68 



The Florists'" Review 



Mabch 31. 1921. 



THE RETAIL STORE 



A PAGE OF HINTS AND HELPS 

 FOR THE RETAIL FLORIST 



RULES FOR NEW FLORISTS. 



As iiitiiiy now flower shops have been 

 opened since the war, and as most of 

 the proprietors are without much ex- 

 perience in conducting such an estab- 

 lishment, the following methods are 

 suggested for the guidance of any florist 

 who wants to kill his shop as quickly as 

 possible: 



1. Close it for au hour at noon. 



2. Wait on customers in your shirt- 

 sleeves. 



3. Always have a pipe in your 

 mouth. A "cigar or cigarette will do. 



4. Don't take any nonsense from 

 customers. Let them know it's your 

 shop, eveu if you haven't paid for the 

 goods yet. 



5. Don't be friendly with other flo- 

 rists, for fear they'll give you a lot of 

 advice. 



6. Always buy from a traveler, else 

 he might think your credit is not good. 



7. Use your windows for storage. 



8. Don't try to l)e popular. Be inde- 

 pendent. 



<). Give credit to :inybody, or people 

 may think that you need the money. 



10. Don't advertise. You can't wait 

 on more than one customer at a time. 



HOW ABOUT YOUR LEASE*? 



Changing Rented Stores. 



When a florist leases a building for 

 the conduct of his business, he should 

 see that there is incor].orated into the 

 lease i>rovisions giving to him the right 

 to make such alterations in the build- 

 ing as he niav desire. Otlierwise he may 

 iind that he has rendered himself power- 

 less to adapt the premises Id convenient 

 use, except as he may yiei<l to oi)i>res- 

 sive demands on the i)art of his hind- 

 lord. It will not do to suiii)ose tiiat, 

 after possession is taken, the tenant 

 may suit himself about what changes 

 he will make, so long as he does not 

 call on the landlord to bear the ex- 

 pense. Such clianges may constitute 

 injury or waste, which can be prevented 

 by injunction or redressed in damages 

 if made without the landlord 's approval. 



Speaking on this su)).iect. the Alabama 

 Supreme court said in a recent case, 

 8.1 Southern Reporter. 449: "It is an 

 old jiriuciple of the common law tliat a 

 tenant is guilty of waste if he materially 

 changes the n:'i1ure and chiiracter of the 

 building leased. And many autliorities, 

 both English and American, declare that 

 such changes will be deemed waste, even 

 though the value of the jiroperty would 

 be enhanced by the alteration. 



Landlord Must Consent. 



"This rule of the common law has 

 been relaxed or pnrti.-ilty rei)udiated by a 

 number of courts in modern times. But 

 it is still the law in this state, and we 

 think it is well founded upon the just 

 and controlling considerut ion that the 

 owner of the iirojierty is entitled to have 



it remain as it is, without material 

 change in its structure, form and char- 

 acter, except insofar as he has con- 

 sented thereto, either by express agree- 

 ment, or by necessary implication from 

 the terms and purpose of the lease. 



"The lessees have, by implication, 

 the right to possess and enjoy the prop- 

 erty during the term 'specified, and to 

 put it in such use and employment as 

 they jiiease, not materially different 

 from that in which it is usually em- 

 ])loyed, to wliich it is adapted and for 

 which it was constructed." 



Another important legal point to be 

 borne in mind is that where the tenant 

 desires to reserve the right to remove 

 certain features of a building installed 



money value in other forms of advertis- 

 ing. Any of the early spring flowers are 

 suitable, but at Easter time the lily is 

 without a rival." 



The Editor is pleased when 

 a Reader presents his ideas 

 on any subject treated in 



m 



prists' 



As experience is the best 

 teacher, »o do we learn 

 fastest by an exchange ot 

 experiences. Many valuable 

 points are brought out by 

 discussion. 



Good penmanship, spellins and 

 Kranimar, though desirable, are not 

 necessary. Write as you would talk 

 when doing your best. 



WE SHALL BE GLAD 

 TO HEAR FROM YOU 



by him, such as a ilorists' refrigerator, 

 the right of removal should be expressly 

 reserved by written contract. Other- 

 wise, it may take an expensive lawsuit 

 to establish the right of removal, if that 

 right can be established at all under th(> 

 jiarticul.-ir circumstances, without special 

 ;igreemeiit. S. 



SELL DRUGGISTS FLOWERS. 



The use of flowers in displays of mer- 

 chandise in other lines has been a 

 uintter of comment in these columns bi- 

 fore. Assistance comes from a new 

 (in;ii-ter tn florists who eiiilca\dr to )'ro- 

 iiiide this. A (liiiggists ■ journal cclitori- 

 alizes as follows: 



"Fresh flowers ,'ire nlw.-iys nil ide.'il 

 accessory to a <lisiilay of ]>erfumes and 

 toilet goods, and esjiecially so in the 

 early spring. Where the use of fresh 

 flowers seems impractical, artificial 

 flowers are found to be quite satisfac- 

 tory. A potted plant, however, does not 

 cost any great sum, and yet lends to 

 any display intended to attract women 

 a jiower not eipuiled by many times its 



HOW TO BORROW MONEY. 



What the Banker Wants to Know. 



Quite often florists, seeking loans 

 from their banks, complain of the in- 

 tricacies of finance when, after an in- 

 terview with the credit men, they fail 

 to get what they wanted. The banks, 

 these days, are in much the same posi- 

 tion as the manufacturer of a few 

 months ago, who liad a waiting list of 

 customers trying to buy his products. 

 N.'iturally he sold to his best customers 

 — the ones who pay most quickly and 

 who stick to him at times when it isn't 

 so hard to get his goods. 



In reality, a banker is like any other 

 sort of business man. His commodity, 

 the use of capital, necessitates greater 

 care than some others. How simple are 

 till! banker's demands of ,a would-be 

 customer are pointed out for florists in 

 the following interview: 



"There are two prerequisites to se- 

 curing a loan," the b.anker said. 

 "First, a florist must know his busi- 

 ness. And, second, the florist must have 

 a balance in the bank. 



Good Customers and Poor Ones. 



"If one customer lias a balance of 

 ■'^."),(K)(i," continued the banker, "and 

 another a l)alance of .$200, and both 

 want to borrow .$10,000, which one do 

 you think will get the loan? Easy, 

 isn 't it .' When we have a hard time 

 to take care of loans to good customers 

 we cannot give credit to ])Oor ones. 



''I am a great believer in construc- 

 tive banking and like to build up a big 

 customer from a sm;ill one. If a man, 

 starting out in a small way, looks good, 

 is honest and knows his l)usiiiess, I be- 

 lieve in helping him with a loan and 

 then watching his business (dosely. 

 That 's the way to liiiild up the bank- 

 ing business. 



' ■ Von 're taking ii chance, of course, 

 .and once in a while some fellow doesn't 

 m.ake good. You've got to keep the 

 margin of loss low, however, just as a 

 retailer keeps his bad debts at a mini- 

 mum. There isn't iimch difference be- 

 tween selling flowers .and sidling credit. 



Must Know His Business. 



"The florist who wants ;i loiiii must 

 know his business. That's ninety-nine 

 jier cent of the situation. He nmst have 

 figures to show wli.at he is doing, what 

 the value of his stock is, what his un- 

 j>aid .accounts amount to, .and other 

 fiicts that the banker thinks he ought 

 to know. He should know his business 

 so well that he can iinswer quickly and 

 correctly the questions the banker asks. 

 That is what creates confidence. 



"You see, it is the florist whose state- 

 ments jibe with his figures who is the 



