on 4 customers at 
 a time, * * * alert, easy to get along with. " 
 
 An unusual requirement is the demand that a salesman be 
 prepared to quote statistics in defense of his department : 
 
 "Is a good man to keep up stock. * * * Gets along well 
 with people. Does not catch on to things quickly enough and 
 does not fortify himself with statistics enough to meet criti- 
 cisms that might be made against his department. ' ' 
 
 An experienced educational director of a large department 
 store summed up the qualifications for a good salesperson as 
 follows : 
 
 ' ' The primary requisite for successful selling is an interest 
 in people a genuine desire to discover what they want and to 
 supply their needs. A salesperson gifted with this natural 
 social disposition is not annoyed by the queer folks with queer 
 ways who turn up constantly. She makes friends and soon 
 wins a following of grateful customers. " 
 
 "The person who is timid and bashful should avoid store 
 service, " exclaimed this director. "It is not necessary to be 
 unpleasantly aggressive, but a salesperson must have self- 
 assurance; and a somewhat positive manner often convinces 
 a vacillating customer. " 
 
 Qualifications of successful salesmanship vary somewhat 
 with the character of the goods handled. The superintendent 
 of a corset department rejoiced in the services of a fitter who 
 had been trained as a nurse and who i i seemed to feel with her 
 customer, very sympathetic, customers always satisfied, very 
 easy and quiet. Does not show up, but has a great deal of 
 knowledge which she has not the power to express. ' ' 
 
 A Saleswoman with a Bright Future 
 
 Reports showing the rapid rise of a young woman who was 
 handicapped by a defective education give evidence of the 
 promptness with which native ability may be recognized in a 
 well-organized store : 
 
OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION 49 
 
 " entered the store in August, 1912. Had worked 
 
 for . Is a very good cashier; can handle an immense 
 
 amount of business very well. I don't think she has ever had 
 a shortage. She is a good, clean-cut girl, about medium height, 
 with very pleasing manners. People like her very much. She 
 has done some selling in the department and is anxious to do 
 more. The shoppers have given her splendid reports. Is 
 quiet and particularly observing. She uses her wits and is 
 always thinking about her job. Nothing gets by her. Has 
 gotten the prize of ten dollars for detecting merchandise 
 wrongly advertised. 
 
 "May, 1915, promoted to saleswoman. 
 
 " November, 1915 Is a fine girl * * * strongest point is 
 her keenness. Very observing, not afraid to ask good ques- 
 tions. Has a very trying stock, but keeps it better than any- 
 one we have ever had. Think she would make good almost 
 anywhere. Has not had a great deal of education just gram- 
 mar school. A very pleasant girl to get along with. Always 
 interested in her work. Understands what a customer wants. 
 Will try hard to satisfy. Was a bit timid at first, but now she 
 talks right up." 
 
 The buyer for this department adds his testimony : ' ' Smart, 
 nice to customers, and gives fine service. Has de- 
 
 veloped rapidly, will develop into assistant buyer by way of 
 selling. ' ' 
 
 Clerical Occupations of Juvenile Employees of Department. 
 
 Dry Goods and Clothing Stores. Numbers Employed in 
 
 Clerical Occupations 
 
 Two policies adopted by progressive mercantile establish- 
 ments have resulted in a great multiplication of clericals : (1) 
 High-salaried officials must not waste time in record keeping 
 which can be cared for by less expensive assistants. (2) The 
 store managers or directors of important divisions and depart- 
 ments must have complete data showing the condition of the 
 stocks, the costs of the different store services, and the profits 
 or losses of each selling department. It is true also that with 
 the growth of the business more clerical assistance becomes 
 necessary in order to care for the great volumes of corre- 
 
50 TRAINING FOE STOEE SERVICE 
 
 spondence developed in connection with the charge-accounts 
 and mail-order departments. Many of these clerical services 
 are simple, highly specialized tasks, and but few require the 
 assumption of responsibility for important decisions, so that 
 they are well adapted to the capacities of the younger, less ex- 
 perienced store workers. If we include persons giving the 
 whole or a part of their time to such simple tasks as the book- 
 ing of parcels in the delivery room, or the marking of new 
 stock, the clericals constitute an occupational group slightly 
 larger than that of the juvenile salespeople. 5 
 
 Sexes, Ages and Education of Juvenile Clericals 
 
 The sex distribution of the store clericals was the same as 
 that of the salespeople, one in six were males. The ages varied * 
 with the types of work ; there were a few simple tasks, like the . 
 auditing of sales slips, in which young persons of 14 to 16 
 could be employed and which were rarely done by persons 
 over 18 years of age. On the other hand, three-fourths of the 
 receiving clerks were 18-to-21-year-old men, and two-thirds of 
 the bookkeepers also were in this age group. Considerable 
 training is required by most of the clerical workers, 70 per 
 cent had graduated from, or had gone as far as the last two 
 years, of the secondary schools, and less than 18 per cent had 
 no more than an elementary education. 
 
 Characteristics of Successful Clericals Shown in Reports of 
 Their Superior Officers 
 
 General statements about the qualifications desired for store 
 clericals are difficult because of the great variations in their 
 tasks, but reports of their superior officers will suggest many 
 personal characteristics which should be cultivated by young 
 persons who wish to succeed in such positions. The report on 
 a college graduate who is head of an important merchandise 
 office indicates the beginning of a successful mercantile career. 
 
 " Appearance good, personality always pleasant, tactful, 
 gets along well with people. * * * Looks younger than he 
 is and that is a handicap for an executive position. 
 
 5 Details of the distribution of clericals are given in Note 1, page 43, and in 
 Table 4, Appendix I, p. 119. 
 
OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION 51 
 
 Always willing to help. * * Dependable, does not have to 
 be followed up, initiative good, careful and accurate. ' ' 
 
 A young man who is recognized as a potential executive is 
 given this description: 
 
 "Is new in the business, but is a gentleman. Has nice 
 manners and pleasing personality. After he is experienced, I 
 should think he would make some sort of an executive. He is 
 capable, thinks quickly, moves quickly and shows good judg- 
 ment. He has a nice personality, is well educated and speaks 
 well, is attentive and on the job. Would make a good floor 
 clerical or merchandise clerical. Believe he is a boy of good 
 possibilities. " 
 
 A Typical Office Stenographer 
 
 In the following report we recognize the young woman who 
 will make a good office clerical but will not rise to an executive 
 position : 
 
 " - comes from a splendid family and shows good up- 
 bringing. Is well educated and a good type girl right through. 
 Very accurate in her work. She turns out a great deal of 
 work and is a good stenographer. Does not seem to have a 
 great deal of ambition and is lacking in force. She is rather 
 timid and reserved, would probably not do in merchandising 
 end of it for this reason. However, she is a fine girl in an 
 office/' 
 
 A mail order clerical is commended because she "follows 
 things up closely and writes a good letter. ' ' 
 
 A Merchandise Clerical Who is Forging Ahead 
 
 Three reports on a merchandise clerical who had worked 
 up from an inferior position throw light on the store experi- 
 ences of young persons. The buyer writes : 
 
 " came to me from the shipping room and at first de- 
 veloped very slowly so slowly that I thought he would not do 
 and tried to have him transferred. All of a sudden he began 
 to pick up. Since then he has steadily forged ahead. * * * 
 
 The employment department reports : 
 
 " - entered five years ago as a sorter; worked success- 
 fully on the chute, the elevator, packer, floor boy up stairs, 
 
52 TRAINING FOR STORE SERVICE 
 
 and stock. Ambitious, good judgment, good business ability, 
 not tactful." 
 
 The floor superintendent's description reads: 
 "His strength is his persistence in digging out things. Al- 
 ways on the job. * * Is out to pick up all he can get in 
 the way of information or anything else. Gets on well with 
 people, ambitious." 
 
 A Plodding Merchandise Clerical. 
 
 "A plugger * * * an excellent merchandise clerical 
 
 * * * Find him very valuable doing certain parts of the as- 
 sistant buyer's work. Is a fellow who does not push himself 
 much. Has been here about five or six years. Has a good 
 knowledge of merchandise. Can go away and leave things 
 with him and be sure they will get done. Needs somebody 
 to show him how to work towards an assistant-buyership. Phy- 
 sically not big which possibly has been against him. Nothing 
 the matter with his brain or his power of application. Uses 
 his mind in his work. Ingenious in finding ways to get re- 
 sults. Everything he does he does right. If somewhat larger 
 and pushed himself more would be further advanced. ' ' 
 
 Floor Clericals 
 
 An unusual clerical position, which often serves as a step- 
 ping-stone to an executive office, has been developed in one 
 Boston store. The floor clerical has a desk located in the de- 
 partment which he or she serves, and relieves the floor super- 
 intendent of the keeping of records, serves as his substitute 
 during the noon hour or other absences, and is in line of pro- 
 motion to his position. The duties and vocational outlook of 
 the floor clericals are suggested in the reports : 
 
 " i s without doubt the best floor clerical in the store. 
 
 Very capable in making adjustments. Right on the job. Works 
 after hours a great deal and gets in early. Extremely me- 
 thodical. * * * Handles a tremendous lot of detail very 
 well. Was previously merchandise clerical in the department. 
 
 * * * Might be a very good woman as head of the complaint 
 department. Is strong along those lines. Has not a big 
 
OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION 53 
 
 physique and would not stand out among salespeople which 
 might handicap her as a floor superintendent. ' ' 
 Another favorable report reads : 
 
 - is a splendid clerical. Also helps on floor 
 
 work and relieves at the noon hour, * * * Very able 
 
 and very adaptable. * Very watchful. Has a good idea 
 
 as to what the girls do in the different departments. Keeps a 
 sort of general outlook on the floor as well as doing her desk 
 work. The only thing in the work I hesitate about is perhaps 
 her lack of convincing customers on complaints. ' ' 
 
 Summary 
 
 Personal characteristics received much more consideration 
 than technical ability in these estimates of the qualifications of 
 juvenile store clericals, and there can be little doubt of their 
 greater importance in determining promotion. The employ- 
 ment department makes sure of certain minimum standards of 
 training and efficiency, and since the clerical work of stores 
 usually requires diligence, neatness and accuracy, rather than 
 a grasp of higher mathematics or exceptional literary ability, 
 the traits sought in those recommended for the more important 
 positions are intelligence, adaptability, initiative, and tact in 
 dealing with fellow workers and customers. 
 
 y CAEE OF STOCK 
 
 Duties of Stock Workers 
 
 Two distinct groups of stock workers are found in the 
 stores : (1) those who are employed chiefly in the stock rooms, 
 and (2) those who serve as assistants to salespeople and who 
 often are in line of promotion to selling positions. A brief 
 outline of the care that must be given to goods passing through 
 the stores will show the various groups of workers and their 
 duties. 
 
 Receiving Clerks 
 
 The new shipments of goods from the manufacturers or 
 jobbers are handled first by the receiving clerks, who must 
 check them with the invoices to see that no mistakes have 
 been made in packing and billing the store orders. Only 4 
 
54 TRAINING FOR STORE SERVICE 
 
 of the 1,000 juveniles under 21 years of age were engaged in 
 this responsible and often heavy work ; three of the four were 
 over 18 years of age and all had received secondary school 
 training. 
 
 Stampers and Markers 
 
 The substitution of the store labels and price tags for those 
 which may have been placed on the goods by the manufactur- 
 ers is not so simple a task as might appear to a person un- 
 familiar with the practices of well-managed stores. While 
 much of the mechanical work is done by young and inexperi- 
 enced persons, it is necessary for them to be attentive and 
 accurate in following the instructions of the buyers who usual- 
 ly are responsible for fixing the prices. Care must be ex- 
 ercised in order to stamp the correct sizes and prices on the 
 tags attached to the garments, and sometimes store labels must 
 be sewed in the place of those of the manufacturer. Other 
 mysterious figures and letters which are added to the price 
 tags, when interpreted by a person familiar with the store 
 codes, reveal the costs, dates of purchase and names of the 
 firms from whom the goods were procured. Thirteen of the 
 15 stampers and markers found in the sample group were 
 females. Two-thirds were over 18 years old and had received 
 more than two years of secondary school training, and only 
 2 had but an elementary education. 
 
 Stock-rooms 
 
 The merchandisers or buyers decide where the goods shall 
 be sent after they have been marked properly. One part of 
 the stock may be set aside for filling the mail orders, the buyer 
 may plan an immediate special sale of another part, some 
 goods will be used to maintain supplies in sales departments, 
 and others will be sent to the stock-rooms to be held in reserve 
 for use in the future. The heads of stocks and buyers of the 
 different store departments must be quite familiar with the 
 condition of these reserve stocks in order to be sure that sup- 
 plies are kept up properly and that the store does not suffer 
 losses because its capital is tied up in goods which stay on the 
 shelves too long. Young stock workers who assist salespeople 
 
OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION 55 
 
 soon learn where the goods of their departments are located, 
 so that they can avoid delays in finding supplies needed to 
 replace what has been taken by customers. 
 
 Stock Workers of Selling Departments 
 
 Juvenile stock workers are employed chiefly in assisting 
 salespeople in the care of their stock, so that the position may 
 be regarded as a sort of apprenticeship to selling. Eleven per 
 cent of the juvenile store workers under 21 were caring for 
 stock, but stock positions were a somewhat larger proportion 
 (12.8 per cent) of those held when 21 years old. Nearly two- 
 thirds (62.7 per cent) of the stock workers under 21 were 
 females, but here again the proportion (41.2 per cent) of males 
 was somewhat higher in the 21-year-old group. The propor- 
 tion of juvenile store workers holding stock positions varied 
 with the different types of stores as follows: department 
 stores, 7.5 per cent; clothing, 13.1 per cent; dry goods, 20.4 
 per cent. In some stores the work of caring for the stock is 
 apportioned among the salespeople so that only a small num- 
 ber of stock people appear on the pay rolls. 
 
 Ages and Schooling of Stock Workers Similar to Those of 
 
 Salespeople 
 
 The close correspondence between juvenile sales and stock 
 workers is shown by similarities in the ages and educational 
 qualifications of the two groups. Only 10.9 per cent of the 
 stock workers were under 16 years of age, 51.8 per cent were 
 between 16 and 18 and 37.3 per cent were over 18. Over half 
 (55.4 per cent) of the young persons in stock work had received 
 high school training and almost one-third (30.9 per cent) had 
 spent three or four years in secondary schools, while only 13.6 
 per cent had failed to reach the eighth grade. 
 
 Comments on Stock Workers 
 
 Characteristics commended or condemned in young stock 
 workers, and also the positions to which they may be pro- 
 moted, are shown in records taken from the store "Judg- 
 ment Book:" 
 
 " is very satisfactory as a stock girl, makes her head 
 
 save her heels, moves quickly and thinks quickly. Pleasing 
 
56 TRAINING FOR STORE SERVICE 
 
 manners, very willing, might sell in some department where 
 large physique is not necessary." 
 
 - has been in the department 2 years. Does not have 
 to be watched or prodded. Quick, pleasant disposition, in- 
 clined to be bashful. Appearance not good * * * will be put 
 to selling when there is an opening. " 
 
 Possible lines of promotion open to such stock workers are 
 shown by another report of a young woman who was serving 
 at the basement refund desk: 
 
 "Promoted from a stock position, shrewd, can pretty nearly 
 always tell whether a customer is right or not. Has tact, care- 
 ful and accurate, does not get flustered. Picked her out be 
 cause she impressed me and others as being bright. Recom- 
 mend her promotion to saleswoman or office clerical. ' ' 
 
 Another girl who had done part merchandise-clerical and 
 part stock work, was transferred to an important cashier's 
 desk where she served for 5 years. It was recommended that 
 she be considered for a selling position. 
 
 Unsatisfactory Stock Workers 
 
 Two reports give pictures of stock girls whose future in 
 store work seems precarious : 
 
 "Lacks energy and spirit, not keen and does not grasp 
 things quickly. Is inclined to ' putter ' around. Not live and 
 aggressive. Does not always show a willing spirit. If asked 
 to do anything out of the way of her work, does not do it grace- 
 fully. Is always making excuses for a thing not being done. 
 Do not think she has much future in the store. ' ' 
 
 "I am afraid she is getting into bad habits, such as wander- 
 ing off from the floor without asking, so that you never can 
 tell where she is, but when talked to, she did better. Willing, 
 teachable, sells at noon. Obeys cheerfully, a little slow." 
 
 Sometimes a change to work in another department makes it 
 possible to avoid discharging a person whose supervisors feel 
 dissatisfied with his services. A man who had served as stock 
 and general handy man for 4 years and then tried the work of 
 a merchandise clerical for one year, was the subject of very 
 adverse reports. It was claimed that he was capable of bet- 
 ter things, but had gotten into a rut. He was transferred to 
 another department, where he "made good." 
 
OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION 57 
 
 A High Class Stock Marker 
 
 "Very accurate, very careful, knows the merchandise, 
 thorough in his work * * * dependable. Good possibility 
 for an assistant buyer in another year. * * * Health good, 
 very energetic, appearance good. * * * Grasps situation 
 quickly. Left $20 position to come in here and work 
 
 his way up. I think he is a high school graduate. ' ' 
 
 Summary 
 
 The general term "stock workers " is often applied to a 
 group whose tasks are imperfectly standardized ; on one hand 
 the duties of a marker or merchandise clerical may be com- 
 bined with the handling of new goods in the stock-room, and on 
 the other the stock worker may do chores for a selling depart- 
 'ment, or may serve as a sort of junior salesperson. Intelli- 
 gence and accuracy and a cheerful willingness to do whatever 
 tasks are assigned by supervisors seem to be the character- 
 istics which give satisfaction. Exceptional ability and a pleas- 
 ing personality may win promotion to a position as cashier or 
 office clerical, or as salesperson in the department whose stock 
 has been learned. 
 
 . EAPID CHANGES IN NUMBERS EMPLOYED IN MINOR JUVENILE STORE 
 
 OCCUPATIONS 
 
 But slightly less than stock workers in numerical import- 
 ance are the two groups of boys and girls who hold the "blind 
 alley " jobs of the great stores. Fortunately the war-time 
 shortage of store workers, the increased expense due to ac- 
 ceptance of minimum wage rulings in January, 1916, and the 
 efforts of progressive store managers to improve both the 
 personnel and vocational outlook of their employees are re- 
 sulting in a rapid reduction in the number who do these me- 
 chanical and uninteresting tasks. Thus we find that 21 to 25 
 per cent of the juveniles who entered stores in 1913, 1914 and 
 1915 were employed as bundlers, while in 1918 the numbers 
 engaged in this least desirable of store occupations was only 
 2.7 per cent. 
 
 Intelligent customers have been offended by the sight of 
 errand boys and girls who were obviously wasting the years 
 
58 TRAINING FOR STORE SERVICE 
 
 which should have been spent in school rooms, busy ones have 
 been exasperated by the long delays in receiving bundles and 
 change due to the natural childish disposition to loiter, and 
 fastidious persons have been annoyed by the chorus of ir- 
 ritated yells for "cash" which added to the confusion of a 
 crowded store, but these evils have been done away with in the 
 well-organized Boston stores. The cash and bundling activi- 
 ties have been decentralized, and clasp envelopes and cash 
 registers have made it possible to dispense with the youngest 
 and least trained of the store workers. The summaries of the 
 characteristics and duties of these occupation groups apply 
 chiefly to workers who entered stores prior to 1916. 
 
 DISTKIBUTION AND QUALIFICATIONS OF JUVENILE EMPLOYEES IN 
 MINOE STORE OCCUPATIONS 
 
 Bundlers 
 
 Bundlers wrap small parcels for immediate delivery to 
 customers. Almost half of them (43.8 per cent) were children 
 under 16 years of age, and but 10 per cent were over 18 ; the 
 remainder were in those critical adolescent years (16 to 18) 
 when they should have been learning something useful. They 
 were in need of more schooling as a fourth of them had not 
 reached the 8th grade and over two-thirds had not gone beyond 
 the elementary schools; only ten per cent went as far as the 
 third year of the secondary course. Nine out of ten of the 
 bundlers were little girls who were beginning their mercantile 
 careers handicapped by this lack of training. The clothing 
 stores have been most successful in the elimination of child 
 labor as only 4 of their 251 juvenile employees were bundling, 
 in contrast with the 15.7 per cent of the department and 14.2 
 per cent of the dry goods store juveniles who did this work. 
 
 Floor, Errand, Cash, Teller 
 
 The terms " floor/' " errand, " "cash" or "teller" designate 
 the other group of children whose services are being dispensed 
 with in the more progressive stores. Their ages and educa- 
 tion or lack of education corresponded closely with that of 
 the bundlers. Half of them were under sixteen and only 2 
 per cent were over 18 years old. One-fifth had not reached 
 
OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION 59 
 
 the eighth grade in school and over two-thirds had failed to 
 go beyond the elementary school. The work is better suited to 
 boys, and such tasks constitute 15 per cent of the store posi- 
 tions held by males of 14 to 21, yet nearly two-thirds (73.5 
 per cent) of the children who spent eight hours a day running 
 to and fro with bundles and change were little girls. The 
 proportions of juveniles in the three types of stores employed 
 in such work were: clothing 3.6 per cent, department 10.2 
 per cent, dry goods 27.2 per cent. 
 
 Cashiers, Inspectors, Examiners, Checkers 
 
 JPrompt and reliable service for customers requires that 
 there be no mistakes in the sales slips, or pricing and measur- 
 ing of the goods sold, that the articles sold to different cus- 
 tomers shall not be slipped into the wrong envelopes or bun- 
 dles, and that the change for cash purchases shall be counted 
 accurately. Cashiers handle the money; they must note 
 whether the sum received corresponds with the amount credit- 
 ed on the sales slip and must count out the difference between 
 this and the total of the purchases to be returned to the cus- 
 tomer in change. The assistants of the cashiers are variously 
 designated as " inspectors, " "examiners," or "checkers." 
 They examine the sales slip to see whether it is correctly filled 
 in and whether mistakes have been made in calculating the 
 amounts, and verify the change given by the cashier. If there 
 is a price mark on the goods they compare it with that of the 
 sales slip, and sometimes they re-measure or re-count the 
 goods before putting them in envelopes or giving them to the 
 bundlers for wrapping. The earlier store organization plans 
 provided central offices to which cash or errand boys and girls 
 carried the goods sold, the sales slips and money, and from 
 which they delivered the wrapped bundle and the customer's 
 change. Sometimes there were overhead trolley systems by 
 which baskets of merchandise and cash carriers were delivered 
 and returned from the central offices. Another common plan 
 which is found in many Boston stores is that by which the 
 making of change and examining of sales slips is done in a 
 central office which connects with store departments by an 
 elaborate pneumatic tube system of cash carriers. The sales- 
 
60 TRAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 people slip the articles sold into clasp envelopes and deliver 
 them to waiting customers, or send larger purchases to the 
 wrapping desks located nearest their departments. 
 
 Decentralizing the Cash System 
 
 A rapid decentralization of the cash system is being brought 
 about in the Boston stores by the increasing use of cash regis- 
 ters and by installing floor cashiers or cash desks in or near 
 each department. In all cases where the wares sold are not 
 bulky and the amounts of the sales are small, it is possible for 
 the salespeople to complete the transactions by the use of cash 
 registers and envelope wrappers. This means prompt de- 
 livery to the customer and greatly lessened cost of service. 
 The local or departmental cashiers are supplied each day with 
 a sum of money with which to make change, and also are 
 usually connected with a central office by means of the pneu- 
 matic tube system. Frequently they are assisted by inspectors 
 or examiners, though in smaller departments one person is 
 able to make change and wrap the parcels. These local cashier 
 stations greatly reduce the confusion and delay in handling the 
 packages delivered to customers and there is less danger of 
 mistakes in wrapping the goods. 
 
 Characteristics of Inspectors, Examiners, or Checkers 
 
 Quickness, accuracy and attention to details are necessary in 
 this work, and there seems to be a general assumption that 
 these qualifications are more often found in young women, as 
 74 of the 75 young persons of our sample group who reported 
 this work were females. Nearly two-thirds (62.4 per cent) 
 of these workers were between the ages of 16 and 18, and only 
 28 per cent were less than 16 years old. Over 60 per cent had 
 high school training and only 7 per cent had left school before 
 reaching the eighth grade. 
 
