18 



The Florists' Review 



Jolt 20, 1920 



sulta and that is the employee partici- 

 pating in the profits. I am also going 

 farther and give the percentages, in 

 order that I may give an idea as to 

 how we make our dividends. They are: 

 Myself, seventy-five per cent; sales 

 manager, twelve and one-half per cent; 

 superintendent of service, six and one- 

 fourth per cent, and credit manager, 

 six- and one-fourth per cent. As a 

 barometer to conditions of business, a 

 monthly statement showing disburse- 

 ments of the month is made. The em- 

 ployees participate in the net cash prof- 

 its. All accounts must be paid. After 

 this is done a division is made in the 

 above proportions, leaving a reasonable 

 cash balance, whatever amount is agreed 

 upon by the central organization. 



Important Featiire. 



There is one feature of this proposi- 

 tion that IS fair and reasonable and puts 

 us in a position to know how long we 

 shall have an organization intact. It 

 is agreed by all parties that in an event 

 I may want a change in the plan, 1 give 

 six months' notice. It is also agreed that 

 every employee give six months ' notice 

 in case of withdrawal from the organi- 

 zation. The failure to give notice in 

 case they withdraw will forfeit the ac- 

 crued profits on the books and some 

 other penalties that wo have agreed 



upon. In the case of the dissolution 

 of this plan, only the accounts on the 

 books and not the merchandise on hand 

 will be considered, as that eliminates 

 complication and simplifies matters. 



We also make a provision for branch 

 stores that we might see fit to organize. 

 If any member of the central organiza- 

 tion is made manager of the branch, 

 he or she will maintain one-half of the 

 original per cent in the organization and 

 in addition will participate to the ex- 

 tent of fifteen per cent of the profits 

 of the branch store, based upon the 

 above plan. However, all profit-sharing 

 and bonus checks paid out by the branch 

 and central store shall be treated as an 

 overhead expense, and the central or- 

 ganization will then be paid accord- 

 ingly. 



Includes All Employees. 



As stated, the plan from January 1 to 

 July 1 only affected the heads of the de- 

 partments. Since July 1 every employee 

 participates on the following basis: 

 Whatever net percentage our store 

 earns, every employee will receive the 

 same percentage of his annual salary. 

 For instance, if we earn ten per cent net 

 profits, based upon the cash realized, 

 and an employee earns $1,000 per year, 

 that employee will draw a bonus of 

 $100, or if we earn fifteen per cent, 



Eight-foot Horseshoe of Roses for Movie Stars. 



that employee will draw a bonus of 

 $150. This affects every employee in 

 our establishment, from the porters np. 

 This plan puts them on notice that it 

 is up to them. Take, for instance, the 

 truck driver; it is up to him to see 

 that he is polite and courteous to every 

 customer, for if he fails to make satis- 

 factory delivery, or should disagree 

 with a customer and we lose that cus- 

 tomer, it affects his pocketbook. If he 

 makes prompt delivery and makes a 

 pleased customer, he benefits thereby. 

 The store porter will realize that it 

 is up to him to see that the store is 

 kept in trim order, and all other little 

 necessary details. If he fails to con- 

 tribute his pro rata to what goes to 

 make a profitable concern, he will fail 

 to derive his share of the profits. 



Plan Is Success. 



This plan has been a success up to 

 the present time and I am confident 

 that it will prove a success in every 

 florist's biisiness. It is the best invest- 

 ment that I have ever made. 



Regarding our organization as a whole 

 I shall first enumerate the responsibil- 

 ities of the heads of the departments. 

 The sales manager is responsible for the 

 conduct of tpe store as a whole; also, 

 in addition to this, he devotes his at- 

 tention to the development of sales, 

 which embodies advertising and serv- 

 ice. 



The service manager is held respon- 

 sible for the delivery of the goods, for 

 the upkeep of the automobiles and all 

 details pertaining to deliveries. The 

 credit manager, who also has charge of 

 the bookkeeping department, is respon- 

 sible for the handling of accounts and 

 collection of all bills and is held strictly 

 accountable to the central organization 

 for the work. 



We have our business divided into 

 four parts: First, the growing of flowers 

 is conducted by a corporation composed 

 of stockholders of prominent business 

 men. This is separate from the retail 

 store. We buy from this concern the 

 same as we buy from anyone else. The 

 superintendent of growing is held ac- 

 countable for the affairs of the range. 

 We are just entering into the nursery 

 business and are conducting the busi- 

 ness the same as the florists' business, 

 and the growing manager will devote 

 his entire thought and energy to the 

 growing of stock. 



No Unnecessary Problems. 



We are opening a retail nursery yard 

 and display grounds and the manager 

 of this department is expected to de- 

 vote his entire energy and time to sell- 

 ing nursery and bedding plants. In 

 other words, our growers are not con- 

 fronted with problems of the retailing 

 of their stock and the central organiza- 

 tion is not confronted with the growers' 

 problems. 



This makes four organizations, with 

 four separate bookkeeping systems, each 

 one working within itself and not de- 

 pending upon the other. I am the head 

 of tlie four organizations and draw a 

 salary from each organization, the same 

 as the other employees. 



I am giving you an outline of the 

 work of our organization as a whole and 

 I am pleased to report at this time that 

 it is producing satisfactory results. It 

 is one that I have been working on for 

 seven years and I have just now ac- 

 complished the desired results. I 



