June, 1933J Retailing Milk in Laconia 13 



Less than half of the men claimed any losses due to bad debts, yet this 

 item was larger than any of the others. The men were inclined to be lenient 

 with customers who had little children and who were out of work. This 

 was especially true for those who had a good past record, or who were 

 relatives or close friends. 



One of the most successful ways of guarding against bad accounts was 

 explained by a producer. When asked by a prospective customer to supply 

 milk, he delayed until the next day, in the meantime making inquiries re- 

 garding the man's credit record. If unfavorable, he gave notice the next 

 day that he had no extra milk to sell. Through these tactics this producer 

 claimed he never had lost a cent due to bad accounts. 



Another practice was to sell tickets to customers and leave milk only in 

 exchange for a ticket and empty bottle. A few distributors dropped cus- 

 tomers when their bills reached $3, $5, $10, or $15. Customers were notified 

 in some instances that no milk would be left except for cash after the bill 

 totaled $5.00. Ten men stated they dropped customers if bills were not paid 

 regularly and 10 others said they delivered regardless of whether the bills 

 were paid. 



Under these conditions, it is to be expected that bad accounts would 

 vary greatly They ranged from $7.50 to $350 yearly and averaged 10 cents 

 per hundred quarts for all producer-distributors. 



Bottle losses were common, averaging for the group $895.24 yearly. It 

 was generally agreed that the greater part of this was due to theft or to 

 unreturned bottles. In a number of cases it was avoided by keeping a rec- 

 ord on each customer and charging to his milk bill all bottles not returned. 



Undoubtedly a local bottle exchange such as has been successful in other 

 New Hampshire cities would reduce this expense. Its organization requires 

 each distributor to register his milk bottle with the State. 



Depreciation and interest charges on equipment are important items of 

 expense and vary greatly for reasons given in the previous discussion on 

 the amount and value of equipment used. 



In this study the cost of cooling milk has been included in current ex- 

 pense. It is questionable whether the cost would be the same if these pro- 

 ducers were wholesaling instead of retailing the milk. The cost of ice is the 

 second largest item, amounting to $1,442.47 for the group, or an average 

 of nine cents for every 100 quarts sold. A few producers fortunately situ- 

 ated cooled with running spring water. 



Four producers were equipped with electrical systems. The yearly cost 

 of operating these and other electrical apparatus used in caring for milk 

 on these farms amounted to $217.56 yearly and has been included in the 

 general electricity cost shown in Table 7. 



Deliver^' Problem: 



Practically all of the producers who distribute milk in Laconia are within 

 a seven-mile radius of the city hall and 42 are within a four-mile zone, yet 

 the distance traveled on the highways is considerably greater, as shown in 

 Figure 1. The majority of these men travel over the four main highways 

 leading into Laconia. There are instances where eight or more of them pass 

 one another's farms en route to deliver milk, thereby multiplying the time 

 and truck costs for delivery. 