 Age and Schooling of Cashiers 
 
 Somewhat greater maturity and training are required for 
 cashiers than for the inspectors and examiners who assist in 
 their work. Only 1 in 8 (13 per cent) was less than 16 years 
 of age, and the number who were 18 to 21 years old (41.6 per 
 cent) was almost as great as that of the 16 to 18 group. Here 
 
OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION 61 
 
 again females rather than males are selected for the work as 
 43 of the 45 cashiers were young women. In no case was a 
 young person who had failed to reach the eighth grade em- 
 ployed as a cashier and over half (54.5 per cent) had com- 
 pleted three or more years of the secondary schools. 
 
 ^COMMENTS OF STORE OFFICIALS ON EXAMINEES AND CASHIERS 
 
 Qualifications Desired. Much the same qualifications are 
 desired in successful examiners and cashiers. Quiet manners 
 and a disposition to attend strictly to business, combined with 
 quickness, accuracy and capacity to care for details, are the 
 traits that are desired in the young women engaged in these 
 occupations. 
 
 Undesirable Employees 
 
 The first report describes an examiner whose work was 
 satisfactory but whose personal habits prevented rapid pro- 
 motion : 
 
 " is a very careful, quick examiner. Her work is 
 
 very well done in every way. * * * Is rather loud talking 
 and needs to overcome that * * * will be cashier for the 
 next year or two." 
 
 The report on a girl who is about to lose her job reads : 
 
 " has been handling cash and has had a lot of short- 
 ages, so I had to take the cash box away from her. Has good 
 interest; simply careless and slow. She will last out the 
 Christmas holidays and that is all." 
 
 The head cashier found means of remedying the unbusi- 
 nesslike habits of the next case : 
 
 often has to be called up closely on her habits ; 
 sometimes she chews gum and such things. * * Often had 
 visitors at her desk, (Transferred to a desk inaccessible to 
 visitors) * * now does not ha ye any more people come to 
 see her but applies herself closely. ' ' 
 
 Satisfactory Cashiers 
 
 "She is a quiet girl who tends to her business all the time 
 
 has never been taxed to her greatest capacity, but gets 
 
 things done and does not let anything slide by. Is careful and 
 
62 TRAINING FOR STORE SERVICE 
 
 accurate. Is not one who runs the minute the bell 
 
 rings but sees that her work is all cleared up." 
 
 former auditing office clerk. Not very neat or 
 
 attractive, but gets along well with the girls. Her future is in 
 cashiering. ' ' 
 
 "Is well liked among her salespeople. * * * Does not 
 show any particular initiative but has a lot of energy and is 
 attentive and on the job. Her future is hardly selling but 
 she would make a good clerical. ' ' 
 
 A Cashier-with a Bright Future 
 
 " is a girl who can do any two girls' work. * * * 
 
 I consider her a wonder. Has very good physique, neat and 
 nice looking. 'Tends to her business and works hard all the 
 time. Seems to be able to turn out any amount of work. Is 
 one of the most insistent cashiers we have as far as rules go 
 shows good initiative and is very observing. * * * 
 Is very careful about her desk, neat and mechanical * * * 
 would make an unusually pleasant saleswoman, and one people 
 would like to come to." 
 
 Delivery 
 
 A surprisingly small number of our sample group of juve- 
 niles only 32 in 1,000 were employed in the delivery of mer- 
 chandise. Over half (19 in 30) of the delivery positions of 
 our sample group were in the packing rooms where the work 
 was much like that of the girl bundlers. An outline of the 
 processes through which a parcel passes before reaching the 
 door of its purchaser will show the duties of other persons 
 connected with the delivery department. 
 
 Collectors gather the bundles from the wrapping or cashier 
 desks and take them to the central delivery rooms. A chute 
 may be used for some parcels, but delicate or breakable 
 articles are carried to the expert packers who prepare them 
 for safe transportation. A revolving belt may be used to 
 expedite the work of sorting the packages. Special delivery 
 and C. O. D. parcels must be set aside for prompt attention, 
 and in some stores all bundles that are charged are held until 
 the accounts of persons to whom they are addressed have been 
 
OCCUPATIONAL DISTRIBUTION 63 
 
 investigated. The sales checks and shipping tickets of the 
 bundles are carefully verified. When parcels are ready to 
 send out, the sorters distribute them to the "drivers' bins," 
 which hold the goods assigned to the different delivery routes 
 which cover the city and its suburbs. Bookers must prepare 
 records showing what goes into each load and what collections 
 will be due on the C. 0. D. parcels. The drivers and chauffeurs 
 and their assistants then become responsible for the delivery 
 or safe return of their consignments. 
 
 Quick-witted, responsible workers are required for much 
 of this work, so that the younger juveniles are employed chiefly 
 as assistants to older men. Among 155 positions held by male 
 store employees when 21 years old, the following were in the 
 delivery department : 2 collectors, 5 porters, 7 team boys and 
 auto helpers, 2 drivers and chauffeurs. Half of the 32 de- 
 livery department employees of our 14-to-21-year-old juveniles 
 were in the 16 to 18 age group and a third (11) were over 18. 
 Three-fourths had left school after completing the elementary 
 course, or the first year of the secondary schools. 
 
 Chances of Promotion in the Delivery Department 
 
 An inside worker who is energetic and knows how to handle 
 men may obtain a supervisory position in the shipping rooms. 
 The report on an assistant in line for this promotion reads : 
 
 " handles men well and is sure to get a day's work out 
 
 of them. He will always try to get the best results out of 
 people and is on the job every minute. " Helpers on the de- 
 livery wagons and automobiles must learn their routes, and 
 prove themselves to be thoroughly responsible before they 
 can be trusted with loads of expensive goods. Usually they 
 are required to give bonds, so that the stores will be protected 
 from losses due to dishonesty or carelessness. 
 
 i e COMMENTS SHOWING QUALIFICATIONS DESIEED FOB VARIOUS 
 MISCELLANEOUS POSITIONS 
 
 A man who wished an executive position was found unsuit- 
 able, "because people do not care for him. His habits are 
 good, but he has a repulsive personality and bad manners. " 
 
 A woman with executive ability, though not of an engaging 
 
64 TRAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 personality, is described thus: "Is very ambitious. Is of the 
 fighting ambitious kind, and right on the job. * * * If any- 
 thing is wrong about the merchandise, she notices it and 
 speaks of it. Has been doing a very good job and I feel she 
 
 will make a good . Has no close friends. Wont stand 
 
 for a shirker. Does her own work and wants everyone else 
 to do theirs. " 
 
 The qualifications desired in a window decorator are shown 
 in the report: "He is an artist, a fine decorator with original- 
 ity and good taste. Gets things done without friction or com- 
 plaint. Is full of energy and has great interest in his work 
 and is always willing. * He is a natural born leader 
 
 among people and his men all like him. He is certainly capable 
 of holding down a real, good job." 
 
 Here is a pen portrait of a model elevator operator : ' ' 
 
 is more than courteous to people. Seems to call out the floors 
 in a very attractive way, almost as if to invite people to get 
 off. A great many people come to me and speak to me about 
 him, what a careful, good, all-around man he is. ' ' 
 
 ^EMPLOYEES OF RESTAURANTS AND MANUFACTURING DEPARTMENTS 
 
 Consideration of the personal characteristics desired and of 
 the vocational training needed by juveniles employed in the 
 restaurants and manufacturing departments of great stores 
 will be given little attention in this study, because these sub- 
 jects belong properly in other fields of vocational education. 
 Girls trained in the needle trades may find work in the altera- 
 tion and millinery rooms ; and boys may use their knowledge 
 of carpentry, plumbing and electric wiring, in the making of 
 furniture and installing of household equipment or decora- 
 tions. The training and qualifications of restaurant workers 
 differ radically from those of store employees, and must be 
 considered in a separate study. Girls employed in the mil- 
 linery and alterations rooms and an occasional waitress may 
 be promoted to regular store positions, but the majority of the 
 persons found in the restaurants and manufacturing depart- 
 ments are of somewhat different types from those who make 
 satisfactory mercantile workers. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 SHIFTING OF YOUNG STORE WORKERS 
 
 Introduction 
 
 Shifting, or changing from one position to another, by young 
 store workers whose experiences were studied in the course of 
 this investigation, may be compared to the activities of an 
 intricate piece of machinery with a general movement of its 
 own, and having wheels within wheels, all going at varying 
 speeds. The general movement was supplied by war-time 
 economic changes; the industrial depression of 1915 was fol- 
 lowed by an outburst of manufacturing in the latter part of 
 1916. High wages were enticing many new workers into the 
 factories during the months when our investigators were try- 
 ing to locate the young persons of the sample group. Some 
 months later the business of the stores was increased by the 
 resulting greater purchasing power of wage earners. The ebb 
 and flow of store workers, while subject to these general eco- 
 nomic changes, were influenced also by the usual seasonal 
 variations in the demands for merchandise, and by differences 
 in the types of stores, and in the sexes, ages, occupations and 
 personal characteristics of the young workers. While many 
 of these forces were acting simultaneously, it will be necessary 
 for the sake of simplicity to treat them serially. 
 
 Sources of Information 
 
 Four sources of information supplied the data used as the 
 basis for our discussion ; differences in the value and scope of 
 this information have made it difficult to present a well-defined 
 picture, but the evidence is sufficient to permit reliable esti- 
 mates of the amount of, the routes, the seasonal variations and 
 the reasons for these vocational shiftings. 
 
 (1) The certificates which are obtained at the time of enter- 
 ing upon each position have been our most important sources 
 of information. It is particularly easy to follow the fluctua- 
 tions in the amount of store work done by children fourteen 
 
 65 
 
66 TRAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 to sixteen years old, since both the employers and the occupa- 
 tions are reported on the certificates obtained with every 
 change of position. The sample group of educational certifi- 
 cates supplied information about the experiences of over 1,500 
 young persons who had held positions in stores when 19 to 21 
 years old, 1 but since the law requiring the certification of 
 young persons of 16 to 21 was not strictly enforced, it is prob- 
 able that the certificates on file do not give a complete history 
 of their working experiences. 
 
 (2) Application schedules of candidates for store positions 
 supplied a second source of information about shifting. These 
 vocational histories of persons employed or seeking employ- 
 ment were found in several establishments. One large store 
 placed at our disposal a double file of such records ; one which 
 was called the "live" file contained the schedules for persons 
 then in the employ of the firm, and the second known as the 
 "dead" file had similar records for young persons who had 
 left. Since this firm required every applicant to account for 
 all his time since leaving school, and since all statements of 
 previous employment were carefully verified by the employ- 
 ment department, there could be no question about the com- 
 pleteness and reliability of the information. But here again 
 the data must be used with some reservations because this 
 store had educational requirements above the average, so that 
 it is probable that the bulk of our application schedule infor- 
 mation applied to young persons with somewhat shorter work- 
 ing experiences than were characteristic of the entire body of 
 young store workers. 
 
 (3) Pay-roll records were used to determine the length of 
 service in the employing firms, and the months of entering 
 and leaving service. These records also supplied the employ- 
 ers' reports of reasons for shifting. Such written records 
 were rarely found in the smaller establishments. 
 
 Massachusetts laws require "employment certificates" for all working 
 minors 14 to 16 years old, and "educational certificates" for young persons over 
 16 and under 21 years of age employed in factory, workshop, manufacturing, 
 mechanical, or mercantile establishments. We used the expired educational cer- 
 tificates of juveniles who reached their twenty-first birthdays between July 1, 
 1915, and June 30, 1916. There were 6395 young persons in this sample group 
 of whom 1530 had been employed in mercantile establishments. 
 
SHIFTING OF YOUNG STORE WORKERS 67 
 
 (4) The number of young persons of the sample group who 
 were found by our field workers at the last place to which they 
 had been certificated was another index of the amount of shift- 
 ing. However, as already stated, the investigation was made 
 during months when there was an abnormal tendency to seek 
 the highly paid war work. Visits were made to the homes of 
 a small group who showed an exceptional instability in their 
 vocational experiences. 
 
 The Amount of Shifting 
 
 The minimum shifting tendency is that shown by the certifi- 
 cates of the 19 to 21 year old sample group : of 1,530 young 
 persons whose last educational certificates authorized work 
 in the types of stores studied, 1,137 or 74 per cent had held but 
 one certificate between September, 1913, and July, 1916. Ap- 
 parently all the shifting had been confined to 26 per cent or 
 about one-fourth of the young persons of the sample group. 
 The numbers of positions which they had held varied, as three- 
 fifths had received only 2 certificates, one-fifth 3 and the other 
 fifth from 4 to 14. Those whose certificates indicated more 
 than one employer for each year comprised but 4.7 per cent 
 of the entire group. The clothing stores and miscellaneous 
 group of smaller stores had a more stable working force than 
 the department, dry goods and five-and-ten-cent stores. This 
 relatively small amount of shifting in the sample group of 
 young persons 19 to 21 years old suggests that the positions of 
 store workers may become fairly stable in the later adolescent 
 years. 2 The evidence of the certificates is corroborated by the 
 results of an investigation by the United States Bureau of 
 Labor Statistics; reports from over a thousand women reg- 
 ularly employed in Boston retail stores indicated that 90 per 
 cent had held positions in but one store during the year ending 
 July 31, 1914. 3 This was true also of 65 per cent of those who 
 had served only as extras, and of 50 per cent of those who had 
 been both regular and extra employees. 4 
 
 l The application schedules which gave the work records of an earlier and 
 longer age period, i. e., from the age of leaving school until 21, indicated a 
 larger amount of shifting. 
 
 "Unemployment Among Women in Department and Other Retail Stores of 
 Boston, p. 23, Bulletin 182, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 
 
 4 Ibid., pp. 58, 47. 
 
68 TRAINING FOR STORE SERVICE 
 
 This evidence of stability of employment given by the rela- 
 tively small number who held certificates for more than one 
 employer when they were 19 to 21 years old, and by the reports 
 of investigations during the year before the outbreak of war, 
 was contradicted by the fact that only a third of the sample 
 group could be located on October first, 1916, at the stores 
 which their certificates indicated to be the last places of em- 
 ployment before reaching adult years. The probable explana- 
 tions of the discrepancy seem to be, (1) laxity in the adminis- 
 tration of the certification law which permits an increasing 
 carelessness of the older adolescent group, resulting in the 
 failure to register all their employment adventures; and (2) 
 the business depression of 1915, the enforcement of the mini- 
 mum wage for women store workers in January, 1916, and the 
 remarkable development of war industries in the latter part 
 of 1916, combined to produce an unusual tendency for store 
 workers to lose or abandon their positions. 
 
 The total certificates issued during this period to wage 
 earning minors supply an index of their employment, and the 
 reissued certificates show roughly the amount of their shifting. 
 The increase between 1915 and 1916 in the number of work 
 certificates obtained by juveniles was 7,591, or 107.6 per cent, 
 for the children of 14 to 16, and 10,583, or 38.2 per cent, for the 
 young persons of 16 to 21. The shifting or reissued certificates 
 of the latter group increased by 9,466, or 57.5 per cent, so it is 
 evident that 1916 was a period of great economic readjust- 
 ment. That the current was setting away from the stores is 
 shown by the disappearance of two-thirds of the young store 
 workers of our sample group and by changes in the percentage 
 of children of 14 to 16 who obtained certificates authorizing 
 them to work in stores. The number of such certificates in- 
 creased by 658, or 28.7 per cent, but at the same time the num- 
 ber of certificates authorizing work in factories and workshops 
 increased by 6,333 or 276.2 per cent. If the total certificates 
 issued are divided into three groups authorizing work in (1) 
 factories and workships, (2) stores, and (3) offices and all 
 other places of employment, a radical change in the war-time 
 distribution of the certificates will be noticed. Between 1915 
 
SHIFTING OF YOUNG STORE WORKERS 69 
 
 and 1916 the certificates authorizing employment in stores and 
 in offices decreased 12.6 and 13.8 per cent respectively, while 
 those issued for factory work increased 26.4 per cent. In the 
 busy season of 1916 there were over twenty-five thousand 
 more workers employed in Boston industries than had been in 
 the factories during the previous year. 5 The decrease in school 
 -attendance which began at this time indicates that many of the 
 new workers were children, 6 but the chief increases in the num- 
 bers of certificates issued were due to the excessive shifting of 
 this period. In the absence of any recognized agencies for deal- 
 ing with such an economic crisis, the readjustments were 
 effected by means of increased demands expressed in offers of 
 higher wages for factory work, and greater supply made pos- 
 sible by the restlessness of youth, discontent with wages and 
 chances of employment, 7 and the lack of business loyalties 
 which result from the careless and impersonal policies of many 
 large mercantile establishments. 
 
 The varying potency of these latter forces is shown by the 
 ability of different types of stores to retain the young work- 
 ers who had enlisted in their services before the culmination 
 of the wartime changes. The great department stores with 
 their diversified and slightly skilled positions, and seasonal 
 variations in business, employed workers with little vocational 
 stability, as but 66.6 had held one certificate and only 21 per 
 cent were found with the firms for which their last certificates 
 were issued. The Boston dry goods stores retained the high- 
 est percentage of the certificated group, as half were found 
 present on October first, but the suburban firms complained 
 bitterly of the disposition of their young employees to leave 
 them as soon as they learned enough about the business to be 
 useful, and their percentage of faithful workers was only half 
 that of the dry goods stores in the city proper. The percent- 
 age of stability of the clothing stores fell between that of the 
 -department and dry goods stores, but the variations within 
 the group were so great that it has little significance. Differ- 
 
 "Census of Manufactures, 1915, p. 36; 1916, p. 36. 
 
 "Statistics of school attendance are given in the sketch on "War-time Child 
 Labor in Boston," Child Labor Bulletin, November, 1918, pp. 186-190. 
 T Reasons for leaving store positions are given in Table 3, p. 78. 
 
70 TRAINING FOR STORE SERVICE 
 
 ences in ability to retain employees between stores of the same 
 type suggest that care in selecting employees, the wages paid 
 and firm policies in dealing with their workers are more signifi- 
 cant factors in determining the degree of stability in employ- 
 ment than the size and location of the store or kind of mer- 
 chandise. 
 
 Variations between the Sexes in the Amount of Shifting 
 
 There were marked differences between the sexes in the* 
 amount of shifting. The verified application schedules giving 
 complete wage-earning experiences showed that the boys had 
 averaged 2.37 and the girls 1.63 positions before entering the 
 firms where they were last known to be employed. The wage- 
 earning histories supplied by young persons who were 21 years 
 old, covering all the experiences of their minorities, bring out 
 the differences more clearly, as the boys averaged 3.31 and the 
 girls 2 positions. 8 Reports of the members of the sample group 
 retaining their positions show the same tendency, as 35.2 per 
 cent of the girls and 24.1 per cent of the boys were found at the- 
 addresses given on their last certificates. However, the young 
 men showed greater stability in 2 department and 2 dry goods 
 stores, and this was true also of the jewelry stores, where men 
 strengthen their vocational outlook by learning stone setting 
 or jewelry repairing. 
 
 Characteristics of Extreme Shifters 
 
 An effort was made to discover the characteristics of the 
 young persons whose wage earning records diverged widely 
 from the average ; visits were made to the homes of 31 of the 
 sample group whose numerous certificates indicated highly 
 varied business careers, and the young persons or their rela- 
 tives were questioned in order to discover the reasons for 
 their frequent changes of employment. These extreme shift- 
 ers did not constitute a homogeneous group, but scattered in 
 both directions ; on one hand were the defective and degenerate 
 who were unable to hold their places and on the other were the 
 
 The difference in the vocational stability of the two sexes is somewhat less 
 than appears from these percentages, as studies of the ages when school is left 
 made in our Research Department show that girls go to work one to two years 
 later than boys. See Tables 2-a and 2-b. 
 
SHIFTING OF YOUNG STORE WORKERS 71 
 
 alert and capable who never missed a chance to better their 
 wages or positions. Typical cases were 2 who were constitu- 
 tionally inferior, one epileptic and one deaf, both of whom 
 
 TABLE 2-a. NUMBER OF POSITIONS HELD BY 168 BOYS PREVIOUS TO 
 ENTERING THE LAST KNOWN PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT, DISTRIBUT- 
 ED BY AGE ON ENTERING THE FIRM, BASED ON VERIFIED 
 APPLICATION SCHEDULES 
 
 Average 
 
 Number Total Number Number of Previous Positions 
 
 Age on Entering the Firm of Number of 6 
 
 Young of Positions and 
 
 Persons Positions Per Person None 12345 More 
 
 Under 18 ye? 
 18 years and 
 19 years and 
 20 years and 
 21 years and 
 
 irs . . 
 
 
 13 
 84 
 27 
 18 
 26 
 
 21 
 
 171 
 74 
 45 
 86 
 
 1.62 
 2.04 
 2.74 
 2.50 
 3.31 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 2 
 2 
 
 4 
 21 
 
 4 
 4 
 
 7 
 
 4 .. 
 27 20 
 5 6 
 6 2 
 2 5 
 
 1 
 5 
 8 
 1 
 5 
 
 1 
 2 
 2 
 1 
 3 
 
 'i 
 '2 
 
 4 
 
 under 
 under 
 under 
 under 
 
 19, 
 20 
 21, 
 22 
 
 TABLE 2-b. NUMBER OF POSITIONS HELD BY 252 GIRLS PREVIOUS TO 
 ENTERING THE LAST KNOWN PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT, DISTRIBUT- 
 ED BY AGE ON ENTERING THE FIRM. BASED ON VERIFIED 
 APPLICATION SCHEDULES 
 
 Age on Entering the 
 Total 
 
 Firn 
 
 i 
 
 Number 
 of 
 Young 
 Persons 
 252 
 
 Total 
 Number 
 of 
 Positions 
 413 
 
 Average 
 Number I 
 of 
 Positions 
 Per Person 
 1 64 
 
 Jumbo 
 
 None 
 45 
 
 rof 
 
 1 
 
 H 9 
 
 Pr 
 
 2 
 7*> 
 
 3V1C 
 
 3 
 
 97 
 
 us ] 
 
 4 
 17 
 
 Positions 
 6 
 and 
 5 More 
 5 1 
 
 Under 18 years . . . 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 22 
 
 1 05 
 
 6 
 
 q 
 
 *> 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 18 years and under 
 19 years and under 
 20 years and under 
 21 years and under 
 
 19, 
 20, 
 21, 
 22, 
 
 
 . 136 
 31 
 
 24 
 40 
 
 213 
 52 
 46 
 80 
 
 1.57 
 1.68 
 1.92 
 2.00 
 
 20 
 8 
 4 
 
 7 
 
 49 
 11 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 44 
 4 
 7 
 15 
 
 16 
 3 
 4 
 3 
 
 7 
 3 
 1 
 6 
 
 'i 'i 
 
 2 .. 
 
 2 .. 
 
 shifted about because unable to compete with those of better 
 endowment. One boy naturally was a "bum" and never stuck 
 to anything more than a few weeks. Three girls also had 
 restless spells : one left position after position and when last 
 heard from was about to become an unmarried mother; an- 
 other tried numerous occupations including soap, razor and 
 shoe manufacturing; while a third, a descendant of sea cap- 
 tains, finally found satisfaction as a migrating waitress. Of 
 the poorly trained, one Jewess felt little compulsion to work 
 because her sisters earned enough to supply the family needs, 
 but, prodded by her mother, she occasionally took a temporary 
 position. A boy, raised by his grandmother and educated in 
 private schools, visited relatives in the summer and did odd 
 jobs in the winter. Enterprising young persons who desired 
 to "better themselves " formed the largest group, but even this 
 desire occasionally ran rampant, as in one boy who held five 
 jobs between December and the following October. 
 
