■T^r 



92 



The Weekly Florists^ Review^ 



Mabch 28, 1012. 



inconvenience to have to wait for 

 green. Watch how much goes in with 

 flowers over the counter. Little ex- 

 cept own foliage should be dealt out, 

 unless with extra fine orders. 



In the arrangement of blooming 

 plants in the salesroom, be sure to sepa- 

 rate varieties and colors. It will be 

 much easier then to make a selection 

 than to roam all over the room picking 

 the choicest plant of a favorite variety. 

 Don't fill up small gaps too promptly; 

 let people see that you are selling and 

 what you are selling, and a choice will 

 be more quickly made. Let there be 

 more business with less work for this 

 rush. G. 



TAKING ADVANTAGE OF EASTEB. 



Immediate and Future Profits. 



W«, the retail florists, always feel 

 as though we had been relieved of a 

 heavy load when the Easter rush is 

 over. 



If you were to ask a student in 

 geometry or trigonometry to divide one 

 square foot into four square feet you 

 would be laughed at and told, "It is 

 impossible." Still, retailers have to 

 do this same thing during an Easter 



rush. We have to crowd about four 

 to six weeks' business into one week. 

 Is it any wonder, then, that the man 

 at tltv^^ead of the establishment, who 

 has to figure it all out, feels relieved 

 when it is all over and he is still 

 able to look an insanity commission 

 straight iii the facef 



All this, too, without much if any 

 profit; at least, that is the way we 

 feel when the time comes for settling 

 with the extra help, drivers, etc. Still, 

 my contention is that Easter can be 

 made profitable, not only from a mone- 

 tary point of view, but also from an 

 advertising standpoint. 



Attracting New Customers. 



During the year, flower buyers are 

 not apt to wander from store to store 

 as they would at Easter time and the 

 wise florist will take advantage of this 

 fact. If you will take notice, many 

 strange faces will be seen in your 

 establishment at this time and it is 

 up to the retailer to make them regular 

 patrons. 



First of all, have your windows as 

 attractive as it is possible to make 

 them and this is easy with so much 

 beautiful stock available. Everyone 

 is in the flower-buying mood during 



Basket-Shaped Trained Plant of Rom Newport Fairy. 



Easter week and an attractive window 

 will make many an extra sale and 

 bring people into your store. 



Then aim to have your store as 

 clean and neat as possible. This does 

 not necessarily mean that there must 

 be no leaves or paper on the floor 

 but it means clean corners, clean wood- 

 work, clean windows, clean clerks, 

 clean space under the benches, etc! 

 We all know that a store cannot be 

 swept every time a leaf falls to the 

 floor, but cobwebs will not be excused. 

 In the evenings, when the rush of busi 

 ness is over, have things tidied up for 

 next day. 



Courtesy to Customers. 



Instruct all your salespeople to have 

 a word of welcome for your patrons 

 and to request that they come again, 

 even if they bought nothing. 



In a store where a lar^e business 

 is done and where from eight to ten 

 salespeople are employed during Eas 

 ter week, it would pay to appoint some 

 clean-cut, well-mannered person to act 

 as a sort of floor walker, to see that 

 customers are waited upon in due time 

 and to serve as a sort of "Welcome! 

 Come again!" sign. 



Of course, regular patrons should 

 not be neglected. In fact, many of 

 these will expect some little deviation 

 from the general rule in the way of 

 delivery, trimming of pots, etc., and it 

 is good policy to cater to these little 

 whims, for it would hardly pay to 

 lose an old customer in the endeavor 

 to make new ones. "A bird in the 

 hand is worth two in the bush." 



Wrappings and Beceptacles. 



The contents of every box ef flow- 

 ers should be carefully arranged and 

 the box itself should present a neat 

 appearance when it arrives at its des- 

 tination. Plants, also, should have the 

 same careful attention. Where they 

 are not costly enough to warrant cov- 

 ering, at least have the pot free from 

 a season's accumulation of moss and 

 dirt. Paper pot covers can now be 

 bought so cheaply and are so easily 

 applied that their use is becoming al- 

 most universal. This is rightly so, for 

 while M^ all know that plants are 

 grown in "pots, still it is not in good 

 taste to make the pots conspicuous on 

 all occasions, any more than it is in 

 good taste to run around barefooted. 



When an article, be it a box of 

 flowers or a package of laundry, ar 

 rives at its destination, its appear 

 ance speaks louder than words. See 

 that your packages, when delivered, 

 have a good word to say for you and 

 your methods. 



Wlien Mistakes Happen. 



Errors are bound to occur during 

 Easter week. Cards will be lost, or- 

 ders overlooked, lilies broken; perhaps 

 some funeral order will be delivered 

 after the ceremony. Sucih mistakes 

 will happen, but, when a customer 

 advises you of such an error, do not 

 sail into him hammer and tongs with 

 complaints about the awful Easter rush. 

 Let your patron see that you are sin- 

 cerely sorry and do all you cam to 

 satisfy him, even though he may be 

 a little too severe under the circum- 

 stances. Do this as a matter of policy- 



From an advertiser's standpoint, you 

 can surely make Easter bring good 

 returns if your store is managed right 



If you have anything in the way 



