438 



HOETICULTUEE 



March 21, 1914 



Of Interest to Retail 

 Florists 



TRADE GETTING. 



Because I have been rather success- 

 ful in the florist business I have been 

 asked by many friends in the business 

 to give some advice to them along the 

 lines of store management, and also 

 of trade getting. I shall, however, 

 take up the last part' of this subject, 

 as it is the most important for those 

 who are working in the store and 

 come in direct contact with the trade. 

 My experience has been mostly in the 

 small cities of New England, and 

 where the shoe industry flourishes the 

 best, and I write from the standpoint 

 of a woman and in the handling of 

 the retail trade. 



I know of no set rules that will help, 

 but will give you my own experience. 

 The flower business is a peculiar one 

 and appeals to the artistic sense, even 

 when you are standing ankle deep in 

 the designing room. To begin with, 

 I love my trade; that is, I really like 

 the people who come to trade with 

 me. I look upon them, whether rich 

 or poor, as deserving of deep affec- 

 tion, and I do not put up a "bluff" 

 article when I take this attitude, for 

 if ever there was a business in which 

 affection for all of humanity is need- 

 ed it is in the flower business. 



Quite frequently young men will 

 come to order cut flowers for dances 

 for their fair escort. They welcome 

 any suggestion you may make as to 

 the color of flower that should be 

 used; but, for goodness sake, make the 

 suggestion show some interest in the 

 order! I know of one case where an 

 order was given by a young man who 

 had no idea of what would be the best 

 color for his lady friend to wear at a 

 dance, so I hustled to the telephone, 

 got into communication with the dress- 

 maker, whose name he had found out. 

 and discovered that the lady would 

 wear a light blue dress. I was then 

 able to give him the proper idea of 

 color for a bouquet, and received a 

 good sized order from him; not only 

 that, but through him I received or- 

 ders from nearly half the young men 

 who attended that particular dance. 



It is well to get a good idea of the 

 arrangements of the houses and gar- 

 dens of the wealthier class of patrons 

 In your town. I have in mind a home 

 which I visited when it was in the 

 process of construction. I planned in 

 my mind's eye just what kind of 

 flowers and plants should be used in 

 the different rooms, for different oc- 

 casions, as I knew the owner would 

 entertain a great deal. In a few weeks 

 I had a call from Mrs. Owner, and 

 she said she "was going to give a 

 small card party, but wanted a few 

 flowers for the different rooms," nam- 

 ing a small price she was willing to 

 pay. I told her what I could give her 

 that would bring out the harmony of 

 the furnishing of her home. As I had 

 already a pretty good idea of the 

 house I was enabled in one visit to 

 place my decorations where they were 

 most effective without hesitation, and 

 with absolute confidence. As a result 

 of this work, I secured a valuable per- 

 manent customer. You cannot make 

 much money on a decoration job, but 



you can make a whole lot of friends, 

 and friends mean business. 



I have seen some flower salesmen, in 

 taking an order, give the whole his- 

 tory of the flowers that were to be 

 used, including the wholesale price; 

 but customers don't want history, 

 they want flowers, and expect you will 

 make a fair profit. I have seen a 

 good-sized order lost just because the 

 salesman went on in this fashion, in a 

 kind of monologue: "The flowers will 

 cost you three dollars, the frame one 

 dollar, and the making up two dol- 

 lars." By that time the customer's 

 mind had become confused, and she 

 concluded she would let him know 

 later, which she did by going some- 

 where else. In small towns and cities, 

 near relatives of the deceased give 

 their orders personally and, quite fre- 

 quently, they have other matters on 

 their minds, so do not confuse them 

 by useless talk. Don't do a lot of 

 figuring in the presence of the cus- 

 tomer, especially when you are taking 

 a funeral order. It is also well to 

 remember that, while your customer 

 may be in a hurry, he will resent any 

 show of haste on your part. You may 

 smile at it, if you wish, but, as a sales- 

 man or woman, you cannot have your 

 mind on a tango dance and take a 

 good funeral order. A customer can 

 detect, without looking for it, whether 

 you are in sympathy with the condi- 

 tions under which you are taking the 

 order. And along this line, speaking 

 especially for the small store, don't 

 have any "loafers" up in the front 

 of your store. Customers particularly 

 resent being watched in a flower store. 