72 TRAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 Other Occupations of Young Store Workers 
 
 Positions held before receiving the last educational certifi- 
 cate, or before filling the application forms, were but slightly 
 influenced by war-time changes in the distribution of labor, so 
 that the records used in the investigation give a typical picture 
 of the vocational migrations of the young persons who were 
 registered in stores when nearing their twenty-first birthdays. 
 Of the 689 previous certificates issued to 1,476 young men and 
 women, 9 more than half authorized employment in stores, a* 
 quarter were for non-metal manufacturing, and the other 
 quarter were divided between metal manufacturing, various 
 skilled trades, food industries, and miscellaneous businesses/ 
 A similar distribution is found in the four subdivisions of the 
 selling group, namely: (1) Department and dry goods, (2) 
 Clothing and specialty, (3) Five-and-Ten-Cent, and (4) Other 
 stores, but the clothing stores employed a slightly higher pro-' 
 portion of workers with earlier selling experience. One-fourth 
 of the previous certificates of the employees of each type of 
 store authorized employment in non-metal manufacturing es- 
 tablishments. Since the term includes many firms manufactur- 
 ing clothing and other commodities sold in the stores where 
 later positions were found, this seems a natural line of promo- 
 tion. The higher proportion of previous employment in the 
 metal manufacturing and skilled trades of workers last found 
 in the group of miscellaneous stores may be explained by the 
 fact that a larger percentage of this group were boys. 10 
 
 The distribution of the previous positions reported on the 
 application forms of 420 store workers differed but slightly 
 from that of the certification records; half were in other 
 stores, but relatively to the total number in the group, only 
 half as many as in the larger group had been in non-metal 
 manufacturing, twice as many had been in the food industries, 
 and ten times as many in miscellaneous occupations. The fact 
 that the firm to which applications were made had a restau- 
 rant, an employee's lunch room and a soda fountain ex- 
 
 9 Full explanations of the requirements of the Massachusetts law, and details 
 of our sample group, will be found in Appendix I. 
 
 "Fifty-one per cent compared with 24.5 per cent for the department stores, 
 39.4 per cent for the specialty, and none for the 5-and-10-cent stores. 
 
SHIFTING OF YOUNG STORE WORKERS 73 
 
 plains the larger proportion drawn from the food industries ; 
 while the miscellaneous group of previous positions includes 
 those occupations such as office work and domestic service, for 
 which certificates are not required. 
 
 The percentage distribution of the previous certificates of 
 the young persons last employed by non-selling firms is the 
 reverse of that of the store employees. Of the 2,292 earlier 
 certificates obtained by them, 54 per cent were for non-metal 
 manufacturing and 19 per cent for selling, or the young per- 
 sons whose last juvenile positions were in stores had held 
 relatively twice as many previous store positions and half as 
 many factory positions as the young persons who were cer- 
 tificated for other than store work just before reaching their 
 twenty-first birthdays. 
 
 The tendency of the retail selling group to shift from one 
 store position to another rather than into non-selling busi- 
 nesses is shown also by an examination of the entire number 
 of certificates issued for each business, the proportion which 
 were last certificates and previous certificates and the propor- 
 tion of the previous certificates which authorized employment 
 in stores. As the selling group comprises 24 per cent, or 
 roughly speaking, a quarter of the total group, if the previous 
 certificates issued for each business were distributed by chance 
 among the different groups, in each case a quarter would have 
 been issued to young persons last certificated for selling. As 
 a matter of fact 53.8 per cent of previous certificates issued for 
 stores, 18.2 per cent of those issued for non-metal manufactur- 
 ing, 15 per cent for metal manufacturing, 18.3 per cent for 
 trades, 25.2 per cent for food industries, 29.3 per cent for 
 miscellaneous and 15.6 per cent for unknown, were issued to 
 young persons last certificated for stores ; or the sellers have 
 much more previous selling experience and less experience in 
 other businesses, especially unskilled factory work, than a 
 simple chance distribution would give them. This is shown in 
 Chart IV, where the bars represent the total number of cer- 
 tificates issued to each group of businesses, the blank portion 
 the number of these which were last certificates, the shaded 
 portion the number which were previous certificates and the 
 
74 
 
 TRAINING FOR STORE SERVICE 
 
 solid black the proportion which were previous certificates 
 authorizing work in stores. It will be seen that about half of 
 the shifting of the young persons was a change of employer 
 rather than of business or occupation. 
 
 Shifting Due to Seasonal Variations in the Opportunities for 
 
 Employment in Stores 
 
 The entire force of retail department, dry-goods and cloth- 
 ing store employees is kept in a more or less unstable condi-- 
 tion because of continual changes due to seasonal variations in 
 the demands for the commodities which they handle. Each 
 year has four shopping seasons: summer clothing must be 
 bought in the spring and winter clothing in the fall ; Christmas 
 brings the heaviest buying of the year, when there are de- 
 mands for the miscellaneous goods sold in department stores- 
 and for extra clothing to be used as gifts ; an artificial shop- 
 ping season is created in January by special sales in which 
 shop-worn stocks are cleared away preparatory to another 
 round of business. 
 
 CHART IV 
 
 DISTRIBUTION OF TOTAL NUMBER OF CERTJFICATES ISSUED TO 6385 YOUNG PERSONS BY BUSINESSES, 
 DIVIDED INTO LAST CERTIFICATES AND PREVIOUS TO LAST CERTIFICATES; AND SHOWING THE NUMBER 
 OF PREVIOUS CERTIFICATES FOR EACH BUSINESS WHICH WERE ISSUED TO YOUNG PERSONS LAST CERTIFI- 
 CATED FOR STORES AND SELLING 
 
 Business 
 
 Number of Certificates Issued to Each Business 
 
 O 500 1000. 1500 2OOO 25OO 3000 3500 4OOO 
 
 Number of Certificates Issued 
 
 Non-Metal 
 Manufacturing I 
 
 Metal 
 
 Manufacturing 
 
 Store* 
 
 Tra J and 
 Engineering 
 
 1W 
 Industries 
 
 Miscellaneous 
 
 Number of 
 _-_ certificates 
 I which were 
 - J last 
 
 certificates 
 
 Unknown 
 
 Number of certifi- 
 cates which were 
 previous Certificates 
 issued to young persons 
 last certificated for selling 
 
 Total 
 
 Total 
 
 Last 
 
 Previous 
 
 Previous to 
 Stores 
 
 4107 
 
 ay* 8 
 
 140* 
 
 17* 
 
 688 
 
 436 
 
 2-52 
 
 4 6 
 
 ia ae 
 
 1530 
 
 790 
 
 *7 l 
 
 962 
 
 7V 
 
 225 
 
 V 
 
 724 
 
 534 
 
 *y> 
 
 M 
 
 335 
 
 4.72 
 
 3 
 
 11 
 
 112" 
 
 7* 
 
 M 
 
 8 
 
 9 356 
 
 6305 
 
 2371 
 
 669 
 
SHIFTING OF YOUNG STORE WORKERS 75 
 
 Extra or Special Store Workers 
 
 As many as five different kinds of extra or special workers 
 were used in the Boston stores to meet these business fluctua- 
 tions: (1) regular extras, (2) seasonal extras, (3) irregular 
 extras on call, (4) special sale extras, and (5) part-time extras. 
 The first group was regularly employed for busy periods of the 
 week, as on Monday and on Saturday afternoon and evening. 
 Many stores co-operate with the high-school salesmanship 
 classes by employing students on these days. Women who wish 
 to earn money, but whose home duties do not permit full-time 
 services, are glad to take such positions. Ambitious and 
 needy men and women sometimes serve in stores as Saturday 
 extras after discharging the duties of other industrial and 
 educational positions. The seasonal extras employed at Christ- 
 mas or in the spring often obtain continuous work, so that 
 their positions differ but slightly from those of many regular 
 workers. The third type of extras are those who are listed by 
 employment managers as ready to serve whenever notified. 
 Sometimes these extras call regularly for assignments to de- 
 partments of the stores where assistance is needed. Such 
 special workers may be listed for extra services in several 
 stores. Large special sales making necessary sudden increases 
 of the selling force may bring in another class of temporary 
 workers. A fifth class of extras are the part-time workers 
 like floor cashiers and salespeople who come in to relieve the 
 strain of business from 11 to 3, or restaurant workers, like 
 busboys and waitresses, who are needed only while meals are 
 being served. 
 
 About four-fifths 11 of the extras are saleswomen whose serv- 
 ices are required to prevent waste of time for the customers, 
 and the remainder are scattered through various occupation 
 groups. Thus in one large store a list of extras under 21 years 
 of age was distributed as follows : Of 56 girls, 44 were sales- 
 women, 8 floor cashiers, 3 errand girls and 1 a marker ; and of 
 28 boys, there were 9 delivery team or auto helpers, 8 sales- 
 men, 4 collector boys or examiners, 1 stock boy, 1 bundler, 1 
 
 "Unemployment Among Women in Department and other Retail Stores of 
 Boston, Bulletin U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, No. 182, p. 62. 
 
76 TRAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 clerical, 1 marker, 1 sorter and 2 doing miscellaneous work. 
 Many who were regulars when 21 years old reported previous 
 services as specials. When the records of 21-year-old work- 
 ers in all departments were examined, it was found that 11.2 
 per cent of the men and 17.6 per cent of the women had served 
 apprenticeships as specials before obtaining regular employ- 
 ment. 
 
 Months of Issuance of Certificates Authorising Store Work 
 
 Similar seasonal variations in the employment of young 
 store workers are shown by the monthly variations in the 
 number of certificates authorizing store work, and by pay-roll 
 records giving the dates of leaving store positions. The larg- 
 est number of certificates was issued in January, a month 
 when much shifting between stores takes place. Many of the 
 extra workers required to handle the Christmas trade are dis- 
 charged, and there is a tendency to go from one firm to an- 
 other for temporary service in the special sales, so that the 
 records show high percentages both of those entering upon and 
 those leaving employment. During the busy spring months 
 the labor force becomes more stable, but the summer brings 
 a dull season when even the regular workers take a voluntary 
 or enforced vacation. 12 A general reorganization of the store 
 force takes place in September, as the pay-rolls show em- 
 ployees leaving both for personal and firm reasons, and the 
 large issuance of certificates proves that they are finding other 
 store positions. The number employed increases during the 
 fall months until it reaches the maximum for the year in De- 
 cember, which is the only month of employment for many of 
 the extra workers. 13 
 
 Shifting from Factories and Other Stores in Busy Seasons 
 
 These seasonal variations in opportunities for store em- 
 ployment promote two kinds of shifting among young persons 
 eligible to such positions. At a time when many extra work-- 
 
 "Only 19.7 per cent of the regular and .1 per cent of the extra store em- 
 ployees were found by the Minimum Wage Commission to be employed for 12 
 months of the year. Second Annual Report of the Minimum Wage Commis- 
 .sion of Massachusetts, (124, 134). 
 
 "Nearly 60 per cent (58.2) of the extras served but one month of the year, 
 Ibid., 134. 
 
SHIFTING OF YOUNG STORE WORKERS 77 
 
 ers are demanded, there is a temptation to abandon factory for 
 -store work. The latter is attractive, as the surroundings are 
 agreeable, and the associations are apt to suggest greater 
 personal dignity and refinement. There is always the hope 
 of working into a regular position. The coming and going 
 of seasonal workers are the occasions also of promotion from 
 less to more desirable store employment. The higher type 
 stores, particularly those dealing in clothing, require experi- 
 enced employees, who are enticed from suburban employers 
 or less promising positions in neighboring stores by offers of 
 better wages or conditions of work. 
 
 Reasons for Shifting 
 
 Reasons why young persons employed in stores changed 
 their positions were given in the verified application forms, 
 in the schedules obtained by personal interviews with ex- 
 treme shifters or their relatives, and in the employment rec- 
 ords of firms to whom our sample group had been certificated. 
 These explanations of changes may be roughly classified as 
 
 (1) firm reasons, or those in which the employers took the 
 initiative, including temporary employment, reduction in the 
 force, inefficiency, discharges, and firm failures or reorganiza- 
 tions; and (2) personal reasons or those for which the young 
 persons were responsible, such as dissatisfaction with condi- 
 tions, another position, return to school, sickness, marriage, 
 leaving the city, and needed at home. The responsibility for 
 the 788 changes reported by the three sources of information 
 rested somewhat more heavily on the young persons than on 
 their employers, as there were 354 or 45 per cent of firm and 
 434 or 55 per cent of personal reasons for leaving positions 
 (Table 3). An analysis of the reported explanations of the 
 shifting of young store workers shows that the larger groups 
 combine behind two main causes for changes of employers, 
 namely, (1) variations in the amount of business resulting in 
 differences in the numbers of employees required to serve the 
 public, causing over one-third of the changes reported; and 
 
 (2) shifting by the young workers in the expectation of find- 
 ing positions with better wages or conditions of employment, 
 
78 TRAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 TABLE 3. REASONS FOR LEAVING STORE AND SELLING POSITIONS AS 
 SHOWN BY 222 APPLICATION FORMS, 28 PERSONAL INTER- 
 VIEWS AND 329 EMPLOYERS RECORDS 
 
 Reasons for Leaving Reported by 
 Application Personal Employer's 
 Reasons Total Forms Interviews Records 
 
 No. PerCent No. Per Cent No. Per Cent No. Per Cent 
 Total 788 100. 327 100. 79 100. 382 100. 
 
 Firm reasons, 354 44.9 144 44.0 43 54.5 167 43.7 
 
 Temporary or extra worker, 
 
 142 
 
 18.0 
 
 92 
 
 28.1 
 
 30 
 
 38.0 
 
 20 
 
 5.2 
 
 Reduction in force, 14 
 
 128 
 
 16.3 
 
 35 
 
 10.7 
 
 6 
 
 7.6 
 
 87 
 
 22.8 
 
 Inefficient 
 
 29 
 
 3.7 
 
 
 
 
 
 29 
 
 7.6 
 
 Discharged, 
 
 24 
 
 3.0 
 
 4 
 
 1.2 
 
 
 
 20 
 
 5.2 
 
 Miscellaneous, 15 
 
 31 
 
 3.9 
 
 13 
 
 4.0 
 
 7 
 
 8.9 
 
 11 
 
 2.9 
 
 Personal reasons 
 
 434 
 
 55.1 
 
 183 
 
 56.0 
 
 36 
 
 45.5 
 
 215 
 
 56.3 
 
 Dissatisfied, 
 
 101 
 
 12.8 
 
 72 
 
 22.1 
 
 19 
 
 24.0 
 
 10 
 
 2.6 
 
 Another position 
 
 98 
 
 12.5 
 
 37 
 
 11.3 
 
 4 
 
 5.1 
 
 57 
 
 14.9 
 
 "Resigned," 
 
 67 
 
 8.5 
 
 
 
 
 
 67 
 
 17.6 
 
 Vacation work, 
 
 63 
 
 8.0 
 
 41 
 
 12.5 
 
 5 
 
 6.3 
 
 17 
 
 4.4 
 
 Sickness 
 
 34 
 
 4.3 
 
 13 
 
 4.0 
 
 3 
 
 3.8 
 
 18 
 
 4.7 
 
 Married 
 
 25 
 
 3.2 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 3.8 
 
 22 
 
 5.8 
 
 Left city, 
 
 23 
 
 2.9 
 
 12 
 
 3.7 
 
 2 
 
 2.5 
 
 9 
 
 2.4 
 
 Needed at home, 
 
 15 
 
 1.9 
 
 8 
 
 2.4 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 1.8 
 
 Miscellaneous, 18 
 
 8 
 
 1.0 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 2.1 
 
 which prompted about one-fourth of the changes reported. 17 
 In other words, the excessive shifting of store workers is due 
 to seasonal differences in the business of retail selling, to the 
 X^failure to standardize conditions of employment for the young, 
 and to their lack of outlook, or of definite lines of promotion 
 in the employing firms. 
 
 It is noticeable that in the employers' records but 5 per 
 cent were reported as ' ' discharged, " and 8 per cent were 
 considered "inefficient." Quite naturally the young people 
 failed to emphasize these reasons for changes of employment. 
 It is evident also that the reports of "resigned" and "an- 
 other position" in the employers' records often mask dis- 
 satisfaction, as there is a drop of over 20 per cent in this 
 cause of change between the reports of the young persons and 
 of their employers. 
 
 Educational Significance of Shifting 
 
 The complexity of the causes and routes of shifting between 
 positions by young store workers gives the subject varied 
 
 "Discharge of employees who ranked as regulars rather than as temporary 
 or extra workers. 
 
 "Firm failure, 17; firm reorganization, 9; unsatisfactory references, 5. 
 
 "Dead, 1; not returned from vacation, 6; strike, 1. 
 
 "If we add those who "resigned" to the "dissatisfaction" and "another posi- 
 tion" groups, then this will be one-third of the entire group of reasons. 
 
SHIFTING OF YOUNG STOKE WORKERS 79 
 
 significance for those interested in developing our vocational 
 education program. Their first questions will deal with the 
 reduction in the amount of shifting, since it is evident that the 
 irregularity of employment of a large portion of the store 
 workers must prove demoralizing to their vocational interests, 
 and must imperil the physical or even moral welfare of women 
 who are dependent on their own earnings for support. Differ- 
 ences between establishments in the fluctuations of employ- 
 ment are evidence of the possibilities of reduction of losses by 
 care in store organization. The study of seasonal variations 
 in employment among 6,449 regular store workers made by 
 the Massachusetts Minimum Wage Commission 18 shows that in 
 22 large retail stores the percentages employed for 12 months 
 varied from 3.4 to 71.4; for 11 months the range was 8.3 per 
 cent to 80 per cent ; for 10 months, 24.2 to 90 per cent. Seven 
 establishments or about one-third did not employ half of their 
 regular workers for nine months of the year. 
 
 Several Boston stores have increased the amount of em- 
 ployment offered their seasonal workers by training them to 
 
 , serve as extras in departments subject to rush seasons. Mil- 
 linery and alteration workroom employees have the shortest 
 working season, as only 4 to 6 per cent are retained for 12 
 months of the year. The plans of one large Boston store 
 whereby these women are trained to serve as extra sales- 
 women during the Christmas rush should be more generally 
 adopted. When stores have educational directors or when 
 part-time training classes are available to give greater ver- 
 satility to store employees, many such adjustments are pos- 
 
 "sible. 
 
 Vocational guidance and employment management officials 
 should seek to organize a force of extra employees who will 
 not be injured by the seasonal character of the work. Young 
 persons enrolled in high school classes in salesmanship or in 
 other commercial courses should be enlisted for the Christmas 
 and Easter rush of business. Students are glad to earn the 
 extra money and the experience gives valuable preparation 
 
 "Wages of Women in Retail Stores in Massachusetts, Bulletin No. 6, (1915), 
 Minimum Wage Commission, p. 41. 
 
80 TRAINING FOR STORE SERVICE 
 
 for business positions. Many of the office workers in large 
 stores have served behind the counters. School calendars 
 easily could be adjusted so that a large extra force would be 
 available. The general adoption of such a policy, under suit- 
 able supervision by educators, might do much to overcome 
 certain social prejudices which prevent young persons choos- 
 ing store work as a permanent vocation. 
 
 Married women often can be utilized as part-time or extra - 
 workers without social injury. With a little care in organiza- 
 tion it would be easy for two or more such women to co-operate 
 in the discharge of home duties and the work of a store posi- 
 tion. Experiments with this combination service have been 
 made by some Philadelphia stores. Twenty per cent of the 
 extras visited in the course of the Federal investigation of 
 1914 were wives who chose this means of supplementing the 
 family income. Experienced saleswomen who have married 
 may be glad to do part-time work in order to supplement their 
 family incomes or to earn money for special purposes. 
 
 Standardization of wages and conditions of employment' 
 would reduce the one-fourth to one-third of the shifting which 
 was prompted by the dissatisfaction of the store workers. 
 Young persons are educated in large groups in our public 
 schools, and so establish personal ties which result in the rapid 
 spread of information about conditions of employment. Agree- 
 able surroundings, courteous treatment, paid vacations, em- 
 ployee's associations and other ways of promoting comfort 
 and self-respect are all means of attracting the better and 
 more experienced workers. Since 90 per cent of the store 
 workers are members of family groups, there is a general 
 willingness to take the chances involved in abandoning a dis- 
 agreeable regular position to serve as an extra in a store 
 offering better conditions or hope of advancement. 
 
 When unnecessary or undesirable shifting has been elimin- 
 ated, there will remain a minimum tendency to change, which 
 has both educational and vocational advantages. For cen- 
 turies the year of wandering was considered a necessary part 
 of the training of a master craftsman, and young persons may 
 learn different store organizations and policies by varying 
 
SHIFTING OF YOUNG STORE WORKERS 81 
 
 their places of service. The making of new personal adjust- 
 ments and learning of new stocks are often morally and men- 
 tally stimulating. The number of desirable openings are limit- 
 ed and vocational guidance and placement officials should be 
 prepared to recommend promising candidates who could shift 
 from one employer to another without prejudicing their voca- 
 tional standing. Versatility and mobility are desirable char- 
 acteristics for members of communities subject to many social 
 and economic changes. We must conclude that, while shifting 
 is expensive 19 for the employers and results in wage losses 
 and irregularity of employment for wage-earners, it is not an 
 unmixed evil, as it enables the young workers to learn at first 
 hand the characteristics of their complex economic environ- 
 ment, makes possible the discovery of the positions to which 
 'they are best adapted, and assists in promoting better wages 
 and conditions of work by leaving the stupid, crude and lazy 
 workers with the bad employers. 
 
 18 The educational director of a large department store estimates that it 
 costs $50 to select and install a new employee. 
 
CHAPTEB VI 
 
 TRAINING FOE EMPLOYMENT IN RETAIL STORES 
 
 Introduction 
 
 There are three opportunities for giving juveniles training 
 which will promote their success in store occupations, each of 
 which demands a different point of view and type of instruc- 
 tion. 
 
 First. Anticipation of qualifications which will be needed 
 by young persons who enter mercantile establishments may 
 lead to a refocusing or variation in the emphasis placed on 
 subjects and forms of training usually given in elementary 
 schools. 
 
 Second. Special training for store service should be a part 
 of the work planned for continuation schools and for sec- 
 ondary schools giving vocational courses. 
 
 Third. There are many forms of store training which can 
 be given most effectively at the places of employment. 
 
 TRAINING IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 
 
 When the question, "What qualifications are of greatest 
 importance in promoting success in store positions ?" was 
 raised at a recent meeting of persons engaged in training store 
 employees, it was agreed unanimously that personal charac 1 
 teristics are of much greater importance than technical knowl- 
 edge. The comments of store officials quoted in previous 
 chapters also reflect this feeling of the importance of social 
 relations or of the ability to make pleasing impressions and 
 to maintain sympathetic and harmonious relations with cus- 
 tomers and fellow workers. Physical characteristics, or re- 
 liable health resulting in energy and capacity for continuous 
 application to work, were other factors recognized as indis- 
 pensable for success. These qualifications promote success in 
 many walks of life, so that this evidence of their value in an 
 important field of vocational activities simply reinforces the 
 
 82 
 
TRAINING FOR RETAIL STORES 83 
 
 generally accepted policy of promoting their cultivation as a 
 part of all educational activities. 
 
 Social Relations 
 
 Courteous manners, dainty personal habits, low-pitched 
 voices, correct and fluent speech and a sympathetic disposition 
 are acquired chiefly through heredity and home environment, 
 k yet it is possible for the school to assist in their development. 
 Since children acquire these pleasing personal traits by imita- 
 tion rather than by any definite course of training, this form 
 of vocational education can be promoted by giving them teach- 
 ers whose voices, manners and social outlooks are worthy of 
 imitation. The various forms of group activities and the 
 self-governing schemes which are being introduced in the 
 more progressive schools are useful for accustoming the young 
 to harmonious co-operation with fellow workers. Properly 
 supervised play is another means of teaching the balancing of 
 intense personal activity with a just recognition of the right 
 of associates. 
 
