August 21, 1902. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



397 



reflect the true fakir question. These or- 

 dinances state under what conditions 

 flowers may be sold, but in no case do 

 they touch the essential point, that of 

 selling flowers at prices which the florists 

 believe are damagingly low. After the 

 fakir has complied with the city ordi- 

 nance, he is governed by the same busi- 

 ness principles as is any other tradesman, 

 and he should be allowed in trade com- 

 petition umnolested. The store man sees 

 him and he ought to reason philosophical- 

 ly this way: Is it possible that florists 

 should have ever considered this poor 

 fellow seriously in their business compe- 

 titions by their trying to interfere with 

 his earning a livelihood. Is it possible 

 that we envy him of a cent of what he 

 has earned by his persistent efforts of 

 hailing every passer by with a bunch of 

 flowers. Think of it! He makes many 

 persons happy in a small way and he is 

 able to gratify many wishes with his 

 flowers for a penny. 



We florists are not always generous. 

 The very fact that the fakir disposes of 

 enormous quantities of flowers is proof 

 of his standing in the community. On a 

 Saturday afternoon, what a pleasure it 

 is to see the streets voluntarily decorated 

 with bright flowers which make us forget 

 that we are rushing along and know not 

 why. For a moment we think of the 

 Cafe de la Paix in Paris, where we buy 

 nosegays from the flower girls and 

 straightway our appetite is better. Be 

 generous with the fakir for he never was 

 your competitor and although alarmist 

 florists talk of over production of flow- 

 ers due to the fakir trade, do not be- 

 lieve that that is significant, because ev- 

 ery time that a trade exigency arises 

 business relations soon solve the problem. 

 At the other extreme is the distributor 

 of flowers, who is successful, up-to-date 

 and progressive, the retail florist. His 

 prices are an afterthought, and his aim 

 is to cultivate business integrity and to 

 keep the best flowers only, which he pre- 

 sents attractively. As a business man 

 he instils courtesy into his assistants and 

 is generous in all his dealings. His tran- 

 sactions are principally with women, and 

 he learns that to count pennies is poor 

 economy. In case of mistakes, he makes 

 every endeavor to correct them. If in 

 any way he has been at fault or his cus- 

 tomer thinks that he has. he graciously 

 makes amends. Nor is he hereby humb- 

 ling himself, but on the contrary he is 

 liberal. We inspire in others the senti- 

 ments which we ourselves feel, or in 

 other words, your customer wont be 

 liberal if you are short-sighted, obsti- 

 nate and ungenerous. Consider each cus- 

 tomer's patronage as capital invested, 

 which annually pays you interest, and 

 you will guard this customer's wishes Just 

 as jealously as a cash investment. The 

 florist is always willing to please, no 

 matter how exclusive his position is, for 

 he is not in business this year alone but 

 for many more to come. 



The practical handling of flowers for 

 retail distribution has its many points 

 for consideration. The keeping of stock 

 is governed by local conditions. Flow- 

 ers may be put aside from which orders 

 are filled or they may at the same time 

 become part of a display in a window or 

 refrigerator. At all events they must re- 

 ceive the very best of care, although 

 often in the commission houses they 

 have received more injury than you can 

 repair. In such establishments, where the 

 trade comes largely from regular custo- 

 mers, it is well to get them accustomed 

 to order their flowers in advance where 

 it is possible. This will enable you to put 

 their orders aside or you can fill them 

 directly from the stock as it comes in. 

 thus obviating unnecessary handling. This 

 class of trade is very desirable, for its 

 demands may be calculated quite definite- 

 ly, and the handling of expensive flowers 

 ceases to be a source of speculation. 



The delivering of flowers is as import- 

 ant as is the selling them in the first 

 place. If you send a special messenger. 

 let him be Intelligent and neat. Attire 

 him as trade demands and have him re- 

 flect the character of your business until 

 the flowers are finally at their destination. 

 Florists', delivery wagons should be made 

 attractive by their excellence in design 

 and workmanship and not flashy so as to 

 suggest vulgarity. Have good horses and 

 plain harnesses. 



Think of the beauty of the flowers 

 which you are sending and the people 

 who are to receive them, and the wagons 

 which might be used to advertise chew- 

 Ins gum will seem cheap and tawdry. 



People on receiving flowers should feel 

 ihat they are truly beautiful, so don't 

 put the flowers to shame with rococo sur- 

 roundings. 



The presentation and arrangement of 

 flowers at retail is an art in itself and 

 the florist who does not employ the best 

 talent possible will soon discover his 

 error. People entering the florist's store 

 expect to be refreshed and enthused for 

 the few minutes that they are in it by 

 the artistic display of flowers and plants. 

 They expect to see the surroundings exe- 

 cuted in the best possible taste. The 

 decorations must be artistic and the fur- 

 niture and wares must be of good design 

 and color. All details will be noticed, 

 even the stationery on the writing table. 

 Your appointments should not be costly 

 and elegant, but well chosen and good. 