I have found it extremely difiicult to 

 get clerks to realize the importance of 

 the right mental attitude towards 

 their work, but I can say frankly the 

 quickest way to spoil a good mental 

 attitude is to contract the habit of 

 criticising the appearance or dress of 

 callers, and never class trade as 

 "wealthy" and "poor." Take just as 

 much pains with the small purchaser 

 as W'ith the large one. Every one 

 that steps into my store is my friend, 

 and a friend of the store. 



LiLLiE Johnson, 

 Rockland, Mass. 



WASHINGTON NOTES. 



David Bisset, son of Peter Bisset, is 

 confined to his home with a fracture 

 of the left leg caused by his falling 

 from a street car. Mr. Bissett was 

 but recently allowed to leave the hos- 

 pital where he was confined for a num- 

 ber of weeks following a collision be- 

 tween the motor cycle which he was 

 operating and a large automobile 

 truck, which caused a compound frac- 

 ture of the knee. 



Parcel post rates will now apply on 

 shipments through the mail of seeds, 

 cuttings, bulbs, roots, scions and 

 plants, and the necessary instructions 

 putting this order into effect is being 

 sent by Postmaster General Burleson 

 to all postmasters. This law was en- 

 acted by Congress on March 9, and re- 

 peals the rates heretofore applying. 

 Packages and parcels of seeds, cut- 

 tings, bulbs, roots, scions and plants, 

 weighing four ounces or less will here- 

 after be mailable at the flat rate of 

 one cent for each ounce or fraction 

 thereof, without regard to distance, 

 ■while on parcels exceeding four 



A CORDIAL INVITATION 



Is exteoded to the trade t* rislt and 

 Inspect our new establishment, Ftftb 

 Avenue at 48th Street, New York City. 



ORDERS 



by Telegraph or otherwise for dellTcry 

 of Fliiwers to Steamers, Theatres, er 

 Residences In New York and Tlclklty 

 executed in best manner. 



Thos. F. Galvin, Inc. 



Established 1847 



Fifth Ave., at 46th Street, NEW YORK 

 THREF STORES IN BOSTON 



CHICAGO 



And Neighboring Towns 



Are Thoroughly Covered by 



SCHILLER, THE FLORIST 



(Member Florists Telegraph Delivery). 



Flowergram or 3Iail Orders from florlNtii 

 anywhere carefully filled and delivered 

 under the supervision of 



GEORGE ASMUS, Mgr. 



2221-2223 W. Madison St., CHICAGO. 



'Phone West 822 



Members Florist* 



Telegraph 



Delivery 



REDTER'S 



STORES IN 



New London and Norwich, Conn, 

 and Westerly, R. I. 



We cover the territory between 



New Haven and Providence 



CLEVELAND 



A. GRAHAM & SON 



5523 Euclid Ave. 



Will take good care of your orders 



Members of F. T. Z?, Associatiqn, 



RANDALL'S FLOWER SHOP 



HABBT I. RANDALL, Proprietor. 



Phone: Park 94 

 3 PLEASANT ST.. WORCESTER. MASS. 



Memi'r Florists Telegraph Delivery Attctiatitn 



ounces, the pound rates to the varioua 

 zones will be applicable. 



The DuPont Flower Shop is the 

 name of the new store recently opened 

 at 6 DuPont Circle, N. W., under the 

 management of Elmer C. Mayberry. 

 The Shop is one of the most attractive 

 flower stores in the city. The interior 

 fittings are of the new French gray. 

 The store is divided at the rear by a 

 lattice, which also covers a poi1;ion of 

 the two side walls, to give space for 

 a workroom. Above this is a large 

 skylight and this with the windows 

 and the several clusters of high-power 

 electric lights gives ample illumina- 

 tion. There is extensive display space 

 at the front, the window of the box 

 type extends beyond the entrance to 

 the store, the glass covering the entire 

 front so that all flowers and plants on 

 display are placed directly on the 

 floor. The floor is of stone. 