 Educators should present less sordid motives for the culti- 
 vation of courtesy than those commonly suggested in the liter- 
 ature of salesmanship found in the trade journals. Innumer- 
 able anecdotes are published telling of how salespeople met 
 rudeness with patient sweetness, dealt kindly with customers 
 who were crotchety and exacting, showed a sympathetic inter- 
 est in family problems or bestowed extravagant admiration 
 on quite ordinary children. Instead of ending with the tradi- 
 tional "and they lived happily ever after" of the fairy tales, 
 such stories are apt to close with assurances of commissions on 
 large bills of goods ordered through the salespersons of graci- 
 ous manners. A sympathetic interest in persons of varying 
 social standards, slowness in resenting the ill-bred conduct of 
 companions, pride in retaining self-control under provocation 
 and an eager willingness to be of service are expressions in 
 business life of gentle manners, Christian charity and un- 
 selfish devotion: time honored ideals which are capable of 
 presentation in ways that will stir the finer emotions of the 
 young, and whose realization will bring the more idealistic re- 
 wards of gains in personal dignity and in spiritual satisfac- 
 tion. 
 
84 TRAINING FOR STORE SERVICE 
 
 Physical Development 
 
 The physical examination of the young men registered in 
 the recent draft revealed that over a third were unfit for serv- 
 ice in the army. The ill-health found among the women em- 
 ployees of the Boston stores indicates that their sisters are 
 equally incapable of meeting successfully the obligations of 
 their lives. Weaknesses peculiar to women were the most- 
 frequent complaints treated in the store clinics. No doubt 
 high-heeled shoes, unhealthful clothing and lack of muscular 
 development often aggravate difficulties which are inevitable 
 when women stand continuously. American educators al- 
 ready are committed to a program which demands that the 
 foundations for vigorous health shall be laid during the early 
 years of school life by the medical examination and super- 
 vision of the children, so that defects can be discovered 
 promptly and corrected before they become chronic. Care of 
 the eyes and teeth, the enforcement of well-balanced diets and 
 healthful school-room postures, the teaching of hygenic per- 
 sonal habits and the insistence on good ventilation and vigor- 
 ous out-door exercise are generally accepted as necessary 
 means of promoting the physical fitness needed in whatever 
 vocation is entered in later years. 1 
 
 Refocusing of Elementary Branches 
 
 The high proportions of adolescents and of adults who 
 choose retail selling as a vocation justifies an increase of em- 
 phasis, if not a definite refocusing of certain other phases 
 of the common school branches. Geography, history, arith- 
 metic and penmanship are all subjects which may make im- 
 portant contributions to the preparation of young persons 
 who undertake store work. No reorganization of the school' 
 courses in the interests of vocational education would be neces- 
 sary. It is suggested merely that teachers be given a clear 
 understanding of possible future applications of their work 
 so that they may relate the conventional subjects more in- 
 timately to the local social environment, and may increase 
 interest by suggesting the contributions which the school 
 
 'Data showing the maladies treated in the medical departments of Boston 
 stores are given in Appendix I, Table 5, p. 121. 
 
TRAINING FOE RETAIL STORES 85 
 
 studies make to success in the wage-earning activities of later 
 years. 
 
 Local Geography. The first instruction in geography usual- 
 ly undertakes to give children a knowledge of the topography 
 and routes of travel of their immediate environment. A 
 thorough and pedagogically-sound handling of these subjects 
 would do much to increase the usefulness of young persons in 
 many of the positions which they commonly fill. The making 
 and study of maps of the city, a knowledge of the names and 
 directions of the principal streets, the locations of public 
 buildings, the means of transportation, and the chief business 
 centers is of practical value for all residents of the community 
 and of great interest to children of the elementary school age. 
 The logical unfolding of the subject would lead next to a 
 study of suburbs and neighboring towns, and of their means of 
 travel and transportation. Children should learn not only the 
 names, locations and directions of streets, suburbs and neigh- 
 boring towns, but also the correct spelling of all words used 
 in writing addresses. Imaginary journeys, the following and 
 giving of directions necessary for reaching given points are 
 attractive and effective means of training. Pin and tape maps 
 such as are common in the graphic presentation of statistical 
 data will add interest to the exercises. It is unnecessary to 
 remind modern educators that a free use of pictures, observa- 
 tions from elevated points, and as many excursions as are 
 practicable, will promote the interest and effectiveness of such 
 instruction in local geography. 
 
 Elementary economic or commercial geography which re- 
 ceives attention at later stages of the school course might 
 make important contribution to the vocational training of mer- 
 cantile workers. Production maps and outlines of the routes 
 of commerce are commonly used in teaching the sources from 
 which are drawn the varied supplies which stores retail for 
 use in meeting the daily needs of their customers. The stimu- 
 lation of the imagination so that the daily round of activities 
 will not prove deadening to the intelligence is one of the im- 
 portant aims of vocational education. Stocking the child's 
 
86 TRAINING FOE STOEE SERVICE 
 
 mind with vivid pictures of the countries and people associated 
 with the varied wares handled in stores will prevent the earlier 
 routine occupations destroying the mental traits needed for 
 the more advanced forms of mercantile service. 
 
 Economic History. Elementary economic history renders a 
 similar service to young store workers. It enables them to 
 picture the long struggle by which the race has learned to' 
 draw from the natural environment and adapt to human needs 
 the varied commodities which are offered to customers. The 
 complex organization of modern commercial activities is more 
 easily understood when approached from the historical stand- 
 point, and a less prejudiced and more hopeful attitude in deal- 
 ing with labor problems results from a realization of the gains 
 that have been made in the past, and the difficulties and dan- 
 gers of social revolutions. 
 
 Arithmetic. Eapidity and accuracy in simple arithmetical 
 calculations rather than a knowledge of more technical pro- 
 cesses are the requirements of mercantile occupations. 
 Thorough drill in calculating costs of articles, particularly 
 those requiring a free use of fractions or percentages, would 
 be of use to persons anticipating positions as retail sales- 
 people. Token money could be used to give practice in the 
 rapid calculating and giving of change. Interest would be 
 added to the work if the children were encouraged to collect 
 the sales slips which come home in packages of merchandise. 
 The recalculating or auditing of these lists of groceries or dry 
 goods actually purchased for use in their homes would supply 
 attractive exercises in arithmetic and might encourage helpful 
 considerations of family budgets. 2 
 
 Penmanship. Eapidity and legibility are the two qualities 
 desired in mercantile handwriting. Some stores require that 
 the first letters of proper names shall be printed. A large, 
 sprawling handwriting is objectionable both for sales slips and 
 bookkeeping, so that the smaller, more compact forms of script 
 should be cultivated in the upper elementary grades. 
 
 'See "Outlines of a Course in Store Arithmetic," Appendix D, Bulletin 22, 
 Retail Selling, Federal Board for Vocational Education. 
 
TRAINING FOB EETAIL STORES 87 
 
 COUBSES OF TRAINING FOB STORE SERVICE IN CONTINUATION AND 
 SECONDARY SCHOOLS 3 
 
 Continuation School Courses 
 
 As the name suggests, the continuation school courses must 
 supplement the training received while in full-time attendance. 
 Wage-earning children 14 to 16 years old are required to at- 
 tend the Boston classes four hours each week. Our study of 
 the store occupations open to children of these ages shows 
 that they are employed chiefly as bundlers, messengers and 
 stock workers. What can be done to supplement their de- 
 fective preparation and to promote an early escape from the 
 simple, poorly paid occupations to positions which offer better 
 chances for development! 
 
 The future of these children in store service is precarious, 
 not merely because of their defective training, but because the 
 reasons for leaving school also are causes which may disqualify 
 them for great success in store work. Their premature aban- 
 donment of school life usually means one of three things: (1) 
 either they became dissatisfied with school because of inability 
 to get along with their teachers or fellow students; or (2) 
 they failed in their lessons, fell behind their grades and left 
 because of discouragement; or (3) they were obliged to leave 
 school because economic pressure in their homes made it 
 necessary for them to contribute to family incomes. Young 
 people unable or unwilling to make the social adjustments of 
 the school room are not adapted to the complex social require- 
 ments of a store, and the failure or unwillingness to apply 
 themselves to elementary school studies may have left them 
 deficient in arithmetic, spelling and penmanship, so that they 
 are disqualified for all but a few store occupations. The per- 
 sonal habits and social outlooks of children reared in im- 
 poverished homes often prove to be handicaps which it is 
 difficult but not entirely impossible to overcome. 
 
 *A condensed summary of methods of organization and subjects covered in 
 such courses is given in order to round out the discussions of the present bulle- 
 tin. Detailed plans and topical outlines are given in the bulletin on Retail Sell- 
 ing, prepared by Mrs. Lucinda W. Prince and published by the Federal Board 
 for Vocational Education. 
 
88 TRAINING FOB STORE SERVICE 
 
 CONTENT OF CONTINUATION SCHOOL COURSES FOR STORE EMPLOYEES 
 OF 14 TO 16 YEARS OLD 
 
 The continuation school courses for younger store em- 
 ployees should endeavor to overcome the defective mental, 
 personal and social training of children with little education. * 
 Courses supplementing their limited schooling, or what are 
 commonly known as "general improvement classes " seem the 
 most suitable subjects of instruction, but the interest and 
 effectiveness of the classroom work would be increased if 
 special efforts were made to relate it closely to daily vocational 
 experiences. 
 
 As already suggested, children of this age are employed in 
 retail stores as bundlers or messengers, and in simpler form 
 of stock work. The next positions ahead are those of cashier, 
 auditor and selling from one-price counters or in basement 
 departments. Training in accurate and rapid calculations of* 
 the costs of bills of goods and the amounts of change due cus- 
 tomers would have vocational value. Discussions of the store * 
 systems or plans of organization of their places of employment 
 also would be useful. Reviews of their work in elementary 
 geography and history which will emphasize the sources from 
 which merchandise is drawn and the simple aspects of the his- 
 tory of industry and commerce related to their work would 
 assist in preparing a background for later training in a knowl- 
 edge of the merchandise. 
 
 Special attention should be given to correcting faulty phy-- 
 sical or personal traits, and to giving training in manners and 
 morals, since desirable habits which contribute much to future 
 success are more easily established in younger employees who 
 are at the beginning of their mercantile careers. Records of 
 juvenile courts prove petty larceny to be the most common 
 offense of children of this age. A great store is a somewhat 
 impersonal owner of the wonderful collections of attractive 
 goods which tempt young persons who come from homes with 
 meager incomes, so that special efforts are needed to develop 
 the strict honesty which is an indispensable requirement for all ' 
 store employees. Insistence on personal cleanliness, and on* 
 neatness of dress, gives less offense at this age than in later 
 
TRAINING FOR RETAIL STORES 89 
 
 years, and something may be done to correct boisterous or 
 vulgar manners and unpleasant habits of speech. 
 
 Younger stock workers serve as markers or wait on experi- 
 enced stock or sales people, but they may soon be assigned 
 more responsible duties. Training in the proper care of 
 ready-made clothing, as the buttoning before placing on hang- 
 ers, and the folding or boxing in the approved manner of those 
 garments kept in stocks, should be given. The sewing on of 
 labels, and the simpler repairs such as tightening buttons or 
 braids, also fall to stock workers. 
 
 Orderly habits or the devising and maintaining of plans for 
 arranging their desks or counters should be taught. Since 
 continuation school teachers are permitted to observe their 
 pupils at the places of employment, it would not be difficult 
 to make note of all disorderly tendencies for which the pupils 
 are responsible, and to discuss them at future sessions of the 
 class. Children of this age must be taught to see the disorder 
 which they could remedy and which may lower the general ap- 
 pearance of the store, cause needless depreciation in the value 
 of the stock and give evidence of the personal inefficiency of 
 the young employee. 
 
 Large stores having many juvenile employees sometimes 
 arrange for continuation school classes at the places of em- 
 ployment, or in the classrooms of neighboring stores. Under 
 such circumstances, courses more definitely related to the work 
 undertaken by the children may be planned. The teaching of 
 store system is greatly simplified, since it is necessary merely 
 to acquaint the pupils with the organization of their own 
 places of employment. A closer classification of the students 
 by occupations is possible, and conferences with their superior 
 officers will enable the teacher to direct her efforts to the cor- 
 rection of faults or giving training which will fit more exactly 
 the vocational situations of her young charges. Frequent 
 conferences and close co-operation with the store officials in 
 charge of the training of juvenile employees is of course a 
 necessary part of the activities of teachers of continuation 
 school classes. 
 
90 TRAINING FOR STORE SERVICE 
 
 TRAINING FOB STORE SERVICE GIVEN IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS 
 
 Secondary Education Desirable for Store Employees 
 
 The Boston store which has given the most careful attention 
 to the selection and training of its personnel has announced 
 that its new employees must be graduates of secondary, 
 schools. In our study of occupational distribution and qualifi- 
 cations we have shown the high proportion of young persons 
 with secondary school training 4 in the important store occupa- 
 tions, and the increasing tendency to adopt forms of store 
 organization which will lessen the use of child labor. 5 The 
 development of public opinion and of legislation enforcing a 
 minimum living wage also are factors contributing to the 
 elimination from store employment of young, poorly-educated 
 workers. When such standards are maintained for the regular 
 employees of a store, it is difficult to secure opportunities for 
 practice in the more skilled store occupations for young per- 
 sons of less training and maturity than those of the third and 
 fourth years of secondary schools. 8 
 
 Obtaining Store Experience 
 
 This practical experience is an indispensable part of any 
 sound course of training in retail selling. Fortunately, it is 
 possible to organize practice work in department, dry-goods 
 and clothing stores so that it will be a convenience rather 
 than an annoyance to co-operating merchants. Great varia- 
 tions in the numbers of customers during the hours of the day, 
 the days of the week and the months of the year result in 
 seasonal demands for extra workers. A partially instructed 
 and supervised group of intelligent young persons is a more 
 satisfactory extra force than that which usually can be gather- 
 ed by commercial agencies for supplying new employees. A 
 secondary teacher in charge of students preparing for store 
 
 "Charts II and III, Chapter IV. 
 
 'Pages 36-38; 57-59. 
 
 e "In the opinion of those who have made a careful study of the whole sub- 
 ject of training for store service, the place for such a course is clearly the third 
 and fourth year of the high schools, and it is further believed that it should 
 be offered as a part of a well-organized commercial department" Mrs. Lucinda 
 W. Prince, in Retail Selling, Bulletin No. 22, Federal Board for Vocational Edu- 
 cation. 
 
TRAINING FOB RETAIL STORES 91 
 
 service may obtain opportunities for practice during busy 
 hours of the day or during the noon-time absence of regular 
 employees; she may be able to place her students in stores 
 as a part of the extra force needed on Saturday and Monday ; 
 she is sure of many opportunities for two weeks or more of 
 steady employment during the Christmas rush of business, and 
 may also find positions giving a week or more of extra service 
 during the busy season of the spring. 
 
 Details of Co-operation 
 
 The terms of this co-operation between local merchants and 
 persons in charge of the training of high school students 
 should be determined in conferences between the store man- 
 agers and school officials. It is essential that there be uniform 
 standards in order to avoid difficulties in arranging the dis- 
 tribution of the students so that their experiences will have the 
 desired educational value. The merchants should agree to pay 
 uniform hourly or daily rates for the services of the student 
 extras, and the teachers should prepare a program of practice 
 work which will insure varied and helpful store experiences 
 for all the students. It is claimed that store practice should 
 be credited in the student's high school course since it is com- 
 parable to the laboratory work in the natural sciences. With 
 skillful teaching it can be given an education value which may 
 justify such recognition. 7 
 
 Failure to Enter Store Service After Receiving Training 
 
 Puzzling educational problems have been raised in Boston 
 by the fact that the high school course in salesmanship is taken 
 by many students who make no vocational use of their training. 
 For the two years, 1916-1917, there were 368 high school grad- 
 uates who had received training in the salesmanship classes, 
 but only 37 took selling positions, and 73 enlisted in other 
 forms of store service, giving a total of 110 or 30 per cent who 
 made use of their vocational training. Two explanations have 
 been found for this situation: The salesmanship courses are 
 popular with students because they afford opportunities to 
 
 'Details of plans for co-operation with stores are given in Bulletin No. 22, on, 
 Retail Selling, pp. 18-31, 37-40. 
 
92 TRAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 earn money which helps pay expenses or supplies means for* 
 buying extra clothing desired by girls of high school ages. 
 The work behind the counter is undertaken willingly when it is 
 a part of the high school course. When the young persons 
 apply for regular positions, the store managers may find it 
 difficult to employ them as full-time salespeople, and there may 
 be unwillingness to accept the less attractive work of a cashier 
 or stock worker. It is true also that the office positions which 
 were sought by the majority (68.7 per cent) of those who had 
 been in the salesmanship 8 classes had an average initial weekly 
 wage which was about two dollars higher than that paid in the * 
 store positions. 
 
 GENERAL EDUCATIONAL VALUE OF TRAINING IN SALESMANSHIP 
 
 When well organized and followed up with effective class- 
 room exercises, the practice work in retail selling has general 
 educational value for secondary school students. It may pro- 
 mote a democratic point of view and sympathetic understand-* 
 ing of those who serve them when they become purchasers. 
 Efforts to meet customers in a courteous and sympathetic 
 way, and the necessity of working effectively and harmoni- 
 ously with a group which is discharging an essential social 
 service, are useful disciplines for young people. The training 
 gives a point of view which would be helpful in many other 
 business positions. It is true also that the money earned by 
 store service may be the means of enabling some students to 
 meet the expenses of their last years of schooling. We con- 
 clude that the failure to utilize fully this vocational training 
 does not involve any waste of educational effort. 
 
 NEED OF STANDARDIZATION OF WAGES OF ADOLESCENTS 
 
 In the course of the present investigation we have repeat- 
 edly found evidence of the need of standardization of the 
 wages of adolescents. At present a difference of fifty cents 
 
 8 In some cases store positions were taken temporarily, as many were unable 
 to obtain the desired office positions immediately after graduation and so were 
 obliged to accept other work. The percentage distribution of the total positions 
 held during the first year after graduation was : stores, 28.4 ; offices, 70.6. Fifty- 
 seven reported no wage-earning occupation. 
 
TRAINING FOR RETAIL STORES 93 
 
 or even less per week in the wage offered will tempt a young 
 person to shift from one employer to another. The efforts of 
 vocational guidance experts to place juveniles in positions 
 which will lead to useful careers in occupations for which they 
 are fitted are nullified by fluctuations in wages which have no 
 other basis than the immediate needs of an employer, who is 
 obtaining slightly skilled service in a competitive and entirely 
 unorganized labor market. Had the wages paid store em- 
 ployees compared more favorably with those of other ad- 
 olescent workers of the same ages and training, there would 
 have been a greater willingness to undertake the store work 
 for which training had been provided. 
 
 Workers in the British Juvenile Labor Exchanges have 
 adopted the following plans for promoting favorable stand- 
 ards of employment: 
 
 Preference is given always to employers offering good 
 wages and conditions of work. This often results in failure 
 to fill the orders or the sending of the poorly equipped work- 
 ers to unsatisfactory employers. Complaints pave the way 
 for the calling of conferences of groups of employers whose 
 conditions of work or wages are lower than the standards 
 desired. At such meetings data showing the superior induce- 
 ments and better results in other establishments may be pre- 
 sented. A leveling up of wages in order to secure equal con- 
 sideration in the labor market may result. 
 
 CONTENT OF SECONDAKY COUESES IN RETAIL SELLING 
 
 Lack of Standardization 
 
 The lack of standardization in store organization and prac- 
 tices makes it difficult to outline in any detailed way the in- 
 struction which should be embodied in a secondary course for 
 training store employees. Obviously the duties assigned em- 
 ployees in the general merchandise store of a city of ten to 
 fifty thousand must vary radically from those of a metro- 
 politan store having several thousand on the pay-roll. It is 
 impossible at present to give definite content to the common 
 terms used in speaking of store activities ; thus a marker may 
 be a little girl from the elementary schools who runs a small 
 
94 TEAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 machine which attaches tags to merchandise, or may be a 
 responsible, mature, employee who grades the garments and 
 attaches labels giving varied information ; and a stock worker 
 may be a high-class errand girl, or an assistant to the selling 
 force of an important department who would rank as a junior 
 saleswoman in another store. 
 
 Universal Store Activities 
 
 However, the general processes which we have described in 
 our study of the occupational distribution of the juvenile 
 store employees of Boston must be cared for in all mercantile 
 establishments. There must be plans for receiving, marking 
 and caring for the stock; there must be an organized selling 
 force, supervised so that their relations with each other and 
 with the public will be harmonious and efficient ; the calculating 
 of charges and making of change always require means of 
 checking errors or dishonesty, and all stores must have rec- 
 ords which will make possible systematic accounting ; the de- 
 livery of goods to purchasers is common if not universal ; the 
 plant must be kept in a cleanly and attractive condition, heated 
 and protected from fire and burglars; and means must be 
 developed for attracting the public, through newspaper ad- 
 vertising, artistic window displays, music or other ingenious 
 devices. How is the public-school supervisor of instruction in 
 retail selling to go about determining just how these varied 
 duties are apportioned in the local mercantile establishments 
 in which her pupils will be employed? It is equally important 
 for her to be able to avoid conflicting and confusing instruc- 
 tion which will result when the standards of performance of 
 store service set by the school vary from those of store ex- 
 ecutives. 
 
 Standardization of Local Store Practices 
 
 The process by which the educational director of a large 
 Boston establishment has standardized the tasks of the store 
 would be applicable on a larger or smaller scale to the com- 
 munity which is served by a secondary school course in retail 
 selling. A preliminary study of a particular branch of store 
 work is made so that a tentative plan can be outlined as a basis 
 
TRAINING FOR RETAIL STORES 95 
 
 for discussion. A member of the educational staff of this store 
 makes this study while serving as a regular worker in the 
 branch of store service whose activities are in need of stand- 
 ardization. Educational directors without such assistance 
 might make use of their own observations or of the reports of 
 experiences of students engaged in store work in order to 
 summarize the business practices best adapted to local condi- 
 tions. When a tentative plan has been developed a meeting of 
 persons engaged in the particular branch of store work under 
 consideration should be called. The persons most familiar 
 with the store occupation, that is, those who do it, should 
 bring their experience to bear on the task of formulating a 
 statement or job analysis which will embody what the group 
 accepts as the most efficient method of accomplishing the given 
 task. In the Boston store which uses this method of enlisting 
 the interest and initiative of employees, the supervisor re- 
 sponsible for enforcing the standards agreed upon in the con- 
 ference is sometimes chosen by the group of interested em- 
 ployees. Educational directors and store executives might 
 take part in the discussions of such conferences, but since the 
 young apprentice learns chiefly from fellow workers, the par- 
 ticipation in person or by means of representatives of the rank 
 and file of the store employees is an essential part of any 
 educational activities aimed at standardizing the mercantile 
 practice of the community. If the local situation permitted 
 such a democratic and efficient process of establishing stand- 
 ards, the teacher of retail selling soon would formulate a body 
 of information which would be of great value both to the school 
 and to store executives. 
 
 When the co-operation with local merchants necessary for 
 formulating such an authoritative statement of the duties of 
 different store occupations cannot be procured, then the educa- 
 'tional director must make the store experiences of her pupils 
 and her own observations during follow-up visits the basis of 
 the classroom instruction dealing with store organization and 
 activities. The different methods of receiving and marking 
 stock may be compared for the purpose of discovering com- 
 mon aims and deciding which come nearest to meeting good 
 
96 TRAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 business requirements. Observations of means by which dif- 
 ferent kinds of stock may be kept in the best possible condition 
 may be reported and discussed. References to helpful sug- 
 gestions in text books may be read and their recommenda- 
 tions tested during store practice. Collections of sales slips 
 could be made and studied for the purpose of discovering 
 points of resemblance or difference. By such activities the 
 pupils can be given an intelligent grasp of local store practices 
 and taught to discriminate between efficient and slovenly busi- 
 ness methods. They should be cautioned, however, to avoid 
 giving offense by indulging in presumptuous criticisms while 
 doing practice work in less progressive stores. 
 