People of today do not want extrava- 



Just a word about advertising, before I 

 conclude. As a member of the wide- 

 spread commercial system in the United 

 States, in this year of our Lord. 1902, 1 

 am forced to say. advertise. But first 

 take an invoice of your wares, facili- 

 ties, experience and ideas and what re- 

 mains of these as salable commodities 

 advertise before the community. Be hon- 

 est and advertise only such things which 

 you really have. Study all the text books 

 on psychology for methods with which 

 you can impress the human mind, but 

 first have something and then draw at- 

 tention to it honestly. 



The florist should avoid broadcast ad- 

 vertising. Don't destroy the sweeter as- 

 sociations with which flowers are gener- 

 ally sent by undue publicity. There ara 

 so many ways of getting up winning ad- 

 vertisements that it is unfortunate that 



A Peculiar Accident. 



gantly elaborated stores, but want to go 

 to a florist "shop." To them a shop is 

 a place where the business is purely a 

 specialty in its line, in distinction from 

 the department store, and the shop's chief 

 advertisement is good taste and original- 

 ity. They feel that their orders are re- 

 ceiving personal care and they like to 

 become acquainted with the clerks and 

 the proprietor so that they may confiden- 

 tially tell them how they may improve 

 the business in this or that way. The 

 shop accordingly becomes rather a small 

 place to our notion; but as the underly- 

 ing ideas are so good, let each customer 

 think of it in this way and try to win 

 their confidences. These people travel 

 much, see much and their ideas may in 

 many cases be of real value to you. But 

 there are other branches in the business 

 which you must impress upon them in a 

 professional way. As a decorator your 

 work has a professional merit, and in 

 gaining a reputation for laying out city 

 gardens and courts you become an Or- 

 namental Horticulturist. 



Make others feel the enthusiasm which 

 you have in your business, and especially 

 those who work for you. Make them feel 

 some of your enere^* so that they will feel 

 that they are associated with a pro- 

 gressive house. Your men should also 

 have ideas so that your daily criticism 

 won't be necessary. Give your reliable 

 men an interest in the business as most 

 business houses today do. People will 

 soon notice this spirit which is charac- 

 teristic of your business and their inter- 

 est will tell others that roses coming 

 from your place "are so much fresher 

 than those from elsewhere." They will 

 not challenge the way you do things as 

 regards correctness. Let them feel that 

 you are unrivaled and don't let any sus- 

 picions arise to the contrary. 



Consistency is another factor in pre- 

 senting your flowers. Fix a standard for 

 your business and then live up to it. not 

 in one branch alone, but throughout, so 

 that your reliability won't be doubted 

 in any part of your work. An expen- 

 sively engraved bill-head sent out from 

 your office will not offset a package 

 carelessly put up. It were better to have 

 less elaborate engraving and a better 

 shipping clerk. Don't astonish people 

 with extremes of lavishness or of thrift. 



any of the commoner ways should be 

 used. Tiie florist has a dignified busi- 

 ness, so let his advertising appear ac- 

 cordingly. Many mistake eccentricity 

 and bizarreness for originality and that 

 which is artistic. 



The mailing list should rather be small 

 than large. Each person on the list 

 should feel that he is personally in touch 

 with the business and not one of ten thou- 

 sand. You make him feel this by send- 

 ing such matter only as is carefully got- 

 ten up. By having a small list, you can 

 afford to raise the standard of your ad- 

 vertising, your paper is better and your 

 engravings used are the best and are 

 faultlessly printed. The best is good 

 enough. If your competitor "gets out" a 

 calendar lithographed in fourteen colors, 

 don't send one out in sixteen colors, but 

 improve on his "ad " by distributing some- 

 thing more original. Have you ever 

 thought how hackneyed the custom of 

 sending calendars on the first of Janu- 

 ary has become? 



In the business in which I am asso- 

 ciated I have tried to make the advertis- 

 ing feature seem as an undercurrent, not 

 to be felt at once, but gradually. First 

 of all our building, which is devoted en- 

 tirely to the business, is rather quaint in 

 design and is built of an English brick. 

 Golden arbor-vitae in the window boxes 

 in winter and dwarfed begonias and 

 ivies in sutnmer help to give it a dis- 

 tinctive air. Signs have been avoided 

 and commercial earmarks are scarcely 

 to be seen. The store is treated in a co- 

 lonial tone, and the show rooms for pot- 

 ters' and other wares are in Flemish oak 

 .and are treated vigorously. In the photo- 

 graphic studio photographs of creditable 

 work and those for illustrative purposes 

 are made. From the photographs and 

 from original sketches printing plates are 

 made for folders and attractive sheets 

 which we print in our print shop. By 

 doing our own printing we are able to 

 carry out the feeling which we are try- 

 ing to establish in other branches of the 

 business. We are not endeavoring to be 

 aggressive in our advertising, but employ- 

 ing such means which will have a stimu- 

 lating effect, so to speak. 



To close. I wish to say that although 

 I have taken liberties with the subject 

 for discussion, I have bad but one point 



