Winter Meeting. 219 



you will be ready for business. Let them understand that you ex- 

 pect to handle nothing but first-class stock, put up in first-class 

 shape. Make your letters short and to the point. Carry conviction 

 to the buyer, and make him feel that he needs some of your apples 

 for his trade. When you get a buyer to this point, you are in posi- 

 tion to do business with him, and when you land a customer, above 

 all things, "make good." See that your fruit is properly and hon- 

 estly packed and that your brand goes on every barrel in a neat at- 

 tractive way. Guarantee every barrel of fruit and make it come up 

 to the guarantee. When the buyer gets your first car load and finds 

 it all you represented it to be, he will immediately wire you for 

 price on another car, or possibly five. 



Don't lose your head when this happens, but price him what 

 he wants and at the market. Don't think because he is 

 in position to use more of your apples that you can spring the mar- 

 ket on him. Give him a chance to make a profit. Gain his confi- 

 dence and compel him to have confidence in you. 



I had one car of Jonathan apples this season which I believe 

 sold for me to one firm twenty-five cars of apples, besides turning 

 down order after order from them I could not fill. The car of 

 Jonathan's were fancy. They were well packed and better than 

 they expected to get. They were sold at a fair price, and the buyer 

 doubtless made a nice profit on them. As soon as they received 

 and examined them they wanted prices on several more cars. As 

 this was the last car I had to offei" I switched them on to Ben Davis. 

 I sold them ten cars the first clip, and then five more. They then 

 wanted ten more, but could not see my way clear to book them just 

 then. Later I sold them several raore cars. They paid every draft 

 promptly. Did not have a kick on a car sold to them. These peo- 

 ple were strangers to me. I had never sold them a dollar's worth 

 until the car of Jonathan. I looked up their rating and found they 

 were thoroughly reliable. I gave them to understand that I guar- 

 anteed everything sold them, and if, by accident or carelessness of 

 my packers, I shipped them anything that was not right, I pro- 

 posed to make it right. 



When you get a good customer, stay with him. Sometimes you 

 may ship him some apples you did not intend to ship him, or possi- 

 bly some of the apples, or the whole car for that matter, are not as 

 good as you thought they were. If he so advises you, take his word 

 for it. Allow any reasonable claim he may make. If he is the 

 right kind of customer his claim will not be unjust. 



Use the telegraph freely. In this day and age nearly all per- 