 TKAINING IN SALESMANSHIP 
 
 Importance for Vocational Education 
 
 The meeting of customers for the sale of merchandise is the 
 focusing point of the varied activities of every type of store. 
 Whether viewed from the standpoint of the business interest 
 of the employer, or from that of the vocational advancement 
 of the employee, training which will increase skill in selling 
 usually is regarded as the most important phase of vocational 
 education of persons engaged in store service. Expert selec- 
 tion and care of stock, ingenious advertising schemes, impres- 
 sive and beautifully equipped buildings and skillful plans of 
 financing lose their potency when they supplement the activi- 
 ties of a crude and inefficient force of salespeople. On the 
 other hand, employees who have large sales books to their 
 credit do not find it difficult to obtain the recognition as busi- 
 ness assets which leads to increases in wages, or promotions to 
 more responsible positions. 
 
 Two Parts of Training in Salesmanship 
 
 The retail salesperson needs two kinds of training in order 
 to qualify for the maximum capacity for service: (1) He 
 should have a thorough knowledge of his merchandise. This 
 means not merely the acquisition of a few " selling points " 
 with which to bait customers, but such information as will 
 make possible an intelligent interest in the processes by which 
 
TRAINING FOE RETAIL STORES 97 
 
 the goods have been produced, and the ability to give the 
 customer sound advice about the selection, use and care of 
 what he purchases; (2) The salesperson should be trained in 
 the best methods of discovering and supplying the needs of 
 customers. Great variations in the commodities dealt with do 
 not prevent the recognition of processes common to all forms 
 of retail selling, and customers have enough in common to 
 permit classification and the formulation of general plans 
 suitable for dealing with different types of buyers. 
 
 Knowledge of Merchandise Gained in Secondary School 
 
 Courses 
 
 The more detailed knowledge of the merchandise cannot be 
 given in the training courses of secondary schools. The prac- 
 tice work of the students will acquaint them with greatly di- 
 versified stocks of goods, so that instruction fitted to the ex- 
 periences of one group of students will have little application 
 to those of another. In the secondary schools, as in the ele- 
 mentary, some shifting of emphasis in courses commonly of- 
 fered would assist in supplying a background of knowledge 
 useful both to consumers and distributors of the commodities 
 which contribute to comfort in the daily life of civilized people. 
 The study of textiles and of elementary principles of costume 
 designing and of household decoration belongs primarily in 
 the domestic arts courses. This is true also of the instruc- 
 tion dealing with foods and household equipment. The teacher 
 of salesmanship should be responsible merely for reviewing, 
 extending, and making a somewhat different application of 
 what has been acquired from these other parts of the high 
 school course. The training which will give historical per- 
 spective and a knowledge of spoken and written English also 
 must be given chiefly in the general courses dealing with these 
 subjects, but as in the elementary schools, there are opportuni- 
 ties for correlation with important vocational interests. 9 
 
 9 A syllabus outlining work suitable for a secondary school course in retail 
 selling is given in Syllabus A, of Bulletin No. 22, on Retail Selling, Federal 
 Board of for Vocational Education. 
 
98 TRAINING FOB STORE SERVICE 
 
 Class Reports on Merchandise 
 
 Interest in discovering as much as possible about the mer- 
 chandise handled and acquaintance with means by which such 
 knowledge may be obtained are two services which can be 
 rendered in a secondary school course dealing with retail sell- 
 ing. Descriptions by pupils of the goods sold in departments 
 where they do practice work will have the double value of ac- 
 quainting fellow students with varied stocks and of promoting 
 the acquiring of a store vocabulary. Pupils should be taught 
 to discover information in trade journals, periodical litera- 
 ture and manufacturers ' reports, and could easily be interested 
 in making collections of clippings or pamphlets which might 
 be the beginning of the equipment of an expert. Since so high 
 a proportion of the secondary students do not make practical 
 use of the training in salesmanship, intelligent vocational in- 
 terest and ability in locating desired information are as im- 
 portant aims as facility in specific store occupations. 10 
 
 Meeting Customers 
 
 Confusion and embarrassment would be likely to result from 
 efforts to acquaint students of secondary school age with the 
 elaborate discussions of the psychology of salesmanship, and 
 with means for recognizing and classifying the different types 
 of customers. Simple and concrete instruction by means of 
 demonstration sales, and the discussion of the experiences met 
 with in the course of their practice work are the methods found 
 satisfactory by persons who have had successful experience in 
 dealing with juvenile salespeople. 11 Details of subjects suit- 
 able for discussion will be found in the Bulletin on Retail Sell- 
 ing 12 and in the outline of plans for training salespeople of the 
 ready-made clothing department, given in Appendix II, of this 
 Bulletin. 
 
 The development of a strictly impersonal point of view is 
 one of the chief benefits to be derived from training in sales- 
 
 10 A classified list of books and periodicals which will supply such informa- 
 tion is given in Appendix II, pp. 133-138. 
 
 "Norton, Helen Rich, Department-Store Education, pp. 17-19, tells of meth- 
 ods of conducting a demonstration sale Bulletin, 1917, No. 9, Bureau of Edu- 
 cation. 
 
 "Bulletin No. 22, Federal Board for Vocational Education. 
 
TEAINING FOE EETAIL STOEES 99 
 
 manship. The young person learns to forget himself in the 
 enthusiastic efforts to meet fully the requirements of his job. 
 All of his powers are enlisted in the rendering of a social and 
 business service. The unpleasant manners of an arrogant 
 customer are overlooked when attention is focused on the 
 efforts to discover just what is wanted and to supply this or 
 a satisfactory substitute from the stock. There is an element 
 of sportmanship in such encounters, during which efforts are 
 made to grasp quickly and satisfy fully the desires of the 
 varied types of customers who come to the counters of a great 
 store. 
 
 Training Given Regular Employees 
 
 Training given to persons holding positions is the most 
 significant and satisfactory form of vocational education in 
 retail selling as in many other fields of employment. The 
 organization of such training must vary with local conditions. 
 In small places the public school director of instruction in re- 
 tail selling could organize part-time classes for junior em- 
 ployees, meeting during business hours, and could arrange 
 short unit courses for older workers which might meet during 
 business hours in dull months or in the evenings of busier 
 seasons. A well-organized educational department is gaining 
 recognition as an indispensable means of insuring the effici- 
 ency of the employees of large stores. 13 The varied activities 
 which have been developed by the gifted and experienced edu- 
 cational directors of the Boston stores will prove suggestive 
 to persons undertaking this new and important form of store 
 service. 14 
 
 New or Juvenile Employees 
 
 Much needless waste and annoyance accompanied the older 
 methods of starting new employees in their store positions. 
 Failure to give complete instruction resulted in errors, and 
 weeks often passed before the new worker became familiar 
 
 "Mrs. Prince gives a list of 58 stores located in all parts of the country 
 which maintain educational work, Bulletin No. 22, Retail Selling, 89-90. 
 
 'This discussion of training workers on the job is largely a summary of 
 the educational activities directed by Miss Bernice M. Cannon of William Fi- 
 lene's Sons Company, Miss Helen R. Norton of R. H. White Company and Miss 
 Mary Hopkins of Jordan Marsh Company. 
 
100 TRAINING FOR STORE SERVICE 
 
 with the store system and with the stock and organization 
 of her department. The time of high-salaried executives was 
 wasted in giving instruction or making adjustments between 
 new and old employees. Frequently the new employee be- 
 came discouraged and left just as her services reached a value 
 equal to the training given, and then the entire wasteful per- 
 formance was repeated. The large Boston stores find it profit- 
 able to have an instructor who gives her entire time to the 
 training of new or junior employees, and their educational 
 departments are making special studies for the purpose of 
 standardizing and reducing the costs of this instruction. 
 
 REDUCING THE COST OF NEW EMPLOYEES 
 
 The cost of starting a new employee in a store position in 
 Boston is estimated to be fifty to two hundred dollars. Train- 
 ing may be short and inexpensive when the position is one 
 where the tasks are simple, and the loss in efficiency or inter- 
 ruption of the work of other members of the department may 
 be slight. The expense is much greater when the employment 
 department makes special investigations of fitness, when store 
 executives co-operate in the training, and when the work of 
 highly paid store employees is interrupted or decreased in 
 efficiency during the period of change. The educational direc- 
 tor of one Boston store who is making a special study of the 
 cost of training new employees suggests two methods of econ- 
 omy: (1) Whenever it is possible, the giving of instruction 
 should be the work of the educational department or of the less 
 highly paid employees ; (2) Printed instructions may assist in 
 the training as soon as the chief store tasks have been stand- 
 ardized. 
 
 INSURING A CORDIAL RECEPTION OF THE NEW EMPLOYEE 
 
 An interesting " sponsor M system for the purpose of wel- 
 coming new employees has been developed in one store. Such 
 cases as this were common: A saleswoman applied for a 
 position, and was interviewed by the officials of the employ- 
 ment office, who had her credentials carefully investigated. 
 After acceptance as a suitable candidate for employment, 
 
TRAINING FOB RETAIL SHORES 101 
 
 training was given in the store system and in the duties of the 
 position for which she was selected. These activities cost the 
 store about fifty dollars. When she took her place behind the 
 counter, the other saleswomen treated her in a cold and 
 haughty manner. Such a reception may be due to a reluctance 
 to share in commissions, or to some social inferiority at- 
 tributed to the newcomer. The result usually is a notice at the 
 end of the week that the newcomer does not like the place and 
 another person must be found and trained for the position. 
 The aim of the sponsor system is defined as: /'To instill 
 
 the store spirit in new employees by helping them in 
 
 every way to understand the rules and policies of the store. ' ' 
 The sponsor in each department welcomes and assists the new- 
 . comer ; she introduces her to the buyer and other members of 
 the department, and informs her about the location of various 
 conveniences supplied for store employees; she relieves the 
 education department of some of the instruction about the 
 location and methods of caring for the stock, and explains any 
 features of the store system which have been imperfectly 
 understood. Thus the new employee is brought quickly to a 
 consciousness of full membership in the store force and of 
 ability to succeed in the work of her department. 
 
 Training for Special Services 
 
 An important part of the work of the education department 
 of a store is the training of a contingent force to be used as 
 extras during busy seasons or when the store anticipates an 
 important special sale. As already suggested, 15 these work- 
 ers may be drawn from other departments which will not be 
 busy during the seasons when the extra selling force is needed. 
 Girls from the high school salesmanship classes may be given 
 training which will enable them to understand more fully the 
 policies peculiar to the store. Former saleswomen who have 
 married, but who will gladly accept temporary employment, 
 may be brought back for the instruction which will acquaint 
 them with the changes in store system and the selling points 
 of new stocks. Such preparation makes possible an extra 
 
 "Chapter V, p. 79. 
 
102 TRAINING FOB STOEE SERVICE 
 
 force which can deal with the rush of business of a busy sea- 
 son without friction or confusion and with a minimum of those 
 losses which result from the errors of new employees. 
 
 The educational director may co-operate in training and 
 organizing the regular employees so that emergency needs can 
 be met without engaging new, temporary workers. This is 
 highly desirable since a rapid increase in the cost of store 
 labor has been brought about by the scarcity of workers, the 
 enforcement of minimum wage decrees, the general rise in 
 wages made necessary by the increased cost of living and the 
 desire of store executives to compete successfully with other 
 employers in obtaining the young people of superior natural 
 ability and good education. Readily accessible information 
 about the personal capacities of all employees is one method 
 of promoting this economical use of the regular store force. 
 Personnel or employment managers find it desirable to record 
 carefully the lines of work in which each person is proficient. 
 When properly indexed such personal histories often make 
 possible the prompt filling of unexpected vacancies, or the 
 organization of a force of extra workers, by the shifting of 
 regular employees from departments which are not particular- 
 ly busy. Workers who have had some experience with the 
 stocks to be sold and who are familiar with the store system 
 may be trained quickly to serve efficiently as substitutes for 
 absent workers, or to handle goods offered in special sales. 
 This policy of shifting regular rather than of hiring part-time, 
 extra workers often promotes business conditions which are 
 desirable both for employer and employee. 
 
 Advertising campaigns often bring better results when 
 salespeople have been trained to effective co-operation in 
 spreading a knowledge of the opportunities which the store 
 offers its customers and in presenting effectively the goods 
 offered in special sales. Buyers are continually on the look- 
 out for stocks of desirable goods which may be bought at 
 bargain prices. These are special features of well-advertised 
 sales which bring a rush of customers to the store. Sales- 
 people should be familiar with the circumstances which make 
 it possible to offer the merchandise at reduced prices and 
 
TRAINING FOE EETAIL STORES 103 
 
 should be coached in the presentation of the best selling points 
 of the goods. It is often possible to direct the attention of 
 patrons of such sales to supplies in the general stock which 
 will be useful with the specially priced goods. An alert educa- 
 tional director will call attention to all such opportunities for 
 increasing the business of the store. 
 
 Training of the Regular Sales Force 
 
 Educational work with the regular sales force of a large 
 store has three aims : (1) The giving of a thorough knowledge 
 of the stock; (2) Teaching the care of merchandise, so that it 
 will be displayed to advantage and preserved from deteriora- 
 tion; (3) Preparation for giving the best possible service to 
 customers. 
 
 (1) Knowledge of the Stock. Young persons who enter 
 store service should have a general knowledge of industrial 
 history and of modern methods of production and distribution, 
 such as has been suggested in our discussion of courses in sec- 
 ondary schools which prepare for mercantile positions. It is 
 difficult for the educational department of a store to supply 
 this cultural background because its instruction must deal 
 chiefly with matters which are of more immediate and direct 
 value in promoting the business of the store. However, op- 
 portunities will arise when new stock is being studied for brief 
 reviews of the history of industry, for descriptions of essential 
 processes in the production of staple goods, and for skillfully 
 directed, informal discussions which may be the means of 
 teaching the simpler principles of economics and aesthetics. 
 When interest has been aroused, the more ambitious workers 
 may be stimulated to continue their studies with the help of 
 carefully selected reading lists. 
 
 Buyers in Boston stores co-operate systematically with edu- 
 cational directors in giving instruction which will acquaint 
 salespeople with the uses, methods of production and best sell- 
 ing points of new stocks. Such educational activities are a 
 means of promoting the continuous interchange of information 
 between the persons who provide and those who sell the mer- 
 chandise. Since the buyers meet the manufacturers or their 
 representatives, they pick up much interesting information 
 
104 TRAINING FOR STORE SERVICE 
 
 about the uses and methods of producing store commodities. 
 The salespeople, on the other hand, are in a position to learn 
 the value placed on the goods by the consumer who is the final 
 judge of their worth. The buyers ' knowledge will assist sales- 
 people in efforts to give to the public the best available means 
 of supplying their needs, and the salespersons' information 
 will enable producers and distributors to discover what is 
 needed for the promotion of human comfort and happiness. 
 
 (2) Care of Merchandise. Thousands of dollars are lost by 
 large stores because of damage done to goods while they are 
 being offered for sale. Continuous effort is necessary in 
 order to maintain the stock in a fresh and desirable condition. 
 A crude and slovenly arrangement of goods gives them an 
 unattractive appearance and lowers the tone of the store. 
 Great stores usually are clustered in one part of the city and 
 customers pass easily from one place to another. Merchants 
 desiring to attract superior types of customers must study 
 these subtle, psychological effects, as the decisions of cus- 
 tomers usually are influenced more by suggestion than by in- 
 telligent weighing of the values of merchandise. 
 
 The most effective method of promoting good care of stock 
 found in the course of our study of Boston stores has been de- 
 scribed in the discussion of methods of standardizing store 
 practices. There should be definite agreements about all the 
 details of stock arrangement and management as otherwise 
 the different workers in a department cannot unite in produc- 
 ing an orderly effect. Boxed stock should be folded correctly 
 and the boxes stacked in a uniform manner, folded stock should 
 be piled on shelves in accordance with a plan definitely agreed 
 upon ; hanging garments should all face in one direction ; loose 
 buttons, braids and labels should receive prompt attention, and 
 skillful pressing should be provided in order that the fresh 
 appearance expected in new goods may be restored. The 
 tangled confusion of a remnant sale was avoided in one Boston 
 store by rolling each piece of silk in a strip of paper on which 
 the length, width and price of the goods was written. A quickly 
 adjusted rubber band held the rolls which were stacked so 
 that the loose ends of silk easily could be examined by cus- 
 
TEAINING FOB EETAIL STORES 105 
 
 tomers. In another store shirt waists offered in a special 
 sale were hung on iron framework above the counters with 
 signs showing sizes and prices. They were easily inspected 
 by customers and lost value less rapidly than when heaped in 
 disorderly piles through which each newcomer rooted with the 
 hope that good bargains in her size might be discovered. Other 
 ingenious plans for preserving and improving the appearance 
 of the stock are sure to result when there is an educational 
 director engaged in the systematic focusing of attention on 
 store problems and the tactful enlistment for their solution 
 of the interest and inventiveness of store employees. 
 
 (3) Service to Customers. New conceptions of the social 
 significance of service in mercantile establishments are de- 
 veloping as a result of the educational activities and research 
 which are being promoted by groups of progressive employ- 
 ers. The older view that salesmanship is a contest of wits in 
 which the merchant aims at gaining an advantage over the 
 customer has been abandoned by all reputable mercantile es- 
 tablishments. ' ' The customer must be satisfied, ' ' is the slogan 
 which is sounded continuously in the literature of salesman- 
 ship. The ideal salesperson of a modern store is a person of 
 quick perceptions who meets the customer sympathetically 
 and supplies her promptly with the goods best adapted to her 
 needs. Assistance in selection may be given in a tactful way 
 so that the salesperson may be regarded as an expert in the 
 application of the available resources of production so that 
 maximum benefits shall result from the consumption of wealth. 
 
 Training to this new point of view must be a gradual pro- 
 cess. It is necessary that the spirit of kindly and intelligent 
 service shall permeate the entire body of store employees, so 
 that each new worker will be subject to the influence of the 
 group psychology. The newer policies which demand the 
 careful selection of persons whose training and personal char- 
 acters indicate that they may develop into satisfactory co- 
 workers in a great mercantile enterprise, which supply ample 
 educational opportunities so that the ambitious feel assured of 
 satisfactory business careers, which give organizations of 
 employees a share in the control of their conditions of work, 
 
106 TRAINING FOR STOEE SERVICE 
 
 and which assure a just participation in the financial rewards 
 of good service, are all means of promoting good salesmanship 
 at the counters of the store. 
 
 The meeting of people is an art which some persons de- 
 velop more readily than others. Practice in the imitation of 
 satisfactory models may enable the clumsy and bashful to 
 acquire the social graces which are natural gifts for more 
 fortunate companions. The demonstration sale in which suc- 
 cessful salespeople go through processes of presenting goods 
 and convincing a reluctant customer of their value is a dra- 
 matic and effective means of training inexperienced sales- 
 people. Questions and discussions in the class may bring out 
 all the fine points of such an exercise. Participation as actors 
 or auditors in such sales may promote a professional spirit in 
 salespeople and may result in more uniform standards of 
 service in the departments where they are conducted as a 
 regular part of the store educational activities. 
 
 Shoppers are sometimes employed by large stores for the 
 purpose of obtaining an objective view of the store service. 
 These experts come to the salespeople as customers and study 
 carefully the manner in which their supposed needs are sup- 
 plied. There is danger that this means of improving sales- 
 manship may do more harm than good, as the store em- 
 ployees may regard it as a spy system, but when such reports 
 are used as a basis for kindly, constructive criticism, the sales- 
 people of the store may be benefited. Since such shoppers also 
 visit rival stores, their reports may arouse a spirit of emula- 
 tion, as comparisons can be made which will stimulate efforts 
 to equal competitors or give a gratifying sense of superiority. 
 
 Promotion to the position of buyers is the usual reward for 
 careful attention to salesmanship. Through successful service 
 at the counter the young store workers learn what the con- 
 suming public demands; the next stage of their mercantile 
 careers demands a thorough knowledge of the production and 
 
 "This discussion of the training of buyers is based largely on extracts from 
 talks given by merchandisers of the Jordan Marsh department store. 
 
TRAINING FOE RETAIL STORES 107 
 
 wholesale marketing of the commodities sold in the store de- 
 partments which they serve. Buyers carry greater responsi- 
 bilities than salespeople as mistaken choice of merchandise 
 may bring the store heavy financial losses. On the other hand 
 their store duties are less monotonous; they frequently are 
 sent to other cities or to Europe to select new stock and so 
 learn more about general business conditions ; and exceptional 
 success will qualify them for the important, high-salaried posi- 
 tions of merchandisers or store executives. 
 
 The educational director may co-operate with merchandisers 
 in developing effective instruction for assistant buyers and 
 for experienced salespeople who wish to fit themselves for 
 greater responsibilities. The busy merchandisers must first 
 be persuaded to come to the classroom and impart the shrewd 
 business knowledge which they have gained by years of ex- 
 perience in driving good bargains in order to obtain stocks 
 which the public will be eager to buy. A series of suggestive 
 topics or pertinent questions sometimes will stimulate interest 
 in organizing their information so that its educational value 
 will be increased. Assurance of the informality of the con- 
 ference will overcome the reluctance of men of action to as- 
 sume the role of pedagogues. Talks by merchandisers may 
 alternate with discussions led by the educational director in 
 which important points will be emphasized and given their 
 concrete applications. 
 
 A few extracts from reports of informal talks given by mer- 
 chandisers of the Jordan Marsh store will show the value and 
 interest of such a course for buyers as has been suggested. 
 Such instructions may be grouped under three general heads : 
 First, means of keeping in touch with the condition and needs 
 of the store stocks for which the buyers are responsible ; Sec- 
 ond, methods of studying the market and of winning favorable 
 terms from jobbers or manufacturers and their salesmen; 
 Third, store policies in fixing the selling prices of goods. 
 
 (1) Knowledge of the Stock 
 
 * ' The stock must be kept well balanced. When there are no 
 broad plans, success is due merely to spot luck to hit or 
 miss." 
 
108 TRAINING FOR STORE SERVICE 
 
 "Analyze your stock. Keep a record of all merchandise 
 purchased. Learn the quality most in demand and the popular 
 price. Maintain an inventory of quality, price and style of 
 goods which you consider desirable for your department and 
 organize a regular budget system. Buy to fill in vacancies. It 
 is well to maintain ' present order* and 'advance order ' 
 books. " 
 
 "Learn to sense your trade by consulting salespeople and by 
 waiting on customers and getting comments first hand. Study 
 the want slips. 17 Watch the sale of new merchandise : if suc- 
 cessful, recorder readily. " 
 
 "The poor selection of unsalable stock has put many a 
 merchant on the rocks. Remember that goods you haven't 
 cause less trouble than goods you have and can't get rid of. 
 The unwise buying of large lots of goods that do not sell ex- 
 cept at greatly reduced prices is the chief avenue by which 
 profits are wasted. Money is made on turnovers, not on left- 
 overs." 
 
 "Inspect your merchandise carefully, notice whether it is 
 uniform in quality and well up to the samples or specifica- 
 tions." 
 
 "Study specialties; they give tone to a department and 
 bring quick profits." 
 
 (2) The Buyer and His Markets 
 
 "Buyers should study trade journals in order to gain a 
 knowledge of the fundamental conditions which influence their 
 markets. The cost of labor and of raw materials always are 
 important factors in determining prices. Variations in steel 
 tonnage are indications of probable changes in business condi- 
 tions. The political situation will sometimes influence prices. 
 Crop returns in the United States and political and economic 
 conditions in foreign countries are also factors which must be 
 kept in mind when placing large orders for merchandise." 
 
 "Keep a list of manufacturers, both active and inactive. 
 Get in personal touch with each one from time to time. Don't 
 slight any one. Study each carefully and try to treat him in 
 
 "These are reports of salespeople of goods asked for by customers but not 
 in the stocks of the store. 
 
TEAINING FOE EETAIL STOEES 109 
 
 a friendly manner. Small manufacturers sometimes produce 
 attractive new articles, new firms may sell to better advantage, 
 and it is well to broaden the avenues of buying so that the 
 store will not become dependent on a few manufacturers." 
 
