14 BULLETIlsr 1014, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTTJEE. 



PROBLEMS IN SELF-SERVICE. 



As previously stated, the operation of a self-serve store involves 

 numerous problems which are peculiar to this plan and which 

 require careful consideration and a thorough understanding in order 

 that self-service may be a success. In numerous cases grocers have 

 changed their stores to self-service, failed to make a success, and 

 sooner or later reverted to their old way of doing business. The 

 main reason for their failure was that they did not recognize and 

 put into operation the fundamental principles of self-service. They 

 merely changed the physical arrangement in their stores to comply 

 with self-service. As a result, practically none of the real advantages 

 were obtained, while the disadvantages were magnified, and almost 

 no attempt was made to cope with them. 



LOCATION. 



The self-service principle can not be counted upon to meet the 

 needs of a very large percentage of people in any particular group, 

 because of the limited servnce given. Therefore it is not a neighbor- 

 hood proposition, but one that should be operated at a trading center. 

 This does not imph' that its usefulness is limited to the congested 

 districts of large cities but that its location should be such that a 

 relatively small percentage of the people in the locality, either 

 transient or resident, will form a group sufficiently large to insure 

 its success. The so-called corner grocery, because of the extensive and 

 convenient service that it offers, appeals to a larger percentage of the 

 people as a rule, in spite of the higher prices which it must charge. 

 Therefore it does not require such a large territory from which to 

 draw its trade. 



The more specialized any system becomes the fewer it will reach in 

 any given locality. The restricted application of self-service is not 

 an undesirable feature, but rather a good one, provided this fact is 

 fully recognized before the location of the store is determined. Its 

 limitations make it possible to meet more fully the needs of that 

 particular class for which it is intended. 



It is possible that a self-serve store might exist as a neighbor- 

 hood enterprise, but its success jDrobablj'^ would be very limited, 

 since the economies resulting under such conditions would hardly 

 be sufficient to warrant its existence. In other words, in order that 

 full advantage may be taken of all of the possibilities of self-service, 

 a maximum volume of trade must be obtained. In order to obtain 

 such a volume, the location of the store should be such that its 

 patrons will be drawn from a considerable territory rather than from 

 a radius of a block or two, as is often the case with the smaller 

 grocery stores of the " corner " type. 



