

'■ ><■.•••■ 7.., 



March 28, 1912. 



The Weekly Florists' Review* 



^ 



MAKING EASTEB PROFITABLE. 



Watching the Extra Expenses. 



If the volume of business done by a 

 retailer during Easter week could be 

 extended over a long enough period to 

 be handled without the cost of addi- 

 tional store help, drivers, errand boys, 

 horses or automobiles, the profits would 

 naturally be more than under the pres- 

 ent circumstances. Still, by carefully 

 watching every detail the extra ex- 

 penses can be greatly reduced, and 

 every dollar saved at this time is a 

 dollar added to the profits. 



First of all, refer to your notes on 

 last Easter and see how violets, sweet 

 peas, roses, etc., sold, and in placing 

 your orders for this year's supply order 

 accordingly, allowing a liberal amount 

 for increased business, but do not buy 

 recklessly. It is more profitable to 

 lose a few sales than to have several 

 thousand violets left the day after. 



Baskets sell well at Easter, but 

 should not be made up too long before 

 or too many at one time. It is more 

 advisable to make them up as the de- 

 mand requires, for immediately after 

 Easter the market for them will be 

 gone and then the stock in them will be 

 practically useless. 



The Extra Help. 



Plants and baskets should all be 

 marked with the selling price by some 

 competent person and this price should 

 not be cut without first consulting the 

 person in charge. It is also wise not 

 to allow the extra salespeople to sell 

 cut flowers, especially roses, unless they 

 have had previous experience in han- 

 dling flowers, as many an expensive 

 rose or carnation is broken through 

 being carelessly handled. Let none but 

 your regular help sell cut flowers or 

 take orders for design work. 



By using sotne judgment in engaging 

 your extra help, many a dollar can be 

 saved. Hire enough help, but do not 

 give every friend or relative a job just 

 to make yourself a good fellow. Friends 

 are all very well, but treat them as you 

 would strangers if you wish them to 

 earn their pay in Easter week. 



Unnecessary Wastefulness. 



In putting up the numerous boxes 

 of loose flowers for delivery, an extra 

 ■ flower of a kind of which you have a 

 surplus in stock will do no harm, but 

 often, in their enthusiasm or forgetful- 

 ness, employees will fail to keep track 



of their count and if this is not guarded 

 against many dollars will be given 

 away, for which not you but the sender 

 will receive thanks. 



If you want to give flowers away, 

 enclose your card and send them where 

 they will bring returns. 



Plants should all be carefully 

 wrapped to guard against frost and 

 breakage, but much unnecessary waste 

 of paper and twine is often caused 

 during the rush by allowing these 

 materials to be trampled underfoot. 

 This, of course, is a small item; still. 



Beauties in Gold Basket. 



if the small leaks are closely watched 

 there will probably be no large leaks. 



The Extra Cost of Delivery. 



As already stated, there are any num- 

 ber of extras which make inroads into 

 Easter profits, but the additional cost 

 of delivery is the biggest item by far. 

 I have known of instances where flo- 

 rists have contracted with auto express 

 companies to do their Easter deliver- 

 ing at so much per day, and the actual 

 cost amounted to as much as 25 cents 

 to 30 cents per order. This is alto- 



gether too much, but how best to get 

 away from or around this awful drain 

 is a hard problem to solve. 



First of all, we must start right. 

 Avoid having plants that sell for less 

 than 75 cents or $1, by planting small 

 stock together or setting them aside 

 until after Easter. Mark all plants and 

 add from 15 cents to 35 cents to the 

 usual price. Your trade will not notice 

 this slight difference in price and it 

 will at least partly offset the delivery 

 expense. 



Troubles That May Be Avoided. 



Instruct your salespeople not to ask 

 too many questions as to when an arti- 

 cle shall be delivered; this will give you 

 more leeway. Also see that the full, 

 correct address of the customer is ob- 

 tained; this will save many an extra 

 trip, or perhaps a pull from east to west 

 or north to south. 



Care should be exercised in hiring all 

 your delivery help. There are in every 

 city any number of young high school 

 students who like to earn a little pin 

 money occasionally, and among these 

 you will find good material. These 

 boys are usually well educated, refined 

 and from good families. It is good 

 policy to arrange with extra delivery 

 help to pay them so much per hour. 

 This will avoid all disputes when pay 

 day comes. 



Systematizing the Deliveries. 



All trips should, of course, be routed 

 by a person well acquainted with the 

 city, so as to save all possible time in 

 making deliveries. Another important 

 principle to bear in mind is: Keep the 

 wagons or autos going. It is the time 

 lost in waiting for the next trip that 

 necessitates so many extra wagons. 



Some firms require the signature of 

 the customer for the article delivered. 

 This takes a great deal of time and I 

 doubt whether the satisfaction of being 

 able to prove a delivery in case of dis- 

 pute pays for all the extra time taken. 

 Few complaints arise from failure to 

 make delivery, and usually these errors 

 are due to having obtained a wrong 

 address and can be readily rectified. 



The C. O. D. Orders. 

 If in your business you have many 

 C. O. D. orders, then purchase a pack- 

 age of C. O. D. stickers from a station- 

 ery store and paste one on each C. O. D. 

 order, at the same time giving the 

 driver a statemettf in an addressed en- 

 velope, in which to keep each C. O. D. 