 "Cultivate the acquaintance of other buyers as much may 
 be learned from them. ' ' 
 
 "Salesmen of manufacturers also are great sources of in- 
 formation. Listen carefully to their selling arguments, notice 
 the strongest points made by each, so that you will be assisted 
 in the comparison and selection of merchandise. Examine 
 every line of samples, but do not talk too much when looking 
 at samples ; your criticisms may aid a competitor. If you see 
 a fault in merchandise, pass it up." 
 
 "Keep your appointments with salesmen if you cannot do 
 so, notify them. You will gain their favor by treating them in 
 a friendly and courteous manner, so that they will bring to 
 your attention 'off price ' merchandise. But always keep in 
 mind the motto, 'I am going to buy what I want, not what 
 the salesman wants to sell. ' ' ' 
 
 "The card record of each manufacturer should contain 
 accurate information covering such points as : 
 
 "Eeliability in delivering goods? 
 
 "Does he always fill orders at the time agreed upon? 
 
 ' ' Capacity of his plant. How large an order can be handled 
 promptly? 
 
 ' ' Quality of his goods. Will they maintain a uniform grade, 
 or run above or below the standard of the sample ? 
 
 "Honesty and business standing of the firm. Is it neces- 
 sary to be on the lookout for underhand deals ? ' ' 
 
 (3) Marking the Stock 
 
 Buyers are responsible for fixing the prices at which the 
 commodities in their departments are to be sold. This must 
 be done in accordance with the general policies of the store. 
 Elaborate statistical studies and expert accounting is neces- 
 sary in order to adjust selling prices so that they will cover 
 properly the varied expenses of a great store. The necessity 
 of keeping the stock moving complicates the problems of 
 price fixing. The buyer in consultation with his merchandiser 
 
110 TEAINING FOE STOEE SEEVICE 
 
 must decide when a mark-down is necessary in order to avoid 
 carrying too heavy a stock of goods which will deteriorate in 
 value. 
 
 There are great variations between stores in the methods 
 of price fixing, so that each group of buyers is in need of care- 
 ful instruction by the merchandisers or executives who are 
 responsible for his store policies. The whole matter of retail 
 prices is a field of economics about which little is known and in 
 which there is great need for economic research. 
 
 The Successful Buyer 
 
 What constitutes a successful buyer who would be looked 
 upon as a suitable candidate for promotion to the responsibili- 
 ties of a merchandiser is suggested by the following extracts : 
 
 "The buyer's reputation is determined by four factors : 
 
 (1) The volume of goods sold during the year. 
 
 (2) The number of turnovers, or the number of times his 
 capital comes back from the sale of goods and can be used 
 again for buying new stock. 
 
 (3) The amount of net profits. 
 
 (4) Stock conditions when the inventory is taken. " 
 
 "The real merchant must have two things continuously, 
 (1) volume of sales, and (2) sufficient net profits. Nothing 
 but volume of sales can overcome the inertia of fixed expenses 
 and provide surplus profits." 
 
 "A buyer is bound to make mistakes, but it is much better 
 for him to make mistakes than not to make any because he is 
 not aggressive. " 
 
 "Keep profits up, your terms right, your stocks clean, and 
 success is yours. " 
 
 OBGANIZING THE VOCATIONAL KNOWLEDGE OF THE STOEE 
 
 The co-operation for educational purposes which may be 
 developed in the working force of the store has almost un- 
 limited possibilities. The offering of prizes for suggestions 
 which will increase efficiency is a common method of enlist- 
 ing this interest of employees in both industrial and mer- 
 cantile establishments. Spontaneous intellectual activity of 
 this sort is comparatively rare, but with some stimulation and 
 
TRAINING FOE RETAIL STORES 111 
 
 suggestions from an efficient educational department there are 
 but few groups of store employees who are unable to con- 
 tribute from their experience data of value in promoting the 
 success of the business. Bundlers and packers may discover 
 how to conserve expensive supplies, delivery people observe 
 ways of shortening routes and avoiding frequent undelivered 
 merchandise, auditors and inspectors discover the errors in 
 sales slips, which are most common; complaint clerks learn 
 the causes of offense which drive away the customers; and 
 salespeople gather first impressions about what the public will 
 buy. The success of the store educational work is measured 
 largely by its ingenuity in gathering and disseminating the 
 varied information which results from the daily experiences of 
 the store working force. 
 
 A Store Advisory Board 
 
 The advisory board which has been organized by the educa- 
 tional director of one of the Boston stores is an effective de- 
 vice for, as she expresses it, "feeding into the department 
 problems from the point of view of the fellow worker. ' ' Four- 
 teen representative employees of the store meet with the di- 
 rector for the purpose of discussing what subjects should be 
 taken up in order to increase the comfort or efficiency of em- 
 ployees or the success of the store. Members of such a com- 
 mittee may report suggestions from those whom they repre- 
 sent, and may assist in enforcing standards which have been 
 adopted in conferences. Another experienced educational di- 
 rector pointed out the folly of giving power without responsi- 
 bility; when employees through their representatives co- 
 operate in the development of store policies promoting effici- 
 ency, they will appreciate the justice of the demand that they 
 assist in their enforcement. 
 
 Service Clubs or Booster Clubs 
 
 Continued training of the regular selling force of one Bos- 
 ton store has taken the form of et service clubs" whose aim is 
 "to give better service to customers through increased in- 
 telligence and alertness of salespersons, resulting in increas- 
 ed sales. " The members of these clubs meet in groups at 
 
112 TRAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 times when they can be spared from their departments for the 
 purpose of receiving instruction in salesmanship and in store 
 policies. Such subjects are considered as, methods of ap- 
 proaching a customer, talking points of merchandise, suitable 
 English for use in discussing stock and how to meet emergen- 
 cies. Demonstration sales are held and discussed or criticised 
 by the club members. Loyalty to the store is promoted by 
 teaching the history of its development, by pointing out the 
 numerous ways in which its managers endeavor to deal justly 
 and generously with the store staff, and by showing the inti- 
 mate connections between the personal welfare of employees 
 and the development of the business which supplies them with 
 a livelihood. 
 
 Co-operation Between Store Education and Employment De- 
 partments 
 
 The necessity of close co-operation between the education and 
 employment departments is so apparent that the two forms of 
 service are frequently organized as one department. The 
 body of information which results from efforts at job analyses 
 and standardization is indispensable to the development of 
 sound work in both branches of store service. The two depart- 
 ments must co-operate in providing new workers to fill va- 
 cancies and in preventing the heavy expenses resulting from 
 unnecessary changes in the store personnel. No amount of 
 subsequent training can remedy the natural shortcomings of 
 poorly selected employees. Frequently the carefully organized 
 plans for training and promotion are inoperative because it is 
 impossible to overcome the natural handicaps of persons who 
 were employed without consideration of whether it would be 
 possible to prepare them for positions to which they normally 
 would be promoted. Recently an educational director made a 
 careful study of a group of store employees whose positions 
 were such that they could learn the duties of executives. She 
 discovered that only 2 out of 24 possessed the qualifications 
 which would enable them to succeed the executives whom they 
 assisted. This discovery led to the formation of specifications 
 which will guide the employment department so that the places 
 will be filled in the future with persons whose natural and 
 
TRAINING FOB RETAIL STORES 113 
 
 educational qualifications indicate a capacity for winning pro- 
 motion to the positions for which they serve as understudies. 
 The employment manager and educational director must co- 
 operate in the study of the talents of the store personnel and 
 in efforts to find for each person the position in which the best 
 service can be rendered. The records of sales, the results of 
 tests in the educational work, and the reports of executives 
 are combined to form estimates of the value of the services 
 rendered. Persons who fail in one department of the store 
 may succeed in another, and the transfer of an employee al- 
 ready familiar with the store system means less expense than 
 the training of a new worker. There is danger of grave in- 
 justice to more modest members of the store force when there 
 are no systematic tests of ability to aid in the selection of per- 
 sons who fill the more important store positions. When definite 
 training is offered, when conferences for standardizing store 
 practices give opportunities to show resourcefulness, and 
 when self-governing schemes invite the exercise of capacity 
 for leadership, recognition and increase of wages are given to 
 persons capable of real service rather than to those who mere- 
 ly are clamorous and self-assertive. 
 
 NEED OF TRAINING FOB STORE EXECUTIVES 
 
 Two universities have established special departments for 
 research in retail selling, and valuable investigations are be- 
 ing made by other organizations. Such activities will pave the 
 way for a better training of store executives. Conservative, 
 autocratic, store executives, who have no conception of the 
 new standards of store efficiency and are untouched by the 
 modern spirit of democracy, are the most serious obstacles to 
 the development of the fine spirit of harmonious co-operation 
 in rendering efficiently an important public service which is 
 the ultimate aim of education for retail selling. 
 
APPENDIX I 
 
 STATISTICAL DATA SHOWING CONDITIONS OF 
 EMPLOYMENT OF JUVENILE STORE WORKERS 
 
 IN BOSTON 
 
 Educational Certificates of Boston Young Persons 16 to 21 
 Years of Age - 
 
 Educational certificates issued to minors 16 to 21 years of 
 age have supplied statistical data for our discussions of the 
 distribution of young persons in Boston business establish- 
 ments, of industries between which they shift, and of seasonal 
 variations in their entry upon or changes of employment. The 
 law requiring that, "No child who is over sixteen and under 
 twenty-one years of age shall be employed in a factory, work- 
 shop, manufacturing, mechanical or mercantile establishment 
 unless his employer procures and keeps on file an educational 
 certificate showing the age of the child and his ability or in- 
 ability to read and write as hereinafter provided, m became 
 effective in September, 1913. Like the employment certificate 
 which is required of minors 14 to 16 years of age, the educa- 
 tional certificate is issued after the young person has obtained 
 a promise of employment, and "must be returned by the em- 
 ployer to the office of the superintendent of schools from which 
 it is issued, within two days after employment by him of the 
 person named thereon terminates. " 2 A new or reissued cer- 
 tificate is obtained when another position has been promised 
 or secured. 
 
 Two types of educational certificates, commonly known as 
 "gold" and "gray" certificates, are used: the former is issued 
 to literate young persons, and the latter to illiterates, or those 
 who do not possess ' * such ability to read, write and spell in the 
 English language as is required for the completion of the 
 
 "Acts of 1913, Chapter 779, Section 23. 
 
 'Acts of 1913, Chapter 779, Sections 15 and 22. This statement is printed on 
 the backs of all certificates issued. 
 
 115 
 
116 TRAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 fourth grade.'" The gray is exchanged for a gold certificate 
 whenever the young person succeeds in attaining this educa- 
 tional requirement. 
 
 WAR-TIME REDISTRIBUTION OF JUVENILE LABOR 
 
 Nearly two hundred thousand certificates were issued be- 
 tween September 17, 1913, and January 1, 1919, over half (57.5 
 per cent) of which were obtained by young persons who were 
 changing their positions. Two striking developments which 
 have taken place since the outbreak of the war are shown in 
 this summary of the records of the certificating office: (1) 
 The numbers of illiterate young persons have decreased rapid- 
 ly because of the checking of immigration ; in 1914 twenty-five 
 hundred (2,481) went to work, while only 217 received their 
 first educational certificates in 1918. (2) The extensive re- 
 distribution of labor made necessary by the development of 
 war industries is shown by the abnormal increase of the re- 
 issued certificates, or those taken when changing positions; 
 in 1914-1915 the numbers issued were fourteen and sixteen 
 thousand (13,918 and 16,462) respectively, but nearly twenty- 
 six thousand were issued in 1916 and in 1917, and over twenty- 
 eight thousand in 1918. 
 
 SAMPLE GROUP OF 21- YEAR-OLD WORKERS USED IN THIS STUDY 
 
 A sample group of educational certificates was selected in 
 order to obtain statistical data showing the relative import- 
 ance of different opportunities for employment open to juve- 
 nile workers. It was decided in a conference of officials of 
 the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, of the Boston Public 
 Schools and of the Women's Educational and Industrial 
 Union, that a group of expired certificates, which had been 
 issued to young persons who became twenty-one years of age 
 between July 1, 1915, and June 30, 1916, would be suitable for 
 this purpose. A portion of the work records of young per- 
 sons of this age group would be free from abnormal, war-time 
 influences, and a study of previous experiences made at the 
 
 'Raised to sixth grade in 1919. Amendment to R. L. 44, Sec. 1, Gen. Acts of 
 1919, Chap. 281. 
 
STATISTICAL DATA OF CONDITIONS 117 
 
 time of entry upon adult life would assist in an estimate of 
 the relative values of the factors determining vocational selec- 
 tion and development. It seemed desirable, also, to attempt a 
 sort of stock taking of the vocational attainments of young 
 persons who had reached the age when society considers them 
 capable of assuming the full responsibilities of maturity. 
 
 CLASSIFICATION OF THE SAMPLE GROUP BY BUSINESSES OF THE 
 
 EMPLOYING FIRM 
 
 The 9,356 certificates which had been issued to 6,385 young 
 men and women of the selected age group supplied the names 
 and addresses of the firms authorized to employ them, but, 
 unlike the employment certificates issued to children 14 to 16 
 years of age, no data were given showing the kinds of work 
 in which their labor was to be utilized. A rough classification 
 of the sample group was obtained by identifying the businesses 
 of the firms to whom the last certificates of the young persons 
 were issued. 
 
 USES MADE OF TABLE SHOWING DISTRIBUTION OF SAMPLE GROUP 
 
 The large table showing the general distribution of young 
 men and women when about twenty-one years old, in Boston 
 establishments for which certification is required, has been 
 used for the following purposes : 
 
 (1) The relative importance of the different kinds of busi- 
 ness requiring the services of the young persons is indicated. 
 
 (2) A rough estimate of the location of opportunities for 
 employment in metropolitan Boston is given. 
 
 (3) The sex distribution of workers at the time of entry 
 upon adult life is shown. 
 
 EMPLOYMENT CERTIFICATES ISSUED TO MINORS 14 TO 16 YEARS OF 
 
 AGE 
 
 All wage-earning minors 14 to 16 years of age are required 
 to obtain employment certificates when first going to work, and 
 whenever a change is made from one employer to another. 
 The certificate specifies not only the names and addresses of 
 both the employer and the working child, but also the par- 
 
118 TRAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 ticular occupation in which the child is to be engaged. Legal 
 evidence of age is required and a medical officer is in attend- 
 ance to make physical examinations of new applicants for cer- 
 tificates and to determine whether the specified occupations 
 are adapted to the strength of the children. In order to obtain 
 a certificate when first going to work, or a reissued certificate 
 when shifting takes place, the child must present a signed 
 statement from his prospective employer which tells the na- 
 ture of the proposed work and pledges the employer to ob- 
 serve the legal restrictions on the use of the labor of minors of 
 this age group. 
 
 The rapid enlistment 4 and redistribution of juvenile labor 
 during the war period is shown by the fluctuations in the is- 
 suance of work certificates. The maximum demand for the 
 labor of both the 14 to 16 and the 16 to 21 year old groups of 
 juvenile workers came in 1918 when the drafts had withdrawn 
 older men, and our own war activities were greatest. The two 
 most striking trends of the war period were, (1) the enormous 
 amount of shifting or changing of positions by juveniles of 
 both age groups, and (2) the striking increase in the propor- 
 tion of the younger workers who were certificated for em- 
 ployment in factories. 
 
 TABLES SHOWING OCCUPATIONAL, DISTRIBUTION OF JUVENILE STOEE 
 
 EMPLOYEES, AND THE AGE AND EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS 
 
 OF THOSE EMPLOYED IN DIFFERENT OCCUPATIONS AND 
 
 TYPES OF STORES 
 
 The records of juvenile store employees who had been placed 
 by the Vocational Guidance Bureau of the Boston Public 
 Schools were supplemented by information found in store files 
 so that descriptive data were obtained for one thousand juve- 
 nile employees of Boston department, dry-goods and clothing 
 
 *The certification records of the Boston office do not reveal the extent to 
 which children left school to enter industry, as many of the new workers found 
 employment outside of Boston. A study of the enrollment in elementary and 
 secondary schools and of the number of elementary school graduates who en- 
 tered secondary schools shows that the increase in school attendance of the 
 period before me outbreak of the war was checked, and that a loss in school en- 
 rollment appears in 1916 and reaches its greatest extent in 1918. Details of the 
 changes in school attendance are given in my article on "War-time Child Labor 
 in Boston," The Child Labor Bulletin, November, 1918, pp. 185-197. 
 
STATISTICAL DATA OF CONDITIONS 
 
 119 
 
 stores who had held positions during the decade 1908-1918. 5 
 Unlike the young persons who were 21 years old, this second 
 sample group used in the investigation was composed of juve- 
 niles representing all ages between 14 and 21. The discussions 
 of the occupational distribution of juvenile store workers and 
 of the variations in sexes, ages and education between those 
 found in different types of stores engaged in the different 
 occupations have been based on these statistical data. 
 
 Variations in plans of organization of the stores in which 
 the juveniles were employed have made a classification by ad- 
 
 TABLE 4. DISTRIBUTION BY OCCUPATIONS AND SCHOOLING OF 1000 
 
 JUVENILES EMPLOYED IN BOSTON DEPARTMENT, DRY GOODS 
 
 AND CLOTHING STORES. 1908-1918 
 
 Number of Juveniles Engaged in Specified Occupa- 
 tions Who Left School From Specified Grades 
 
 Secondary Secondary 
 Total 7th and Less 8th 1st and 2nd 3rd and 4th 
 
 tog 
 
 OCCUPATIONS 
 
 g g 
 
 S 
 
 3 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 .2 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 5 3 
 
 a 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 o 
 
 H 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 e 
 
 & 
 
 i 
 
 Total, ] 
 
 LOGO 800 
 
 200 
 
 90 
 
 73 
 
 17 
 
 282 
 
 224 
 
 58 
 
 211 
 
 159 
 
 52 417 
 
 344 
 
 73 
 
 Public Service, . . . 
 
 637 546 
 
 91 
 
 64 
 
 53 
 
 11 
 
 204 
 
 174 
 
 30 
 
 140 
 
 118 
 
 22 229 
 
 201 
 
 28 
 
 Salespersons 
 
 196 162 
 
 34 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 35 
 
 30 
 
 5 
 
 39 
 
 30 
 
 9 115 
 
 97 
 
 18 
 
 Floor, errand, cash, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 teller 
 
 113 83 
 
 30 
 
 23 
 
 20 
 
 3 
 
 55 
 
 40 
 
 15 
 
 24 
 
 14 
 
 10 11 
 
 9 
 
 2 
 
 Collectors, 
 
 5 . . 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 3 
 
 Inspectors, exam- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 iners, checkers,. . 
 
 109 108 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 
 34 
 
 34 
 
 
 25 
 
 25 
 
 .. 42 
 
 41 
 
 1 
 
 Cashiers 
 
 77 75 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 14 
 
 'i 
 
 20 
 
 20 
 
 .. 42 
 
 41 
 
 1 
 
 Bundlers, 
 
 119 107 
 
 12 
 
 22 
 
 ii 
 
 '5 
 
 58 
 
 53 
 
 6 
 
 27 
 
 25 
 
 2 12 
 
 12 
 
 
 Miscellaneous," . . . 
 
 18 11 
 
 7 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 1 4 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 Delivery* 
 
 32 2 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 1 
 
 10 
 
 13 
 
 1 
 
 12 8 
 
 
 8 
 
 Care of Merchan- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 dise, 
 
 141 93 
 
 48 
 
 19 
 
 13 
 
 6 
 
 39 
 
 29 
 
 10 
 
 34 
 
 18 
 
 16 49 
 
 33 
 
 16 
 
 Stock workers, . . . 
 
 110 69 
 
 41 
 
 15 
 
 9 
 
 6 
 
 34 
 
 24 
 
 10 
 
 27 
 
 15 
 
 12 34 
 
 21 
 
 13 
 
 Stampers and 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 markers, 
 
 15 13 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 t 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 1 10 
 
 9 
 
 1 
 
 Receiving clerks,. . 
 
 4 . . 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 Millinery makers,.. 
 
 5 5 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 "i 
 
 3 
 
 '3 
 
 
 Alteration employ- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ees, 
 
 7 6 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 1 .. 
 
 
 
 Financial, 
 
 184 158 
 
 26 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 I 
 
 26 
 
 20 
 
 'e 
 
 22 
 
 2i 
 
 1 129 
 
 110 
 
 19 
 
 Auditors, 
 
 19 18 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 : t 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 .. 11 
 
 10 
 
 1 
 
 Bookkeepers 
 
 11 7 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 ,. 10 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 Clericals, 
 
 154 133 
 
 21 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 
 23 
 
 17 
 
 6 
 
 18 
 
 17 
 
 1 108 
 
 94 
 
 14 
 
 Miscellaneous, 9 .... 
 
 6 1 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 2 
 
 
 2 
 
 'Records were copied in the order in which they appeared in the files. When 
 tabulated we were surprised to find that by chance the sex distribution of the 
 1000 cases was the symmetrical 200 males and 800 females of the tables. 
 
 "Soda fountain, restaurant, personal service, information, locker-room em- 
 ployees. 
 
 'Distributed as follows : packers and shippers, 19; sorters, 1; bookers, 7; de- 
 livery drivers, 2 ; auto helpers and truck boys, 3. 
 
 'Mail boy, order boy, assistant electrician, window dresser, machine exam- 
 iner. 
 
120 TEAINING FOB STORE SERVICE 
 
 ministrative divisions of stores impracticable. A rough group- 
 ing of occupations more directly concerned with the service 
 of the public, of those connected with the delivery of pur- 
 chases and the care of the merchandise, and of those usually 
 connected with the financial or controlling office, was all that 
 could be undertaken when there was so complete an absence of 
 standardization. 
 
 CARE OF HEALTH OF EMPLOYEES IN RETAIL STORES* 
 
 Many Boston stores maintain dispensary and hospital ser- 
 vice for the benefit of employees and customers. The largest 
 of these stores, which has 3,700 employees, 2,500 of whom are 
 women, treated 1,912 cases during the month of the investiga- 
 tion. Over 90 per cent (93.2) of those cared for were store 
 employees. The cases treated in one week in the hospital 
 clinics of four stores show the important services of the store 
 nurses and doctors. The prompt treatment of diseased condi- 
 tions prevents much loss of time and energy. No doubt the 
 instruction of store employees in personal hygiene which is a 
 by-product of such frequent consultations, has a value quite as 
 great as the treatment of specific ailments. 
 
 Maladies from which store workers suffer are shown in the 
 reports of the diagnoses of the patients treated during one 
 week in the clinics of four stores (Table 5). The most common 
 complaint was headache, which is, of course, merely a sympton 
 indicating varied disorders such as defective eyes, indiges- 
 tion, exhaustion, or various forms of nervous strain. It is 
 difficult for store employees to protect themselves from the 
 infectious colds or sore throats, so it is not surprising to find 
 this group second in importance. The continuous standing of 
 the women employees results in much discomfort during their 
 menstrual periods. Since both "headache" and "colds and 
 sore throats" are diagnoses which may cover varied forms of 
 illness, this weakness of the female employees is the chief 
 complaint treated in the store clinics. 
 
 The data bearing on this topic were extracted from a report of an investi- 
 gation under my direction, made by Miss A. W. Johnson, a student in the 
 Simmons College School for Social Workers Lucile Eaves. 
 
STATISTICAL DATA OF CONDITIONS 121 
 
 TABLE 5. DIAGNOSIS OP CASES TREATED IN ONE WEEK BY THE 
 MEDICAL, DEPARTMENTS OF FOUR BOSTON STORES 
 
 DIAGNOSIS 
 
 Number of Patients Whose Diagnosis Was as Specified 
 
 
 Total 
 
 Store I 
 
 Store II 
 
 Store III 
 
 Store IV 
 
 Total 
 
 1028 
 
 466 
 
 216 
 
 178 
 
 178 
 
 Headache, 
 
 185 
 
 96 
 
 36 
 
 24 
 
 29 
 
 Dyspepsia I 
 Indigestion f 
 
 107 
 
 61 
 
 18 
 
 4 
 
 24 
 
 Colds 
 
 122 
 
 49 
 
 17 
 
 38 
 
 18 
 
 Sore Throats, 
 
 35 
 
 19 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 Infections } 
 Dressings j 
 
 91 
 
 26 
 
 15 
 
 43 
 
 7 
 
 Cuts, 
 
 31 
 
 14 
 
 12 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 Earache, 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 . . 
 
