12 



The Florists^ Review 



April 22, 1915. 



him for the particular purpose for 

 which he wants them. 



Be truthful at all times. Never ex- 

 aggerate; never promise things you 

 know you cannot supply. Nothing un- 

 dermines a customer's confidence in 

 you and your house more quickly than 

 an untruth or an unkept promise. If 

 you are unable to give a customer de- 

 sired information, ask others. If you 

 cannot give it, tell the customer so 

 frankly. Don't prevaricate. I know 

 that some people pride themselves on 

 making good sales by "stretching the 

 truth." Don't do it, as it will only 

 make you trouble in the end. 



Courtesy to all, both rich and poor, 

 high and low, should be exercised by 

 every salesman. Some people are ex- 

 tremely fussy and hard to please. They 

 try the patience of a Job, and then 

 some. You will never be an ideal sales- 

 man until you can control your temper 

 at all times, and when you once please 

 a fussy person, you have not only made 

 a customer for life, but have controlled 

 your own self, which means much for 

 future success. If a poorly dressed 

 person comes in, treat him with as 

 much deference, politeness and cour- 

 tesy as you would a millionaire. He 

 has money to spend and may have 

 many friends with whom a word will 

 go a long way. If children are sent 

 to purchase, treat them with even more 

 courtesy than you would others, and 

 be sure you sell them right. 



Probably more important than all 



other things is to know your goods. 

 Use all your spare moments in studying 

 your stock. Find out all you can; how 

 flowers and plants are grown, their 

 season, what is the cost of their pro- 

 duction, where they are grown, and a 

 thousand other points of information 

 that may be picked up. Be observing, 

 be studious; when you once know your 

 goods thoroughly, you can talk intelli- 

 gently and answer all questions truth- 

 fully. 



After the goods are sold, see to it 

 that they are put up right. A sale is 

 never really completed until the goods 

 are in the hands of the customer and 

 that customer is pleased with the whole 

 transaction. In this day of modern 

 merchandising, the manner of packing 

 and the effect produced when the goods 

 are received and opened are secondary 

 only to the goods themselves. This is 

 especially true of flowers, which lend 

 themselves to many pleasing arrange- 

 ments and combinations. 



Be Busy and Behave. 



After you have followed me thus far, 

 it seems unnecessary for me to say, 

 "Be industrious." I have never yet 

 been in a greenhouse or flower store 

 where there was not some necessary 

 thing to be done. The arrangement 

 of the flowers in the windows and show 

 cases is a never-ending study. It dem- 

 onstrates some of your ability as a 

 salesman. Sometimes on account of 

 their display, the flowers sell them- 



selves, and you become only the order 

 clerk when the customer calls, v When 

 business is slack prepare for the rush, 

 and when the rush comes you will be 

 in better shape for it. 



No matter what your conduct may be 

 outside of business, aim to have it per- 

 fect during business hours. Don't talk 

 loudly or use profane language. Don't 

 drink, don't chew, don't smoke — be as 

 good as you know how. You are deal- 

 ing with all kinds of people, and mere 

 trifles will often turn some people away 

 who might otherwise become good cus- 

 tomers. Be gentlemanly at all times 

 to your employer and fellow employees, 

 and remember that mere trifles make 

 up the grand sum of human experi- 

 ence. Be "on your toes" and on your 

 good behavior at all times, in order 

 to win trade for yourself and your 

 house. 



In writing these thoughts, I have in- 

 tended them to apply -to everyone in 

 the business connected in any way with 

 selling goods, whether employer or em- 

 ployee, whether a greenhouseman sell- 

 ing all his stock himself or the pro- 

 prietor of the largest store relying on 

 his clerks. The greatest factor in 

 building up any business, large or 

 small, is salesmanship. If we do not 

 sell the goods, we do not do the busi- 

 ness. And every branch of the busi- 

 ness should be controlled by this 

 thought, that satisfled customers are 

 the greatest asset any business ever 

 had. 



RETAIL STORE MANAGEMENT 



WHAT THE LEADERS IN THE TRADE ARE DOING 



QBOnCHINESS A liabujtt. 



Everything in a florist's shop should 

 be harmonious. That is a place where 

 one naturally expects to find the beau- 

 tiful. The better the shop, the more 

 the store and its equipment should har- 

 monize with the goods offered for sale. 

 Courteous treatment of those who enter 

 the store, by proprietor, salesmen and 

 errand boys, is essential to the creat- 

 ing of an atmosphere of harmony, 

 which can be felt by all who come into 

 the place. A grouch breaks this har- 

 mony and tends to repel prospect?ve 

 customers. 



Other things being equal, people will 

 go where they are treated courteously. 

 They will often go out of their way to 

 deal with a merchant who takes a 

 kindly interest in their needs and tries 

 to satisfy those needs rather than sell 

 something. Surly demeanor is out of 

 place in any store and inimical to the 

 best interest of the business, but in a 

 florist's shop it is doubly harmful. As 

 a single instrument out of tune will 

 spoil the most beautiful symphony, or 

 a single false stroke destroy what 

 would otherwise be a masterpiece of 

 art, so a grouch will dispel the atmos- 

 phere of harmony and beauty which 

 should pervade all high-class florists' 

 . shops. 



One who is grouchy by spells is as 

 bad for the business as the perpetual 



grouch, for people do not relish being 

 treated with the utmost respect on one 

 visit to a store and on the next as if 

 he were a worm ih the dust. Just as 

 truly as a wide-awake, attentive, cour- 

 teous salesman is an asset to a store 



proprietor, so a grouch is a liability. 

 To be continuously successful in busi- 

 ness, one must eliminate liabilities as 

 far as possible and add to one's assets. 



R. B. M. 



A MEMPHIS WBEATH. 



The accompanying illustration is re- 

 produced from a snapshot made in the 

 Flower Shop, the establishment of Mrs. 

 M. E. Irby and Miss Kate Harris, of 

 Memphis. These ladies have been in 

 business for about six years and have 

 built up a large trade, turning out 

 excellent work. This wreath on easel 

 was made of roses, orchids and valley 

 and brought $50 to the cash register. 



MAKING A BRIDE'S BOUQUET. 



Please inform me about the proper 

 construction of the bride 's bouquet, giv- 

 ing directions for the arrangement of 

 the bouquet' itself and also the shower 

 effect. Is there a frame for such bou- 

 quets? Usually the valley and adian- 

 tum ferns are short-stemmed and diffi- 

 culty is found in forming the high cen- 

 ter and the rounding effect so desired. 

 How much valley and adiantum will 

 be needed for a bouquet with a top 

 circumference of nine inches, and how 

 much valley and fern for a shower in 

 proportion? J. C. M. — Tex. 



Wreath Designed by Mn. M. E. Irby. 



The number of valley required to 



