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34 



The Florists' Review 



Maucii 18. 102(1 



before April 4. Botli tlicse factors in 

 the day's business require the fore- 

 sight and preparation of the tiorist. 

 In accordance with his ability to 

 make proper provision in regard to 

 them will be his profits at that 

 time. Despite the efforts of retailers to 

 induce the public to do its shopping 

 early, the bulk of the sales for Easter 

 come in the last two days. This fact 

 requires preparation on the part of the 

 store proprietor to arrange facilities for 

 taking orders and filling them in the 

 most expeditious manner. The value of 

 suc\ forehandedncss cannot be overem- 

 lh>>sized. The loss that results from 

 Lhr waste made by haste and by inex- 

 pc ionced help without proper guidance 

 and instructions ahead of time eats up 

 the profits on many sales. This loss is 

 the more to be deplored because it is 

 avoidable; such things as marking the 

 price of all stock plainly, placing sup- 

 plies so that they are easily available 

 and not hopelessly scattered and mixed, 

 dividing the force into salesmen and or- 

 der fillers 80 that each individual can 

 exert his efforts to most advantage, 

 routing deliveries and handling them 

 properly, and a number of other helps • 

 that can be provided according to each 

 store 's situation and facilities — all these 

 will make the profits at Easter larger. 



Watch Weather. 



TIk early date of Easter this year 

 and the severity of the season make 

 uncertain as yet what weather can be 

 expected for the holiday. It may be 

 necessary, in case of a cold spell, to take 

 more than usual care at Easter in wrap- 

 ping plants. The florist should not be 

 caught unprepared by the weather, or 

 the day will prove far from satisfactory 

 to him and his customers. He must 

 w.nteli his delivery trucks, if he has ad- 

 ditional ones put on for the day, to see 

 that the bodies are sufficiently tight to 

 ])rotect the plants against inclement 

 weather. 



The matter of delivery is one that re- 

 quires attention and thought. Proper 

 routing of orders will save time. The 

 cars should be kept going, too, for the 

 waits between trips eat up much valu- 

 able time unless care is taken. 



Be Prepared. 



Many other phases of Easter's busi- 

 ness can be expedited and made much 

 easier by careful' study and planning 



beforehand. Some have already been 

 touched upon; others are suggested else- 

 where in this issue and perhaps the in- 

 dividual florist will think of others 

 which can be improved in his own case, 

 according to his own particular situa- 

 tion and needs. Start early and make 

 thorough preparation and your nervous 

 system as well as your pocketbook will 

 greatly profit thereby. 



HOLIDAY SYSTEM. 



More Business, Less Bush. 



"The idea of system as it runs 

 through your head is beautiful," some- 

 body says, "but when it comes to the 

 rush your most finely spun system loses 

 out." Yes, it does if you let go of it. 

 It is impossible to handle a rush with- 

 out it. You may escape with your life, 

 going at it haphazard, but your nervous 

 system and your loss and gain account 

 will pay the penalty. 



In the first place, separate the order 

 and sales departments. Let the sales- 

 men sell; don't hamper them with fill- 

 ing orders between times. Have a sep- 

 arate room or portion of a room 

 screened off for order work and let this 

 group of workers be undisturbed by re- 

 quests from customers who wish to be 

 waited upon. To take care of trade 

 already gained is just as important as 

 gaining more. 



In the Order Boom. 



According to the number of compe- 

 tent people whom you can muster for 

 the order room, arrange your order slips. 

 If there are at least two experienced 

 i;coplo, let one take charge of the ship- 

 ping and the other take charge of the 

 city deliveries. Each of these files 

 should first be arranged according to 

 time of delivery, with the first order out 

 on top. Then, as each order is filled and 

 the order sheet checked off, bunch the 

 packages for different express offices 

 iind districts of the city. Have a sep- 

 arate place for rush orders and special 

 deliveries. Don 't burden a delivery man 

 with too long a trip; better make two 

 shorter trips of it. You can get orders 

 out and delivery made before late bed- 

 time. What do sleepy people want of 

 flowers and plants? 



Before starting to fill orders, have all 

 till' iiocssary articles right at hand — 

 exjiri'ss hooks, boxes of .ill sizes, string. 



libbon, paper, extra pencils, train 

 schedules, city directory and map, time. 

 piece, order blanks, tags, scissors, kuife 

 hammer and nails, all the bench rooin 

 and floor space possible, a stool for a 

 m.oment's rest now and then, a clean 

 dry space to write on, etc. 



Sorting City Orders. 



If city and shipping orders are sepa- 

 rated and deliveries for set times may 

 be reduced to specials, sort your bunch 

 of orders for the city by districts, get- 

 ting out all the orders for one district 

 first. New orders, which are continu- 

 ally pouring in from the order roonij 

 should bo placed upon a separate file, 

 to wait until advance orders are filled. 



According to the accumulation of de^ 

 liveries when it is getting late in the 

 day, stop taking delivery orders. There 

 is no limit to what people will ask. 

 They will ask you to deliver immedi- 

 ately at 11 o'clock at night. Pos- 

 sibly for a slight difference in price 

 they will carry their own packages or 

 postpone delivery till the next day. 



Taldng Charge of Stock. 



Stock keeping, if carefully watched, 

 does much to preserve the peace of 

 mind of both customer and shopkeeper. 

 Of course there are extra helpers for 

 the holiday rush and usually the green- 

 house force is drafted into service. 

 These men are accustomed to handling 

 stock. Place one of them, or more if 

 necessary, in charge of storing and 

 keeping tab on the reserve stock. The 

 man or men appointed for this purpose 

 will hand the stock out as wanted and 

 will prevent pulling and hauling and 

 destroying by inexperienced help. How 

 many times it is sickening to see the 

 way in which good stock is destroyed 

 by nervous help! It is better policy to 

 keep only a fair amount of stock on 

 display, and let it sell out quickly and 

 be frequently renewed, than to have it 

 all in view and continually mauled over, 

 and a large proportion spoiled by over- 

 handling, bad air and drafts. 



Keeping Tab on Greens. 



Keep tab on the green goods. An 

 enormous amount may be used in a 

 short time. Let the stock man give 

 warning as it gets low. It is a serious 

 inconvenience to have to wait for 

 jfr?eu. Watch how much goes in with 

 flowers over the counter. Little I'X- 



Goulour CanUual. Rose LulsaiiU'. MurlUo. 



Customers' Ideas on Color and Price Can Be Accommodated by Tulips in Easter Baskets. 



