216 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[April i, 1908. 



history of the settlement of each claim. Rule a Claims Record, 

 with headings for (i) Claim No., (2) date, (3) name, (4) ad- 

 dress, (.5) goods, (6) value, (7) adjustment— whether "not al- 

 lowed," "defective goods account," or "policy account"— and (8) 

 general remarks. In practice I have found it advisable to have 

 two files, one called "Active Claims File" and the other "Inactive 

 Claims pile," to hold all papers pertaining to claim until indi- 

 vidual claims are settled. All claims made are active until you have 

 completed your share of the work. Then they either disappear 

 from the Active Claims File or become inactive. If finally set- 

 tled, remove all papers for distribution. If you have done your 

 work and a lull ensues without the claim being withdrawn, and if 

 there is no account open in the ledger due to the claim, then put 

 it on the Inactive File. Your man may be convinced, but may 

 not admit it and you may never have another kick from him. 

 Inactive things do not kick. When you are sure that they are 

 dead, bury their parts in the general files. 



To return to the letter that embodies the claim. On the face 

 of it you may detect that the claim is groundless. Your man may 

 state that the i inch 4 ply steam hose sold him did not stand 

 over six months subjected to 125 pounds steam pressure. Or he 

 may complain that the belt sent him has frayed on one edge. 

 Either of these should be easy to handle, especially if your 

 catalogue is in good form. But enter it up in your book with 

 value of goods, if obtainable. It is a claim. If you do not stifle 

 it quickly it might mean a loss to you. It is not allowed, so 

 much saved. 



But if it looks reasonable and is not out of the ordinary put 

 it into your assistants' basket. He knows it is to be acknowledged 

 by a form of letter that promises attention, nothing more, when 

 the goods come in charges prepaid. He knows that the traveler 

 or branch interested is to receive copies of all correspondence. He 

 knows that the receiving clerk is to be notified that you want to 

 have the original order on the Claims file, that the bookkeeping 

 department and, in some cases, the order department, should know 

 of It. He writes a letter to one, sends a copy to another, gets an 

 initial here or telephones there. He finds whether a traveler is 

 near your man and consults with you as to the advisability of 

 wiring to him to report on conditions if he cannot adjust with- 

 out an allowance. On to the Active Claims File goes every- 

 thing and then he tackles something else. 



You note re the traveler: "Adjust without an allowance." My 

 rule is if an allowance is to be made the goods in full of the 

 allowance must come in. Do not permit a branch manager or 

 traveler to make allowances on claims. These are rules and 

 like all rules are subject to being deviated from. Perhaps some 

 trifling allowance will adjust a claim amicably. "Bang!" goes 

 rule No. I and it pays in time and money to let it go bang. 

 You may find that a branch manager or traveler has been settling 

 two or three claims in a nice way without allowances. "Bang!" 

 goes rule No. 2. "Use your own jud,srment next time. Mr. Branch 

 Manager, or Mr. Traveler. Y'ou have been doing fine work. 

 You should best know how to settle these unjust claims, because 

 you know your man." But does it pay? You get a claim, you 

 pass it on to your newly found star; "Settle it up." Back comes 

 the fatal letter : "I allowed him for one-half of the full roll. He 

 is returning 50 feet to show how the rest gave out." 



I sent a traveler once to adjust a claim with a customer who 

 had written in. He went, he saw, and he fell down. He thought 

 he had done well, and so it should have been, but he had not 

 ill his facts. He should have had them, for he had memoranda of 

 all orders from his man and all the correspondence. He saw hose 

 tone wrong, 4^4 inch hose. He reported in favor of giving two 

 new lengths in full of claim for six; perhaps he promised this 

 adjustment'. At all events, his man stated as much by letter. And 

 what were the facts? The hose was ours, made to special order, 

 confirmed and reconfirmed as it looked irregular, bought by a 

 railway, but the complainant was a neighboring contractor. The 

 contractor never bought a foot of such material from us. If he 



bought it from the railway, he used it for purposes for which it 

 was never intended. But could I convince him after our man had, 

 in his estimation, passed his claim? No. "Give me my two 

 lengths." "But if you did not receive what you ordered, why 

 did you not return it? The difference is quite perceptible." 

 "Give me the two lengths Jones promised." And he got them. 

 He was honest, good pay, and bought freely. He was honestly 

 off in this claim, but could not be convinced. Jones lost me 

 those two lengths and it hurt. But drop it ; it is over. It does 

 not pay to punch holes through rule No. 2. 



Then the goods come in. The receiving clerk receives the 

 goods, reports length, width, diameter, or any other sizes with 

 weight, brand, etc., using a set form with returnable, perforated 

 instructions ticket attached. This form is in triplicate, one to be 

 passed on to the factory superintendent with the goods, a second 

 to be sent to the sales manager, and the third to be retained by 

 him for his records. He is through until he receives his in- 

 structions ticket, when he removes his claims ticket from his 

 current files. 



It is then up to the superintendent. Join the superintendent 

 yourself when he looks over a claim. Give him your points and 

 get his points. Bear in mind that you are to be the judge be- 

 tween customer and factory. You have the customer's side of 

 the case, now get that of the factory. The superintendent may 

 report: "Hose does not leak; cover loose in places; not de- 

 fective." See the length. Accept his leakage test. You find 

 the cover is detached from the fabric. It indicates that it never 

 was properly attached. Defective, of course. Charge to defective 

 goods account. Simple enough ; this is a minor case. Y'our as- 

 sistant has seen similar letters dictated by you and this is how 

 he goes about it. He writes the customer_telling him that under 

 test the hose does not leak. 



However, we note that the service has brought to light a 

 minor defect in construction, not perceivable even under your 

 rigid inspection, and which might not have developed once in ten 

 times. Of course, you are in the wrong and you are quite willing 

 to endeavor to adjust. Your idea is that as the hose had evi- 

 dently been in use some time his customer would not care to have 

 such service without paying for it, so you would be glad to send a 

 new length, charging at the rate of say 25 per cent, of the 

 original charge. Your factory is wrong ; you cannot expect to get 

 much for the service rendered, but something is due for it if you 

 have sold your goods properly. The thing is to get your dealer with 

 you. Appeal to his reason. Y'ou may say "If you are wrong, 

 give in," and I agree with you, but no reasonable man expects 

 something for nothing. He expects to get what he pays for, 

 but not 25 per cent., or even 5 per cent., over the bargain. And 

 if he gets a brand new length of hose "no charge" for the length 

 that has been in use for some months, then I maintain he 

 is getting more than he bargained for. The carwheel makers get 

 paid for the time a wheel that has given out has been in use, 

 less the value of the metal as scrap. Why should not you re- 

 ceive payment for the service your goods have rendered? But 

 if he will not fall in line, do so yourself. You made the mistake, 



not he. 



[To BE Continued.] 



The lNni.\ Rubber World has been favored by the Colonial 

 Rubber Co., Limited, of Sydney, New South Wales, with an official 

 copy of the new Australian tariff schedule. The rates on rubber 

 goods under this schedule were given in this journal in January 

 (page iiq), but some additional information supplied by the 

 Colonial company may be of interest to exporters to Australia. 

 They say: "The method of estimating the value for duty is to 

 take the f. o. b. value at the port of shipment, and add lo per 

 cent, to this amount. The duty is then calculated on this total — 

 so that a line of goods that is listed to carry 20 per cent, actually 

 pays 22 per cent. Outside packages of all description are free 

 of duty, irrespective of the nature of the contents." 



