Afbil 4, 1012. 



The Weekly Florists^ Review. 



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I THE RETAIL 

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A SFBINa WINDOW. 



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The retail florist's window really is 

 his best advertisement, provided, of 

 course, that his location is such that 

 he gets a showing. It would be use- 

 less for those on little traveled resi- 

 dence streets to spend considerable sums 

 on windows, for the number of people 

 who would see the displays would, jus- 

 tify no more than moderate cost. But 

 the A. W. Smith Co., in Pittsburgh, 

 has a never-ending procession of peo- 

 ple passing its portals and makes splen- 

 did use or the advertising possibilities 

 in its windows. 



The accompanying illustration, pre- 

 pared from a photograph made through 

 the glass by artificial light, shows a 

 spring window that is typical of their 

 displays. W. A. Clarke, treasurer of 

 the Pittsburgh Cut Flower Co., who 

 recognized the picture as one of inter- 

 est to the trade and sent it to The 

 Review, says: "This display was run- 

 ning three weeks and I never passed it, 

 day or night, that there were not a 

 number of people stopping to look, and 

 in the middle of the day I frequently 

 have seen them three deep in front of 

 the window." The window really is 

 about 20x30, but appears much larger, 

 as the background is a canvas carrying 

 a well executed Holland scene. The 

 foreground is laid out in lawn and 

 beds planted with flowering bulbs. The 

 grass was grown in boxes made special- 

 ly for the work and the bulbs were 

 planted just as the buds were ready to 

 expand, so that the people passing 

 daily could see the garden grow. The 

 display was good for ten days and 

 was then renewed, so that in all it 

 ran three weeks. 



EFFIOrENOT. 



Of Both Employer and Employee. 



To be eflScient is the aim of all em- 

 ployees worthy of the consideration of 

 an employer and, to their credit be it 

 said, the majority of clerks and dec- 

 orators in florists' stores strive as hard 

 and succeed as well as those in other 

 branches of business. There are, of 

 course, painful examples of how not to 

 do it in this as in other lines of en- 

 deavor, but we need not consider them. 

 They are not the kind that ever read a 

 trade paper or any other, save, perhaps, 

 the so-called "sporting" pages of the 

 yellow journals. We need not write for 

 such, but rather call the attention of 

 those who are doing good work to a 

 few of their own shortcomings and in- 

 clude employers as well as employees. 



Possibly it may be well to mention 

 a few failings of employers first. From 

 school days upward, those who have to 

 work for a living have their "duty" 

 drilled into them pretty regularly, so 

 they can afford to wait a little, while 

 we consider how near the average re- 

 tailer comes to being eflScient as a busi- 

 ness man and an employer. 



The Employer — Is He a Faultfinder? 



Some employers seem to have an idea 

 that to get the best out of a man you 

 have always to be driving him, always 

 telling him he is wrong and magni- 

 fying his faults, forgetting entirely the 

 few or many virtues he possesses. Now, 

 in a certain type of man this constant 

 faultfinding at first breeds a kind of 

 nervousness, a want of confidence in 

 himself and a feeling that he is not 

 doing himself justice. Then some day 

 the faultfinder overreaches himself and 

 storms at his employee for doing some- 

 thing that he has before recommended) 

 him to do. From this time on the re- 



ings of one employee to another, while 

 never finding fault openly with any. No 

 type of employer is less respected than 

 this, for employees talk among them- 

 selves and, sooner or later, what the 

 "boss" says becomes common property. 



Is He OenerouB or Niggardly? 



Again, some employers are much of- 

 fended if one of the boys asks for half a 

 day off to see a ball game, or to go to a 

 matinee or some other amusement. He 

 forgets entirely the many extra hours 

 put in on Sundays, holidays and at 

 other times when men in other walks of 

 life are free to do as they please and 

 go where they like. Such grasping 

 methods never succeed, for it is not in 

 nature to expect that employee to be 

 always keyed up and anxious for his 

 employer 's interest, as the truly eflScient 

 employee should be. 



Outsidie of questions of this kind, an 

 eflScient employer will always be study- 

 ing how to increase the eflSciency of his 

 force and how to get out of the men 

 the most they are capable of, without 

 either driving or finding fault. When 

 dealing with young men he will at least 

 affect an interest in their welfare, in 



Garden Scene in Window of A, W. Smith G)^ Pittibtsrgh. 



spect of that individual employee is 

 lost and he takes no more notice of 

 even good advice, which, in justice it 

 must be said, the faultfinder is often 

 capable of giving. . 



Another type of employer is always 

 talking about the faults and shortcom- 



their amusements or hobbies, as far as 

 is compatible with proper discipline, 

 and will give them advice on any ques- 

 tion that may crop up in the course of 

 life, either in or out of the store. He 

 will strive, in short, to show them that 

 he has an interest in them and that he 