 Toothache, 
 
 30 
 
 9 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 12 
 
 f Finger 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sores J J5$ 
 
 42 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 4 
 
 21 
 
 I Thumb 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Cramps I 
 Dysmenorrhea J 
 
 129} 
 
 47 
 12 
 
 27 
 
 18 
 
 25 
 
 Faint, 
 
 12 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 i 
 
 Sore Eye 
 
 42 
 
 29 
 
 
 2 
 
 11 
 
 Burns, 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 . . 
 
 . . 
 
 Nausea 
 
 11 
 
 8 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 Constipation, 
 
 14 
 
 3 
 
 . . 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 Fatigue, 
 
 9 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 Miscellaneous, 10 
 
 133 
 
 55 
 
 44 
 
 21 
 
 13 
 
 Cards," 
 
 22 
 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 PLANS FOB TEACHING THE CARE OF STOCK 11 
 
 Preliminary Study of Conditions in a Department 
 
 Investigations by persons who were not members of the 
 departments in need of reorganization or special educational 
 efforts were found unsatisfactory because they irritated or 
 embarrassed the employees. Better results were obtained 
 when a member of the education staff studied conditions while 
 working as a regular employee of the department for which 
 special instruction was being planned. Difficulties to be over- 
 come in securing proper care and an orderly appearance of the 
 stock were noted, and the persons who were most successful 
 in dealing with various parts of the work were discovered. 
 
 Organization for Care of Stock 
 
 When a clear understanding of the conditions to be dealt 
 with had been obtained, a meeting of all workers in the de- 
 
 "Miscellaneous scattered cases of Sprains, Neuritis, Cuideo, Glands, Anae- 
 mia, etc. 
 
 "One store keeps its continued cases for doctor as Cards. 
 
 *This summary of a report issued from the Education Department of the 
 William Filene's Sons Company store is given for the purpose of illustrating 
 the results of efforts to standardize store occupations spoken of on pages 55-59, 
 Chapter IV. The report was prepared by Miss Helen Parker who worked un- 
 der the direction of Miss Bernice M. Cannon, the Educational Director of the 
 store. 
 
122 TRAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 partment was called. At this conference agreements were 
 reached about the best methods of doing the various tasks 
 connected with the proper care of the stock. Demonstrations 
 by members of the force whose work had been found excep- 
 tionally good assisted in this standardization of the activities 
 of the department. After the employees reached an agreement 
 about the best ways of doing their work, the next need was 
 some means by which each worker would be held to the estab- 
 lished standards. A member of the group was elected head 
 of stock or captain of the crew, and it was agreed that she 
 should be responsible for assigning special tasks and enforc- 
 ing the regulations which had been adopted. 
 
 Care of Folded House-Dresses, Nurses' and Maids' Uniforms 
 The salespeople agreed that excellent stock care would re- 
 quire the following activities each morning : 
 
 In the Morning 
 
 1. Be sure that stock shelves are dusted as often as neces- 
 sary. 
 
 2. Be sure that dresses are taken out and folded often 
 enough so that shelves look neat and orderly. 
 
 To Fold Dresses Properly 
 Lay dress flat, face down, full length on counter, 
 fold skirt in equal parts (the two sides over the 
 center portion), next take sleeves and, putting 
 cuffs and elbows together, fold in at the elbows ; 
 tlie collar and belt must next be folded in flat and 
 the back of the neck doubled back to the hem of 
 the skirt; fold a second time and smooth out. 
 
 3. Put dresses back on shelves in pairs, being sure that 
 dresses face each other, hem to hem. Dresses must be 
 piled so that their edges make a straight line on all sides. 
 
 4. Be responsible for condition of shelves back of counters 
 assigned, for assigned reserve stock, and assigned tops 
 of tables. 
 
 5. Come in at eight o'clock for one week, taking turns in the 
 
STATISTICAL DATA OF CONDITIONS 123 
 
 department, in order to insure the department's being in 
 good condition when the store opens. 
 
 6. Be sure that credits and new merchandise are put back 
 in their respective places as quickly as possible. 
 
 7. See that slow-selling merchandise, if any, is in its correct 
 place. 
 
 Care of Stock During the Day 
 
 Stock work during the day was also standardized by formu- 
 lating additional regulations: 
 
 1. Be sure that each salesperson folds her stock as she shows 
 it, whenever this is possible. 
 
 2. See that each salesperson goes back and folds the stock 
 she has shown, if there is time between sales. 
 
 3. Be sure that each salesperson puts her stock in condition, 
 if it has been very busy and there comes a lull in the sell- 
 ing in the department. 
 
 4. See that model she wants is not already on the counter be- 
 fore she takes another from stock. 
 
 5. Additional agreements on stock care 
 
 Three more things remained to be accomplished before 
 the salespeople in the department could take good care 
 of stock, from its coming into the department until its 
 final sale to the customer. 
 
 a. Credits and new merchandise came out at all hours 
 and complicated matters. 
 
 The time when credits or new merchandise shall be 
 brought out into the department is now regulated by 
 the head of stock. Therefore, unless she knows there 
 is an immediate need of the merchandise, it is allowed 
 to come out only when the department is not busy, 
 morning and late afternoon. Each girl then takes 
 her own portion of the newly arrived dresses and in- 
 corporates them into her stock already on the shelves. 
 
 b. The appearance of the department at eight-thirty, 
 when the store opens, did not seem up to standard to 
 many of the salespeople. Therefore, it was decided 
 that each girl, in turn, should come in for a week from 
 eight to five. This girl is responsible for getting the 
 
124 TRAINING FOR STORE SERVICE 
 
 department display ready, forms, tops of tables, etc., 
 and for starting her own stock immediately, so that the 
 rest of the department will get the habit of beginning 
 work promptly. 
 
 c. The tables in the center of the room were always in 
 heaps, no matter how hard the girls worked on them. 
 So as an experiment, the executives and salespeople 
 agreed to try doing away with piles of dresses, and 
 box model dresses, having about eight or ten boxes on 
 top of each table. 
 
 At first everyone was very doubtful, but now, if 
 anyone suggests going back to the old way there is a 
 great disturbance. 
 
 DUTIES OF THE HEAD OF STOCK 
 
 The duties and powers of their executive officer or head of 
 stock were defined as follows : 
 
 1. Divide stock evenly among salespeople. In case of ab- 
 sence see that cases and chests of drawers are covered as 
 usual. 
 
 2. Assign early in the week an 8-5 day to various girls, in 
 turn, to be sure the department display is in place and 
 ready for the store opening. This means forms, tops of 
 tables, etc. 
 
 3. Be sure department reserve stock and Mail Order reserve 
 stock is in good condition. 
 
 4. Supervise the appearance of the stock. Supervise the 
 appearance of the tops of the tables. Supervise the con- 
 dition of the shelves behind the counters. 
 
 5. Organize work of stock-correction and supervise the work 
 of each salesperson from beginning to end. 
 
 6. Be responsible for stock-takings which are less complete, 
 then for quarterly. 
 
 7. Be sure that credits which are brought out to department 
 are put back in stock by the salespeople who have the 
 corresponding stock. 
 
 8. Be responsible for the quantity and condition of new stock 
 sent from the marker, and for the distribution among the 
 salespeople. 
 
STATISTICAL DATA OF CONDITIONS 125 
 
 9. Select dresses for forms and see that they are dressed 
 properly. 
 
 10. See that salespeople carry out their agreement of caring 
 for stock during the day. 
 
 11. See that new salespeople are trained in stock work. 
 
 Care of Hanging Stock, or Machine-Made Dresses of Silks, 
 
 Serges or Cottons 
 
 The more expensive machine-made dresses are known as 
 "hanging stock " because they usually hang in cases; they are 
 grouped by sizes, prices and materials. After being tried on 
 by customers, they are thrown frequently in heaps on chairs, 
 which results in a disorderly appearance in the department 
 and a rapid deterioration of the stock. Dresses hung in the 
 cases may need pressing or the sewing on of missing hooks and 
 eyes or buttons. After several conferences the saleswomen 
 came to the following agreements about the care of their 
 stock : 
 
 Morning Care of Hanging Stock 
 
 1. Arrangement. Arranged by materials, sizes, colors and 
 styles. 
 
 2. Care. 
 
 a. Separate all dresses which need extra care. 
 
 (a) Sew on all missing buttons. Sew on all missing 
 hooks and eyes. Sew on all labels. 
 
 (b) Take to presser all dresses needing pressing. 
 
 (c) Take out carefully all manufacturer's labels, 
 which may have been left in by mistake. 
 
 (d) Take to marker all dresses which need new 
 tickets, either because ticket is soiled or broken 
 or has dropped off. 
 
 (e) Take bastings out of plaits carefully. 
 
 (f ) If hem is taken out, send to sewing women. 
 
 (g) Take to sewing women all dresses that need spots 
 or soil removed. 
 
 b. One morning a week take out all merchandise that is 
 one month old for examination by the buyers; two 
 months old, for mark-down or exemption by buyers. 
 
126 TRAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 Care of Hanging Stock During the Day 
 
 1. Always 
 
 a. Hang dresses on hangers with hooks facing the sleeves. 
 
 b. Hook dresses in two places to keep dresses on hangers. 
 
 c. Place dresses on eostumer in right case, or on rail in 
 front of right case. 
 
 d. Never leave dress-form bare in the department. 
 
 2. In non-busy seasons salespeople hang away stock from 
 rods in front of own cases, (11-4.30 salespeople to be 
 given a share of this work). Ten to twelve dresses in 
 front of each case make a good display. 
 
 SUPERVISION OF CARE OF HANGING STOCK 
 
 The title of "head of stock " had been held by two sales- 
 women in the department, but they had failed to realize that 
 there was a real, executive, stock job for them. After agree- 
 ments about the care of stock had been reached, typewritten 
 reports were submitted to the executives and members of the 
 working force of the department. Friction is avoided by giv- 
 ing this opportunity to approve or amend the details of the 
 new regulations. When fully accepted, the heads of stock 
 became responsible for enforcing these regulations. Their 
 duties were outlined as follows : 
 
 1. Divide stock evenly among salespeople. In cases of ab- 
 sence see that all cases are covered as usual. 
 
 2. See that sewing is all taken out and that one or two sales- 
 people are detailed each morning to finish it, if possible. 
 
 3. Once a week, at least, look over all stock in the depart- 
 ment to see that : 
 
 a. Sewing is done, buttons, hooks and eyes, labels, etc. 
 
 b. Dresses are arranged as to materials, sizes, colors, etc., 
 same in each case. 
 
 c. Dresses are hooked and buttoned up. 
 
 d. Dresses are not in cases, if they need to be pressed or 
 to have spots removed. 
 
 e. Dresses which should be taken out for stock correction 
 are not in cases. 
 
 f. Dresses have fresh appearing tickets. 
 
STATISTICAL DATA OF CONDITIONS 127 
 
 4. Stock correction. Organize work for each salesperson 
 and supervise from beginning to end. 
 
 5. See that through the day salespeople hang dresses on 
 costumers, and hook them up enough to keep on hangers. 
 
 6. See that salespeople, as time allows, hang away dresses 
 so that only ten or twelve are in front of each case. 
 
 7. See that 11.-4 :30 salespeople have share of stock to hang 
 away during the day. 
 
 8. Wednesday afternoon select dresses for forms, and 
 Thursday morning see that stock girl has dressed them 
 properly. 
 
 9. Be sure that salespeople see new models tried on. 
 
 10. See that the stock girl takes out for the salespeople to 
 see, first, with the day's advertisement, one dress of every 
 model which is in the newspaper; second, with the win- 
 dow-list, one dress of every model which is being shown in 
 the window. 
 
 11. See that assistant head of stock is trained to assume these 
 duties and take turns with the head of stock coming in 
 on an 8-5 schedule, to be sure, first, that the department 
 display forms, etc., are in condition for opening of store, 
 and second, that stock work is begun promptly by sales- 
 people when they come in. 
 
 12. See that merchandise which has been sent over from the 
 Marking Room is in good condition and agrees in quantity 
 with the list which accompanies it. 
 
 COMPLETE LIST OF STATISTICAL TABLES USED IN THIS REPORT 
 
 The high cost of composition has prevented the publication 
 of a large mass of statistical material tabulated in the He- 
 search Department of the Union while making this study of the 
 experiences of juvenile employees of Boston retail stores. 
 The general reader will not be interested in such tables. In- 
 vestigators who wish to compare our data with that which 
 they are collecting for studies in other cities may obtain any 
 of the statistical tables in the following list by paying the cost 
 of copying and mailing. Inquiries should be addressed to the 
 
128 TRAINING FOR STORE SERVICE 
 
 Research Department, Women's Educational and Industrial 
 Union, Boston, Mass. 
 
 1. Distribution of a Sample Group of Young Persons Em- 
 ployed by Boston Selling Firms. 
 
 (Table 1 of this report). 
 
 2. Distribution of a Sample Group of Boston Young Per- 
 sons 21 Years of Age in Retail and Wholesale Depart- 
 ment, Dry Goods and Clothing Stores. 
 
 3-a. Number of Positions Held by 168 Boys Previous to En- 
 tering the Last Known Place of Employment, Distribut- 
 ed by Age on Entering the Firm, Based on Verified 
 Application Schedules. (Table 2-a of this report). 
 
 3-b. Number of Positions Held by 252 Girls Previous to En- 
 tering the Last Known Place of Employment, Distribut- 
 ed by Age on Entering the Firm. Based on Verified 
 Application Schedules. (Table 2-b of this report). 
 
 4. Stability of Employment, Young Persons Last Cer- 
 tificated to Stores, Classified According to Number of 
 Certificates Issued for Each Person in the Period Sep- 
 tember, 1913, to June, 1916. 
 
 5. Boys and Girls Certified Last to Stores of Specified 
 Types Found October 1, 1916, to be Present, Gone or 
 Unknown at Store to Which Last Certified. 
 
 6. Boys and Girls Certified Last to Specified Stores, 
 Found October 1, 1916, to be Present, Gone or Un- 
 known at Stores to Which Last Certified. 
 
 7. Previous Employment of Store Workers. Classifica- 
 tion of 689 Previous Certificates Issued to 1,476 Young 
 Persons Last Certified to Stores, According to Business 
 of Previous Certificate. 
 
 8. Previous Employment of Boys and Girls Working in 
 Stores and in Non-Selling Employments. Previous 
 Certificates and Application Blanks Classified Accord- 
 ing to Business of Previous Employment. (Shown by 
 previous certificates of 1,530 21-year-old young persons 
 and the application blanks of 420 young persons who 
 sought store positions when two or three years young- 
 er). 
 
STATISTICAL DATA OF CONDITIONS 129 
 
 9. Previous Certificates Total and for Store Positions 
 Classified by Business of Last Certification, for 6,385 
 Young Persons. 
 
 10-a. Positions Held Previous to Entering the Stores in 
 Which 252 Girls Were Last Known to be Employed, 
 Distributed by the Business of the Previously Employ- 
 ing Firms. (Based on Verified Application Schedules). 
 
 10-b. Positions Held Previous to Entering the Stores in 
 Which 168 Boys Were Last Known to be Employed, 
 Distributed by the Business of the Previously Employ- 
 ing Firms. (Based on Verified Application Schedules). 
 
 11. Eeasons for Leaving Store and Selling Positions as 
 Shown by 222 Application Forms, 28 Personal Inter- 
 views and 329 Employers' Records. 
 
 (Table 3 of this report). 
 
 12. Wage Eates of Young Persons Employed in Boston 
 Department, Dry Goods and Clothing Stores, 1908-1915. 
 (Sample group 14 to 21 years old). (Data from Voca- 
 tional Guidance Department of Boston School Commit- 
 tee and from Verified Application Blanks filed at their 
 places of employment). 
 
 13. Earnings of Young Persons Employed in Boston De- 
 partment, Dry Goods and Clothing Stores, Prior to 
 1916. (Sample group 19 to 21 years old). (Data from 
 Pay rolls). 
 
 14. Median Wages of Young Persons Employed in Boston 
 Department, Dry Goods and Clothing Stores, by Oc- 
 cupation and Sex. (Data from Pay rolls). 
 
 15. Educational Certificates Issued at the Boston Office to 
 Young Persons 16 to 21 Years of Age. 1913-1918. 
 
 16. Young Persons 21 Years of Age Classified by Sex, and 
 by Class of Firm to Which Last Certificated, in Boston 
 and Suburbs, 1915-1916. (This table covers 6 pp.). 
 
 17. Variations at the Boston Office in the Issuance of Certifi- 
 
 cates Eequired of Working Minors. 1913-1918. 
 
 18. Distribution by Places of Employment of Boston Chil- 
 dren Fourteen to Sixteen Years of Age Who Were Cer- 
 tificated in Specified Years. 
 
130 TRAINING FOR STORE SERVICE 
 
 19. Distribution by Places of Employment of Boston Chil- 
 dren Fourteen to Sixteen Years of Age Who Obtained 
 First and Reissued Certificates in 1916-1918. 
 
 20. Distribution by Sexes of Juveniles Employed in the 
 Specified Occupations in Boston Department, Dry 
 Goods and Clothing Stores, 1908-1918. 
 
 21-a. Occupational Distribution of Juveniles Employed in 
 Boston Department, Dry Goods and Clothing Stores, 
 1908-1918. 
 
 A The Entire Group. 
 
 21-b. B The Department Stores. 
 
 21-c. C The Dry Goods Stores. 
 
 21-d. D The Clothing Stores. 
 
 22. Percentage Distribution by Ages and Sex of Juveniles 
 Employed in Specified Occupations in Boston Depart- 
 ment, Dry Goods and Clothing Stores, 1908-1918. 
 
 23. Schooling of Juveniles Employed in Boston Depart- 
 ment, Dry Goods and Clothing Stores, 1908-1918. 
 
 A Number. 
 B Percentage. 
 
 24-a. Distribution by Occupations and Schooling of Juveniles 
 Employed in Boston Department, Dry Goods and 
 Clothing Stores, 1908-1918. 
 A Number. 
 
 (Table 4 of this report). 
 
 24-b. Percentage Distribution by Occupations and Schooling 
 of Juveniles Employed in Boston Department, Dry 
 Goods and Clothing Stores, 1908-1918. 
 B Percentage. 
 
 25. Number and Percentage of Juveniles Having Specified 
 Schooling Employed in Certain Stores. (A) 1 Depart- 
 ment store handling high class goods; (B) 2 Depart- 
 ment stores dealing in cheaper goods; (C) 3 Dry goods 
 stores each employing over 800; (D) Small dry goods 
 stores; (E) 1 Clothing store employing over 2,500; 
 (F) All other clothing stores. 
 
 26. Busy and Dull Seasons and the Largest and Smallest 
 Numbers Employed in Boston Retail Department, Dry 
 
STATISTICAL DATA OF CONDITIONS 131 
 
 Goods and Clothing Stores. (Data obtained by per- 
 sonal interviews with store officials). 
 
 27. Occupational Distribution of Positions Held when 21 
 Years Old, by 116 Male and 319 Female Employees of 
 Department, Dry Goods and Clothing Stores. 
 
 28. Distribution of Stock and Sales Positions Held by 38 
 Males and 142 Females when 21 Years of Age. 
 
 29. Wage Bates for Girls and Boys 14 to 21 Years of Age 
 Employed in Boston Department, Dry Goods and 
 Clothing Stores from 1908-1918. (Data from Records 
 of Vocational Guidance Department of Boston School 
 Committee and from Verified Application Blanks on file 
 at the places of employment). 
 
 30. Wage Rates for Girls 14 to 21 Years of Age Employed 
 in Boston Department, Dry Goods and Clothing Stores 
 in 1914-1915 and 1916-1917, by Occupations. (Data 
 from Records of Vocational Guidance Department of 
 Boston School Committee and from Records on File at 
 Places of Employment). 
 
 31-a. Distribution of Girls 14 to 21 Years of Age Employed 
 in Boston Department, Dry Goods and Clothing Stores, 
 by Occupations and Wage Rates. (Data from Pay 
 rolls). 
 
 31-b. Distribution of Boys 14 to 21 Years of Age Employed in 
 Boston Department, Dry Goods and Clothing Stores, 
 by Occupations and Wage Rates. (Data from Pay 
 rolls). 
 
 32-a. Distribution of Girls 14 to 21 Years of Age Employed 
 in Boston Department, Dry Goods and Clothing Stores, 
 by Wage Rates and Schooling. (Data from Vocational 
 Guidance Department of Boston School Committee and 
 from Verified Application Blanks or other Records on 
 File at the Places of Employment). 
 
 32-b. Distribution of Boys 14 to 21 Years of Age Employed 
 in Boston Department, Dry Goods and Clothing Stores, 
 by Wage Rates and Schooling. (Data from Voca- 
 tional Guidance Department of Boston School Commit- 
 tee and from Verified Application Blanks or other 
 Records on File at the Places of Employment). 
 
132 TEAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 33-a. Distribution of Girls 14 to 21 Years of Age Employed 
 in Boston Department, Dry Goods and Clothing Stores, 
 by Wage Rates and Ages. (Data from Pay rolls). 
 
 33-b. Distribution of Boys 14 to 21 Years of Age Employed 
 in Boston Department, Dry Goods and Clothing Stores, 
 by Wage Rates and Ages. (Data from Pay rolls). 
 
 34. Per Cent of Girls 14 to 21 Years of Age Employed in 
 Boston Department, Dry Goods and Clothing Stores in 
 1914-1915 and 1916-1917, Receiving Specified Wage 
 Rates, by Occupations. (Data from Records of Voca- 
 tional Guidance Department of Boston School Com- 
 mittee and from Records on File at Places of Employ- 
 ment). 
 
 35. Occupations of Graduates of Secondary Schools (Girls) 
 who had Taken the Course in Salesmanship. 
 
 36. Cases Treated in Hospital Clinics During One Week in 
 Four Boston Department Stores. 
 
 37. Diagnoses of Cases Treated in One Week by the Medical 
 
 Departments of Four Boston Stores. 
 
 (Table 5 of this report). 
 
APPENDIX H 
 
 THE STORE LIBRARY 
 
 Studious habits are not characteristics of the rank and file 
 of store workers. Ability and willingness to profit by the rap- 
 idly accumulating publications dealing with retail selling must 
 be developed systematically by librarians, educational direc- 
 tors or executives. Stores having librarians may use the sys- 
 tematic plans for circulating instructive printed matter which 
 have been developed in progressive industrial establishments. 
 Periodical literature should be reviewed carefully and all 
 articles of value to store officials clipped or marked. In some 
 cases material may be sent directly to those for whom it has 
 special value, and in others notices of new books or periodicals 
 may be given by means of bulletins telling of their contents. 
 Various devices like travelling bookshelves, posters, and the 
 printing of significant extracts in store newspapers, may be 
 used to encourage employees to develop reading habits. 
 
 The Educational Director of one of the Boston stores 
 pointed out the stimulation to the use of vocational literature 
 which results from the adoption of a plan by which employees 
 are organized in occupational groups under the educational 
 leadership of fellow workers who have shown special ability 
 for the different store tasks. Working assistants on the staff 
 of the educational director who are responsible for maintain- 
 ing the efficiency of the groups of workers in their charge are 
 eager for suggestions and often have happy facilities for 
 translating bookish language into store vernaculars, for mak- 
 ing practical applications of general suggestions or for point- 
 ing out principles involved in the interpretation of concrete 
 store experiences. Their quotations from the literature of re- 
 tail selling, or demands that members of the groups be pre- 
 pared to present information about certain definite questions, 
 may stimulate less alert associates to a greater use of availa- 
 ble publications. 
 
