14 



The Florists* Review 



May 0. 1915. 



fore doubly appreciated. There are in- 

 numerable local events that afford the 

 basis for a special window display. 



A restful, daintily furnished room 

 equipped with writing tables and 

 chairs, and designed especially for the 

 comfort of patrons, is indispensable. In 

 this room customers can meet appoint- 

 ments and write messages to be en- 

 closed in orders. Here also can the 

 salesperson^ discuss decorations and 

 exchange suggestions. 



The Staff. 



Since the object of all business ef- 

 fort is to build up a permanent trade, 

 all who serve the public should be pos- 

 sessed of the desire to satisfy each 

 customer perfectly. Salespeople should 

 have attractive personalities. The high- 

 class man or woman, neatly and taste- 

 fully dressed, who can meet customers 

 with dignity and courtesy, commands 

 the admiration of the prospective 

 buyer. More than this, the salesper- 

 son should be courageous enough to 

 make suggestions and clever enough to 

 influence the customer in his or her se- 



lection. The skillful and rapid handling 

 of business appeals to florists' cus- 

 tomers, most of whom are people of 

 temperament and easily impressed. Let 

 me say, too, that 1 believe a woman's 

 finer sensibilities and intuition make 

 her a person, of rarer genius for selling 

 flowers thaa^ a man. 



The buye/s should be men of special 

 characteristics. To the head buyer 

 should be entrusted the order list for 

 the day. Upon his judgment depends 

 the filling of those orders. He must 

 not only know good stock; he must not 

 only dare to buy or desist from buy- 

 ing; he must be in good standing with 

 every firm. He inust be possessed of 

 characteristics that make friends; he 

 must be a good fellow, so that when 

 stock is scarce he will stand as good a 

 chance as any other buyer of securing 

 the coveted article. 



The Proprietor. 



There are daily problems in the busi- 

 ness world which no one but the pro- 

 prietor can handle; many little details 

 for which he is responsible. He must 



be a m&n of sound judgment, of large- 

 hearted generosity, quick to see error, 

 willing to cater to the whim of a cus- 

 tomer whose complaint the clerk may 

 not have considered justifiable. 



The personal attention of the pro- 

 prietor is flattering to a customer who 

 lingers only too gladly to hear the 

 latest horticultural news of new va- 

 rieties, or perhaps to receive informa- 

 tion as to planting and pruning shrubs 

 or concerning symptoms of disease on 

 house plants. 



The many demands of churches and 

 institutions are annoying, but they 

 must be met by the proprietor with 

 patience and willingness to concede 

 their requests. After all, giving to in- 

 stitutions and organizations is the 

 cheapest way of advertising. In times 

 of overproduction, the surplus should 

 be sent to schools and hospitals. It is 

 a better business practice than reduc- 

 ing the price. The school children of 

 today are your customers of tomorrow. 

 You have practiced no great magna- 

 nimity; the returns are manifold. 



May E. McAdams. 



RETAIL STORE MANAGEMENT 



WHAT THE LEADERS IN THE TRADE ARE DOING 



ANOTHER SOURCE OF BUSINESS. 



It was Saturday afternoon in a Chi- 

 cago retail flower store. 



"Joe," said the boss, "here's 

 luck! Telegram from So & So, 

 Boston, corsage for Mrs. Gotrocks, on 

 the California Limited, Polk street 

 station, Sunday night." 



"Good," said Joe, "I can kill two 

 birds with one stone." 



For Chicago retailers are taking spe- 



^ 



The GJifomia Fair 



hat attracted vititon 

 from all over the States. 

 Thoutaodt of them paw 

 through Chicago, h has 

 become the custom for 

 one to send a gift of 

 flowen to friends leaving 

 for the coast 

 y Our automobiles make 

 trips to every outgoing 

 train. 



Railway Exchange Buildinj 

 Hanifon3342 



=^ 



Working Up New Business. 



cially good care to see that every tele- 

 graph order for flowers to the exposi- 

 tion trains is fillec^— filled even if it 

 makes someone come down to the store 

 Sunday afternoon to make up a bou- 

 quet and then deliver it at the station 

 during the short twenty minutes the 

 sleepers stand for loading. If there 

 is one order, that's good business; if 

 there are two orders, that's good luck. 



Leaving Chicago just before the 

 dinner hour each evening are five big 

 overland expresses — through trains de 

 luxe to the coast. For years Chicago 

 retailers have delivered more or less 

 flowers to these trains, but in the few 

 weeks since the expositions opened 

 this business has taken a big jump. 

 With wealthy people from the east 

 passing through in increasing numBers 

 the orders for flowers to the trains 

 have multiplied until the Fleischman 

 Floral Co. has gone so far as to ad- 

 vertise this service in the daily news- 

 papers. 



Most of the orders the Chicago re- 

 tailers are handling are wired by flo- 

 rists in the east. Nearly all the or- 

 ders call for corsage bouquets and .$J1 

 is the popular price, the florist who 

 sends the order receiving a bill for 

 that amount less twenty per cent. 



Of course the business will grow; 

 it's too neat a little turn not to take 

 well with the public. Also, the flo- 

 rists east of Chicago will now be 

 "wise" to the idea and will call it 

 to the attention of those who have 

 friends passing through Chicago on 

 their way west. 



It has been , found better to deliver 

 the flowers to ^ie outgoing train than 

 to try to delivet" them elsewhere. Most 

 of the incoming trains arrive in the 

 morning and the travelers spend the 

 day as pleases their fancy; catching 



them at a hotel is uncertain. But 

 they will not miss a train on which 

 space has been reserved, probably 

 weeks in advance; practically every 

 delivery will connect if the train is 

 correctly specified in the order. 



THE HOUSE OF 1,000 MIRRORS. 



The new store of Joseph Trepel, at 

 1070 Flatbush avenue, Brooklyn, has 

 the name of "The House of a Thou- 

 sand 'Mirrors, " and a view of the in- 

 terior of the store would lead one to 

 believe that there are fully that num- 

 ber. Perhaps a count would verify that 

 impression, for the walls are made up 

 of small mirror panels throughout. 



Ji/^. c^24d^ 



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Joseph Trepel's New Brooklyn Store. 