 Six classes of books suitable for a store vocational educa- 
 
 133 
 
134 TRAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 tion library are suggested by our analysis of the qualifica- 
 tions desired in store employees i 1 
 
 1. Books dealing with personal hygiene and physical cul- 
 ture. 
 
 2. Discussions which will promote a thorough knowledge of 
 the stock handled. 
 
 3. Studies dealing with the principles and arts of salesman- 
 ship. 
 
 4. Presentation of efficient methods of doing office or cler- 
 ical work. 
 
 5. Discussions of store organization and of the significance 
 in community life of retail mercantile establishments. 
 
 6. The general economic background which influences re- 
 tail selling. 
 
 The excellent publications which might be cited under these 
 various headings would fill the shelves of a large library. Our 
 space will permit merely a few references to books and period- 
 cals, most of which are given because they have been found 
 helpful in the Boston classes organized for the vocational 
 training of store employees. 
 
 1. Hygiene and Physical Culture 
 
 Fisher, Irving, and Fisk, Eugene L. How to live. Funk & 
 
 Wagnalls co., New York, 1919. 
 Gulick, Luther H. The efficient life. Doubleday, Page & co. 
 
 New York, 1907. 
 Hough, Theodore, and Sidgwick, William T. The human 
 
 mechanism. Ginn & co., Boston, 1918. 
 Pyle, Walter L. (Ed.). A manual of personal hygiene. W. 
 
 B. Saunders, Philadelphia, 1917. 
 Physical Culture Magazine. Physical Culture pub. co., New 
 
 York. 
 Good Health. Battle Creek Publishing co., Battle Creek, 
 
 Michigan. 
 
 2. Knowledge of the Stock 
 
 Manufacturers are developing much interest in efforts to 
 spread a knowledge of the methods by which their wares are 
 
 'See previous Chapters III and IV. 
 
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 135 
 
 produced. Frequently they issue attractive illustrated book- 
 lets and prepare samples showing stages in the development 
 of their products. Such educational materials often may be 
 obtained without charge. Trade journals also are valuable 
 sources of information because they discuss new goods and 
 present their peculiar merits or selling points. The mer- 
 chandise manuals prepared for the New York University 
 classes and for the Economist Training School are well- 
 adapted to the needs of department store employees. Studies 
 of textiles prepared for use by classes in home economics are 
 equally valuable for enlightening the salespeople who supply 
 the needs of housewives. 
 
 Department Store Merchandise Manuals, edited by Beulah E. 
 Kennard, published by the Eonald Press company, New 
 York, 1917-1919: 
 
 Aiken, Charlotte Eankin. The millinery department. 
 
 Hutchinson, E. Lillian. The house-furnishings department, 
 kitchenware and laundry equipment. 
 
 Kennard, Beulah E. The jewelry department. 
 
 Lehmann, Mary A. The leather goods department. 
 
 Lehmann, Mary A. The stationery department. 
 
 Souder, M. Attie. The notion department. 
 
 Thompson, Eliza B. The silk department. 
 
 Graphic Instructor Selling Helps (series of primers fully il- 
 lustrated describing commodities commonly sold in dry 
 goods and department stores). Economist Training 
 School, New York. 
 
 Baldt, Laura I. Clothing for women; selection, design, con- 
 struction. J. B. Lippincott & co., 1916. 
 
 Chittick, James. Silk manufacturing and its problems. Pub- 
 lished by the author, New York, 1913. 
 
 Dooley, William H. Textiles for commercial, industrial, even- 
 ing and domestic arts schools. D. C. Heath & co., New 
 York, 1910. 
 
 Duran, Leo. Raw silk, a practical handbook for the buyer. 
 Silk Publishing Company, New York, 1913. 
 
 Gibbs, Charlotte M. Household textiles. Whitcomb and Bar- 
 rows, Boston, 1916. 
 
136 TRAINING FOR STORE SERVICE 
 
 Kinne, Helen, and Cooley, Anna M. Shelter and Clothing. 
 Macmillan company, New York, 1917. 
 
 McGowan, Ellen Beers, and Waite, Charlotte A. Textiles and 
 clothing. Macmillan company, New York, 1919. 
 
 Nystrom, Paul H. Textiles. University of Wisconsin, Madi- 
 son, Wis., 1916. 
 
 Smith, Willard M. Gloves past and present. Imperial En- 
 graving and Printing company, New York, 1918. 
 
 Watt, Sir George. Wild and cultivated cotton plants of the 
 world. Longmans, Green & company, New York, 1907. 
 
 Wilkinson, Frederick. The story of the cotton plant. D. Ap- 
 pleton & company, New York, 1917. 
 
 Woolman, Mary S., and McGowan, Ellen B. Textiles, a hand- 
 book for the student and the consumer. Macmillan com- 
 pany, New York, 1918. 
 
 Trade Journals: A complete list of trade journals may be 
 obtained from A Guide to Periodicals, published by Geo. 
 Wahr, Ann Arbor, Michigan. We have selected a few 
 which will be of general value: 
 
 American Silk Journal, 373 4th Avenue, New York. 
 
 American Wool and Cotton Reporter, 530 Atlantic Avenue, 
 Boston. 
 
 Dry Goods Economist, 239 West 39th Street, New York. 
 
 Men's Wear, 12th Street and Broadway, New York, N. Y. 
 
 Millinery Trade Review, 1182 Broadway, New York. 
 
 Textile World Journal, 144 Congress Street, Boston. 
 
 Women's and Infants' Furnisher. 373 Fourth Avenue, New 
 York, N. Y. 
 
 Women's Wear. 8 E. 13th Street, New York, N. Y. 
 
 3. Salesmanship 
 
 Barrett, H. J. How to sell more goods, secrets of successful 
 salesmanship. Harper and Brothers. New York, 1918. 
 
 Fisk, J. W. Salesmanship. A text book on retail selling. Mer- 
 chants Publicity company, 239 West 39th Street, New 
 York, 1914. 
 
 Hoover, Simon Robert. The science and art of salesmanship. 
 Macmillan company, N. Y., 1918. 
 
 Hoyt, Charles Wilson. Scientific sales management. A prao- 
 
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 137 
 
 tical application of the principles of scientific manage- 
 ment to selling. George B. Woolson & company, New 
 York, 1918. 
 
 Ivey, Paul Wesley. Elements of retail salesmanship. Mac- 
 milan company, New York, 1920. 
 
 Kennard, Beulah Elfreth. The educational director. The 
 Eonald Press co., New York, 1918. 
 
 Maxwell, William. The training of a saleswoman. J. B. Lip- 
 pincott & co., Philadelphia and London, 1919. 
 
 Norton, Helen Eich. A text-book on retail selling. Ginn & 
 company, Boston, 1919. Bibliography, pp. 267-271. 
 
 Norton, Helen Eich. Department store education. No. 9, Bu- 
 reau of Education, Washington, D. C., 1917. 
 
 Prince, L. W. Eetail selling. Bulletin No. 22, Federal Board 
 for Vocational Education, Washington, D. C., 1919. 
 
 Whitehead, Harold. Principles of salesmanship. The Eonald 
 Press co., New York, 1918. 
 
 4. Office or Clerical Work 
 
 Kilduff, E. J. The private secretary, his duties and opportu- 
 nities. The Century company, 1916. 
 Eeynolds, W. B., and Thornton, F. W. Duties of the junior 
 
 accountant. American Institute of Accounts, New York, 
 
 1919. 
 Schreffler, Eobert B. Department store statistics with the aid 
 
 of the slide rule. Published by the author. 215 S. Market 
 
 Street, Chicago, 1914. 
 Schulze, J. William. Office administration. McGraw-Hill 
 
 Book company, New York. London: Hill Publishing 
 
 company, 1919. 
 Spencer, Ellen Lane. The efficient secretary. Frederick A. 
 
 Stokes company, 1916. 
 
 5. Retail Mercantile Establishments, Organization and Gen- 
 
 eral Condition 
 
 The vocational education surveys of various cities supply 
 data showing the opportunities for employment and plans for 
 training the young people who enter mercantile establish- 
 ments. Business magazines like System and Industrial Man- 
 
138 TRAINING FOE STORE SERVICE 
 
 agement publish some special articles dealing with retail sell- 
 ing and many more general discussions which are applicable 
 to store office work or organization. Women's Wear contains 
 daily reports showing plans of store organization and welfare 
 or educational activities found in the more progressive stores. 
 Butler, Elizabeth B. Saleswomen in mercantile stores, Balti- 
 more, 1909. Russell Sage Foundation, New York, 1912. 
 Leonard, Robert J. Director. Report of the Richmond, In- 
 diana, Survey for Vocational Education. Indianapolis, 
 1916. Pages 307-368. 
 
 Massachusetts Minimum Wage Commission. Wages of wo- 
 men in retail stores, Bulletin No. 6, 1915. 
 Preliminary report on the effect of the minimum wage in 
 
 Massachusetts retail stores, Bulletin No. 12, 1916. 
 Minneapolis, Minnesota. Vocational education survey, Bul- 
 letin No. 199, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Washing- 
 ton, 1917. Pages 391-429. 
 
 'Leary, Iris Prouty. Department store occupations. Cleve- 
 land Foundation Educational Survey. Published by Rus- 
 sell Sage Foundation, New York, 1916. 
 
 Richmond, Virginia. Vocational education survey. Bulletin 
 No. 162, U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1916. Pages 
 227-254. 
 
 United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. Unemployment 
 among women in department and other retail stores of 
 Boston. Bulletin No. 182. Washington, 1916. 
 Winslow, Charles H., Director. Report of Evansville, Indi- 
 ana, survey for vocational education, Indianapolis, 1917. 
 Pages 375-390. 
 
 Report of the Indianapolis, Indiana, survey for voca- 
 tional education, Indianapolis, 1917. Pages 157-185. 
 
 6. Economic Background 
 
 Store libraries should contain a few of the standard text- 
 books in elementary economics. The numerous recent publi- 
 cations discussing plans for profit sharing and for self-gov- 
 ernment or participation in the control of industries contain 
 much which is applicable to store conditions. It is difficult to 
 choose from the extensive list of books which might be of value 
 
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 139 
 
 in broadening the outlook of persons engaged in retail selling. 
 
 We give only a few recent publications : 
 
 Briscoe, Norris A. Economics of efficiency. Macmillan com- 
 pany, New York, 1917. 
 
 Cadbury, Edward. Experiments in industrial organization. 
 Longmans, Green & company, 39 Paternoster Eow, Lon- 
 don, 1912. 
 
 Commons, John E. Industrial goodwill. McGraw-Hill Book 
 company, 239 W. 39th St., New York, 1919. 
 
 Nystrom, Paul H. The economics of retailing. The Konald 
 Press company, New York, 1919. 
 
 Page, Edward D. Trade morals, their origin, growth and 
 province. Yale University, New Haven, Conn., 1914. 
 
 Personnel and Employment Problems. (A series of articles). 
 An Am. Acad., May, 1916. 
 
 Webb, Sidney. The works manager to-day. Longmans, 
 Green & co., London, 1918. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Advertising Department, 24-25. Sec 
 Publicity. 
 
 Advisory Board, its composition and 
 duties, in. 
 
 Arithmetic, knowledge of needed by 
 store workers, 86. 
 
 Ayars, Miss Christine M., 2. 
 
 Bibliography, hygiene and physical cul- 
 ture, 134; knowledge of stock, 134- 
 136; salesmanship, 136-137; office or 
 clerical work, 137; organization of 
 retail establishments, 137-138; eco- 
 nomic background of retail selling, 
 
 138-139- 
 
 Book and Stationery stores, young per- 
 sons employed in, 15. 
 
 British, Juvenile Labor Exchanges, their 
 policies, 93. 
 
 Bundlers, age and education of, 58; per 
 cent, employed as, 58. 
 
 Busy Season, see Seasonal Variations. 
 
 Buyers, the duties of, 23, 24, 29-30; 
 training of, 106-110, characteristics of, 
 107-110. 
 
 Cannon, Miss Bernice M., I, 99, 121. 
 
 Cashiers, duties of, 59-60; age and edu- 
 cation of, 60-61 ; qualifications desir- 
 ed for, 61-62. See also Inspectors, 
 Examiners, Checkers. 
 
 Cash System, decentralized, 58, 60. 
 
 Cash Registers, use of 30, 58, 59-60. 
 
 Certificates, required of minors, 115-117. 
 
 Checkers, see Cashiers. 
 
 Clericals, reasons for large numbers, 
 49-50; sexes, ages and education of, 
 50 ; successful, 50-51 ; qualifications 
 desired for, 51-53. 
 
 Clothing, ready made, increased sale of, 
 13-15. See Dresses; also Stores, 
 Clothing. 
 
 Clubs, Service, 111-112. 
 
 Continuation School, courses suitable 
 for, 88-89. 
 
 Co-operation, between schools and 
 stores, 18; in development of educa- 
 tion for store service, 94^96; between 
 store education and employment de- 
 partments, 112-113. 
 
 Customers, disagreements with, 40; per- 
 sonal services rendered to 25-26; 
 training in service to 105-106. 
 
 Delivery Department, duties of em- 
 ployees in 62-63; chances for promo- 
 tion, 63. 
 
 Demonstration sales, 98. 
 
 Department Stores, see Stores, Depart- 
 ment 
 
 Departments, found in stores, 21. 
 
 Director, Educational, i; duties of, 
 99-107, 110-113. 
 
 Discourtesy of officials a source of 
 prejudice against store work, 34-35, 
 
 Dress, of store workers, 40-41. 
 
 Dresses, machine made, methods of car- 
 ing for, 121-127. 
 
 Dry Goods, see Stores, Dry Goods. 
 
 Dull Season, 17. See Seasonal Varia- 
 tions. 
 
 Economics, elementary, 103, 138-139. 
 
 Education for store service, reasons for 
 17-18 ; instruction suitable for elemen- 
 tary schools, 82-86; for continuation 
 schools, 87-89; for secondary schools, 
 90-99; for persons already employed, 
 99-106 ; an aid to promotion, 30-31 ; 
 needed by executives, 113. See also 
 Director, Salesmanship, Clericals, Co- 
 operation. 
 
 Educational qualifications of juvenile 
 store employees, 36-39; superior 
 standards of clothing stores, 37-38; 
 certificates required for young per- 
 sons, 115. 
 
 Elevator operator, qualifications desired 
 for, 64. 
 
 Employment Certificates, required of 
 minors 14-16 years old, 117-118. 
 
 Employment Department, assists pro- 
 motion, 30; should co-operate with 
 educational department, 112-113. 
 
 Errand, see Floor, Cash, Teller. 
 
 Examiners, duties of, 59-60; character- 
 istics and education of, 60-61. 
 
 Executives, physique desired, 41 ; other 
 qualifications, 63-64; large number 
 required, 29-30; need of training, 
 113- 
 
 Extra store workers, their numbers and 
 duties, 75; ways of supplying, 79-80; 
 their training, 101-102. 
 
 Financial Division, its functions, 22-23. 
 
 Floor, Cash, Teller, Errand, age and 
 education of, per cent, of juveniles 
 employed as, 58-59. 
 
 Geography, local, training in prepares 
 for store service, 85-86. 
 
 Ginn, Miss Susan J., I. 
 
 Greene, Miss Elizabeth, 2. 
 
 Health of store employees, ill-health 
 prevents success in stores, 39; ill- 
 health of women, 84; store dispen- 
 saries, 119; diseases treated, Table $, 
 1 20. 
 
 Heermann, Miss Caroline R, 2. 
 
 Ul 
 
142 
 
 INDEX 
 
 High Schools, co-operation with stores, 
 17-18; courses in retail selling in, 
 93-99- 
 
 Hills, Miss Bertha, 2. 
 
 History, economic, its place in store 
 education, 86. 
 
 Hopkins, Miss Mary, I, 99. 
 
 Illiterates, not employed in stores, 36; 
 educational certificates of, 115-116. 
 
 Initiative, personal, means of stimula- 
 tion, 110-113. 
 
 Inspectors, education, duties, qualifica- 
 tions desired, 59-62. See Cashiers, 
 Examiners, Checkers. 
 
 Jewelry stores, young persons employed 
 in, Table I, 14; Chart I, 15, 15-16. 
 
 Juveniles, numbers employed in Boston 
 stores, 10-15; war-time redistribution 
 of, 116. 
 
 Libraries in stores, 133-138. 
 
 Manufacturing Departments, 24, 25; ju- 
 veniles employed in, 64, 
 
 Markets, buyers' knowledge of, 108. 
 
 Markers of stock, young persons em- 
 ployed as, their duties and qualifica- 
 tions, 54, 57; responsibility of buyers 
 for, 109-110. 
 
 Martin, Miss Melba, 2. 
 
 Men, positions of in stores, 32-33 ; num- 
 bers in important occupations, 44; 
 their greater tendency to shifting, 70. 
 
 Merchandise, training in knowledge of, 
 97-98; care of, 104-105; merchandise 
 clerks, 51-52; merchandise manuals, 
 
 135. 
 
 Merchandisers, their instructions to 
 buyers, 107-110. 
 
 Merchandising, organization of, 23-24; 
 subsidiary departments, 24. 
 
 Methods Director, to study organization 
 problems, 22. 
 
 Minors, see Juveniles, Certificates. 
 
 New Employees, instruction of, 99-100; 
 reduction of cost of, 100; sponsor 
 system for, 101. 
 
 Norton, Miss Helen Rich, I, 98, 99. 
 
 Occupations of juvenile store workers, 
 43-44; Chart II, 44, Table 4, 119; de- 
 scription of duties of, 45-64. 
 
 Operation Division of stores, depart- 
 ments belonging to, 27; those whose 
 functioning relates them closely to, 
 27-28. 
 
 Organization of stores; typical forms 
 of for small and large stores, 19-20; 
 central governing bodies, 20-21 ; de- 
 scriptions of divisions found in Bos- 
 ton stores, 22-31. 
 
 Part-Time workers in stores, 17-18. See 
 extra store workers. 
 
 Personal traits of store workers, unde- 
 sirable, 39-40; desirable, 40-41. 
 
 Personnel Division of stores, 28. See 
 Director, Educational. 
 
 Physical development of store workers. 
 See Health. 
 
 Porter, Miss Elizabeth, 2. 
 
 Practice in stores by students, plans for, 
 90-91 ; educational value of, 92 ; a 
 means of gaining knowledge of mer- 
 chandise, 97-98. 
 
 Prince, Mrs. Lucinda W., i, 34, 99, 137. 
 
 Promotion, opportunities for in retail 
 stores, 29; aided by employment and 
 educational departments, 30-31. 
 
 Psychological tests, not used in Boston 
 stores, 38. 
 
 Publicity Department, 24-25. 
 
 Receiving Clerks, duties of, age and 
 education, 53-54. See Clericals. 
 
 Restaurants, employees, training of, 64. 
 
 Retail, see Salesmanship, Stores. 
 
 Revolution, mercantile, 17. 
 
 Salesmanship, training in, importance 
 for vocational education, 96; require- 
 ments for in secondary schools, 96-99. 
 
 Salespeople, sexes, ages and education 
 of, 46; preference for young women, 
 46-47; qualifications desired for, 
 47-49; training of regular force, 103- 
 106. 
 
 Sample Group of 21-year-old workers, 
 how chosen, 116; method of classifi- 
 cation, 117. 
 
 Seasonal Variations, in opportunities 
 for store employment, 17-18, 65, 74- 
 75; shown by months of issuance of 
 certificates, 76-77, 116-118; training 
 workers for, 101-102. See also Shift- 
 ing. 
 
 Secondary Schools, training for store 
 service given in, 90-99; attended by 
 juvenile store employees, Chart III, 
 44, Table 4, 119. 
 
 Selling, extent of juvenile employment 
 in, 45-46. See Salesmanship, Sales- 
 people. 
 
 Service Clubs in stores, 111-112. 
 
 Shifting, causes of, 65, 74-78; sources 
 of information about, 65-67; amount 
 of, 67-70; variations between the 
 sexes, 70. Tables 2a-2b, 71 ; charac- 
 teristics of extreme shifters, 70-71 ; 
 occupations between which shifting 
 takes place, 72-74; reasons for, 77-78; 
 educational significance of, 78-81. See 
 Seasonal Variations. 
 
 Social Status of store workers, 33-34; 
 means of raising, 34-36. 
 
 Social Relations of store workers, abil- 
 ity to maintain agreeable, 39-40, 53, 
 82-83. 
 
 Special Sales, training workers for, 102. 
 See also extra store workers. 
 
INDEX 
 
 143 
 
 Statistical Tables, list of, 127-132. 
 
 Stampers, see Markers. 
 
 Stock, young persons employed in its 
 care and preparation, 25 ; their duties, 
 53-56; their qualifications, 55-575 care 
 of by salespeople, 47; knowledge of, 
 103-104; buyers' knowledge of, 107- 
 108; plans for the care of the stock 
 of machine-made dresses, 122-127. 
 
 Stores Retail, proportions of juveniles 
 employed, 10-11, 15; of adults, n ; 
 types of retail stores and their rela- 
 tion, 12-14 ; vocational education for, 
 16-18 ; the organization of, 19-31 ; oc- 
 cupational distribution of juvenile 
 employees in, 43-64; training for ser- 
 vice in, 82-113; shifting in, 65-81, 
 Chart IV, 74, Table 3, 78. 
 Clothing, increased importance of, 13; 
 number and distribution of young 
 persons employed in, Table I, 14; ed- 
 ucational standards of, 37-38. 
 Department, importance for vocation- 
 al education, numbers employed, 15- 
 17; education of employees, 37-38; 
 shifting in, 69. 
 
 Dry Goods, numbers employed in, 15- 
 17; education of employees, 37-38; 
 shifting in, 67. 
 
 See also Departments, Education, 
 Executives, Financial, Operation, Or- 
 ganization, Etc. 
 
 System, or operation division of stores, 
 difficulty of assigning duties of, 26-27. 
 See organization. 
 
 Vocational Education, See Buyers, Cler- 
 icals, Continuation School, Director, 
 Education, Libraries, Practice, Sales- 
 manship. 
 
 TABLES. 
 
 i. Distribution of a Sample Group of 
 Young Persons Employed by Boston 
 Selling Firms, 14. 
 
 2a. Number of Positions Held by 168 
 Boys Previous to Entering the Last 
 Known Place of Employment, Dis- 
 tributed by Age on Entering the 
 Firm, Based on Verified Application 
 Schedules, 71. 
 
 2b. Number of Positions Held by 252 
 Girls Previous to Entering the Last 
 Known Place of Employment, Dis- 
 tributed by Age on Entering the 
 Firm, Based on Verified Application 
 Schedules, 71. 
 
 3. Reasons for Leaving Store and Sell- 
 ing Positions as Shown by 222 Ap- 
 plication Forms, 28 Personal Inter- 
 views and 329 Employers' Records, 
 78. 
 
 4. Distribution by occupations and 
 Schooling of 1,000 Juveniles Em- 
 ployed in Boston Department, Dry 
 Goods and Clothing Stores, (1908- 
 1918), 119. 
 
 5. Diagnosis of Cases Treated in One 
 Week by the Medical Departments 
 of Four Boston Stores, 121. 
 
 CHARTS. 
 
 Distribution by Types of Stores 
 and Sexes of a Sample Group of 
 Young Persons who Had Receiv- 
 ed Certificates Authorizing Work 
 in Stores when They Were 19 to 
 21 Years of Age, 15. 
 Distribution by Important Occu- 
 
 II. 
 
 III. 
 
 IV. 
 
 pations of Male and Female Ju- 
 venile Employees in Boston De- 
 partment, Dry Goods and Clothing 
 Stores (Selected from occupation- 
 al groups of 1,000 juvenile work- 
 ers), 44. 
 
 Education of Juvenile Employees 
 Engaged in Important Occupa- 
 tions in Boston Department, Dry 
 Goods and Clothing Stores (Se- 
 lected from occupational groups 
 of 1 ,000 juvenile workers). 
 Distribution of Total Number of 
 Certificates Issued to 6385 Young 
 Persons by Businesses, Divided in- 
 to Last Certificates and Previous to 
 Last Certificates ; and Showing 
 the Number of Previous Certifi- 
 cates for Each Business which 
 were Issued to Young Persons 
 Last Certificated for Stores and 
 Selling, 74. 
 
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